Inside Ephesus - 2

There are two other important gates into the agora on the west and north. The western gate was ornately decorated and had many columns. There is no information about the other gate. The agora was 111 m one each side, built first in the 3rd century BC. Its final form being given in the time of the emperor Caracalla (211-217 AD).

The "Sacred Road" along Mt. Panayir is called the "Marble Street" between the Celsus Library to the Grand Theater. It was paved with large, smooth marble blocks. Like the Curates' Avenue, the western edge was lined with a porch that was two meters high in the time of Nero (54-68 AD).

The theater was first built in the time of Lysimachus, taking advantage of the natural slope of Mt. Panayir.
As with other ancient theaters, there are three main sections, which are the scene, the orchestra, and the seating area. The most beautiful part was the 18-meter building that made up the scene area.

The second floor of the scene structure has been preserved, revealing a different plan than that of the first floor. There was a long corridor in the center with five doors opening onto the proscene and two rows of rooms on the western side. The semicircular orchestra was 34 m in width.

All the performers were male. As can be seen in the frescoes in the hillside houses, the actors used masks while performing. There were also meetings held here for the citizens of Ephesus.

At the right-hand corner of the theater facing the street was a small but beautiful fountain that had two columns with Ionic capitals and a small pool. Water came into the pool from two lion heads. It was built in the 2nd century AD and two shabby columns were added in the 4th century.

This was built during Roman times, perhaps at the beginning of the 2nd century AD, however only the palaestra has been uncovered. The other sections have been partially excavated, revealing a lovely plan. On the north of the 30 by 70 m palaestra, instead of a stoa there are steps that were used as a sitting area.

The avenue from the theater to the harbor was called the Arcadian Avenue. Arcadius the son of the emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire, Theodosius (395-408), erected an inscription upon restoring the avenue to its present condition, hence the name of the avenue. The avenue is 500 m long and 11 m wide.

In the middle of Arcadian Avenue was a four-column monument to four of the apostles, with a statue of each.

To the north of the stadium was a large structure, which was a gymnasium built by two well-known Vedius families in Ephesus, P. Vedius Antonius and his wife Flavia Papiana. It was dedicated to Artemis and to a close family friend, Emperor Antonius Pius (138-161 AD).