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THE STATUE OF ÁRTEMIS EPHESIA...
In the standardized form, the goddess is represented in a rigid posture,
with closed legs, upper arms held against her chest, and lower arms parallelly
held forward. As for her dress, she is wearing a polos or a mural crown,
a rigid veil which is round on the top and straight on the sides, a chiton,
and an ependytes, which is a solid piece of clothing covering the front side
of the sculptures. On the chest, we can observe different necklaces, a floral
wreath, astrological signs, and some female figures. Under these, there are
the most characteristic parts of the statues, the rows of pendants often
described as "breasts"." Sitting, lying, or climbing lion figures can often be
seen on the sculptures forearms, while woollen bands are hanging from
the wrists. Among the ornamentation of the ependytes, there are mythological
creatures and animal figures represented in protome or as a relief.
However, if we want to understand the allegorical interpretation of the statues
for the people of the era, we have to put it in the context of the second century
AD. This does not mean that we do not have to analyze the development
process of the ornaments of the statues, but it does imply that we should focus
on the interpretations possible in the second century.
Lilian Portefaix was the first to point out that certain works of Neoplatonic
authors, first of all Porphyry’s De antro nympharum,® may help in the inter¬
pretation of some of the decorative elements of the statue.’
Portefaix’s theory about the ornaments of the statue, such as symbols of
life, death, and rebirth,” is very promising but still doubtful. Her theoretical
starting point is the widely accepted “breast” hypothesis of Seiterle,'! to which
she added more uncertainty.”
The most frequently discussed question in the research on Artemis Ephesia over the course of the
past 100 years has been the meaning of the bizarre pendants on the chest area. Although several
theories have been suggested, none of them has been able to give an indisputable answer to the
problem. I use the most accepted description of these objects, “breasts”. For the interpretation
of the “breasts” until the beginning of the 1970s, see Fleischer, Artemis, 74—87. For the newest
interpretation, see Martin J. Steskal, Das Prytaneion in Ephesos, Forschungen in Ephesos 9, 4,
Wien, Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 2010, 199-200.
Porphyry lived in the third century AD. He referred to Numenius of Apamea and Cronius as
the main sources of the De antro nympharum. These philosophers worked in the latter half
of the second century AD. So Porphyry’s writing can be considered a relevant and reliable
work if we want to interpret the statues in the context of second-century AD culture.
Lilian Portefaix, The Image of Artemis Ephesia — A Symbolic Configuration Related to her
Mysteries? in H. Friesinger — F. Krinzinger (eds.), 100 Jahre Osterreichische Forschungen in
Ephesos. Akten des Symposions Wien 1995, Wien, Verlag der Osterreichischen Akademie
der Wissenschaften, 1999, 614.
1 Portefaix, The Image, 614-616.
Seiterle interpreted the breasts as scrota of bulls, cf. Gerard Seiterle, Artemis: Die Grosse
Gôttin von Ephesos, Antike Welt 10 (1979), 3-10.
According to Portefaix, the hypothetical ritual by which the scrota of bulls were sacrificed
to the goddess happened during the birthday ceremony of Artemis Ephesia. Nevertheless,
we have no source which supports the idea of the sacrifice of the scrota of bulls or the date
of this rite; cf. Portefaix, The Image, 614.
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