Panayir Dagi (Pion)

From the Eastern Gymnasium a good road goes northeast up Panayir Dagi (Mount Pion, 155m/510ft), from which there is a fine view of the ancient site set in a semicircle round the hill. A Byzantine wall, some stretches of it well preserved, leads north along the crest of the hill to the Koressos Gate.

Under the northeast side of the hill is the so-called Cave of the Seven Sleepers. According to the legend seven young men of Ephesus were walled up in a cave during the persecution of Christians in the middle of the second century Falling into a deep sleep they were discovered, alive and well, in the reign of Theodisius II (414-50). After their death, it is said, the Emperor had them buried in the cave and built a pilgrimage church in their honor.