Hercules Gate in Ephesus Ancient City
Hercules Gate locates on the east corner of Curetes Street and as a monumental gate in the Late Antique period, it was constructed from reused materials. This gate takes its name from the reliefs of Hercules on its two doorposts. Even though these reliefs were sculptured in the 2nd century, the Hercules Gate was located in the late 4th AD. It indicates that the pillars were used in another building. As the greatest of Greek heroes, Hercules is accepted to be the paragon of masculinity. His original name was Heracles, his name was changed to Hercules in Rome later.
On both sides of the gate, there are reliefs of Hercules which was described in Nemean lion skin. In mythology, the Nemean lion was the strongest creature and Hercules beat him. Beating him was one of his missions Hercules in mythology. The relief of Nike located on Domitian Square was originally situated on the arch of Hercules gate. The relief of flying Nike was sculpted with a palm branch in the right hand and a garland made of leaves of daphne. The design of Nike dates back to half of the 4th century.
Hercules Gate locates at the starting point of Curetes Street. The gate has used a separation between the up city and down the city. Curetes Street was used as a pedestrian lane. It was used for controlling the vehicles moving up.
