Herostratus: biography. Why did Herostratus burn the temple of Artemis of Ephesus? Who is Herostratus and what is he known for?

There has long been confusion with the Temple of Artemis of Ephesus, and therefore it is not entirely clear which of these temples we are talking about: the last one or the penultimate one? For a long time, authors writing about this wonder of the world have an inaccurate idea of ​​what Herostratus burned and what Hersifron built. The Temple of Artemis was built many times. But the early wooden buildings fell into disrepair, burned down or were destroyed by the frequent earthquakes here, and therefore in the middle of the 6th century BC it was decided to build a new one. The project of the famous Hersifron was recognized as the best. He proposed to build a temple of marble, and according to the then rare principle of the ionic diptera, that is, to surround it with two rows of marble columns.

The sad experience of previous construction in Ephesus forced the architect to think about how to ensure a long life for the temple. The decision was bold and unconventional: to build the temple in a swamp near the river. Hersifron reasoned that the soft, marshy soil would serve as a shock absorber for future earthquakes. And so that the marble colossus would not sink into the ground under its weight, a deep pit was dug, which was filled with a mixture of charcoal and wool - a cushion several meters thick. This pillow actually met the architect's hopes and ensured the longevity of the temple. True, not this one, but another...

Obviously, the construction of the temple was a complete engineering puzzle, as there is information about in ancient sources. Not to mention the calculations that had to be carried out in order to be confident in such an unorthodox foundation; it was necessary to solve, for example, the problem of delivering multi-ton columns through a swamp. Whatever carts the builders designed, they inexorably bogged down under the weight of the load. Hersifron found a brilliantly simple solution. Metal rods were driven into the ends of the column trunks, and wooden bushings were put on them, from which shafts went to the bulls. The columns turned into rollers and wheels, obediently rolling behind teams of dozens of pairs of oxen. How it was decorated, what kind of statues stood in it and what kind of frescoes and paintings there were, what the statue of Artemis itself looked like, we don’t know. And it is better not to believe those authors who describe in detail the decoration of the temple, its carved columns created by the wonderful sculptor Skopas, the statue of Artemis, and so on. This has nothing to do with the described temple. Everything that Hersiphron and his successors did disappeared because of Herostratus.

The story of Herostratus is perhaps one of the most instructive parables in the history of our planet. An unremarkable man decides to achieve immortality by committing a crime the likes of which no one has ever committed (at least if we consider that Herostratus did without the help of an army, priests, coercive apparatus and executioners). It is for the sake of glory, for the sake of immortality, that he burns the temple of Artemis, which stood for less than a hundred years. This happened in 356 BC. By the way, exactly on the day when Alexander the Great was born.

The wooden parts of the temple, dried by the sun, grain reserves dumped in its basements, offerings, paintings and clothes of the priests - all this turned out to be excellent food for the fire. The ceiling beams burst with a crash, the columns fell and splintered - the temple ceased to exist.

And so the compatriots of Herostratus are faced with a problem: what terrible execution can the scoundrel come up with so that no one else has such an idea?

Perhaps, if the Ephesians had not been gifted with a rich imagination, if there had not been philosophers and poets there who puzzled over this problem and felt a responsibility to future generations, Herostratus would have been executed, and that would have been the end of it. A few more years, ordinary people would have said: “There was one madman who burned down our beautiful temple... just what was his name, God forbid... And we would have forgotten Herostratus.

But the Ephesians decided to put an end to Herostratus’ claims with one blow and made a tragic mistake. They decided to forget Herostratus. Not to mention his name anywhere and never is to punish with oblivion a man who dreamed of immortal glory.

The gods laughed at the wise Ephesians. All over Ionia, in Hellas, in Egypt, in Persia - everywhere people said: “Do you know what amazing execution they came up with in Ephesus for this arsonist? Now he will be forgotten forever. No one will know his name. By the way, what was his name? Herostratus? Yes, we will definitely forget this Herostratus."

And, of course, we didn’t forget. And the Ephesians decided to build the temple again. This temple was recognized as a wonder of the world, although perhaps the first one, built by Chersiphon, had more grounds for this title. Inside the temple was decorated with wonderful statues by Praxiteles and Scopas, but the paintings of this temple were even more magnificent.

In our imagination, Greek ancient art is first of all sculpture, then architecture. But we know almost nothing about Greek painting, with the exception of a few frescoes. But painting existed, was widespread, highly valued by contemporaries and, if you believe the reviews of connoisseurs who cannot be suspected of ignorance, often surpassed sculpture. It can be assumed that the painting of Hellas and Ionia, which has not survived to this day, is one of the greatest and most bitter losses that world art has had to suffer. The calculations of the architects who built the temple in the swamp turned out to be accurate. The temple stood for another half a millennium. The Romans highly valued him and contributed to his fame and wealth with rich gifts. It is known that Vibius Salutarius donated to the temple, better known in the Roman Empire as the Temple of Diana, many gold and silver statues, which on major holidays were taken to the theater for public viewing.

The glory of the temple was largely the reason for its destruction during early Christianity. Ephesus remained a stronghold of the pagans for a long time: Artemis did not want to cede glory and wealth to the new god. They say that the Ephesians expelled the Apostle Paul and his supporters from their city. Such sins could not go unpunished. The new god sent the Goths to Ephesus, who plundered the sanctuary of Artemis in 263. The strengthened Christianity continued to hate the empty temple. Preachers raised crowds of fanatics against this personification of the past, but the temple still stood.

When Ephesus came under the rule of Christian Byzantium, the next stage of its destruction began. The marble cladding from it began to be taken away for various buildings, the roof was also dismantled, and the unity of the structure was destroyed. And when the columns began to fall, their debris was sucked into the same swamp that saved the temple from destruction earlier. And a few decades later, the last traces of the best temple of Ionia disappeared under the slurry and sediment of the river. Even the place where he stood was gradually forgotten.

It took the English archaeologist Voodoo many months to find traces of the temple. On October 31, 1869, he got lucky. The foundation of the temple was completely uncovered only in our century. And under it are traces of the temple burned by Herostratus.

(Herostratus, Ηρόστρατος). Destroyer of the Ephesian Temple of Artemis in order to become famous (356 BC). Indeed, history has preserved his name.

View value Herostratus in other dictionaries

Herostratus* M.- 1. The name of the Greek who - in order to immortalize his name - in 356 BC. burned the Temple of Artemis of Ephesus (considered one of the seven wonders of the world). 2. Usage as a symbol of a person ready......
Explanatory Dictionary by Efremova

Herostratus- -A; m. [Greek Herostratos] [capitalized]
◊ Laurels, glory to Herostratus. He who seeks glory and fame at any cost does not stop at senseless destruction........
Kuznetsov's Explanatory Dictionary

Herostratus- Greek from the city of Ephesus (M. Asia), burned in 356 BC. e., to immortalize its name, the Temple of Artemis of Ephesus (one of the 7 wonders of the world). In a figurative sense, he is an ambitious man who seeks fame at any cost.
Large encyclopedic dictionary

Herostratus- - According to legend, he set fire to the famous Temple of Diana in Ephesus (356 BC) in order to immortalize his name. In a common sense, this name refers to a person who strives........
Historical Dictionary

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The meaning of the word herostratus

herostratus in the crossword dictionary

New explanatory dictionary of the Russian language, T. F. Efremova.

herostratus

The name of a Greek who - in order to immortalize his name - in 356 BC. burned the Temple of Artemis of Ephesus (considered one of the seven wonders of the world).

Usage as a symbol of a person who is ready - to go down in history, to achieve fame - to do something. reprehensible, even by destroying or destroying smth.

Encyclopedic Dictionary, 1998

herostratus

Greek from Ephesus (M. Asia), burned in 356 BC. e., to immortalize its name, the Temple of Artemis of Ephesus (one of the 7 wonders of the world). In a figurative sense, he is an ambitious man who seeks fame at any cost.

Herostratus

(Herostratos) (years of birth and death unknown), a Greek from the city of Ephesus (M. Asia), who burned in 356 BC. e. the temple of Artemis of Ephesus (considered one of the 7 wonders of the world), in order to immortalize its name. According to legend, the temple burned down on the night of the birth of Alexander the Great. By decision of the inhabitants of the Ionian cities, the name of G. was consigned to eternal oblivion, but the ancient Greek historian Theopompus (4th century BC) mentions it. The name G. has acquired a common meaning; it is used to describe ambitious people who seek fame at any cost.

Wikipedia

Herostratus

Herostratus- a resident of the Greek city of Ephesus (now the territory of Turkey), who burned the famous Temple of Artemis in his hometown in the summer of 356 BC. e.

According to the story of Theopompus (as reported by Valery Maxim), Herostratus confessed during torture that he set fire to the temple so that his name would be remembered by his descendants. The Ephesians sentenced him to death and decreed that his name should never be mentioned. However, the ancient Greek historian Theopompus, who spoke about the crime of Herostratus, preserved this name for posterity.

Examples of the use of the word herostratus in literature.

On the fateful night of three hundred and fifty-six, a resident of Ephesus, a market merchant named Herostratus, burned the temple of Artemis.

Cleon and Herostratus They look at each other in silence for a while: Cleon - calmly and even with some curiosity.

Just don't try to lie, Herostratus, otherwise the truth will have to be told under torture!

Yesterday at the market a fortune teller shouted that Herostratus- the son of Zeus, and many reverently listened to her words.

Do you remember, then, in the palace, I didn’t believe your words that Herostratus burned the temple out of vanity.

Only Herostratus He couldn’t agree for nothing, he probably demanded something in return.

I love my wife very much Herostratus, but I’m old and don’t have the right to ask her for reciprocity.

Listen, Herostratus, I turn to you in the hope that your soul retains the remnant of conscience!

Human ambition knows no bounds. They are especially dangerous when they stem from the desire to become famous and immortalize one’s name. Here you can name such a name as Herostratus. It was this man who committed a terrible sacrilege for the sake of illusory glory and the memory of descendants. He burned the famous Temple of Artemis, located in the city of Ephesus. This happened in 356 BC. e. And 50 years after this terrible event, the historian Timaeus from Stavromenium began to claim that the temple was burned on the night when Alexander the Great was born.

Artemis is the sister of Apollo and the daughter of Zeus. The ancient Greeks considered her to be the goddess of hunting and fertility. It was to her that a white marble temple was erected on the western coast of Asia Minor in the city of Ephesus. The greatest architectural creation was erected in the first half of the 6th century BC. e. The Lydian king Croesus took a direct part in the construction of the temple. It was he who allocated the main sum of money from the treasury.

Temple of Artemis - reconstruction

The temple turned out to be luxurious. Its length was 100 meters, its height reached 18 meters, and its width was 50 meters. The roof was supported by 127 columns. Inside was a figure of an eternally young goddess made of ivory. The sandals on the feet were made of pure gold. The people who inhabited Hellas considered it a blessing to see this greatest architectural creation. Residents of the Balkan Peninsula and Asia Minor walked and drove to the temple all year round. Both Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia knew about the temple. That is, the entire civilized world of that time sincerely admired its beauty.

Very little is known about Herostratus, who burned this greatest creation of human hands. He lived in Ephesus and was a very young man at the time of the crime. His social status is unknown, and nothing is known about his parents. It can be assumed that this young man had exorbitant ambitions. They played a decisive role in his future fate.

On a summer night (presumably July 21, 356 BC), Herostratus entered the temple of Artemis and set it on fire. How the young man set the fire is shrouded in mystery. But the temple burned down, and in its place only ashes remained.

The arsonist was immediately captured, as he did not even try to escape. During interrogation, he stated that he committed a crime in order to perpetuate his name for centuries. Herostratus was executed and forbidden, under pain of severe punishment, to give this name. The ban applied not only to Ephesus, but also to other cities of Hellas and the Mediterranean.

Herostratus lit a fire in the Temple of Artemis

However, among the Greeks there was a man who mentioned the name cursed by the priests. He turned out to be the historian and orator Theopompus. He was born in 380 BC. e. and was a contemporary of the terrible event that shook all of Hellas. He could not resist and mentioned Herostratus in one of his works. The historian and geographer Strabo, who lived at the beginning of the 1st century AD, carefully studied the works of Theopompus. e. He found out the name of the arsonist and called him. This information was received by Strabo’s contemporary, Roman writer Valery Maximus.

He, naturally, embellished this image, endowing it with characteristic human passions. And then it was the turn of the poet Publius Ovid, who knew Valery Maxim well. He, too, described in all possible colors an ominous young man endowed with remarkable conceit. Thus, at the very beginning of our era, everyone learned about Herostratus, and the arsonist, who had sunk into oblivion, was reborn from the ashes like a Phoenix.

Nowadays everyone knows this name. It symbolizes exorbitant human ambitions, selfishness and disregard for morality. Herostratus is associated with those people who commit crimes in order to become famous. Unfortunately, such individuals, although not often, do occur.

They say that Herostratus burned the temple of Artemis on the very night, July 21, when Alexander the Great was born. This was a clear omen that the fate of Asia Minor was decided: the great commander was destined to completely subjugate it - it was not for nothing that Artemis, being present at his birth, was distracted and could not protect her temple..

The Temple of Artemis of Ephesus is located in Turkey, near the city of Selcuk, which is located in the south of the province of Izmir. The city of Ephesus, in which the temple was installed, does not exist now, whereas several thousand years ago more than 200 thousand people lived here, and therefore it was considered not just a large city, but at that time was a real metropolis.

Due to earthquakes, it was decided to build a temple of Artemis in a swamp

The first settlements appeared here long before the appearance of the city itself (about 1.5 thousand years BC) - the area near the Caistre River was ideal for this. Ephesus appeared later, in the 11th century. BC e., when the Ionians came here and, having captured the territory, discovered that the cult of the ancient goddess “Great Mother” was extremely revered here. They liked the idea, and they only slightly modified it according to their mythology: they began to worship Artemis, the goddess of fertility and hunting (the ancient Greeks considered her the patroness of all life on earth, female chastity, a happy marriage and the guardian of women in labor). And several centuries later, a majestic temple was built for her, which contemporaries almost immediately included in the list of wonders of the world.

Ancient city of Ephesus

The money for the construction of the temple was given by Croesus, the last king of Lydia, famous for his legendary wealth. Khersiphron from Knossos worked on the building project, who encountered a number of unexpected problems during the construction of the sanctuary, and therefore he applied several non-standard and original engineering solutions. It was decided to build the temple from marble, however, no one knew where exactly it could be obtained in the required quantity. They say that chance helped here: sheep were grazing not far from the city. One day the animals started a fight among themselves, one of the males missed his opponent, but hit a rock with all his might, from which a huge piece of marble fell off due to a strong blow - so the problem was solved.

The second unique feature of the Temple of Artemis was that it was built in a swamp. The architect Khersifron came to such a non-standard solution for one simple reason: earthquakes happened here often - and houses, including churches, were often destroyed for this reason. The marshy soil will soften tremors, thus protecting the temple. And to prevent the structure from settling, the builders dug a huge pit, filled it with coal and wool - and only after that they began to build a foundation on top.

The Temple of Artemis was considered the largest sanctuary of the ancient world: its length was 110 m and its width was 55 m. Along the walls on the outside of the temple, the roof was supported by 127 columns 18 m high. The walls and roof of the sanctuary were decorated with marble slabs. The inside walls of the temple were decorated with sculptures made by Praxiteles and reliefs carved by Scopas. In the middle of the temple there was a fifteen-meter sculpture of the goddess, which was made of ebony and ivory, and decorated with precious stones and metals. Since Artemis was revered as the patroness of all living things, animals were depicted on her clothes.

View of the ruins of the Temple of Artemis

The Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, unlike other similar buildings, was not only the cultural and spiritual center of the city, but was also a financial and business center: there was a local bank here, negotiations took place, transactions were made. It had complete independence from local authorities, and was governed by a college of priests.

However, the temple did not stand for long - about two hundred years. In 356 BC. e one of the residents of the city, Herostratus, wanting to become famous, set fire to the sanctuary. This was not difficult: although the building itself was made of marble, many of the works in the middle were made of wood.

Even the Persians, who captured Ephesus in 396 BC, did not dare to encroach on the temple. e. The Greeks were sure that the goddess herself personally stood guard over her sanctuary. The authorities of Ephesus, and even ordinary townspeople, were worried about the question: why did Herostratus do this? The official version says that Herostratus set fire to the temple of Artemis to become famous. True, the Greek historian Theopompus argued that Herostratus gave this confession under torture. Based on modern laws, this makes the recognition of Herostratus insignificant. Theopompus's works have survived only partially, but the arson of the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, described by him, attracted the attention of the Roman writer Victor Maximus, who lived in the 1st century AD. e. He included, in his opinion, the instructive story of Herostratus in his book, after which this story spread throughout the world, and the name of Herostratus became a household name. If Herostratus really set fire to the temple, and did not become an innocent victim of ancient Greek justice, then he achieved his goal - his descendants remember him two and a half millennia later.

The temple is the center of Ephesus, independent from the authorities, subordinate to the priest

Reconstruction of the Temple of Artemis

The Temple of Artemis was restored quite quickly - already by the beginning of the 3rd century. BC e. — at the same time, the construction of the new sanctuary was financed by Alexander the Great. The construction work was entrusted to the architect Alexander Deinocrates: during the reconstruction, he completely adhered to the previous plan of the building and only slightly improved it, raising the temple slightly higher, on a higher stepped base. The second temple of Artemis was in no way inferior to the first and looked no less magnificent. Therefore, the Ephesians, in order to thank Alexander the Great for his patronage of the arts, decided to install a portrait of the commander in the temple and ordered the work from Apelles, who depicted the commander with lightning in his hand.

Alexander the Great was born on the night of the burning of the Temple of Artemis.

The restored Temple of Artemis stood a little longer than the first. Its destruction began in 263, when it was completely plundered by the Goths. And another century later, in the 4th century. n. e. after Christianity was adopted and paganism was prohibited, the sanctuary of the fertility goddess was destroyed: the marble was dismantled for other buildings, after which the roof was demolished, violating the integrity of the building, because of which the columns began to fall - and they were gradually sucked into the swamp.

Alexander the Great on a fragment of an ancient Roman mosaic from Pompeii, a copy of an ancient Greek painting

To date, only one 14-meter column has been restored, which turned out to be four meters lower than it was originally. Subsequently, the Church of the Virgin Mary was built on the foundation of the destroyed Temple of Artemis, but it also has not survived to this day - which is why the location of the ancient temple was completely forgotten.