Life is the most fundamental experience shaping the culture, values, and daily rituals of societies. In Ephesus, life manifests itself in the streets, marketplaces, homes, and temples; the traces of the past are carried to the present, forming a multi-layered and vibrant cultural fabric of the city.
The ancient city of Ephesus was a significant port city that bridged the East and the West, functioning as a bustling metropolis for over a millennium. Although it witnessed various dominions such as Lydia, Persian, Hellenistic, and Roman through history, the daily life practices of its people were predominantly shaped by Ancient Greek and specifically Roman culture. During the Roman period, Greek and Latin were used as official languages; thus, visitors to the Ephesus ruins today often encounter inscriptions in both languages on columns and monuments. The city was built according to a planned structure: the streets crossed each other at right angles in a grid pattern, and advanced sewer systems and public stone toilets set the standard of comfort for antiquity. Ephesus, alongside its monumental structures, offers a unique stage reflecting the everyday life of the ancient period with its marketplaces, houses, baths, and streets. Below, the elements of daily life ranging from marketplace life to domestic and social life in Ephesus are addressed with their historical contexts and cultural details.
Domestic Life: Housing, Cuisine, and Family Organization
The domestic life of the Ephesians, though varying according to social status and wealth level, generally exhibited typical Roman city characteristics. Houses were usually constructed from stone and brick, having courtyard designs with a privacy-conscious layout with no windows facing the street. The Terraced Houses where wealthy Ephesians resided were notably luxurious. These houses had a central open courtyard (peristyle) around which rooms were arranged. Columned galleries facing the courtyard not only allowed light in but also added an aesthetic beauty to the home. Typically, houses had two floors; the ground floor consisted of the living room, sitting rooms, and dining areas, while the upper floor housed bedrooms and guest rooms. Although the upper floors have been destroyed over time, the surviving ground floor remains reveal the plan of these spaces.
Heating and plumbing were advanced in Ephesian houses. A hypocaust system, similar to the heating systems in city baths, was used in Terraced Houses, which involved underfloor heating systems: hot air circulating through terracotta pipes installed under the floors and in walls could heat the houses in winter. These houses also had faucets connected to hot and cold water and marble-covered bathrooms. Particularly in the homes of affluent families, mosaic floors and wall frescoes depicting mythological scenes were seen; these decorations showcase the luxury and splendor of life in Ephesus. For instance, the Dionysus mosaic unearthed in a Terraced House displays the importance the homeowners placed on art and religion. Such mosaics and paintings are the most significant evidence transferring the aesthetic tastes and decoration understanding of ancient Ephesus to us today.
Banquets and evening dinners in affluent homes also served as social events. Guests were entertained in dining rooms called Triclinium, surrounded on three sides by couches. Music was prominent during meals: guests would sip their wine, accompanied by a flute (auloi) or lyre, and engage in conversations on philosophy, poetry, or urban gossip. Wine was typically diluted with water and sometimes mixed with honey, which is why special mixing bowls (craters) were kept in homes. Slave servants of the household performed table service; in wealthy homes, educated slaves managed the winery and kitchen, serving guests with proper etiquette. While family members sat at the table, servants and slaves generally dined in a separate area or seated on floor cushions. This hierarchical order reflects the interior structure of ancient society.
The daily roles of women and children in domestic life were determined according to the structure of society. In ancient Greek times, women in Ephesus mostly took on domestic roles, with limited public space and educational opportunities. Girls were typically not sent to school; instead, under their mothers' supervision, they learned skills like housework, weaving, and sewing. Boys, however, began schooling at the ages of 6 to 7, learning reading, writing, music, and sports. This changed under Roman rule; girls could attend school alongside boys. During the Roman period in Ephesus, subjects such as history, literature, logic, astronomy, arithmetic, philosophy, and mythology were taught in schools, providing a comprehensive education for children of both genders. At home, mothers were responsible for childcare and household management. Daily tasks such as cleaning, market shopping, and cooking were carried out by women, with these chores often being performed by servants in well-to-do families. The presence of loom parts and needles found in Ephesus indicates that clothing was woven by women at home, meeting the family's clothing needs through domestic production. Women also went to street fountains or wells for their water needs, creating opportunities for social interaction between neighbor women.
The family structure in Ephesian society was under the influence of Roman law. While the father was considered the head of the family, the mother was the central figure managing domestic affairs. The survival of newborns was never certain; with widespread diseases, infant mortality was high. Additionally, in ancient beliefs, there were rights to reject (in a sense, abandon or kill) a newborn with physical deformities considered ominous. In later periods (the crisis and decline years of the Roman Empire), when economic hardships increased incidents of newborns being sold as slaves, the state had to legalize and control this practice. Despite these harsh realities, on an ordinary day in Ephesus, children played games in the streets with wooden toy cars, cloth dolls, or clay balls. The wide streets and temple courtyards served as playgrounds where children could run and have fun. In the evenings, families would take walks around the temple, completing the day with conversations in the small courtyards in front of their homes. The daily life in Ephesus was a rich experience where family warmth and urban vibrancy intertwined.
Baths and the Culture of Cleansing
Baths were indispensable for Ephesians not only for hygiene but also for socializing and relaxing. During the Roman period, baths were one of the most essential parts of daily life and were open morning and evening. Ephesus had several monumental bath complexes such as the Great Bath (Harbor Bath), the Scholastica Bath, and the Varius Bath. These baths featured hot, warm, and cold sections (caldarium, tepidarium, frigidarium), changing rooms, and gymnasium areas. Women and men used the baths at different times of the day: The first seven hours after sunrise, the baths were open for free to women and children; later in the day, men could use the baths by paying a small fee. This practice was part of the regulations introduced by Roman Emperor Caracalla across the empire, creating a bath culture that observed social class and gender balance.
During bath visits, not only was washing done, but also entertainment and conversation were common. Attendants known as masseurs provided massage services, small musical ensembles arranged performances, or storytellers entertained in Ephesian baths. After cleaning themselves in the hot water pools, Ephesians would cool off in the cold pools and then enjoy chatting with friends in the bath gardens accompanied by fruit and wine. An ancient toilet found in the Scholastica Bath reveals an intriguing social practice of the time: these public toilets, consisting of marble seats arranged side by side, were like a meeting point where people continued to converse even while meeting their needs. As Ephesus had a developed sewer infrastructure, these toilets were continuously cleaned with running water, efficiently expelling waste outside the city, thus maintaining high standards of hygiene as per ancient standards.
Another social aspect of the baths was their function as venues for parties and entertainment. Especially on feast days, musical and dance parties would be held in the expansive halls of the baths, with feasts sponsored by wealthy patrons. For example, before the traditional Artemis festival, the public would gather in the baths for purification; after bathing and applying fragrant oils, they would flock to the city’s sacred sites. In all these aspects, the bath culture in Ephesus was central both in terms of bodily cleanliness and social communication.
