It was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World - so why was it destroyed three times?

Older and much larger than the Parthenon, this white marble structure in modern-day Turkey became a model for ancient Greek temples - but its history is far from peaceful.

When ancient travelers to the Mediterranean rim came up with a list of must-see architectural wonders, compiled into the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the landmark that always made the cut was the Temple of Artemis.

One such traveler, the second-century B.C. poet Antipater of Sidon, went so far as to say: "I saw the high wall of Babylon, in which is a road for chariots, and the statue of Zeus by Alpheus, and the hanging gardens, and the giant of the sun, and the great work of the high house, and the great house of Mambus, and the house of Mambos. Artemis riding on the clouds, those other wonders lost their luster, and "Now," said I, "the sun never looked so great, save Olympus."

At its largest, the Temple of Artemis or Artemisium stood high above the landscape of Ephesus, in modern-day Seljuk, Türkiye, about twice the size of the Parthenon in Athens. A total of 127 columns were arranged in two rows along the four sides, many decorated with artwork depicting scenes from Greek mythology, and an inner chamber in the center housed a statue of the goddess Artemis.

Artemis was the Greek goddess of hunting and wild animals, as well as chastity and childbirth. The twin sister of Apollo, she was usually depicted as a young girl carrying a bow and arrow and wearing a short dress so she could run through the forests during her hunt.

However, in Ephesus, Artemis was worshiped mostly for her role in childbirth, and her image differed from the typical Greek image as it contained elements from other cultures. More of a maternal figure, her statue in the Great Temple had oval objects across the torso, thought to represent breasts or ovules as symbols of fertility.

Long before Antipater of Sidon laid eyes on the magnificent structure that was the Temple of Artemis in the second century BC, the site had already seen two previous attempts at a temple. The first dates back to the 8th century BC, created by the Amazons, according to legend, before being damaged in a flood.

Around 550 BC, Croesus, king of Lydia and conqueror of Ephesus, ordered the construction of a large marble temple to honor Artemis. Designed and built by the architect Chrysephron and his son Metagenes, it became the model for Ionic temples throughout the Hellenistic world.

If it weren't for a man named Herostratus, this second temple would probably have been the version listed as the Seven Wonders. He burned it in 356 BC for no reason other than a desire for fame. He got his wish, but at the cost of his life.

Traditionally, the destruction of the Temple by Herostratus took place on the same day as Alexander the Great's birthday. It was even said that Artemis was distracted by this historical event and did not see the fire until it was too late. Alexander visited Ephesus as a man and offered to pay for the rebuilding of the temple, but he refused. The Ephesians argued that it is not right for one god to give such a gift to another.

When was the final destruction of the temple?

Instead, they themselves paid to build the third and most impressive version of the Temple of Artemis. It stood for about 600 years until its final destruction at the hands of the East German Goths in the 3rd century. The temple fell into disuse until its official closure with the persecution of pagan Christian beliefs.

The ruins of the temple, which had been lost for centuries, were discovered in 1869 by the British archaeologist John Tortoise Wood. Further excavations began in 1904 by David George Hogarth. Today, the only part of the temple that is still standing is a single, reconstructed pillar.

Johnny Wilkes is a former writer for BBC History Revealed and continues to write for the magazine and HistoryExtra. He holds a BA in History from York University.