Located
to the south end of the Domitian Street,
it is the first structure in Ephesus known
to be dedicated to an emperor. It was
built on a high and wide terrace set by
50x100 meters in size, on vaulted foundations.
The northern size of the terrace seems
to be two-stories high, reached by stairs.
The stairs are still visible today.
The temple, built in pro-style plan, had
eight columns on the short side and thirteen
columns on the long side, and four additional
columns in front of the cella. At the
northern side there was an u-shaped altar,
which is now displayed in Izmir museum.
It was in the reign of Domitian that an
emperor gave permission to built an Emperor
Temple; that is the permission to be the
'neocoros' for the first time, which was
a great honor for a city.
When
the unpopular emperor was killed by his
servant, public quickly took vengeance
and erased his name from many inscriptions.
However in order to not lose its neocoros
status , the Ephesians re-dedicated the
temple to Vespasian, the father of Domitian.
