The temple of Artemis was located in Ephesus, Turkey near the modern town of Selcuk.        Some copies stil survive of the famous statue of Artemis. They are an Un-Greek representation of a mummy like goddess, standing stiffly straight, with her hands extended outward.

 The original statue was made of ebony, silver, gold, and black stone. The legs and hips were covered by a garment decorated with relief of animals and bees to honor Artemis' role as the Greek goddess of hunting and wild nature. Her  head was adorned with a hig- pillared headdress. The temple, unlike most temples at the time, was made of marble, and it had a decorated façade overlooking a spacious courtyard. There were 127 columns total, 20m (60 ft) high with Ionic capitals and carved circular sides. They were aligned orthogonally over the entire platform area, except for the house of the goddess. The steps that surrounded the building platform were marble and they led to the high terrace which was approximately 80 m (260 ft) by 130m (430 ft) in plan.

    The Temple of Artemis was rebuilt several times, and the version that is featured in the Seven Wonders of The Ancient World was built in around 550 BC. It was designed by the Greek architect Chersiphron, and was sponsored by Lydian King Croesus. Surprisingly, the temple served as a marketplace as well as a religious institution. The temple was visited by tourists, merchants, artisans, and even kings who worshipped by sharing their profits with the goddess. Herostratus burned the temple down on July 21, 356 BC in order to make his name forever live in history, and he achieved his goal. Alexander the Great was born that night and he later rebuilt the ruined temple when he conquered Asia Minor. The temple was again destroyed by the Goths in 262 AD, and the Ephesians vowed to once again rebuild the sacred temple. Unfortunately, for Artemis' followers, Christianity was the dominant religion, and the temple was never rebuilt. Little remains of the temple (though there are many fragments, especially of sculptured columns, in the British Museum), but excavation has revealed traces of the both Croesus', the 4th-century temple, and of three earlier, smaller ones.