Curetes Street is the main attraction in Ephesus because all of the best ruins and monuments will be welcoming us over here. Street used to be protected by Hercules, who can be seen on both sides of the entrance. It used to be a residential area too. Just like today, big trucks can not enter the main streets, it was the same for the chariots in those days. To keep the chariots outside the street, a gate was built with steps.
In mythology, the Curetes were known as semi-deities. Later “Curetes” referred to a class of priests in Ephesus. Mary inscriptions about the Curetes were discovered in different locations in Ephesus, especially at the Prytaneion. First, there were six of them, but later their number was increased to nine. The aim of this group was to recreate the birth of Artemis Ephesia in Ortygia, near Ephesus. According to mythology, while Leto, impregnated by Zeus, was giving birth to the twins, Artemis and Apollo, Curetes made a lot of noise with their weapons so that Zeus’s wife Hera was jealous of Leto, would be confused and not see the birth of the twins.
In the beginning, the Curetes were affiliated only with the Artemision, but during the Roman Empire, they acquire a place in the Prytaneion also. They were chosen every year. The street named after the Curetes stretches from the Heracles Gate to the Celsus Library and since it is located in the center of the city, there are monumental structures facing the street.
