The Library of Celsus is maybe the foremost distinctive building commonly related to Ephesus. The library includes a two-story facade, and its interior is one large room with dimensions of 10.90 to 16.70 meters. This library room was located above the vaulted substructure. The building was surrounded by an extra wall, offering adequate protection from moisture.
When looking closely at the remains of the library two rows of niches located on the inner side walls and rear wall of the building will be seen. It's known that originally there was the third row. The manuscripts were stored on shelves placed in these niches. Access to the scrolls placed on the upper floors was made possible by a two-storey gallery running along three sides of the library. The most important, central niche, decorated with a giant arch, served because the place where once stood the statue of the goddess Athena.
The two-story structure was supported by four pairs of columns, between which there have been three entrances to the building. At the extent of the second floor three windows were placed, illuminating the room. The statues adorning the façade of the Library of Celsus represent the Four Virtues: Sophia (Wisdom), Arete (Bravery), Episteme (Knowledge) and Ennoia (Thought).
The Library of Celsus takes its name from Julius Celsus Polemaenus. He was the Roman governor of Asia Minor within the 2nd century AD. He was buried in a very sarcophagus under the library. the development of the building began in 110 AD. The library could be a quite mausoleum donated by his son - Julius Aquila Polemaeanus, who spent 25 000 denars for this purpose. the development was finished by his descendants in 135 AD.
The Fire Within the Celsus Library
Not much is left of the within of the Celsus Library today, most of it having burned within the fires that destroyed the library nearly two millennia ago. However ransacking through holes still open where the inner walls meet the facade, one can see that there's an open space between an inner wall and outer wall. These double walls were employed to stabilize the temperature within the Library, preventing excessive heat and humidity from damaging the papyrus and parchment scrolls held inside.
The scrolls themselves were held in cabinets situated into the niches along the walls on both the primary and second floors. before the fires, a balcony wrapped round the interior of the Library to present access to scrolls on the second floor. within the center niche of the building stood a statue of Athena.
Between the Celsus Library and Marble Road is an auditorium; this was a later addition to the square, inbuilt the 2nd century BC. Here scholars and philosophers would give presentations and lectures within the late afternoon, free for all citizens to attend.
Reconstruction
The library interior was destroyed in 262 AD, either by earthquake or by a hearth during a Gothic invasion. The facade was the sole a part of the library to survive, but this too was destroyed by an earthquake within the 10th or 11th century.
It lay in ruins for several centuries until 1970-78, when the German archaeologist Volker Michael Strocka led a reconstruction campaign. Using the method of anastylosis, the façade was successfully rebuilt, replacing missing fragments (such because the statues which had been acquired by a Viennese museum) with copies or leaving them absent.
Why Still Visit Celsus Library
Celsus Library columnsThough ruins are the sole ones left with the library of Celsus, the legacy of Ephesus Celsus remains left within the structure. The very fact that a specific a part of the structure, which is that the entire facade was, somehow, restored, there are still many reasons why you ought to include the library within the set of itineraries that you just should be visiting. You'll get the prospect to determine the inscriptions of the first times, admire the sweetness of the architecture of the whole library and revel in the sensation of going back to the past through it's ruins at Ephesus City. And also Celsus Library is open daily from 8 am till 7 pm and there's not additional tickets required.
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