Learn about art with #MetKids. 43. Harvard Art Museums. Image of classical, lydia, destinations - 110644373 (From H.C. Butler, Sardis I) Fig. The Temple of Artemis or Artemision (Greek: Ἀρτεμίσιον; Turkish: Artemis Tapınağı), also known less precisely as the Temple of Diana, was a Greek temple dedicated to an ancient, local form of the goddess Artemis (associated with Diana, a Roman goddess). Ephesus, Turkey: Temple of ArtemisSite of the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, Turkey.Adam Carr Copies survive of the famous statue of Artemis, an un-Greek representation of a mummylike goddess, standing stiffly straight with her hands extended outward. The Greek historian and father of history, Herodotus, notes that the city was founded by the sons of Hercules, the Heraclides. Modest remains of the Temple of Artemis (tr. The ruins of the Temple of Artemis in Sardis in Lydia (modern-day western Turkey), originally built by the Greeks in 300 BCE and later renovated by the Romans in the 2nd century CE.The Temple of Artemis in Sardis was the fourth largest Ionic temple in the ancient world. Construction began around 334 BCE, soon after Alexander the Great "liberated" Sardis from the Persians. Since its founding in 1958 by Harvard and Cornell Universities, the Archaeological Exploration of Sardis has excavated, conserved, and published on aspects of the ancient city of Sardis in western Turkey from prehistoric through Islamic periods. Hellenistic capital from the Temple of Artemis, with Bahadır Yıldırım. As Artemis was the main goddess of fertility, the hunt, children and animals, people came from far and wide to worship in the mammoth 300’x150’ temple. Sardis was the capital of the Lydian empire during the 7th and 6th century BC. After that, under Persian rule, it became a provincial capital of Asia Minor until the conquest of Alexander the Great when it was included into the Hellenistic territories and the Temple of Artemis and the theatre were built. According to Herodotus, the Heraclides ruled for five hundred and five years beginning with Agron, 1220 BC, and ending with Candaules, 716 BC. Cybele (the Great Mother, or Mother of the gods) was the mother of the twins Apollo (the sun god) and Artemis (the moon godess) by Zeus. Artemis, known as Diana by the Romans, was the daughter of Zeus and twin of Apollo. Many people worshiped false gods and goddesses at that temple, yet the church in Sardis was indifferent, hard hearted, and stiff necked—in a word, “dead.” Would Jesus say the same to us? The Temple of Artemis in Sardis was the fourth largest Ionic temple in the world. The statue of many-breasted Artemis was the symbol of the temple but also of abundance, hunting and wild life. Just outside the entrance was an altar of Artemis much older than the temple… Excellent views of Artemision area and its surroundings extend from a nearby Ayasoluk Hill, where the Basilica of St. John is situated. 42. Soon after Sardis was liberated by Alexander the Great, the construction of the Temple of Artemis began in about 334 BCE. The Greek historian and father of history, Herodotus, notes that the city was founded by the sons of Hercules, the Heraclides. Many people worshiped false gods and goddesses at that temple, yet the church in Sardis was indifferent, hard hearted, and stiff necked—in a word, “dead.” Would Jesus say the same to us? Artemis was the main goddess of the city and the temple dedicated to her in Sardis was one of the seven largest Greek temples (more than double the size of the Parthenon).