Synagogue(s), Ephesus
It is well known that there was a substantial Jewish community in ancient Ephesus, but no synagogue has yet been located with any certainty.
A basilica-like building north of the Theater Gymnasium is a possible candidate for the synagogue, based on a Jewish lamp found here (which is the only lamp found in the building).
Another clue is an inscription in the nearby Church of Mary, which indicates there was a synagogue in Ephesus and may indicate one in the immediate vicinity. A glass bottle with a seven-branched candlestick was discovered in the church.
Map
Location map and satellite view of the possible synagogue in Ephesus. Using the buttons on the left, zoom in for a closer look or zoom out to get your bearings. Click and drag the map to move around. You can explore all of Ephesus from space on our Ephesus Satellite Map.
Sources
- Clive Foss, Ephesus After Antiquity (1979), 45.
- Jewish lamp: Ephesos IV/2, 187 no. 159.
- Bottle with candlestick symbol: Ephesos IV/1, 99 no. 30; Jh. 26, B41.
