Herostratus of Ephesus made history as the person who destroyed the temple of Artemis. There is no exact information about when he was born. It is estimated that he was born in the 380s before Christ.
Herostratus only burned the magnificent Temple of Artemis to write its name in history. Fame enthusiast Herostratus responded to the judge who tried him as follows.
“I’m Herostratus. I burned the Temple of Artemis. My name will be remembered for ages, but you Kleon, the chief Judge of the Ephesus city. Who will remember you?
No, I will be remembered for judging you too. ”
Although the decision was to forget the name of Herostratus forever, it was not possible to forget such a person. As a result, this man had achieved his goals.
Thepompos of Chios was the first to mention the name of Herostratus, who lived in the same era. While describing the fire of the Temple of Artemis in 356 BC, he claims that Herostratus burned down the temple of Artemis in Ephesus to become famous. He writes that he admitted his guilt and was executed under heavy tortures. So his death was in the same year (356 BC). Plutarchos, the famous historian from Taurmina who tackled this issue at the beginning of the 4th century does not mention the name of Herostratus in reference to Thepompos.
This article is originally written in Turkish by Yucel Temirodaman. *
