Herostratus

Herostratus, also called Eratostratus, is known for burning down the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, in 356 BCE. He did this to become famous. His name is now used to describe anyone who commits a crime just to gain notoriety.

Almost nothing is known about his life—no family, birthplace, job, or social status. Historians are unsure if he was a citizen of Ephesus (near modern Selçuk, Turkey). Because the punishment for his crime was usually reserved for noncitizens, some think he might have been a slave, former slave, or foreigner. Others assume he came from a low social class.

The Temple of Artemis was built over 120 years starting around 560 BCE. It was made mostly of marble, with a wooden roof and a wooden statue of Artemis. Ancient writers called it one of the Seven Wonders and praised it as the most magnificent Greek monument. On the day Alexander the Great was born (356 BCE), Herostratus set the temple on fire, possibly by igniting the large wooden roof. He was quickly arrested and tortured on the rack. Under torture, he confessed he wanted everlasting fame. He was then executed. To stop his name from being remembered, Ephesus passed a law forbidding anyone from mentioning it. The crime shocked the city and may have caused panic.

There are gaps in the story. One historian notes that Herostratus confessed his motive under torture, rather than shouting his name publicly. Torture was not always seen as a reliable way to get the truth. Some Ephesians may have suspected he was hired by enemies of the city. The temple was rebuilt starting in 323 BCE, larger than before. It was later looted and burned by the Goths around 262/267 CE, and finally destroyed by a Christian mob in 401 CE. As of 2017, only one reassembled column remained.

Herostratus’s motives are unclear. Ancient sources agree he wanted eternal fame, but not why. The main theory is that he felt resentful over some injustice and could not earn a good reputation, so he turned to crime. The Greek satirist Lucian suggested jealousy or a feeling of mediocrity drove him—he thought fame would only come from destroying the temple. A Roman historian noted his tendency toward sacrilege. A Russian poet later wrote that Herostratus saw himself as a “maggot squashed by destiny.”

The law banning his name did not stop many ancient writers from recording him. The first was Theopompus, a historian alive at the time. Later, Valerius Maximus used his case to discuss criminals who seek fame, comparing him to Philip II’s assassin. Lucian linked the arson to a later violent act. By the Middle Ages, Herostratus was well known in Europe. Writers like Geoffrey Chaucer used him as an example of seeking fame through wrongdoing. In a 1630 comedy, a character argues that obscurity makes a person an “animal” and that fame must be sought by any means. A 1699 play about Richard III also references him.