Ephesus Celsus Library

Known also as the Celcus Library, was built in 110AD. by Gaius Julius Aquila in memory of his father, Celcus (former proconsul of the Province of Asia and friend of the Empeor Trajan -106AD died), and once held nearly 12,000 scrolls. In the Roman period all but the bodies of heroes were buried outside the borders of cities. Aquila was granted permission for his father to be buried in a marble grave in a burial chamber in the library. Celsus' sarcophagus lay inside the building, under the middle apse. Today it is very hard for the travelers to see the sarchaphagus. Depending on the light conditions, some parts can be seen.

Sarchaphagus of Celsus

Scrolls were kept in the niches of the walls. Scrolls were made papyrus and parchment. Parchment in Greek Pergamene means skin of Pergamon, the city where parchement was invented. Parchement is the skin of a sheep or of a goat from which the hairs have been removed by means of lime. Kings of Egypt were jealous because of the rapid expansion of the library in Pergamon. They banned the export of Papyrus. Two scholars in Pergamum created the parchement. During this time, Celcus Library was the third largest library. The largest one was in Alexandria and the second was in Pergamum with 25,000 scrolls.

Designed with an exaggerated entrance -- so as to enhance its perceived size, speculate many historians -- the building faces east so that the reading rooms could make best use of the morning light. An underground tunnel, marked by the simple figures of a woman, a heart, and a price, leads from the library to a nearby building believed to have been a drinking establishment or brothel. The facade has two stories with three entrances in the lower storey and three window openings in the upper story. The columns at the sides of the facade are shorter than those at the center, giving the illusion of the building being greater in size. The three entrances are flanked by four niches with statues representing the virtues of Celsus, Sophia (Wisdom), Arete (Valor), Ennoia (Thought) and EpistÃ©mÃ© (Knowledge). The semicircular niche on the main floor facing the central portal probably contained a statue of Athena.

Gate of Mazeus & Mithridates is the triple gateway next to the Celsus Library which opens into the commercial agora forming its southeast gate. According to the inscriptions in Latin, it was built by two freed slaves Mazaeus and Mithridates in honor of Augustus and his family. According to the inscriptions in Greek, Mazaeus and Mithridates dedicated the gate to their masters. Right hand section of the gate there is an inscription saying "he who urinates this place will be pursued by the avenging spirit of the goddess Hecate"

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