In
the year of 10 BC, Androclos, the son
of King of Athens-Kodros, was searching
a location for establishing a site. Androclos
belonged to Akhas, was running from the
Dor invasion in Greece. He was leading
one of the migration convoys. It was predicted
by an Apollon oracle that a fish and a
boar would show the location of the new
settlement. Days later, parallel to the
oracle’s prediction, while frying,
a fish fell down from the pan, irritating
a hiding boar behind the bushes. The feared
boar escaped immediately. Androclos followed
the boar and established the city of Ephesus,
where he had killed the boar. When Androclos
died in the wars with Carians, a mausoleum
was built to the memory of the first king
of Ephesus. The mausoleum is considered
to be placed around "The Door
of Magnesia".
Ephesus was ruled by the Lydian
king, Kreisos, in the mid 6BC. The city
reached the "Golden Age" and
became a good model to the Antic World
in culture and art, as well. But the inhabitants
of Ephesus moved away. Because
they did not like being ruled and lived
in the new Ephesus that is located around
the area of Artemision. As the
detailed excavations have not completed
yet, apart from the Artemision,
the remains of that age haven’t
been revealed.
Later,
Ephesus was dominated by Persians.
As Ephesians did not join the "Ionian
Rebellion" against Persians, the
city was saved from destruction. The rebellion
resulted in the loss of Persian. Alexander
the Great won Persians and the Ionian
cities got their independence in the year
of 334. Ephesus was in great prosperity
during the times of Alexander the Great
Until the arrival of Alexander the Great,
Ephesus was consisted of two governing
systems, democratic and oligarchic. But
the oligarchic system was violated with
the coming of a new ruler, and a rebellion
existed in Ephesus. The Temple of Artemision
was fired and destroyed by the supporters
of oligarchy in 356BC. As the temple became
unusable, Alexander the Great proposed
for repairing. But the Ephesians delicately
refused for the reason that "A God
can not built a temple for a God."
An Ephesian architect, Dinocrates restored
the Temple of Artemision.
After
the death of Alexander the Great, Ephesus
was ruled by the general of him, Lysimakhos,
in 287 BC. Lysimakhos decided to change
the prior location of Ephesus to further
west, due to the destruction of the port
by the alluviums, and the inhabitants
were forced to settle in the new place
named "Arsinoeina", the name
of Lysimakhos’ wife. The city was
surrounded by wide stone walls in 10 meters
height and 9 meters length. With the death
of Lysimakhos, Ephesians destroyed most
of the city walls. And, "Arsinoeina"
was changed into "Ephesus" again,
to be forgotten eternally.
Quoted
from From KusadasiGuide.com
with permission.
