Temple on the State Agora

The Temple of the Administrative Agora (formerly called Temple of Isis) is the name used by archaeologists for an ancient Roman temple in the city of Ephesus, in Asia Minor, in present-day Turkey. The deity to which it was dedicated is unknown. The ruins of the temple are part of the archaeological site of Ephesus, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

History

The temple was built in the early Roman Empire, around the years 50-25 BC. It has previously been interpreted as a temple dedicated to Isis and Dionysus built by Mark Antony and Cleopatra VII, which is why it often appears as the Temple of Isis. Later it would have been dedicated to the emperor Augustus. Today, the temple has instead been proposed as the temple of Divus Julius, the personification of Julius Caesar, who was exalted as a god, and Dea Roma, the personification of Rome, in the place called Peristyle Rhodios.

Features

It was located in the centre of the western part of the administrative agora or state agora. It was a peripteral temple with ten columns on the long sides and six on the short sides. It was built on a podium of about 28 × 15 m.

Subsequently, it was completely demolished in antiquity and its stones were used for other buildings.