Ancient / Classical History

Important Facts About Ancient Ephesus

By N.S. Gill, About.com

The Temple of Artemis, one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world, was in Ephesus.
There are visible ruins of a library dedicated to Celsus Polemeanus which housed between 12,000-15,000 scrolls.
Ephesus was a coastal city with a population of 1/4 million. Ephesus became the second largest city of the Roman Empire.
Ephesus was founded between 1500-1000 B.C.
Ephesus was destroyed by an earthquake in A.D. 17 and then rebuilt and enlarged by Tiberius.
A great city for pagans and Christians, Ephesus contained the normal trappings of Roman and Greek cities, including a theater, odeon, state agora, public toilets, and monuments to the emperors.
Ephesus was an important enough city for early Christianity, that the third ecumenical council was held there in A.D. 431
Paul's ministry was in Ephesus for three years.
Ephesus is located in modern Turkey (Anatolia).