Artemis Sardiane

The Sardis Artemis Sanctuary

“Sardis”; ruins of the Temple of Artemis, Sardis, ca. 1830–35, looking west; brown wash and pencil on paper, 24.9 x 29.4 cm., Fikret Yegül, London, Victoria and Albert Museum

Stele with Artemis, Cybele, and Two Worshippers

Ca. 400 BC, Late Lydian (Persian)
In Sardis, Artemis was closely associated with Cybele, an ancient Anatolian mother goddess. Cybele was revered as the mother of gods and was linked to fertility, mountains, and wild animals. The inhabitants of Sardis often merged the worship of Artemis and Cybele, seeing them as complementary deities. This blending of beliefs highlighted the syncretism common in ancient religions, where deities from different cultures were integrated into a cohesive worship practice.

Sardes, Lydia, Late 2nd - 1st Century B.C.

Sardis minted the first coins. Artemis right, wearing stephane, bow and quiver at shoulder; reverse Athena standing left, helmeted in long girdled chiton, with Nike carrying wreath in her right hand, while her left rests on grounded shield, ΣAPΔIANΩN downwards behind, uncertain magistrate's name downwards in two lines below Athena's right arm

Stone idol: A Star Gazer: Ca. 2700-2000 BC,
Early Bronze Age

Perhaps eariler cultures florished there and venerated the divine feminine.

Enthroned Mother of
the Gods (Cybele),
2nd or 3rd C. AD, Roman

Cybele is enthroned and seated between two lions. The arched recess in which she sits suggests a shrine. The transparent cloth reveals her navel and the shape of her breasts. The feet and lower part of the chiton show beneath it. A heavy fold or strap also falls over her shoulder. On her head the goddess wears a polos. The arms are both brought forward; her hand rests on the head of a lion.

Cybele, Artemis, and Demeter were all worshipped there

540-530 BC, Late Lydian (Persian), Cybele is enthroned and seated between two lions. The arched recess in which she sits suggests a shrine. She wears a high-girt chiton with a V-neck. The transparent cloth reveals her navel and the shape of her breasts. A heavier cloth himation is draped over her l. shoulder and arm and comes around her back to fall in a thick fold across her lap and knees. The feet and lower part of the chiton show beneath it.

Lebes with lions and other creatures, 600-570 BC, Lydian

Many treasure found at the site over the years.

Artemis Temple in Sardis

Library of Celsus in Ephesus

The city of Ephesus was rediscovered through archaeological efforts that began in 1863 when British engineer John Turtle Wood started searching for the Temple of Artemis.

Hadrian Temple of Ephesus

The Terrace Villas of the Entitled Class

Temple of Hadrian Restored

Ephesus unveils rich Anatolian history with ongoing excavations and restoration projects

2,300-year-old iconic Ephesus Theatre

The archetypal und archaic Anatolian goddess, Cybele, was revered not only throughout Anatolia but also on the neighboring (modern day) Greek islands.

Evidence of her cult can still be seen today in the cave formations and niches carved into hillsides. Her great gift to humanity is the mystery of rebirth.

Many of these caves symbolize the birth canal and end in womb-like forms. On the island of Samos, for example, one enters the caves as if stepping back into the darkness of the womb—not of a biological mother and father, but of the Great Goddess of eternity.

During our journey through Anatolia, we will visit many such places—caves and rock niches where Cybele was likely venerated long before the appearance and unveiling of the many goddesses who later emerged in human consciousness, in our hearts and in our souls.