He was a young and magnificent man. He had such unwavering self-confidence that when viewed from afar, he looked like one of the Olympian gods. The ground shook under his sandaled feet, and people bowed before him.
That impressive man was Alexander the Great, King of Macedonia. As he walked through the streets of Ephesus, under the admiration and fearful gazes of the city’s inhabitants, he thought about the great empire he dreamed of establishing. He was determined, he would gather all the Hellenes under the roof of his kingdom and cleanse Anatolia of the Persians. Then he would conquer the entire east. Hadn’t he set out from Macedonia for this?
Alexander the Great watched the well-maintained streets and temples of Ephesus with a smile. Until he reached the Temple of Artemis, which was still under construction… Alexander was welcomed by the priests of Artemis, the great mother of Ephesus. All of them respectfully greeted Alexander, whose star was rising day by day.
Alexander the Great of Macedonia had heard from those who had seen the unique beauty of the old temple of Artemis, which had been burned down on the very night of his birth. What would the new one built in its place be like? In fact, a great deal of progress had been made in the construction of the temple, and the main axis of the structure had already emerged. The goddess’s statue had been placed in the sacred room and the temple had begun to be used, but there was still much work to be done. While touring the temple, Alexander had a great idea. He immediately turned to the head priest and proudly said that he wanted to undertake the construction costs of the temple so that it could be completed in the most beautiful way. His intention was to go down in history as the king who had the temple of Artemis rebuilt and to ensure that Ephesus, the most beautiful city in Anatolia, would always be grateful to him.
The head priest of the temple of Artemis, known as Megabyzos, was a clever man and was aware that directly rejecting Alexander’s generous offer would have negative consequences. On the other hand, he did not want to humiliate the people of Ephesus by granting such an honor to a foreign king who had come all the way from Macedonia. So, what would he do? The powerful king in front of him was looking at the priest with questioning eyes and waiting for a positive answer. After a minute of silence that seemed like years, the priest found what to say to the king. Everyone knew that Alexander the Great considered himself a superhuman, even a divine being. This characteristic of Alexander was what inspired the priest of Artemis.
“You are very generous, sir. We, the people of Ephesus, will always be grateful to you. However, you are not an ordinary king. You are also a god,” said the priest, and when he saw Alexander smiling proudly as he listened to him, he continued his words: “You know very well that it is not appropriate for a god to build a temple for another god. We, the people of Ephesus, would never allow anyone to doubt your divine power. Therefore, it is much more appropriate for our goddess’s new temple to be built with the means of the people of Ephesus.”
Although Alexander did not like what he heard, he remained silent. If the priest had objected, he would have renounced his claim to divinity. The great mother of Ephesus, the ruler of nature, bid farewell to the priests and priestesses of Artemis and set off on the road again. Alexander’s dreams and passion were so great that he soon forgot how the priest of Ephesus outwitted him. His entire being was filled with dreams of the great world empire he would establish. He would realize his dreams at all costs. Being a god required this.
Written by Author Archaeologist Özlem Ertan for the Ephesus Foundation.