The Temple of Artemis (Greek: Ἀρτεμίσιον, or Artemision), also known less precisely as the Temple of Diana, was a Greek temple dedicated to a goddess Greeks identified as Artemis. It was sited at Ephesus (the modern town of Selçuk in present-day Turkey), and was completely rebuilt three times before its eventual destruction in 401 by St John Chrysostom, archbishop of Ephesus, who incited a mob of Christians to completely destroy the temple.[1] Only foundations and sculptural fragments of the latest of the temples at the site remain.
The first sanctuary (temenos) antedated the Ionic immigration by many years, and dates to the Bronze Age. Callimachus, in his Hymn to Artemis, attributed it to the Amazons. In the seventh century the old temple was destroyed by a flood. Its reconstruction began around 550 BC, under the Cretan architect Chersiphron and his son Metagenes, at the expense of Croesus of Lydia: the project took some 120 years to complete, only to be destroyed in an act of arson by the infamous Herostratus. It was again rebuilt, and became one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
Antipater of Sidon, who compiled the list of the Seven Wonders, describes the finished temple:
The first sanctuary (temenos) antedated the Ionic immigration by many years, and dates to the Bronze Age. Callimachus, in his Hymn to Artemis, attributed it to the Amazons. In the seventh century the old temple was destroyed by a flood. Its reconstruction began around 550 BC, under the Cretan architect Chersiphron and his son Metagenes, at the expense of Croesus of Lydia: the project took some 120 years to complete, only to be destroyed in an act of arson by the infamous Herostratus. It was again rebuilt, and became one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
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