Selçuk - Temple of Artemis

(Local Name: Artemiseion) Some 300m/330yds south of the Great Mosque in Selçuk are the sparse remains of the Artemiseion, or Temple of Artemis, once one of the Seven Wonders of the World. The excavations carried out by the Briton J. T. Wood showed that the site was originally occupied by a stone platform on which stood the cult image of the goddess, while under the platform were rooms in which votive offerings were preserved; to the west was another platform. In a later building phase the two platforms were linked with one another, and later still a cella measuring 16m/52ft by 31m/102ft was built over them. It is not known whether the cella was surrounded by columns. Finally in the sixth century B.C. a gigantic marble temple was built, measuring 106m/348ft by 55m/180ft. On 36 of the 127 columns the lower drum of the shaft was embellished with reliefs. The temple was twice restored and rebuilt before finally falling into a state of complete dilapidation in Byzantine times and being used as a quarry for building material.

Columns and marble slabs from the temple can be seen in the Haga Sophia (Ayasofa) in Istanbul and elsewhere. The foundations of the altar, measuring 30m/100ft by 40m/130ft, were discovered in 1965.