ArtemisEphesus. The temple of Artemis at Ephesus, on the coast of Asia Minor, was founded in about 550 bce and was rebuilt in the fourth century bce. A wonder of the ancient world, famous for its double row of Ionic columns, the fourth-century temple was also distinguished by its cult statue of Artemis. The gold statue depicted the goddess in a robe of animal heads, open at the top to reveal a row of multiple breasts. Xenophon built a small model of the great temple, with a cypress-wood image of the goddess. The Aventine temple of Diana also had a statue modeled on this type.
This representation of Artemis suggests her role as a fertility goddess, her association with woodlands and wild animals depicted in the trunklike rendering of her lower body and the numerous animals surrounding her. She also wore a crown that represented the city of Ephesus; although this role as a city goddess was not one of her primary functions, it became more common as her power increased. Representations are chiefly bound up in the cult of the Ephesian goddess; in art they are often fanciful reproductions of the statue itself.

Classical Sources. Acts of the Apostles 19:39. Strabo, Geography 4.1.5. Pausanias, Description of Greece 7.

See also Artemis.