Library of Celsus

The Library of Celsus is the face of Ephesus — a soaring two-storey marble façade that has become the symbol of the entire ancient city.

A monument and a tomb

The library was completed around 117 AD by Gaius Julius Aquila as a memorial to his father, Tiberius Julius Celsus Polemaeanus, a Roman senator and governor of the province of Asia. Celsus is buried in a marble sarcophagus in a crypt directly beneath the reading hall — a rare honour, as burials inside a city were normally forbidden.

What to look for

At its height the library held up to 12,000 scrolls, stored in wall niches with a clever double wall to guard them from damp. The façade's four statues personify the virtues of Celsus — Sophia (wisdom), Episteme (knowledge), Ennoia (intelligence) and Arete (virtue); those on site are casts. The whole front was reconstructed from original fragments (an anastylosis) by Austrian archaeologists in the 1970s.

Visitor tip

The library stands at the foot of Curetes Street beside the Gate of Mazeus and Mithridates. Come early or late for the classic photo without crowds and for the warm light on the marble.

On the map

Photos