Gate of Augustus

Gate of Augustus

Ephesus (Ancient Greek Ἔφεσος, Turkish Efes) was an ancient Greek city on the west coast of Anatolia, near present-day Selçuk, Izmir Province, Turkey. It was one of the twelve cities of the Ionian League during the Classical Greek era. In the Roman period, it was for many years the second largest city of the Roman Empire; ranking behind Rome, the empire’s capital. Ephesus had a population of more than 250,000 in the 1st century BC, which also made it the second largest city in the world.

In the centre of the ruined city, to the right of the Celsus Library, is the Gate of Augustus, also called the Gate of Mazaeus and Mithridates. Built in 40 A.D by the slaves Mazeus and Mythridates for their emperor, Augustus, who gave them their freedom.

The gate with three vaulted passage ways leads into the 110-metre square commercial agora where food and craftwork items were sold. The monumental gate, dedicated to the honor of the Emperor Augustus, his wife and son-in-law, was apparently a favorite place for Roman ne’erdo-wells to relieve themselves, as an informal inscription curses `those who piss here’.

The front side of the vault facing the Celsus Library is made of black marble, while the other side is white. A Latin inscription with inlaid letters made of bronze is still visible on one side of the structure. Part of the inscription states: “From the Emperor Caesar Augustus, the son of the god, the greatest of the priests, who was consul twelve and tribune twenty times; and the wife of August Livia; the son of Lucus, Marc Agrippa who was consul three times, Emperor, and tribune six times; and the daughter of Julio Caesar Augustus, Mazeus and Mythridates to their master and the people.”

The small area in front of the gate was used as an auditorium. The steps around the gate, in front of the library and the round pedestal were used as seats. In Byzantine Period, the walls in the small area were built when the city walls were reduced in length.

Single RAW image Tonemapped in Photomatix Pro 3.2.

Camera: Canon EOS 450D (Digital Rebel XSi in the USA)
Sigma 18-200mm lens

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Related shots can be found at Turkey or Eastern Meditteranean.

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