The Prytaneion in Ephesus Ancient City was built in the north of the Ephesus state agora in the last ten years BC. Although it is more comprehensive, we can call Prytanion today’s town halls. So that religious ceremonies, official receptions, and banquets were held in Prytaneion in Ephesus.
However, today’s Prytaneion in Ephesus, built during the period of Emperor Augustus, has a plan that became complex for the first time in late antiquity. A forecourt in the form of a triporticus in the Ionic order, which can be completed with 14 columns, measuring 18.40 × 21.65 m, is reached through the main entrance in the south of the building. In the middle of the courtyard, there is a foundation that has served as the pedestal for the Great Artemis Statue since the Trajan period.
The sacred flame symbolizing the heart of Ephesus in the Temple of Hestia, which was a part of the Prytaneion in Ephesus, was constantly burning. There are four columns in front of the four-cornered pit where the eternal flame of Hestia burns.
The eternal flame was here in the middle of the ceremonial hall, the red color on the floor determined the location of the flame. Towards the back was a large space with a wooden roof, the base of an altar can still be seen today. Beyond these columns was a courtyard surrounded by a portico. In the north, there is the center of the building, the ceremonial hall, and the side rooms.
Double columns at the corners of the hall lifted the wooden roof. During the excavations, archaeologists found 2 statues of Artemis (The Great Artemis and Beautiful Artemis), now exhibited in the Ephesus Archaeology Museum. We strongly recommend our guests during our Private Ephesus Tours to see these beautiful statues.
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