The brothel and public latrine of ancient Ephesus are located directly across Marble Street from the Library of Celsus. Both date from the 1st century AD. Of course neither of these are a sacred site, but these less glamorous structures help bring ancient Ephesus to life.
Brothel
The brothel originally had two floors, with ground floor entrances on both Marble Street and on Curetes Street. On the latter, an etched footprint in the marble famously shows the way.
The rooms of the ground floor, one of which has a stone bed, were built around a small atrium. The floor of the main reception room was covered with a mosaic of the four seasons. The personified figures of Winter (with head covered) and Autumn (with a garland of flowers) are still well preserved. The cubicles used by the prostitutes to entertain their clients were on the upper floor.
The ithyphallic figurine of Priapus – Bes, now in the Ephesus Museum, was found in a well on the side of the brothel near Curetes Street. The well is still in use. Of Egyptian origin, Bes was not the god of the brothel, but the protector of everything associated with motherhood and childbearing.
Latrine
The 1st-century Roman Latrine of Ephesus was rather advanced and civilized for its time. It was constructed over a channel with an uninterrupted flow of water and the toilet seats, formed by cutting holes into marble benches that line the walls, were covered by a roof.
The rest of the large room was open to the sky, and had an impluvium (a sunken pool for catching rainwater) in the center. The floor was covered with mosaics.
The Latrines are interesting a communal and social activity, complete with running water for both moving waste along. Latrines used by both women and men.
Ancient brothel in Ephesus. There is an underground tunnel here that goes across the street leading to the library.
This is a popular place to visit in Ephesus. Everyone wants to sit on the seats that were used by the citizens of Ephesus so many years ago.
To see the technology that they used to maintain sanitation makes me respect this culture. Cool to see, part of Ephesus sight
Social than a hole in the ground, but let's face the facts, it's a public toilet. Interesting, especially given the time period, but nothing spectacular. There can be line-ups to pass through this area, but not essential to visit.
the latrines give you a great idea how daily life was conducted back in the days of the Roman Empire. It was actually an ingenious system!
Obviously, the ancient Greeks were not shy about their bodies or their bodily needs, as the public latrines/toilets demonstrate. I'm not sure where they drained, but they must have drained away from the public water supply.
You can just imagine the fun photos we have of each of us sitting on one of those stone latrines, gossiping like the residents of old probably did, glad that our facilities today are nothing like those!!! Fun!!
Well, need I describe the toilets they used, some of them were in better condition than the one we use these days lol
Brothel and latrines are somehow so "humans" and give to us a closer look on our past. Nothing – almost – changed.
For some reason, everyone loves toilets!! In 1998, you could actually sit on them. Today, they are roped off. Make sure you see The Terrace Houses if you can handle steep, narrow steps.
This was actually a gathering place where people conducted business while "doing their business". It's impressively intact with well thought out functional (plumbing) aesthetics. Not something you would normally see at an archeological site which makes it that much more impressive.