THE LIBRARY OF CELSUS
The Celsus Library was erected in A.D 135 by Julius Aquila for his father Julius Celsus Polemaeanus, the consul of Asia province of Roman Empire. He died in A.D.114 at the age of 70. In the Roman period all but the bodies of heroes were buried outside the borders of cities. Aquila was granted permission for his father to be buried in a marble grave in a burial chamber in the library. Celsus's sarcophagus lay inside the building, under the middle apse.
The library, measuring 60.90 by 16.72 meters had a two storied facade and a large room inside. The columns at the sides of the facade are shorter than those at the center, giving the illusion of the building being greater in size. Its facade contains exemplars of   architectural elements that are among the most beautiful ones of the period, such as doors, windows, gables, niches and columns. A gap of one meter between inner and outer walls of the the library protected the books from extremes of temperature and humidity. The sarcophagus of  Celsus stand under the west side of the library. The semicircular niche on the main floor facing the central portal probably contained either the statue of Celsus or his son or the statue of Athena. It is thought that there was an auditorium for lectures or presentations between the library and the Marble Road.Four female statues standing between the columns personify the virtues of Celsus: Sophia (wisdom), Arete (virtue), Ennoia (intelligence), Episteme (knowledge). The original of the statues were taken to Vienna, Austria. Celsus himself is buried in a sarcophagus beneath the west side of the library.
Inside of the library is measured  10.92m x 16.72m. There were 12.000 rolls of books at the library. During the attacks of the Goths inside of the library was burned down however the facade of the library was not destroyed. The facade was restored together with the other structures at Ephesus in A.D. 4th century and a small nymphaeum was built near the stairs. The whola facade was ruined during a severe earthquake occured in A.D. 10th century. During the excavations carried out at the library  the friezes on both sides of the nymphaeum which depicted the wars against the Parthians. It is assumed that these friezes belonged to the altar situated in the north of the court just in front of the library. The sarcophagus which lies in the court was unearthed in 1968. The inscriptions on it state that  it belonged to Tiberius Claudius Flavianus Dionysos and it was built in the 2nd century A.D.