Ephesus-Ephesos-Museum - Vici.org

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Library of Celsus

Statue of Nemesis Roman, c.200 CE, reworking of a type from the early 3rd century BCE, made of marble, found in the debris of the stage building of the Ephesus theatre

The attributes of this statue of a woman dressed in a chiton (undergarment) and a cloak identify her as Nemesis, the goddess of divine retribution: in her right hand she holds a staff, in her left hand - a cornucopia, she also wears the divine crown (polos). Beside her, a gryphon has placed its left front paw on a wheel to symbolise the restless movement. The globe identifies the deity as the ruler of the world, the rudder placed on top of it as the one who guides the universe.

Portrait of a boy Reworked, the 3rd quarter of the 3rd century CE (?), made of marble, found near the Middle Harbour Gate of Ephesus

One half of the head of this portrait of a pensive boy with short straight hair has survived. Presumably, it was originally meant to be inserted into a bust or a statue, but later it was turned into a relief and marked with a cross on the cheek at some time later. Its condition suggests that this happened in antiquity.

Sphinx devouring a boy Roman, 2nd century CE, after a Greek original c.440 BCE, found in the Marble Hall of the Harbour Gymnasium; plaster model of A. Rainbauer, 1959

Archaeologists were able to reconstruct two identical groups depicting a sphinx devouring a boy from over 70 extant fragments that are now in Vienna and London. THe depiction references the myth that a sphinx guarded the entrance to the Greek city of Thebes and would kill travellers unable to solve her riddle.

The model for this group is a detail from the chryselephantine statue of Zeus at Olympia, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Around 440 BCE, the celebrated sculptor Phidias decorated the armrest of Zeus' throne with such a group.

Ideal portrait of the 'Striding Poet' Roman, late 1st century CE, after a Classical original from the 5th century BCE, made of marble, from the Marble Hall of the Harbour Gymnasium in Ephesus

This striking portrait of an old man with short curly hair and a thick beard depicts an anonymous poet who has much in common with the statue of the so-called Striding Poet in the Louvre. This ideal portrait depicts the restlessly roaming singer with the parted lips, a detail informed by portraits of Themistocles and Pindar known from Roman copies. This portrait was presumably part of the original decor of the so-called Marble Hall in the Harbour Gymnasium, dated in an inscription to the late-Flavian period.

Torso of a statue: Apollo Roman, Claudian, mid-1st century CE, made of marble, found in the substructure of the theatre in Ephesus

This statue has been identified as a copy of the Apollo of Antium which shows the deity holding a bow in his lowered left hand. His contrapposto conforms to the canon devised by the Classical sculptor Polykleitos.

Torso of a togate statue

Two herms with the bearded head of a divinity (Hermes?) Roman, 2nd half of the 2nd century CE, made of marble

Left: Ephesus, south-west corner of the late-antique fountain in the front of the Library of Celsus

Right: Ephesus, Atrium Thermarum Constantianarum (Harbour Baths)

Herms are quadrangular columns to which were added a head, male genitals, and often short, rectangular stumps in place of arms. In ancient Greece, they mainly functioned as images of divinity or votive offerings, in the Roman Empire primarily as decorations or supports.

Both herms represent the same type, which reverts back to Greek classicism in motif. Presumably displayed as a pair, they were later reworked: on the left one a groove was added to hold a barrier, turning it into a fence-herm, the right herm was reworked into a console.

Composite pillar capital Roman, 3rd century CE, made of marble, from the Southern Harbour Gate of Ephesus

Direct access to the Mediterranean was crucial for Ephesus' role as a prosperous merchant city, and its harbour was embellished with three splendid arched gateways.

An inscription naming the donor dates the Southern Harbour Gate to c. 216 CE; its complex groundplan offers an elegant solution to a complex architectural problem: it connects the angled façade looking out on the harbour with the recessed, arched main façade facing the city. This explains the rhombic platform of this Composite capital.

Emblema capital Roman, late 1st/early 2nd century CE, made of marble, from the Arcadiane Street in Ephesus

This capital is a good example of the wealth of forms popular during the Roman Empire period: a decorated column neck has been added to an Ionic capital comprising large volutes and bundles of leaves set on the side of the pulvinus. In the early 2nd century CE, this design combining S-shaped voluted flanking an area filled with palmettes and flower buds was frequently used on flat pilaster capitals.

Middle Harbour Gate Roman, reign of Hadrian (mid-2nd century CE), made of marble, stood at Ephesus at the west end of the Arcadiane Street

During the Roman Empire period, visitors arriving at Ephesus by ship entered the city through monumental gateways. One of the metropolis' main arteries was the Arcadiane, which led from the harbour to the city's large theatre. The Middle Harbour Gate, marking the street's western end, was erected during the reign of Emperor Hadrian. The gateway comprised four canopies, each resting on four Ionic columns; a wall connected the canopies with the three arched gates. On its narrow sides, a pillar was placed between the outer columns.

The quality of the gate's architectural decor is outstanding. The Ionic capitals imitate Classical models from the 5th century BCE. These stylistic recourses are most obvious in the pillar- and anta capitals: their side planes are decorated with an acanthus leaf below which grow volutes that develop along the edges before curling up to form the side ends of the profiled cornices of the main façade (egg-and-dart, palmettes, egg-and-dart). Its models are archaic and classical anta capitals like those found in the temple of Apollo at Didyma.

Mosaic emblem Late antique, 6th century CE, made of marble, limestone, glass and brick, from the Late-antique peristyle houses in the Harbour Gymnasium of Ephesus

This exceptional central emblem depicting a cupid driving a chariot (biga) drawn by dolphins across the sea is a rare example of a late-antique mosaic from Ephesus. In addition to local stones, the artist used tesserae made of brick and glass. The emblem originally functioned as the centre of a large floor mosaic that decorated the main public room of a private house in the late-antique metropolis. The 5th and 6th centuries CE were the glory years of these houses erected in the palaestra of the former Harbour Gymnasium at Ephesus, but they were destroyed and abandoned in the early 7th century.

Rotunda from the Panayır Dağ Late-Hellenistic or Roman, 2nd half of the 1st century BCE, made of marble, originally from Panayır Dağ (Pion Hill)

In the late first century BCE, a tower-like monument was erected on the Pion Hill. Its location - both on the hill and within the city - is remarkably prominent and thus it ensured that it could be seen from afar, perhaps even from the ships approaching the harbour.

A two-storey-high central-plan building rises above a square base made of cushioned ashlar; the circular lower storey was enclosed, and the walls of the cella were decorated with twelve half-columns with Doric capitals. Above, a Doric frieze comprising triglyphs rises on the upper storey where the recessed wall is surrounded by a circular columned hall. The entablature featuring a continuous frieze comprising volutes and foliage is surmounted by a low cylindrical parapet.

Both the use of Roman concrete and the unusual, adventurous decor suggest that the building dates from the second half of the first century BCE, i.e. the late Hellenistic period. Its function remains obscure but may be connected to the countless fragments of drinking vessels from the Early Empire, some of them of outstanding quality, found nearby.

Torso of an honorary statue of a citizen Roman, from the 1st half of the 2nd century CE, made of marble, found on the side of the Arcadianne in Ephesus.

Head of Homer Roman, 1st century CE, after an Early-Hellenistic original, made of marble, from Ephesus

The head presumably comes from a herm and represents a type long - but erroneously - identified as the philosopher Appolonius of Tyana. Today, it is regarded as a retrospective portrait of Homer, an identification also supported by ancient coins. The portrait is connected with a statue of Homer once put up in Athens and described as depicting him

Head of a goddess Roman, 1st century CE, after a Greek model from c.460 BCE, made of marble, found in the Marble Hall of the Harbour Gymnasium in Ephesus

This head belongs to the statue of an unidentified goddess; unfortunately none of the extant copies of this type - known as 'Candia' after one of the oldest examples which was discovered on Crete - have retained an attribute that would allow archaeologists to identify her. However, the large number of extant ancient copies suggests that all these statues are based on a well-known Greek model from the Classical period.

Library of Celsus

Street in Ephesos

Ephesos - lapidarium

Abduction of Ganymede Roman, the 2nd century CE, after a Greek original from the 2nd half of the 4th century BCE, made of marble, repurposed in the late-antique fountain set up in front of the Library of Celsus

This fragmented group depicts the abduction of Ganymede, the son of King Tros of Troy (or Dardanos). Clad only in a cloak (chlamys) slung over his shoulder, the handsome youth is kneeling on the rock, but Zeus in the shape of an eagle with outstretched wings and sharp talons bears down on him to whisk him up to Mount Olympus, leaving behind the boy's surprised dog. The tree trunk at the back once functioned as a support for the heavy marble group.

Statue of Antia Julia Polla Portrait statue from the south gate of the lower Agora in Ephesus, which may well depict Antia Julia Polla, sister of the consul C. Antius Aulus Julius Quadratus.

The portrait’s body was found inside the south gate of the lower Agora in 1903, just eight years into the long-term Austrian excavations at Ephesus. The head was found in a debris layer near the same gate and was joined to the body in 1934.

Water damage to the right foot, left hand and shoulders, as well as to the lower mantle hem on the back, suggests that it stood for years in an open air location.29At some point, the face was damaged by a fall or other blows to the eyes, brow, nose, lips and chin (the cheeks remain smooth)—locations suggesting a deliberate attack on the face, and a very different kind of response to the representation of social identity.

The hairstyle dates the statue to the late Trajanic period.30The body replicates the Small Herculaneum Woman type in a way typical of the Trajanic period. The proportions are naturalistic and attention is given to an illusionistic rendering of the drapery lines—but only when seen from a distance. The folds of the mantle at the crook of the right elbow and across the groin, for example, are thick and strongly shadowed, but they are cut into the marble without the detailed, illusionistic effects of fabric overlying body volumes that characterize some very high quality replicas of the earlier Imperial period.

Bronze Statue of an Athlete After sports and competitions in the palestra, the athletes cleaned of oil and dust with the strigilis, a curved scraper. The bronze statue shows a young man, who cleans himself with the lost strigilis with his thumb and forefinger of the left hand. The whole attention of the youth is focussed on this activity. The statue, which has been reconstructed from 234 fragments, was found in the palestra of the Harbour Gymnasium of Ephesus. The statue is a copy from Roman times after a lost original of the later 4th century BCE. The statue can not be attributed to any Greek artist with certainty, but further Roman repetitions in marble and reproductions on clay reliefs and cut stones prove the high degree of popularity of the original.

Bust of an Agonothetes Severian period, early 3rd century CE, made of marble, from the theatre of Ephesus

The bearded man wearing chiton and himation in the fragment of a bust sports a full head of hair and an unusual headdress: a wide 'crown' of ribbons and a wreath of leaves set with a small central bust of a bearded deity. Such 'bust-crowns' identified an agonothetes, a public benefactor - great aristocrats who donated and paid for games for the populace held in honour of the Olympian gods or an emperor.

Torso of a cuirassed statue

Five blocks with a letter from the Emperors Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus From 162/163 CE, made of marble, found in the west facade of the stage building in the theatre.

The fourth block is a copy and the original is in the British Museum in London

This inscription contains the answer sent by Emperors Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus to Ulipius Eurycles, the commissioner of accounts of the gerusia, i.e. the council of the elders of Ephesus. Instead of addressing his query to the proconsul, he had written directly to the emperors, asking if he can:

I. melt down damaged silver statues of earlier emperors to cast portraits of the two rulers;
II. collect partially embezzled funds a second time;
III. reduce or refuse customary referrals.

Portrait of Emperor Hadrian From 120-130 CE, made of marble, from the southern gate of the Tetragonos (Commercial) Agora of Ephesus

The exceptional portrait of Emperor Hadrian was probably commissioned in connection with the statue erected to commemorate the ruler's visit to the city in 123 CE. Hadrian's characteristic hairstyle and beard follow a type named after a head now in the Museo Chiaramonti in the Vatican. The excellent condition of the surface has retained traces of the original polishing.

Head of a citizen Roman, Augustean, last quarter of the first century BCE, made of marble, from Ephesus, repurposed in the Byzantine wall on the Pion Hill (Panayır Dağ)

Depicted turning vigorously to the side, this head of a man aged around fifty was designed to be inserted into a toga statue. It has some distinctive features combining a high forehead and thinning central parting, hollow cheeks, pointy chin, and aquiline nose. Informed by likenesses of Julius Caesar, and the Late Republican's repertoire of virtues, such portraits were very popular; the larger than life statue may depict the owner of one of the villas situated on Panayır Dağ.

Head of Hermes Roman transformation, 2nd century CE, after a Greek original, made of marble, found in 1896 near the propylaea of the Harbour Gymnasium in Ephesus

The wings identify this youthful deity as Hermes, the messenger of the gods, his face is framed by his famous curls. This is the transformation of the head of a statue of Hercules produced by the Greek sculptor Polycleitus in the second half of the 5th century BCE. Although the wings change the figure's identity, and his turned head and the conception of his hairstyle have also been altered, this copy from the early Antonine period clearly references the Classical bronze model.

Bull's Head Capital Roman, early 1st century CE, made of marble, from the Stoa Basilica of the Upper Agora in Ephesus

The capital comes from the stoa (basilica), the large hall on the north side of the Upper Agora. An Ionic capital has been embellished with two protruding bull's heads. There is a structural reason for this change: the bull's heads lengthen the support for the architrave, making it possible to place the columns holding up the roof of the stoa over five meters apart. This is also the reason why the top of the column and the capital are worked from a single block. In addition to their structural function, the bull's heads emphasise the hall's sacred aura, documenting that the basilica also served as a place of worship.

Surroundings:

Wien Michaelerplatz

Plan der Lagervorstadt

Vicus Vindobona

Vicus Vindobona

Infotafel Römerzeit

Römerfiguren am Eingang des Time Travel

Weihealtar für Jupiter

Vindobona Legionslager

Plan des Legionslagers

Handwerker-Verein Weihestein

Stirnziegel mit Legionsadler

Kommandatur

Waffenfries Porta principalis dextra

Wien Hohe Markt

Fundlage Tribunenhäuser

Zeichnung Tribunenhaus

Grabstein

Neptun-Weihestein

Altar des Äskulap

Weihestein eines Sklaven zur Getreideverteilung

Quaderstein

Bauinschrift Legio XIIII Gemina Martia Victrix

Bauinschrift Legio XIII Gemina

Straßengräber Wien

römische Funde aus dem 1.Jahrhundert VOR Chr. in Wien

Zivilstadt

Wandgemälde am Prater Riesenrad

Mithrasaltar

Siedlung Sulzengasse

Museum

Location:

Austria, Vienna
geo:48.205532,16.364786
Location ± 0-5 m.

Class:

Museum
visible

Identifiers:

Annotations

There is no English annotation yet. Presented is an annotation in German.

Ephesos-Museum der Antikensammlung des Kunsthistorischen Museums Wien

http://www.khm.at/besuchen/sammlungen/ephesos-museum/

Adresse: Burgring 5, 1010 Wien

Telefon: 01 525241000

Ephesos-Museum der Antikensammlung des Kunsthistorischen Museums Wien

http://www.khm.at/besuchen/sammlungen/ephesos-museum/

Adresse: Burgring 5, 1010 Wien

Telefon: 01 525241000

http://www.khm.at/en/visit/collections/ephesos-museum/

Nearby

VINDOBONA aqueduct

Aqueduct Wien

Tabula Peutingeriana [Peutinger table]

13th-century copy of an original map dating from the 4th century, covering Europe, parts of Asia (India) and North-Africa. Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Hofburg, Wien

Papyrus Vindobonensis Graecus 39777

late 3rd and 4th century manuscript