Upper Agora

Ephesus


This large square measuring 58m by 170m, and used for legislation and local political talk, was flanked by grand columns and filled with polished marble. More or less in the middle was the small Temple of Isis – testament to the cultural and trade connections between Ephesus and Alexandria in Egypt.

The agora's columns would later be reused for a Christian basilica on the agora's northeastern edge, which was a typically Byzantine three-nave structure with a wooden roof. From here, there are several archways in the distance, once food-storage houses.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Ephesus attractions

1. Temple of Isis

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Objects discovered in this small temple in the Upper Agora suggested that it was dedicated to the Egyptian goddess Isis.

2. Necropolis

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Site of a necropolis dating to the 6th century BC which was later covered by the upper (or state) agora.

3. Prytaneum

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Two of six original Doric columns mark the entrance to the ruined Prytaneum, one of the most important civic structures in Ephesus. Within and dedicated…

4. Temple of Hestia

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The Prytaneum hosted this shrine, where the city's eternal flame was tended by vestal virgins, and was fronted by a giant statue of Artemis, now in the…

5. Odeon

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Built around AD 150, this once-lavish 1400-seat theatre boasts marble seats with lions' paws and other carved ornamentation. It was used primarily for…

6. Pollio Fountain

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Backing onto the Upper Agora, this fountain honouring the builder of a nearby aqueduct hints at the lavish nature of ancient Ephesus' fountains, most of…

7. Asclepion

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A side road called Sacred St running along the western edge of the Upper Agora led to the Asclepion, the medical centre of Ephesus. Protected by the god…

8. Temple of Domitian

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This ruined temple recalls Domitian (r AD 81–96), the tyrant as evil as Nero who banished St John to Patmos (where the evangelist wrote the Book of…