From Ephesus to Vienna: Surprises in the Ephesos Museum

When I planned a visit to Vienna, I had no idea the city was home to a museum dedicated to Ephesus. Having recently walked through the archaeological site of Ephesus myself, I was intrigued when my research kept linking to Vienna and the collections preserved there. Visiting the museum added another dimension to my experience. Seeing artifacts, maps, and statues connected to Ephesus gave me a broader perspective on the ancient city and helped me better understand the archaeological site I had recently explored.

My first surprise in my visit to the Ephesos Museum was the name. The “o” in the ending of the word is the Greek pronunciation of the name, while in English we use the Latin ending, which is spelled Ephesus. Turks drop both the Greek and the Latin endings and just say Efes.

The Austrian Christian Connection?

In my multiple visits to the ancient site of Ephesus, I enjoy seeing the Christian symbols and evidence of sacred sites. Yet, on my visit to the museum in Vienna, I did not see any Christian monuments from the city. This surprised me since Austria was ruled by Franz Joseph, a Roman Catholic Habsburg emperor, and Christianity was deeply embedded in the identity and political culture of the Habsburg monarchy.

Also, Otto Benndorf (1838–1907) directed the Austrian excavations at Ephesus beginning in 1895 and later founded the Austrian Archaeological Institute in 1898. As the key Austrian excavator of Ephesus in 1895, he had a substantial Christian theological background. He had studied Protestant theology before turning to archaeology, came from a family with pastors, and remained identified as Lutheran. Yet, he did not pursue gathering Christian items for the monuments brought to Vienna.

The Austrian motivation leans more toward keeping up with the Joneses at that time: Germany centered on the Troy site, and Britain had Egypt. In many ways, Austria wanted its own Archaeology display and sought this key Christian city, but it had permission for Roman ruins, not necessarily Christian ones.

When Greek authorities started to research the pre-Justinian remains at St. John Basilica during WWI, this prompted the Austrians to ask why they did not take any Christian items in their exported items. In the historical dialogue, the Ottoman Sultan could not give permission to grant what was part of the local parish at that time.^[1]These facts were affirmed by Aziz Otgan, who provided these details and served under the Ottomans and the new Turkish Republic. https://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/fie_bd4_3/0025/image,info

Despite this, the maps at the museum do mention key Christian sites in the city, which my video below shows. For me, I discovered a few more churches based on the visit to this museum.

The Statues of Ephesus in Vienna

On a visit to the Seljuk Ephesus Museum, one thing that stands out is the minimal number of statues that remained near the site. The Austrian dig removed numerous marble statues from the site. The multiple rooms of statues in Vienna provide evidence of this, and seeing this museum will give a fuller view of what the ancient city of Ephesus looked like.

On a visit to Vienna, a few key places need to be visited. Here is my map:

Previously, I asked about Christian monuments in this museum in Vienna. When I walked through the museum, I did not see any Christian monuments. I do not know how, but it seems that I missed the only one that was exported. A 6th-century inscription found at St. Mary’s Basilica was brought to the Vienna Museum. The inscription tells about how the church will bury individuals who have passed away freely. I am still not sure where in the museum it is located. I, like most, must have walked past this inscription unaware of its importance. Here is a picture on their website.^[2]https://www.khm.at/en/artworks/hirtenbrief-des-erzbischofs-hypatios-52197