Editing Ephesus (section)

=== Classical period ===
{{multiple image
 | align     = right
 | direction = horizontal
 | header_align = center
 | header    =  
 | image1    = The_Statue_of_Artemis_at_Ephesus.jpg
 | width1    = 130
 | alt1      = 
 | caption1  = Artemis Statue, 1st century AD, [[Ephesus Archaeological Museum]]
 | image2    = Efes_Müzesi,_2019_10.jpg
 | width2    = 173
 | alt2      = 
 | caption2  = The Lady of Ephesus, 2nd century AD, [[Ephesus Archaeological Museum]]
 }}
Ephesus continued to prosper, but when taxes were raised under [[Cambyses II of Persia|Cambyses II]] and [[Darius the Great of Persia|Darius]], the Ephesians participated in the [[Ionian Revolt]] against Persian rule in the [[Battle of Ephesus (498&nbsp;BC)]], an event which instigated the [[Greco-Persian wars]]. In 479&nbsp;BC, the Ionians, together with [[Athens]], were able to oust the Persians from the shores of Asia Minor. In 478&nbsp;BC, the Ionian cities with Athens entered into the [[Delian League]] against the Persians. Ephesus did not contribute ships but gave financial support.

During the [[Peloponnesian War]], Ephesus was first allied to Athens<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Keen |first=Antony G. |date=1993 |title=Athenian Campaigns in Karia and Lykia during the Peloponnesian War |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/632404 |journal=The Journal of Hellenic Studies |volume=113 |pages=152–157 |doi=10.2307/632404 |jstor=632404 |s2cid=162250367 |issn=0075-4269}}</ref> but in a later phase, called the Decelean War, or the Ionian War, sided with Sparta, which also had received the support of the Persians. As a result, rule over the cities of Ionia was ceded again to Persia.

These wars did not greatly affect daily life in Ephesus. The Ephesians were surprisingly modern in their social relations:<ref>{{Cite journal |last=BRINKS |first=C. L. |date=2009 |title="Great Is Artemis of the Ephesians": Acts 19:23-41 in Light of Goddess Worship in Ephesus |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/43726616 |journal=The Catholic Biblical Quarterly |volume=71 |issue=4 |pages=776–794 |jstor=43726616 |issn=0008-7912}}</ref> they allowed strangers to integrate and education was valued. In later times, [[Pliny the Elder]] mentioned having seen at Ephesus a representation of the goddess [[Diana (mythology)|Diana]] by [[Timarete]], the daughter of a painter.<ref>Pliny the Elder [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0137%3Abook%3D35%3Achapter%3D40 ''Naturalis historia'' xxxv.40.147].</ref>

In 356&nbsp;BC the temple of Artemis was burnt down, according to legend, by a lunatic called [[Herostratus]]. The inhabitants of Ephesus at once set about restoring the temple and even planned a larger and grander one than the original.