The Curetes Street
The street begins from the celsius library, reaches the junction of mounts Panayir and Bulbul after sloping to the southeast, then turns to the state agora and ends at the Heracles gate. This street paved with white marble slabs where the monumental edifices of the city are lined up, opens onto columned galleries with decorative mosaic flooring on both sides. The spaces between the columns were adorned with statues of prominent persons, the pedestals of which are still in their places. The name of the street is connected with following myth: while “leto” impregnated by “ Zeus“ was giving birth to “Artemis“ in Ortygia (southeast of Ephesus) the “ Curetes“ who were known as semi-deities in close relationship with Zeus raised a lot of uproar and clamor so that Herai wife of Zeus, would not hear the baby cries and thus saved the life of Artemis. The Curetes were therefore highly respected as a class of priests in Ephesus. Their function consisted essentially of recreating the birth of Artemis in a dramatic ceremony organized each year in Ortygia. In the beginning the Curetes were affiliated with the Artemission only, during the roman empire they acquired a place in the Prytaneion also and assumed the duty of maintaining the holy fire of “Hestia“.
