Ephesos was founded in the 10th century BC, in prehistoric Greek times, on the remains of the city of Apasa, which had served as the capital of the Arzawa Kingdom (Hipster Kingdom: Lasted for 800 years, you've never heard of it, inhabited Western Anatolia before it became cool).
Artemis Ephesia
Apasa had been the center of the worship of a Mother Goddess - Apasa may even mean 'Place of the Mother Goddess' - and this continued in Ephesus. But this time in the form of Artemis Ephesia - The Ephesian Artemis.
Those of you who know Artemis probably know her as the twin sister of the sun god Apollo, the slim, lithe and athletic virgin moon and hunter goddess whose attributes are the bow and arrow.
But Artemis Ephesia looks... completely different. She is actually - probably - identical to the mother goddess who was worshiped in Apasa before the Greeks came along. She's... a bee goddess! On her chest she has a cluster of bee eggs (or breasts) and her legs are bound together in a chrysalis.
In Ephesus also stood one of the seven wonders of the world - the Temple of Artemis - whose priestesses were called Melissae - 'bees', a word that recurs in both the Latin name for lemon balm and the other herbs in the Melissa genus (because they attract bees), and in the name of Melissa, of course.
Herostratic Fame
The Temple of Artemis was built in 550 BC. and was burned down in 356 BC. - on the same night that Alexander the Great was born - by a man named Herostratus.
If the name means something to you, dear reader, then it is only because of that. He burned down the Temple of Artemis to become famous - for good or for evil. An early example of "there's no such thing as bad press". The Ephesians executed him, of course, and were forbidden to mention his name under penalty of death. But the historian Theopompus wrote it all down, and Herostratus did become (in)famous. Although 'herostratic fame' is not exactly desirable.
The Coin
The coin here was struck sometime in the period 375-325 BC, so both Herostratus and the little Melissas - busy-bee priestesses - may have held it in their hands. It is 11mm and features Artemis on the front, and a bee on the back - and the letters E - Φ for Ephesus.
