RFL: Artemis at Ephesus

The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus (Teleport Point) is sponsored by Leri Miles Designs.

Artemis, called Diana by the Romans, was the Greek Goddess of the Hunt, known for her purity, virginity, and care for women in childbirth, though the Artemis worshiped at Ephesus has older origins than the twin of Apollo and was portrayed as a many-breasted goddess, and her connection with the goddess the Greeks called Artemis is a slender thread. The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus is an ancient site, it's first building dating back to the bronze age and claimed as a holy site for the Amazons, legendary women who lived in a martial, matriarchal society who were historical enemies of the Greeks whose writings about them survive. The original temple was destroyed by a flood in the seventh century B.C.E. and rebuilt around 500 B.C.E. in about ten years. It fell to fire next - specifically arson, a destruction which lasted for about the same span of time. The final rebuilding began in the 300s B.C.E., and was larger and grander than any of it's previous forms with sculptures from many of the contemporary artists of the time. Antipater of Sidon, who compiled the seven ancient wonders of the world, said of its third incarnation:

"I have set eyes on the wall of lofty Babylon on which is a road for chariots, and the statue of Zeus by the Alpheus, and the hanging gardens, and the colossus of the Sun, and the huge labour of the high pyramids, and the vast tomb of Mausolus; but when I saw the house of Artemis that mounted to the clouds, those other marvels lost their brilliancy, and I said, "Lo, apart from Olympus, the Sun never looked on aught so grand".

It survived some six hundred years before the Goths brought it to the end in a raid. The Hagia Sophia, in fact, gained some of it's columns from the Temple of Artemis after it's destruction. Now, only a single column made up of scraps from the temple remains on its original site, but reproductions have been made around the world.

This was by far the easiest sim for me to navigate to date, as all of the stores are organized on three of four sides of the square around the reproduction of the Temple. I'm clearly a picky, persnickety person, as now that I got what I wanted - an easy to navigate sim - I was caught up with complaints about it's simplicity! Unable to be pleased, that is clearly me. The Temple itself is lovely. While I wish some of the effect of the carvings at the base of the columns could have been represented, the leaf pattern used was lovely; and while I would have loved to see the iconic figure of the Goddess of Ephesus represented in Second Life, there were some original and pre-fabricated sculptures in place within the temple.

The outfit I'm wearing is a novelly put together top, belt, and skirt from AlaFolie available in a wide variety of colors. The color I'm wearing is the one for sale for a donation to RFL, though the ad on the board shows two very different colors from this one. The neat thing about it is how it's piecemeal - with the dress coming in three parts, you can mix and match with other items easily. Just a heads up, it's transfer ok/no copy, so don't be surprised when you open it! The jewelry is from Virtual Impressions, a new-to-me store with some really amazing options. I'm wearing a completely texture-change set; there are a bunch of colors to pick from, and you can tint the large gem separately from the surrounding ones. It's also transfer-ok/no copy, just as a heads up. It is also fullbright out of the box, but you have modifying rights, so that can easily be fixed. Finally, I'm wearing a tanner skin with a gorgeous cosmetic set from Belleza in shades of teal. I had originally picked the teal to match the color of the dress I thought I'd gotten from AlaFolie, but I think it works just as well with the mustard shade! A nice bit of contrast to make my look more interesting.

( More pictures here. )

Credits: 

Skin: Belleza, Amy Med FFL 0 (RFL Donation)
Eyes: De La Soul, RooMee Eyes - Rainbow
Eyelashes 1: SLink, Mesh Lashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 04-A
Eyeliner: Squeek!, Eyeliner Yellow
Hair: Truth, BabyDoll
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle
Jewelry: Virtual Impressions, Honour Jewelry (RFL Donation)
Dress: AlaFolie, Veronique (RFL Donation)
Shoes: NYU, Collared Bow Heels

Poses: !bang

Location: RFL: Artemis at Ephesus
Light Settings: Places Duskwood

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only