The Third Temple

The famous Greek temple in the ancient city of Ephesus built for the goddess Diana has since passed into the historical pantheon as the Temple of Artemis.

Artemis, the Greek version of Diana gave the marble structure its alternate name, the Temple of Diana.

Surrounded by thirty-six ionic columns, the massive temple which housed sculptures, paintings, reliefs and artwork was built throughout a span of 128 years. During this period the Amazons who were believed to have founded Ephesus relied on the temple as a center of worship as well as a place of refuge.

In 356 BC, it was deliberately destroyed by fire on the day that Alexander the Great was allegedly born. The temple would be rebuilt and destroyed again by the Goths before its most legendary version, completed in 550 BC, also came and went. Though defensively built on marshland to safeguard against earthquakes, it later succumbed to a final attack, this time from a mob of Christians in 401 AD.

Today all that survives of the remains is a pile of rubble in a swamp with one reconstructed column erected from the extant ruins to mark the unguarded site.

A somber remnant of such a hallowed monument that saw destruction, rebirth and ultimately glory— in one final phase. The Temple of Artemis quite possibly epitomizes the old teaching adage, ‘If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.’

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Christopher Robinson

Never Promised You a Hanging Garden

There once was a magnificently spellbinding garden in the Neo-Babylonian empire— or was there?

Built during the 6th Century BC under the rule of Nebuchadnezzar II, the fabled structure was said to feature a dazzling array of plants and flowers as well as sculptures and fountains interconnected among sloping mountain-like terraces.

Conflicting contemporary accounts of the gardens’ location and features as well as the absence of any mention of them in Babylonian records have led many historians to doubt their legend’s legitimacy. The possible existence of a similar site in the Mesopotamian city of Nineveh supports some hypotheses that suggest it was mistakenly imagined to exist in another time and place.

Still others maintain that the gardens were most likely among many treasures in the Babylonian king’s domain and survived for several centuries through different empires.

History, for some reason has shrouded the Hanging Gardens in near darkness. Perhaps the future will shine better light on the ancient mystery and reveal the story behind it. Until then, our imaginations can fill in the blanks and the missing piece of an unceasingly wondrous puzzle.

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Christopher Robinson