Ephesus was originally famous because it held the Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.  Ephesus was one of the seven churches of Asia that are cited in the Book of Revelation. It is said that the Gospel of John was written here.  There is also a large gladiators’ graveyard.

Wow! So much history from so many different peoples in one place! There will be so much to see here, I hope that I don’t miss any of it.

Artemis was a said to be the daughter of Zeus and Leto; the twin sister of Apollo. She is the goddess of the hunt, wild animals, wilderness, childbirth, virginity and young girls, bringing and relieving disease in women. She was often depicted as a huntress carrying a bow and arrows. So now we women know who we need to blame for our womanly ailments! Ha!

It is said that at 3 years old, Artemis sat on her father, Zeus’ knee and asked for 6 wishes to be granted. She wanted to always remain a virgin, to have many names to set her apart from her brother Apollo, to be the Light Bringer, to have a bow and arrow and a knee-length tunic so that she could hunt, to have sixty “daughters of Okeanos” all 9 years old to be her choir, and for 20 Amnisides Nymphs as her handmaidens to watch her dogs and bow while she rested. Lastly she wished that no city be named for her, but she wanted to rule the mountains and she wanted the ability to help women in the pains of childbirth. (Ok, so we can also thank her for her help!) Such a long list for a little girl!

 

Ephesus was one of the seven churches of Asia that are cited in the Book of Revelation. To paraphrase, the Bible says that ‘the church that had forsaken its first love’ was located here.  That was said to be the Church of Mary.

This is a map of the seven churches of Asia that are mentioned in the Book of Revelations.