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Ephesus Terrace Houses
Houses on the slopes behind
Ephesus are to be seen opposite the Temple of
Hadrian. Those on the upper slopes are reached via steps. They are situated on the slopes of
Bülbül Mountain, with the roof of one house forming the
terrace of that above it. They were inhabited by wealthy
Ephesians, and are finely decorated with mosaics and frescos. Built in the period of
Augustus, they were much altered and continued to be inhabited until the
7th century AD., according to the evidence of excavations. Two of the insulae houses have been totally restored and are now open to the public.
Peristyle House I: This two-storeyed house covers an area of
900 m2. It is a
12-roomed house entered via a flight of steps leading down to a hall (A1 ), to the right of which is another flight of stairs, flanked by a facet and basin, which leads to the other rooms of the house.
A2 is reached via a passageway. It is the courtyard, with four
doric
columns in the corners and paved in
marble. The remains of a fountain can be seen in the northern corner of the court. Beyond this are the halls
A10-11, which have mosaic floors and frescos decorating the walls. The house dates from the 1st century AD, but these two rooms were added in
400 AD. One of these rooms is flanked bya staircase leading up to the upper floor of the house, and beyond that is another chamber decorated with frescos and with a mosaic floor (B7).East of the per style courtyard is a hall with walls 4 m. in height. Situated next to the entrance, this room is decorated with fresco scenes from the plays of
Euripides-namely 'Orestes', to the left and the comedies of
Meander to the right, namely 'Sikyonioi'. It is known as the theatre room because of these frescos. The other walls are decorated with figures, namely the
combat of
Acheloos, the river god, with
Herakles to the left. The frescos in this room, which also has a mosaic floor, must date to the 2nd century AD. The house also possesses a bathroom, to the south of the entrance hall (A.8), with the kitchen flanking it (A.12). Next to this are various small chambers opening onto the flanking
street, and the service entrance. Artifacts found during the course of excavation are displayed in situ.
Peristyle House II: This is beyond the first house. It possesses two peristyles and is larger than the other houses on the insula. First built in the Ist century
AD., it underwent various restorations up to the
7th century. The main
peristyle (B1 ), which possesses columns dating to the 5th century in the
Corinthian order, flanks to the south, a long gallery covered from end to end in black and white
geometric mosaics. Opposite this is a second gallery containing mosaics of
Triton and Nereide. Triton bears in his left hand, the spear of his father
Poseidon, while holding the reigns of the sea horse bearing Nereide in his right hand. These figures are placed before the vaulted open niche (B.6). The latter is paved with black and white marble in a basketwork pattern. Frescos on the walls include the heads of Dionysus and Ariadne framed by medallions, surrounded by trees, peacocks, ducks and cockerels. These mosaics are dated to the
5th century AD., and are in extremely good condition. The vaults are framed to both sides by a fresco frieze depicting Eros figures bearing a garland. Other rooms of various sizes to the east of the house are paved with black and white mosaic patterns and embellished with frescos of birds and floral patterns. The walls of two other rooms (B9 and 10) are decorated with fresco panels of muses, dating to the
4th century. B11-12 is the dining hall. Niches set into the southern wall mark the wash-basins. They contain frescos which were restored in monochrome at a much later period. The kitchen is on the western corner of the house, and is decorated with frescos of fish and birds. The second peristyle (B14) fianks this hall. | |
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Address: Turkmen Mah. Tasonu Evleri
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09400 Kusadasi / Aydin / TURKEY
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