Ephesus - The Aegean Coast - Cities and Towns in Turkey - Turkey - Home
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| The Gate of Herakles is dated to the end of the 4th or the beginning of the 5th century. A block adorned with a relief of Nike, the goddess of victory, now located a little further on, originally stood at this gate, which consists of two blocks of stone with a relief depicting the combat of Hercules and the Nemaean lion. On the terrace immediately to the left of the gate there is a four-columned Hellenistic fountain. The reflief work on these pillars dates to the second century C.E. The "gate" was relocated to its present location on the Curetes Street in the fourth century C.E. |
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This is a close-up of the right column.
As you can see, the years have not been kind to Heracles. Only the two
side of the columns remain today and the other parts of it have not been
found. The relief of the flying Nike in the
Domitian Square is thought
to also be a part of this gate.
In these reliefs Heracles was
depicting with the skin of the Nemean lion in mythology. The
Nemean lion had been terrorizing the area around Nemea, and had
a skin so thick that it was impossible to kill it. Finally he
wrestled the lion to the ground, eventually killing it by
thrusting his arm down its throat and choking it to death.
Heracles was the god of power and strength.
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The gate is located at what is
considered to be the beginning of Curetes Street. As you can see
each of the pillars have a two-storied edifice with the lower
storey being a wide arched passageway. In the upper story, there
are six columns in a row. Reliefs of flying Nikes that are found
today in Domitian Square used to be situated at the corners
where the arch joins the pillars with Corinthian capitals. One
of these reliefs and most of the construction fragments have not
yet been found. Hopefully some day they will and can be added to
the gate.
The two centrally located columns at the upper level resemble the lintels of the gate. On these two columns, there are two reliefs of Heracles depicted wrapped in a Nemea lion skin. They are like the caryatids supporting Corinthian capitals and exhibit 2nd century craftsmanship. They were moved here in the 5th century from another location. The Heracles Gate narrowed the access to the street, preventing the passage of vehicles. Therefore, from the Fourth Century onward, the street become a pedestrian area. |
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CLICK HERE for
additional photos of Ephesus
and
HERE for photos of some of the intricate
detail work to be found in Ephesus.
| It is best to visit Ephesus with a good
guide - especially if it is your first visit. Although there are many licensed,
official tour guides, I believe that Can (John) Yigit is one of the best. One of
the main reasons is, not only does he love this place, but he worked here beside
the archeologists when he was in college. And, is very personable. His English
is excellent and he makes the place come alive with his narrative. Contact
information is as follows: Can Yigit Gsm +90 532. 426 63 35 Tel +90 256. 612 83 30 email: guidecan68@yahoo.com P.O. Box 152 09400 Kusadasi / Aydin / Turkey Here
are a couple of comments about John. |
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