Ephesus: Then and Now

Ephesus or Éphesos was an ancient Greek city on the coast of Ionia, in present-day Selçuk in İzmir Province, Turkey. It was built in the 10th century BC on the site of Apasa, the former Arzawan capital by Greek colonists. The city came under Roman control in 129 BC.

The city was famous for the nearby Temple of Artemis (completed c. 550 BC), one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Its many monumental buildings included the Library of Celsus and a theater with seating for 25,000 spectators.

The Christian community in Ephesus was recipient of one of the letters of St. Paul and one of the seven churches of Asia addressed in the Book of Revelation. The Gospel of John may have been written there. 

The city was destroyed by the Goths in 263. Although it was rebuilt, its importance as a port and commercial center declined as the harbor was slowly silted up from sediment carried by the Küçük Menderes (Little Cayster) River. Despite repeated dredgings of the Cayster the city lost access to the Aegean Sea. The city lasted several hundred years more but was ultimately abandoned in the 15th century.

Today, the remains of Ephesus are an international tourist attraction, being accessible from the resort town of Kuşadası. In 2015, the ruins were designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The population of Ephesus in Roman times was estimated to number 225,000. More recent scholarship regards this estimate as unrealistic. At one time the city walls enclosed an area 1,030 acres and mountains prevented further expansion. Using 510 persons per hectare, a population between 138,000 and 172,500 seems more realistic. Even with this much lower population estimate, Ephesus was one of the largest cities of Roman Asia Minor.

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Varius Baths