 The Octagon (Tomb of Arsionoe IV) Ephesus, Turkey This monument is believed to be that of Arsinoe, the murdered sister of Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt. On our Ephesus Tours, this story is told like a scene from a soap opera. According to certain sources Arsionoe was killed while seeking refuge in the Temple of Artemis in the year 41 BC. The same year Cleopatra and her lover Marcus Antonius arrived in Ephesus. Arsinoe is said to have opposed Cleopatra's rule while her elder sister dreamt a uniting Egypt and Rome into a single global empire Arsinoe sought such an eventuality as Egyptian surrender to the authority of Rome. When Marcus Antonius and Cleopatra defeated Arsinoe's forces, she was exiled to Ephesus but Cleopatra later came to view Arsinoe as a thread and thus had her sister murdered by her Roman lover.  Tomb of Arsinoe VI at Ephesus Ancient City Turkey The skaleton discovered in the unadorned coffin in the central vault has been identified as that of a 15 to 16 year old female. According to recent analysis, the bones date back to period in which Arsinoe is said to have been murdered. Furthermore the Tomb is unlikely any other structure in Ephesus but has striking parallels with the lighthouse of Alexandria, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and an Iconic structure in Egypt during the reign of Cleopatra.
Indeed the Octagon can be seen almost as a miniature of the famous lighthouse. |
