One of the famous edifices in Ephesus is the temple built for the Emperor Domitian on the terrace to thé south of the square. When the Emperor Domitian (81-96 AD) was stabbed to death in the back by a servant of his the temple was dedicated to his father Vespasian and when later Domitian was damned by the people the temple was destroyed and even the name Domitian was erased from the inscriptions.
It is famous for being the first temple built for an emperor in Ephesus. In the Roman period the building of temples for emperors was made a matter of honour among similar cities.
Temple of Domitian stood on the approximately 100 metres long terrace to the south of the square. On the east and west sides of the podium which was surrounded by an eight stepped crépis were large pediments supported by eight columns each. The long sides between these two had thirteen columns each. This structure made the edifice a prostyle. The altar which was decorated with the reliefs of weapons on display in the Ephesus Museum stood 10 metres in front of the temple.
The Ephesians in order to thank the emperor had his statue made measuring 7 metres together with the base and placed it in the temple. The large head and arm of this statue are on display in the museum. The terrace on which stood the temple was reached from the square by wide steps.
Taking the road running along the east side of the terrace one reaches the cryptoportico of the terrace of the temple which is arranged as a gallery for written documents. Mere are displayed some of the inscriptions found in Ephesus together with their translations.
The round base decorated with garlands carried by bulls’ heads standing in the middle of the Domitian Square was put there about the middle of the 4th century.
Temple of Domitian, Ephesus
Temple of Domitian,
Temple of Domitian
The western termination of the so-called State Agora is formed by an imperial cult temple which is constructed above a substructure which is in part two-storeyed. The main entrance to the area is located in the north, where a multi-storeyed façade, partially articulated by supporting figures, flanks a staircase leading to the temple. The area of the temple was framed by continuous colonnades, and in addition a secondary entrance has been identified in the west.
Although not much is preserved of the temple itself, during the excavation in 1930 the ground plan could essentially be clarified. Above a six-stepped stylobate (24 × 34 m), rose a pseudodipteral temple with cella and pronaos as well as a peristyle of 8 × 13 columns. To the east of the temple, remains of a U-shaped altar building were discovered, with a relief frieze depicting scenes of sacrifice and representations of weapons. While parts of the frieze were discovered in situ, other parts were found in a fountain in the Lower City, where they had been built in during the Byzantine period.
The attribution of the temple to the Emperor Domitian is due to the discovery of a head as well as other body parts from a colossal statue, found in the substructures. On the basis of these finds, the temple was associated with the epigraphically attested first neocorate at Ephesos for Emperor Domitian and his wife Domitia. After his murder and damnatio memoriae, the worship was transferred to Vespasian and eventually to the entire Flavian dynasty, and the cult continued to be maintained. According to the most recent results of research, the building might already have been begun in the Neronian period; furthermore, the attribution of the head to Titus is hardly doubted anymore.
After the partial excavation of the temple and the altar, the site has continued to remain the focus of far-reaching interpretations. Due to the sparse amount of archaeological finds, however, these interpretations could not be completely followed through, since until now neither the date of erection, nor the dedication, nor the duration of the cult or the destruction of the site could be determined with any degree of certainty.
Within the framework of the project »Cult and Ruler«, the excavations in the area of the imperial cult temple were taken up again in 2009, and a geophysical survey followed in 2010. The focus of the excavations was on the absolute-chronological classification of the building phases, in particular the period of destruction and the later usage of the site. Whereas the building materials from the temple and the altar were already completely removed, reworked or reused in antiquity, the marble slabs of the courtyard paving lying in situ have been preserved, or, where they are no longer extant, their mortar substructure is preserved. Above this lay a 15–20 cm deep burned layer, within which numerous broken pieces of the temple architecture and of statue fragments were preserved. Particularly worthy of mention are architectural blocks from the northern colonnade, which came to light where they had fallen directly onto the courtyard paving. Coins and pottery date the destruction of the temple and its colonnades to the early 5th century A.D.
The temple itself was demolished down to its substructure. On top of this, in the Late Antique/Byzantine period, a rectangular structure of quarry stone walls was erected, complete with massive supports in the form of pilasters on the exterior. Within the building, the floor level was raised by ca. 1.5 m by pouring in opus caementicium in layers. The extremely solid building methods suggest the character of fortifications for the building; it was probably a strategic location between the Byzantine core settlement in the former Lower City, and the hinterland.
The courtyard and the colonnades, moreover, were also built up in the Late Antique-Byzantine period. On the basis of the geophysical prospection, which revealed an intensive development in the east of the Imperial cult area, excavations were initiated in 2011. The excavations revealed an impressive building complex consisting of a courtyard, an elongated room with mosaic floor, a fountain and a tract for commercial use. From the originally rich decoration, bases, columns and capitals of marble are preserved, and the courtyard was also paved with marble slabs. A ca. 50 m2 room adjacent to the court at the south was particularly elaborately decorated. Here, a four-coloured mosaic floor was laid. Although only approximately one quarter of the pavement has been revealed, the decorative scheme can be reconstructed: pictorial fields, framed by an ivy leaf motif, alternate with an intertwined meander pattern. Marine creatures are depicted, with their representation being based as much on nature as on fantasy. Particularly impressive is a mythical creature with a lion’s head and body and a fish tail. To the south of the mosaic room was adjoined a three-part nymphaeum oriented in a north-south direction. The central, apse-form niche is flanked on both sides by smaller, rectangular niches, while the basin lying in front is bordered by massive slabs. The water withdrawal occurred in the east, where the overflow basin and drain channels were also located. To the west of the fountain were rooms which served a commercial purpose.
An initial chronological evaluation has indicated that the building was already erected in the 5th century A.D., probably not long after the destruction of the temple. The period of usage extended probably into the 6th century A.D., as it has not been possible to document more recent finds.
The high standard of living is expressed not only in the architecture and the decorative elements, but is also reflected in the small finds. Thus, in the commercial rooms were found not only numerous imported amphoras from a variety of regions of the Empire, but also valuable everyday objects. Two door knockers, one in the form of a Latin cross, the other in the form of a lion’s head, can be highlighted, as well as an exceptionally well-preserved early Byzantine steelyard.
Temple of Domitian is believed to be the first temple erected for a Roman emperor, the statue found within the building was thought to be that of Emperor Domitian. Recent findings suggest the statue may actually be of the Emperor Titus.
Words can’t describe this magnificent place. A must go place to visit if you are in Izmir region. You can spend all day there just admire the magnificent ruins, castle, amphitheaters.
Ephesus was granted the temple wardenship for the first time by Emperor Domitian (81-96). The temple dedicated to him was built on a terrace measuring 50 by 100 meters on the south side of Domitian Square. Not much is left of the temple. Our information on the structure comes from remains of its foundation. The podium on which the temple was erected measured 24 by 34 meters, and it was a small prostyle ( a temple preceded by a porch with columns) and had eight columns on the short sides and thirteen columns on the long sides. Also, in front of the cella which measured 9 by 17 meters, there were four columns.
There was a row storerooms to the west of the terrace on which the temple was situated and on the side facing the square. There is a parapet consisting of two tiers of columns. There are reliefs on the columns were discovered in another part of the city and brought back to their original location.
Domitian’s Temple in Ephesus is built on the slope of the hill south of Ephesus and extending into the center of the city, this prominent temple could be seen from nearly everywhere in Ephesus, including the land and harbor entrances. The Ephesians, who built it to honor their emperor in order to gain the greatest benefits from him, pressured other Ephesians and the province of Asia Minor to declare the emperor “Lord and God.”
Huge columns more than thirty-five feet high supported the two-hundred-by-three-hundred-foot podium on which the temple of Domitian rested. One unusual feature is that these columns had carvings that represented various deities. Apparently the Ephesians designed the podium this way in order to declare that the emperor was supported by all the world’s gods and that he was the culmination of all deity, the final lord of heaven and earth, the god of gods.
Although not large, the forty-by-sixty-foot temple had four columns in the front and a row of columns around the outside (eight in front and back, thirteen on the sides). A large marble altar stood on a raised platform and had a U-shaped colonnade around it with the open end facing the temple. On altars such as this one, the people were required to sprinkle incense to declare that Caesar was lord.
A statue of what is believed to be Domitian stood near the temple and altar. Based on the huge arm and head that have been excavated, researchers believe the statue was twenty-seven feet tall. After Domitian died, he was discredited by the Roman senate, and the temple was rededicated to his beloved father, Vespian, who was emperor from AD 69-79. Today, the ruins reveal the emperor’s great earthly glory and also declare the futility of denying the lordship of the God of the Bible.
Statues parts of Emperor Domitian in Ephesus Museum
Artist : Anonymous
Model : Titus Flavius Domitianus
Date : Between 81 and 96
Material : Marble
Etruscan and Roman Antiquities
Sculpture