Temple of Artemis (Artemision)

The Artemision of Ephesus — today a largely marshy ruin field on the edge of modern Selçuk — was in antiquity one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and the largest temple ever built in the Greek world. The great Ionic marble temple was dedicated to Artemis Ephesia, a distinctly local form of the goddess, and ancient sources credited its founding to the mythical Amazons. In 356 BC it was deliberately burned down by Herostratos, a man seeking immortal fame — a crime ancient Ephesians punished by forbidding his name to be spoken, which paradoxically preserved it. Rebuilt on an even grander scale, the temple drew pilgrims and merchants from across the Mediterranean until Goth raids and the rise of Christianity brought its final destruction in late antiquity. Visitors today find a single reconstructed column rising above scattered foundation blocks and stork nests — a deliberately minimal remnant that makes the contrast with its former glory all the more striking. Open daily, with hours varying seasonally between 08:00–19:00 and 08:30–17:30.