The Altar

Passing these statues brings us to the main attraction - the temple's altar. As you can see, the large statue of the goddess Artemis is the real show-stopper here! The bulbs protruding from her chest have been interpreted many different ways; as breasts, eggs, and even the testicles of sacrificial bulls. Of course, the thing that ties these three things together is their link to fertility.

This is the thing that really defines the difference in how Artemis is worshipped here on Ephesus as opposed to on the Greek mainland. Here her cult honors her because of her blessings of fertility. In Athens and the rest of Hellas, she is associated with the hunt and nature.

Although Artemis held a less significant standing in Hellas than in Asia Minor, she was recognized as the virgin moon goddess, eventually displacing the goddess Selene - much in the same manner that Artemis's twin Apollo supplanted the sun god Helios. Artemis was the deity of the hunt, wild animals, healing, the wilderness, chastity, and childbirth. Artwork frequently details the goddess with a bow and a quiver full of arrows. Stags are frequently found at her side as in myths of the goddess. Prior to marriage, young girls were required to abandon their paraphernalia of childhood, including toys and locks of hair, on an altar for Artemis.