Aleksandros’s heartbeat was so fast and loud that it could compete with the drums played in secret rituals. Aleksandros felt the blood rushing into his veins all over his body, and he locked eyes with Kassandra. The sparkle in Kassandra’s eyes, in the spring of her sixteenth year, was hidden behind a cloud of sadness. She still could not believe that Aleksandros, with whom she had dreams of sharing her life, would soon become a priest of the Goddess Artemis. The night before, when they were alone for the last time, she had asked Aleksandros, “Why did you decide to become a priest of Artemis? Didn’t you ever love me?” Aleksandros, whose eyes filled with tears, bowed his head and said, “You know I loved her very much, but that is what Artemis wants. She comes into my dreams at night. During the day, I see her in the mountains and on the ground. She calls me.”
What mortal could resist the will of Artemis, the great goddess of Ephesus, who was the epitome of mountains, plains, wildlife, and in short, nature itself? So Artemis also loved the handsome and young Alexander and wanted him for herself. What could be done?
When the drumbeat was heard, inviting Alexander to join the priests of Artemis, Kassandra followed her lover into the temple garden, risking the wrath of the goddess. The huge temple in the center of the well-kept garden was of extraordinary beauty with its marble steps, columns of unique workmanship and carved facade. Young Alexander advanced to the ritual area indicated by the head priest of Artemis, known as Megabyzos, accompanied by the wild drumbeats. Kassandra, on the other hand, took refuge in a secluded corner and waited for the ceremony that would separate her from her lover forever to begin.
When the drumbeats that announced the beginning of the ceremony were mixed with the sounds of lyres, flutes and pipes, the head priest came to the center of the ritual area and signaled Alexander to approach. Aleksandros, who was advancing on the path opened by the other priests, was like a sublime messenger from the skies with his clothes fluttering in the blowing wind. When the head priest and the candidate came together, time stopped, the wind stopped blowing and fell into silence. Only the drums, Aleksandros’ heartbeat and the priests’ drums could be heard. Aleksandros was cut off from time and space by the effect of the environment he was in. His will was completely under the command of Artemis and Megabyzos.
The old man, who bore the title Megabyzos given to the head priests of Artemis and whose real name no one remembered, ordered Aleksandros to undress and cut his manhood with a silver dagger. The young Aleksandros’ manhood was now like a worm writhing in the soil of the Mother Goddess. While the soil was drinking the blood flowing from Aleksandros’ groin to its heart’s content, Kassandra lost consciousness and fell to the ground.
Aleksandros, on the other hand, came out of his hypnosis state due to the pain he felt and looked at his manhood writhing on the ground. In order to get rid of his feeling of terror, he tried to bring Kassandra’s smiling face to his mind. He was aware that his life force was being drained by the soil just like his blood. His head was spinning, his stomach was queasy. When he had no strength left to stand, his naked body met the goddess. The last voice Aleksandros heard as he left this world was Megabyzos’s:
“I think his heart stopped. The goddess will take him into her womb as well. Sometimes our goddess takes not only the manhood of those she calls to be her priests but also their entire bodies. I don’t know why? The wisdom of Artemis, the great goddess of Ephesus, cannot be questioned.”
Written by Author Archaeologist Özlem Ertan for the Ephesus Foundation.