Sitting on the Giza plateau, I was once asked which was my second favorite of all the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The Great Pyramid of Giza, undoubtedly, claims the top spot, with its intricate chambers and shafts originally coated in polished limestone, shining bright like silver in the desert sun. However, when it comes to my personal wonder of wonders, I find myself drawn to the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, a majestic sanctuary on the western coast of modern-day Turkey, dedicated to the goddess Artemis (Diana in Roman mythology).
Artemis, a fierce and powerful goddess, ruled over mountains, nature, the hunt, and both hunters and their prey. Her body was adorned with carvings of bees and strange monsters, with symbols that could be interpreted as breasts, bulls’ testicles, or sacks of honey. Despite her ferocity, Artemis was also the queen of compassion. The Temple of Artemis, a grand structure, was twice the size of the Parthenon in Athens and served as an inspiration for countless Greek and Roman temples that followed, from Olympia to Sicily.
The wealth of the Lydian king Croesus, whose riches are still legendary today, contributed to the temple’s splendor. He wrapped the temple’s finely carved inner columns in pure gold, and bronze statues of Amazonian female warriors decorated the upper stories and sanctuary precinct. Some legends suggest that it was the Amazon women who laid the foundation stones of the temple.
Today, the remains of this once-great temple may seem underwhelming. Only one column still stands, and the fine masonry has been destroyed by earthquakes or carried off to museums in the West. Hawkers sell plastic replicas of the original temple, and the site’s grandeur is hard to imagine without a little mental effort. But when I visit, I try to picture the temple in its prime, a sanctuary where people could seek refuge and protection from the goddess. Even Cleopatra’s sister sought asylum here, fleeing her sister’s scheming, only to be pulled out and murdered on the temple’s steps.
What I love about the Temple of Artemis is its deep connection to the land of Turkey. The Artemis worshipped here was not the delicate figure often seen in Roman art but an Eastern nature goddess, with roots that stretch far beyond the temple itself. Recent excavations in the southeast of Turkey, near the Syrian border, have uncovered a remarkable 11,000-year-old site called Karahantepe, which may have been home to Artemis’ divine ancestors. This site, a blend of a proto-city and a festival space, has already yielded incredible finds. Among them is an oval chamber filled with massive stone phalluses, watched over by a moustachioed male face with the body of a snake. Archaeologists expect to find the female counterpart soon.
When I visited Karahantepe just before the devastating earthquake of February 2023, half of the buildings in the nearby town of Şanlıurfa collapsed, and the museum’s artifacts were swept away by floods. Yet, despite the chaos, local students and archaeologists worked tirelessly to protect the ancient objects and structures. This dedication to preserving the past is a testament to our shared sense of wonder.
Wonder connects us as a species, inspiring us to collaborate in achieving feats beyond our individual potential. It unites us in creating and sharing the most awe-inspiring works that we leave behind. Standing on the plains of Anatolia, looking out over both the ruins of the Temple of Artemis and the site of Karahantepe, I am struck by how much vision and collaboration went into the creation of these wonders, which continue to inspire us today.
