 Houses
on the slopes behind Ephesus
are to be seen opposite the Temple of Hadrian.
Those on the upper slopes are reached via steps. They are situated on the slopes
of B�lb�l Mountain, with the roof of
one house forming the terrace of that
above it. They were inhabited by wealthy Ephesians,
and are finely decorated with mosaics and frescos. Built in the period of
Augustus, they were much altered and continued to be
inhabited until the 7th century AD.,
according to the evidence of excavations. Two of the insulae houses have been
totally restored and are now open to the public.
 Peristyle
House I: This two-storeyed house covers an area
of 900 m2. It
is a 12-roomed
house entered via a flight of steps leading down to a hall (A1
), to the right of which is another flight of stairs, flanked by a facet and
basin, which leads to the other rooms of the house.
A2 is reached via a passageway. It is the
courtyard, with four doric
columns in the corners and paved in marble.
The remains of a fountain can be seen in the northern corner of the court.
Beyond this are the halls A10-11,
which have mosaic floors and frescos
decorating the walls. The house dates from the 1st century AD, but these two
rooms were added in 400 AD.
One of these rooms is flanked bya staircase leading up to the upper floor of the
house, and beyond that is another chamber decorated with frescos and with a
mosaic floor (B7).East
of the per style courtyard is a hall with walls 4 m. in height. Situated next to
the entrance, this room is decorated with fresco scenes from the plays of
Euripides-namely 'Orestes',
to the left and the comedies of Menander
to the right, namely 'Sikyonioi'.
It is known as the theatre room  because
of these frescos. The other walls are decorated with figures, namely the
combat of
Acheloos, the river god, with
Herakles to the left. The frescos in this room,
which also has a mosaic floor, must date to the 2nd century AD. The house also
possesses a bathroom, to the south of the entrance hall (A.8),
with the kitchen flanking it (A.12).
Next to this are various small chambers opening onto the flanking street, and
the service entrance. Artifacts found during the course of excavation are
displayed in situ.
Peristyle House II:
This is beyond the first house. It possesses two peristyles and is larger than
the other houses on the insula. First built in the Ist century
AD., it underwent various restorations up to
the 7th century.
The main peristyle
(B1 ), which
possesses columns dating to the 5th century in the
Corinthian order, flanks to the south, a long
gallery covered from end to end in black and white
geometric mosaics. Opposite this is a second
gallery containing mosaics of Triton
and Nereide. Triton bears in his left hand, the spear of his father
Poseidon, while holding the reigns of the sea
horse bearing Nereide in his right hand. These figures are placed before the
vaulted open niche (B.6).
The latter is paved with black and white marble in a  basketwork
pattern. Frescos on the walls include the heads of Dionysus and Ariadne framed
by medallions, surrounded by trees, peacocks, ducks and cockerels. These mosaics
are dated to the 5th century AD.,
and are in extremely good condition. The vaults are framed to both sides by a
fresco frieze depicting Eros figures bearing a garland. Other rooms of various
sizes to the east of the house are paved with black and white mosaic patterns
and embellished with frescos of birds and floral patterns. The walls of two
other rooms (B9 and 10)
are decorated with fresco panels of muses, dating to the
4th century.
B11-12 is the
dining hall. Niches set into the southern wall mark the wash-basins. They
contain frescos which were restored in monochrome at a much later period. The
kitchen is on the western corner of the house, and is decorated with frescos of
fish and birds. The second peristyle (B14)
fianks this hall. |
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Ephesus Terrace Houses
