Temple of Artemis

This was a few minutes walk up the road from the Museum. It is a field of ruins with only one column standing, and the bottoms of the rest showing the extent of the temple.

The temple was dedicated to the goddess Artemis (called Diana by Romans) who was goddess of many things it seems: the hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, nature, vegetation, care of children, childbirth, and chastity. (not sure how those last two reconcile except for the one time!)

Even viewing just the ruins you can get a sense of the vast size at 137 by 69 metres with 129 columns. In ancient times it was considered one of the Seven Wonders of the World. It was started in 323BC on the site of two earlier temples.En savoir plus