Ephesos Museum

Ephesos, located in present-day Turkey, was one of the most important cities of antiquity. It was here that the Artemis Temple, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, stood; the city was also the home of Heraclitus, as well as of one of the largest early-Christian communities. Roman times saw Ephesos became capital of the Province of Asia, with around 200,000 inhabitants.

Since 1895, Austrian archaeologists have been excavating the ruins of Ephesos. Up to the year 1906, numerous recovered objects of high quality were removed to Vienna, objects which can be seen today at the Ephesos Museum, an annex to the Collection of Greek and Roman Antiquities.

The highlights include the Parthian Monument, the Amazon from the Altar of the Artemision, the bronze Athlete statue and the Child with a Goose. Alongside the Ephesian artefacts, the museum is also home to architectural specimens and sculptures from the Sanctuary of the Great Gods of the Mystery cult on the Greek island of Samothrace, which was explored by Austrian archaeologists in 1873 and 1875.

Since recently, a preview of the Heroon of Trysa is on display in the Ephesus Museum. The Heroon was a tomb of a Lycian sovereign who had ancient myths, heroic sagas, and scenes from his own life depicted on over 200 metres of relief friezes around 380 BCE. The funerary monument was rediscovered in 1881 and the frieze panels were acquired for the imperial collections in Vienna. A complete  installation of the spectacular monument is planned for the near future.