A fragment of a carved marble frieze from Ephesus. Relief friezes ran along the upper parts of temples, gates and public buildings, showing mythological scenes, battles, garlands or processions.
Ephesus, on the Aegean coast of Anatolia, was one of the great cities of the Greek and Roman world. Under Rome it was the capital of the province of Asia, with a population estimated at well over 100,000, and it was famous for the Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders.