Great Theater at Ephesus

The ancient city of Ephesus is located outside the modern city of SelÃ§uk on the Mediterranean coast of present-day Turkey. Although the region was settled as early as 5000 BC, the city whose ruins we see today dates from the 3rd BC and are the product of Hellenistic city planning and Roman renovations. Lysimachus, the Thessalian general of Alexander the Great, relocated Ephesus to its present site and constructed the city using the then modern principles of urban development envisioned by Hippodamus of Miletus. Although Lysimachus is often credited with building the "Great Theatre" at this time, there is no evidence of a theatre in the initial construction phase of the city. Stefan Karwiese of the Ã–sterreichisches Archaologisches Insitut questions the existence of a theatre at Ephesus prior to 100 BC but acknowledges the possibility that Lysimachus may have chosen the building site prior to his death in 281 BC. The magnificent theatre is set into the side of a steep hill at the center of the ancient city. Its design, location and conception may have benefited from Hellenistic influences but its size and ornamentations are the products of Empirical Rome. The theatre was built at the end of the Hellenistic period, but it was significantly altered and enlarged by the Romans during the following five centuries. The theatre remained in use until the 5th century AD.