Settled a fire to perpetuate his name: the most famous ancient world arsonist

In 356 BC, on the night of July 20-21, two grandiose events took place in the history of the Ancient World. A man was born who rewrote a story, another tried to erase it. Alas, ancient manuscripts store the names of all: those who performed feats and were a great ruler, as well as those who tried to perpetuate themselves with the most vile deeds. In the capital of ancient Macedonia, a boy was born, who was named Alexander, and a few decades later he created one of the powerful empires of that time. And near the city of Ephesus, someone set fire to the temple. But not a simple temple, but one of the most beautiful in Greece.

The temple was dedicated to Artemis, and it was the first Greek temple built from marble. The construction was colossal: more than a hundred meters in length with 12-meter columns. And so, when the birth of the heir was announced in Macedonia, a certain Herostratus sneaked into the temple of Artemis and set it on fire.

Everything was made of wood in the temple, so that the fire very quickly enveloped the entire interior. And in the morning from the miracle of the light of the Ancient world there remained only ashes and blackened columns of marble.

Herostratus did not even try to hide and was quickly caught. When asked why he set fire, he gave the most incredible answer: "In order to leave his mark on history."

Residents mourned the temple of Artemis, Herostratus executed and ordered never to mention his name again. So Ephesus hoped that the arsonist would remain in oblivion forever. And some historians carefully avoided his name: for example, in the works of Cicero and Plutarch he is mentioned as a kind of madman. However, others still violated the decree: for example, Valery Maxim, a writer of the 1st century, has a whole work where the history of the temple arsonist is described in great detail. On his example, he talks about attempts to achieve fame, albeit in a negative, criminal way. So the arsonist achieved what he wanted: he appeared in history books and acquired, albeit shameful, but still famous, his name became a household name. And just those people who tried him and tried to restore justice, went into oblivion. He also does not remember the history and names of the builders of the temple.

At the site of the Temple of Artemis, another structure appeared, even more magnificent: more than fifty meters wide, twice as long in length. Its massive roof rested on 127 eighteen-meter columns arranged in several rows. Each of the columns was skillfully carved, and inside the temple stood a statue of Artemis. The new building went down in history and became one of the seven wonders of the Ancient World. It stood for six centuries, until it was destroyed by the Goths in the 3rd century AD. The marble was quickly stolen to be used in construction. And today, from this miracle of the world there are only ruins with one modest column towering above the fragments of marble.

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