| Abstract
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The object of Universal Goddess on the Via Sacra: The Evolving Image of Artemis Ephesia , is first and foremost to understand the nature of religious practices associated with Artemis Ephesia, using the most recent archaeological materials in this pursuit. This study begins by investigating the nature of the cult statue of Artemis Ephesia, examining her representations throughout the empire on various figures and coins. As opposed to a static image confined to a limited set of interpretations, the statue of Artemis Ephesia is revealed as a figure in constant flux, dependent on the period and the particular audience viewing it. Second, personal religious perspectives are investigated in relation to the cult statue and the cult of Artemis in general. The aim here is to balance modern studies concentrating on political and social aspects of her cult. The final section investigates the cult of Artemis Ephesia in relation to the city's sacred geography, where ramifications of this more contextually sensitive view became more comprehensible. After describing the layout of the Artemisium, this study continues along the Via Sacra encircling Mount Pion of the Phrygian Mother Goddess, by the shrines of Artemis-Hestia and Artemis-Hekate, through the Triodos Gate of Hekate, into the Ortygia where Leto supposedly gave birth to the twins, Artemis and Apollo, and, finally, concluding this journey at the theater, the great assembly place fear the Ephesian goddess. Ultimately, Artemis Ephesia is revealed to be a goddess of protection, the sacred space of her precinct understood as a place of asylum for individuals seeking refuge, a bank for those wishing to secure their material wealth, and a shrine for virgins desiring to protect their chastity. By extension of the Via Sacra, her role as protective mother moved beyond the temenos to the city itself. Along with the images of Artemis, the Ephesian Letters carried her perceived magical protective powers even further, all along the shores of the Mediterranean, even to the very ends of the Greco-Roman world.
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