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City, named after Ephesus, in Lydia, of Ionian origin, one of the most remarkable temples known to Herodotus, later city founded by Lysimachus, prosperity of Ephesus, river, spring, and mountain in land of E., temple of Artemis at E. the largest building in world, sanctuary of Ephesian goddess (Artemis) the largest and richest in Ionia, Amazons sacrifice to Ephesian goddess, statues of Conon and Timotheus in sanctuary of Ephesian goddess at Ephesus, quarter called Coresus at E., Ionians defeated there by Persians, terminus of "royal road", Xerxes' sons sent there after Salamis, the Cercopes at, Lysander defeats Athenian fleet at E., Croesus' offerings in the temple of Artemis there, Ephesus besieged by Croesus, Ephesians occupy Samos, but are afterwards expelled, dedicate statue of Lysander and other Spartans.
The city of Ephesus was inhabited both by Carians and by Leleges, but Androclus drove them out and settled the most of those who had come with him round the Athenaeum and the Hypelaeus, though he also included a part of the country situated on the slopes of Mt. Coressus. Now Ephesus was thus inhabited until the time of Croesus, but later the people came down from the mountainside and abode round the present temple until the time of Alexander. Lysimachus built a wall round the present city, but the people were not agreeably disposed to change their abodes to it; and therefore he waited for a downpour of rain and himself took advantage of it and blocked the sewers so as to inundate the city; and the inhabitants were then glad to make the change. He named the city after his wife Arsinoe; the old name, however, prevailed. There was a senate, which was conscripted; and with these were associated the Epilecti, as they were called, who administered all the affairs of the city.
Cistophorus (kistophoros) was a term applied to certain silver coins issued in
Western Asia Minor, in consequence of the type with which they were impressed,
a Dionysiac cista out of which a serpent glides. The other side of the coin bears
the name or monogram of the city of issue. According to Dr. Imhoof (Die Munzen
der Dynastie von Pergamon, p. 33), this coin originated in Ephesus shortly before
B.C. 200, and its use rapidly extended throughout the dominions of Attalus I.
of Pergamum. Henceforth the cistophorus became a sort of Pan-Asiatic coin, . .
. and was issued in vast quantities from numerous Asiatic mints (Head, Historia
Numorum, p. 461). (Cf. Liv. xxxvii. 46, 58, 59, xxxix. 7; Cic. ad Att. ii. 6,
2, ii. 16, 4, xi. 1, 2; pro Dom. 20, 52.) Mommsen assigns a somewhat later date
(reign of Eumenes II., B.C. 189-159), and therefore disbelieves the statement
of Livy (l. c.), that after the defeat of Antiochus III. in B.C. 190, large numbers
of cistophori were brought to Rome by the conquerors. They continued to be the
currency of the Roman province of Asia even under the Antonines, and many bear
the heads of early Roman emperors.
The coins or staters weigh up to 196 grains; the question of their
value in exchange has been confused from the fact that the ancient writers sometimes
consider them as tetradrachms and sometimes as didrachms. According to Festus
(p. 359), the cistophoric stater was regarded as equivalent to three Roman denarii,
which, however, it outweighed by about fifteen grains: other authorities give
a still lower valuation. The cistophoric drachm, or quarter of the stater, is
said by Festus to have been equal to the Rhodian drachm, and it is likely that
the whole coinage was introduced by the Pergamene kings to succeed that of Rhodes
at a time when the decay of Rhodes had set in. (Mommsen, R. M., pp. 48, 703; Numismatic
Chronicle, 1883, p. 196.)
This text is from: A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities (1890) (eds. William Smith, LLD, William Wayte, G. E. Marindin). Cited July 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
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