Heracles Gate, Ephesus

The ancient Greek and Roman city of Ephesus, located on the west coast of Asia Minor, was one of the twelve cities of the Ionian League during the Classical Greek Period. In Roman Times, Ephesus had a population of more than 250,000 citizens, making it the second largest city in the world. Despite being destroyed by the Goths in 263 AD, Ephesus remained an important city during the Byzantine period. The Gate, adorned with reliefs of Heracles draped in the Mythological Nemean lion's skin set on pillars, was brought to this location in the 4th Century AD. It is situated on the Curetes Street, between the Celsus Library and the Memmius Monument. The Gate, built originally in two tiers, practically narrowed the access to the Curetes Street, preventing the passage of vehicles (most likely carriages), thus transforming it, in the 4th Century AD, into a pedestrian-only street. It is suggested that the Heracles reliefs, or the Gate altogether, were brought here from an older structure dated to the 2nd Century AD. The Nike relief found in the Domitian Square further to the east is thought to have been adorning the second tier of the Gate.