Ephesus Museum, Selcuk
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The Ephesus Museum (Efes Müzesi), located near the entrance to the Basilica of St. John in Selcuk, is a great little museum displaying excavations from the ancient city of Ephesus, the nearby Temple of Artemis and the Basilica of St. John. Highlights include two statues of the Ephesian Artemis and marvelous frescoes and mosaics.
The museum rooms are stocked full of treasures excavated at Ephesus, so that no visit to the ancient city would be complete without a walk through here. Plan on about 90 minutes for the museum, which will be especially rewarding after you've toured the ruins of Ephesus.
One of the most impressive and illuminating sections in the museum is dedicated to the mother goddess and dominated by two colossal statues of Artemis. Both statues feature rows of bull testicles, previously thought to be breasts or eggs, but all symbolically related to the idea of fertility.
The exhibit opens with the Roman Period House Finds Room, displaying items recovered during excavations of the terraced houses of Ephesus's entitled class. Here you'll find examples of household items, including the bronze statue Eros with the Dolphin from a 2nd-century fountain and a faded 3rd-century fresco of Socrates. The fresco indicates the importance of philosophy in the daily life of the citizens.
Here also is the original phallic statue of Bes, attached to an exaggerated erect penis. Of Egyptian origin, Bes was not the god of the brothel, but the protector of everything associated with motherhood and childbearing.
During the Roman Empire, Ephesus housed an important school of medicine, and in the museum you'll also find a collection of medical and cosmetic tools (two inseparable sciences at the time) along with a wall of portraits of several famous Ephesian physicians.
Recovered from several monumental fountains are a beautiful representation of a headless Aphrodite and a head of Zeus dating to the 1st century AD. Nearby is a narration of Polyphemus's mythological attempt on Odysseus's life. From the Fountain of Trajan are a statue of a youthful Dionysus with a satyr, and additional statues of Dionysus with members of the imperial family.
Keep an eye out for the Ivory Frieze, discovered in an upper story of one of the Terraced Houses, which depicts the emperor Trajan and his Roman soldiers in battle against "the barbarians."
Many monumental artifacts are displayed in the courtyards, including the pediment from the Temple of Augustus (Isis Temple), reassembled with statues that had been moved to the pool of the Fountain of Pollio after the destruction of the temple; the Sarcophagus with Muses, dating to the 3rd century AD; and the Ephesus Monument, inscribed with the Customs regulations as issued by Emperor Nero in 62 AD and detailing the process of tax collection, typically undertaken by a third party, rather than as a state activity.
The final exhibit contains numerous sculptures from Roman times, mostly overshadowed by a frieze recovered from the Temple of Hadrian (sections of which are in Vienna). The frieze narrates the founding of Ephesus, the birth of the cult of Artemis, and the flight of the Amazons.
| Names: | Ephesus Museum, Efes Müzesi |
| Type of site: | Museum with religious artifacts |
| Location: | On the edge of the park near the intersection of Atatürk Cad., opposite the Tourist Information office |
| Phone: | 0232/892-6010 |
| Hours: | Tues-Sun 8:30am-6pm |
| Cost: | $2.50 |
