Ephesus Archaeological Museum

The Ephesus Archaeological Museum (Turkish: Efes Müzesi) is an archaeological museum located in Selçuk, İzmir Province, in western Turkey. Established in 1964, it houses finds from the nearby ancient city of Ephesus, one of the most important archaeological sites of the classical world. The museum is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious museums in Turkey and serves as the primary repository for materials excavated at Ephesus, which was a major center of Greek, Hellenistic, and Roman civilization. Its best-known exhibit is the ancient statue of the Greek goddess Artemis retrieved from the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus.

The history of the museum is closely tied to the international history of excavation at Ephesus. Austrian archaeologists from the Austrian Archaeological Institute began excavating at Ephesus in 1895, with interruptions during the two World Wars. Early finds were taken to Vienna, where they remain in the Ephesos Museum, while British archaeologists also conducted research at the site, with some materials going to the British Museum. The Turkish Antiquities Law (Asar-ı Atika Nizamnâmesi) of 1906 prohibited the export of archaeological relics from Turkey, ensuring that subsequent finds remained in the country. In 1929, an antiquities depot was established in Selçuk to store newly excavated materials. Due to the growing volume of finds, a new building was constructed and inaugurated in 1964, with further expansions in 1976. The museum closed at the end of 2012 for extensive renovations and reopened in November 2014. There has also been a significant effort to repatriate artefacts taken out of the country in earlier periods.

The museum holds approximately 50,000 to 64,000 objects, spanning from the fourth millennium B.C. to modern times, with particular strength in the classical antiquity and medieval periods. The collection is divided into two departments: archaeology and ethnography. Unlike many archaeological museums that organize displays by people or epoch, the Ephesus Museum arranges its exhibits thematically and by findspot, reflecting that nearly all items originate from the same site. The archaeological holdings include materials from the Hellenistic, Roman, and Early Christian periods, as well as items from Çukuriçi Höyük, the Basilica of St. John, and the Temple of Artemis. The ethnographic department was reorganized in 1995 following the restoration of the Saadet-Hatun-Hammam, a Turkish bath in the western part of the museum complex, which had been restored in 1972. Due to space constraints, some pieces are now displayed in situ at the excavation site rather than in the museum.

The museum's most celebrated exhibits are the three statues of the Ephesian Artemis displayed in the Artemis Hall. These include a headless Artemis and two Roman marble copies of the wooden cult image that stood in the Temple of Artemis. The larger, known as the Colossal Artemis, stands 3.20 meters high and wears an elaborately decorated belt featuring lions, bulls, and griffins on its lower portion. The chest pendant, interpreted as a fertility symbol, remains a subject of scholarly debate regarding whether it represents breasts, eggs, or bull testicles. The third statue, the Beautiful Artemis, is accompanied by two deer. These features, along with mythical animals and zodiac signs on the garment, demonstrate that the Ephesian Artemis represents a transitional form from the Phrygian mother goddess Cybele to the Greek and later Roman goddess. Other significant works include the Polyphemus Group from the first century A.D., originally from the pediment of the Isis Temple and later placed at the Pollio Nymphaeum, depicting Odysseus and his companions preparing to blind Polyphemus. The Emperor Cults Hall contains a monumental head of Domitian, estimated to have belonged to a seven-meter statue, along with busts of Augustus and Livia. The hall also holds original parts of the frieze from the Temple of Hadrian, showing the founding myth of Ephesus, a ceremonial procession of Dionysus, and Theseus fighting Amazons. The New Finds Hall features an ivory frieze painstakingly reconstructed from fragments found in a terrace house, depicting Emperor Trajan's campaign against the Parthians in lifelike detail, as well as a well-preserved bust of Marcus Aurelius found hidden in a residential building. The Grave Findings Hall contains Mycenaean grave vessels from the 14th-13th centuries B.C., the oldest items in the museum, discovered during roadwork in front of the Church of St. John, alongside colored glass vessels and grave stelae. The Terrace Houses Findings Hall includes a bronze Eros on a dolphin from the second century A.D., an Egyptian priest from the seventh century B.C., a marble head of Socrates from the first century A.D., and an marble head of Attis, along with frescoes and mosaic fragments.

The museum is situated in Selçuk, the modern town near the ancient site of Ephesus in İzmir Province. The building was constructed to replace the 1929 depot and was inaugurated in 1964, with expansions in 1976. The complex includes exhibition halls arranged around a Great Courtyard and a Small Courtyard. The specific halls are: the Terrace Houses Findings Hall, Fountain Findings Hall, New Findings and Small Findings Hall, Grave Findings Hall, Artemis of Ephesus Hall, and Emperor Cults Hall. The outdoor area contains the so-called Muses Sarcophagus from the necropolis of Ephesus, a sundial from Claros, various capitals, architectural fragments from the nearby Belevi Mausoleum, and grave stelae from various periods. A reconstruction of the Polyphemus frieze is also displayed in the garden. The ethnographic section occupies the restored Saadet-Hatun-Hammam in the western part of the complex.

The Ephesus Archaeological Museum is located in Selçuk, İzmir Province, Turkey, near the ancient city of Ephesus. It is owned and operated by the Turkish state, with information available through its official website at http://www.muze.gov.tr/ephesus. The museum reopened in November 2014 after extensive renovations that began with its closure at the end of 2012. Its present role is as a major cultural institution and tourist destination, serving as the primary museum for one of Turkey's most visited archaeological sites. The museum's collections are complemented by significant holdings of Ephesus materials in other institutions, including the Ephesos Museum in Vienna, the British Museum in London, and the archaeological museums of Istanbul and İzmir.