The play staged in the magnificent theater of Ephesus, the capital of the Asian Province, attracted great interest. The Roman residents of Ephesus had completely filled the steps of the theater. The movements of the actors on stage, the words and the cheerful songs of the chorus made the audience forget everything else. They watched the comedy with laughter and accompanied the songs of the chorus.
Romus, one of the rich people of Ephesus, was also among the audience. Everyone knew how badly Romus, a rude and cruel man, treated his female slaves in his magnificent villa. When he got bored, he would beat his slaves and have sex with them by force. Although slaves were thought to be the property of their masters because they were bought and sold for money, Romus’ cruelty bothered everyone.
After a while, Romus got bored of the play and got up from the stone bench he was sitting on and started walking towards the exit door of the theater. As he walked, he felt a shadow pass over his head, but he didn’t care much. After all, he had drunk too much wine again at dinner. When he left the theater and came to the Library of Celsus, he realized that his bladder was full. He was quite stuck and could not hold himself back until he reached the public toilet called latrina. When he saw that it was not going to happen, he smeared the beautiful stones of the Mithridates Gate next to the Celsus Library with his urine. When he had done his business and relaxed, he felt another shadow pass over his head. Moreover, this time there was something strange in the air. The surroundings suddenly became as bright as daylight. When Romus looked at the sky, he saw that the moon was huge and bright. What was happening? It was the first time he had seen the moon come this close to the earth. When he turned around with the instinct to get home as soon as possible, he noticed a beam of light on the wall next to the Mithridates Gate and was involuntarily drawn towards the beam of light. On that wall was the relief of Goddess Hekate, the ruler of the moon, crossroads, the underworld, and the gates in the sky and the earth. The source of the light was the relief itself.
As Romus stared in horror at the light emanating from the Hekate relief, the wall split open and Hekate emerged from the stone, freeing herself and revealing herself in all her glory. The goddess had three heads and three bodies, and the light of the torches in her hands overshadowed even the brightness of the Moon. Romus was speechless, his body rigid. He could not even attempt to escape. Hekate was speaking and Romus heard the goddess’s Davidic voice in his mind.
“You are a disgrace to humanity, Romus. As if your cruelty to women was not enough, you also polluted the very bottom of my nose with your filthy liquid, did you? You have forgotten that there is a punishment for disrespecting the sacred. Women are sacred, as are the goddesses… Human honor is sacred, as is the earth… I am Hekate, the ancient goddess of Anatolia. I am the protector of cities, women, and animals, the lady of the Moon, the owner of the keys that open the doors to the underworld, and I will punish you soon.”
Although Romus wanted to ask for forgiveness from Hekate, he could not. With his legs as rigid as stone, there was no question of escape. When he was surrounded by three shadows emerging from Hekate’s three heads, Romus’ connection with the world and the moonlight that illuminated the surroundings was completely cut off. The goddess had imprisoned him in absolute darkness. No one had seen Romus since that night. Despite all searches, neither his body nor his body could be found. Romus’ female slaves thanked the divine justice that saved them from Romus’ violence every day they lived.
Written by Author Archaeologist Özlem Ertan for the Ephesus Foundation.