Artemisium

Temple of Artemis at Ortygia. Built on a cliff in the middle of the forest, it's the centre of the social and religious life of the inhabitants of the island. It is divided in three main sections:

Outer Temple

Made of marble and silver, this part of the temple is under the care of the Hight Priest. All Guardians have free access to this area, and on the celebrations all the inhabitants of the island can also enter.

Inner Temple

A natural cave behind the temple, this part of the temple is under the care of the Hight Priestess. A large subterranean lake runs through the temple, in which the Goddess is able to look at the other realms. Only the female Guardians are allowed to enter this part of the Temple.

Sacred Grotto

A small grove behind the throne of the Inner Temple. This is the most sacred part of Ortygia, the one more linked to the Goddess. This part of the temple is hers and hers alone. Any intruder will be killed immediately by her hand, be it Guardian, Chosen One or not.

Historical meaning

Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, one of the Seven Wonders of the World. The great temple was built by Croesus, king of Lydia, in about 550 BC and was rebuilt after being burned by a madman named Herostratus in 356 BC. The Artemesium was famous not only for its great size (over 350 by 180 feet [about 110 by 55 m]) but also for the magnificent works of art that adorned it. The temple was destroyed by invading Goths in AD 262 and was never rebuilt. Little remains of the temple (though there are many fragments, especially of sculptured columns, in the British Museum), but excavation has revealed traces of both Croesus' and the 4th-century temple and of three earlier, smaller ones.
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 original statue was made of gold, ebony, silver, and black stone, the legs and hips covered by a garment decorated with reliefs of animals and bees and the top of the body festooned with breasts; her head was adorned with a high-pillared headdress.

| Back to Main | E-mail me |