Ephesus
Ephesus names 2 different subjects across the 6 encyclopedias on this shelf. Each is set out below. 1 of them is described by more than one encyclopedia.
Ephesus ef'e-sus, an ancient city on the western coast of Asia Minor
Described by 2 of the 6 encyclopedias.
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
ef'e-sus, an ancient city on the western coast of Asia Minor . It was the natural seaport of the kingdom of Lydia, the realm of wealthy King Croesus. It enjoyed an extensive commerce with Asia and Greece. An immense temple to an Asiatic goddess was built here. She was the deity of fertility, the mother of vegetation,--an embodiment of the productivity of the earth. Later, when Ephesus became a Greek city, this goddess was confounded with Artemis or Diana. In the year 356 B. C., on the night of the birth of Alexander the Great, an individual set fire to this temple that his name might not be forgotten in the world. This edifice, evidently consisting largely of wood, was replaced by a far more splendid temple. The women of Ephesus sold their jewelry and neighboring towns sent contributions, so important was the temple considered. Alexander offered to pay the cost of its erection if he might be permitted to carve his name on the pediment, but his tender was rejected. When completed, the dimensions were 240 by 418 feet. The roof of marble tiles was supported by over a hundred sculptured marble columns. It was considered one of the seven wonders of the world . This temple served several purposes. A vast number of priests and artificers lived in its precincts engaged in acts of worship and in making shrines and images for sale to worshipers. A refugee from justice might not be arrested within the shelter of the temple, and might even venture safely to a certain distance marked by a stone wall. After the city passed into Roman control Mark Antony found difficulty in controlling the horde of thieves that took advantage of this asylum. The apostle Paul early established a Christian church at Ephesus. The Epistle to the Ephesians was a letter written, no doubt in his own handwriting, and sent to the church for the edification of the faithful. For some account of the reverence in which the temple was held and the excitement among the silversmiths, read Acts xix. A general council of the Catholic church was held at Ephesus 431 A. D. One hundred thirty-five bishops were present. The site is now occupied by a squalid village. If after the manner of men I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantageth me, if the dead rise not? Let us eat and drink for tomorrow we die.--I Cor. xv: 32.
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
a famous city of Asia Minor, now in ruins, about 38 miles S. S. E. of Smyrna. It was the ancient capital of Ionia, and had one of the seven Christian Churches founded by the apostles. Its temple, dedicated to Diana, was considered one of the seven wonders of the world. Its dimensions were 425 feet long and 200 broad. The roof was supported supported by 127 columns, 60 feet high, which had been placed there by by as many kings. Of these, 36 were carved in the most beautiful manner, one of which was the work of the famous Scopas. This celebrated building was not completed till 220 years after its foundation. Ctesephon was its principal architect. The riches which were in the temple were immense, and the goddess who presided over it was worshiped with the most awful solemnity. It was burnt on the night that Alexander was born, but soon after it rose from its ruins with greater splendor and magnificence.
Ephesus COUNCILS OF, two ecclesiastical assemblies held at Ephesus
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
COUNCILS OF, two ecclesiastical assemblies held at Ephesus. The first was the third ecumenical council, summoned by Emperor Theodosius II., in 431, to settle a complicated controversy, involving among other Bishop of Constantinople. The second was the so-called "robber synod," con- ÉPERNAY, capital of an arrondis-vened by Theodosius (449), to consider again the case of Nestorius. In the proceedings of this council no opposition to the will of the president, Dioscurus, Bishop of Alexandria, was allowed; the bishops were overawed by monks, soldiers, and brawny servants, and were compelled to sign blank papers, to be filled up as the leaders chose. These lawless methods, as well as the violent measures carried through by their aid, hastened a crisis in the Eastern Church, and greatly furthered the advancing power of the Bishop of Rome, by compelling an appeal to him against oppression and wrong.
What Has Changed in the Last Century
Aiton's said in 1910 that "the site is now occupied by a squalid village" — that village, Selçuk in western Turkey, is now the gateway to one of the largest excavated classical cities in the Mediterranean. Austrian archaeologists have dug there continuously since 1895, re-erecting the façade of the Library of Celsus and uncovering the painted Terrace Houses; the site was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2015 and draws well over a million visitors a year. Of the temple of Diana that both accounts describe as a wonder of the world, almost nothing stands: it lies in a marshy field, marked by a single reassembled column, its sculpture having gone to the British Museum after J. T. Wood located the foundations in 1869. The harbour that made Ephesus "the natural seaport" of Lydia silted up entirely, and the ruins now sit several kilometres from the sea.
Written for this edition, 2026.