Everywhere was under water. The Amazons, the women warriors of the Black Sea, were advancing south on roads that the rain had turned into a sea of mud. They had armor covered with animal skins and weapons in their hands. As the Amazons continued on, they saw that the weather was getting better and thanked the forces of nature, the sky, water, air, mountains and rivers.
The Amazon warrior Smyrna, who had fought in all kinds of wars throughout her life and had knocked down many strong men, was looking at the view that opened up in front of them with admiration. She loved the lush green Black Sea coast where she was born and raised, but she also knew that life in the Black Sea was difficult. The Black Sea was a place where harsh storms and heavy rains were not absent and nature did not always show mercy to people. However, it was easy to live in this new and beautiful land they had reached at the end of a long and arduous journey.
When they came to a hill full of pine trees with a waveless sea at its foot, the idea of establishing a new city near that hill came to the mind of the Amazon warrior Smyrna and she did not hesitate to share this idea with the other Amazon women. So what would the Mother Goddess, who was nature itself, say about this? While the Amazons were discussing this issue among themselves, they noticed with astonishment the deer that approached them. The deer that was walking slowly past them was trying to tell them something. It stopped every few steps and looked at the Amazons. It was obvious that the deer wanted to say to the warrior women, “Follow me.”
The Amazons followed the deer and landed on a lush, green and flat area. The deer circled around them and finally stopped in one place and stamped its feet on the ground. It was obvious that this deer was the messenger of the Mother Goddess, or maybe it was her, and she wanted the Amazons to establish their new city right there.
The Amazons respectfully greeted the deer and immediately started building the temple of the goddess. They decided to establish their city around the sacred area they had dedicated to the goddess. The deer never left the Amazons’ side until the temple was finished. He was there when the Amazons erected two wooden columns at the entrance of the rectangular temple they had made of wood. When the construction was finished and a small statue of the goddess was placed inside the temple, the deer was right next to the Amazons. When everything was over, the deer left the temple smiling and went into the forest.
The place where the Amazons built the temple would later be called Ephesus, Ephesus and Ephesus, respectively. The name of the Mother Goddess, who was nature itself and the protector of animals, plants and cities, would also be Artemis. The deer that showed the Amazons Ephesus would be known as the sacred animal and symbol of Artemis from that day on. In fact, the Mother Goddess had existed since eternity. Because she was the earth, the forest, all of nature. Only her name changed, she herself remained the same. Some called her Kybele, some Artemis or Hekate, some Demeter…
The powerful women of Anatolia, the Amazons, founded other cities in Western Anatolia in the name of the goddess. At the suggestion of the Amazon warrior Smyrna, they named one of the cities founded after her. Smyrna… Beautiful Smyrna. Smyrna, which would later be called Izmir… How many thousands of years have passed, but the Amazon legends have not left these lands. Just like Artemis, the Amazons have continued to live in legends, myths, the books of ancient writers and the collective memory of humanity.
NOTE: In his work ‘Geographika’, the ancient geographer Strabon wrote that an Amazon named Smyrna founded the city of Ephesus (Ephesus). According to Strabon, Smyrna, or Izmir, was founded by the same person and took its name from him.
Written by Author Archaeologist Özlem Ertan for the Ephesus Foundation.