Library of Celsus

Nearly every Ephesus postcard shows the Library of Celsus, and the building earns its fame. The two-level front, with its columns, niches and statues, rises at the foot of Curetes Street, where the marble street bends towards the harbour. Built in the early 2nd century AD, it served as a public library and as a monumental tomb at the same time. You do not buy a ticket for it alone: it sits inside the Ephesus site, where foreign visitors pay €40 in 2026.

Key details at a glance

The library's story in brief

Tiberius Julius Celsus Polemaeanus came from Sardis, a Greek who climbed to the rank of Roman consul and became governor of the province of Asia, with Ephesus as its capital. When he died, his son Tiberius Julius Aquila funded a library to honour him; it was finished around 117 AD. Celsus was laid to rest in a marble sarcophagus in a chamber below the building, a rare privilege inside city limits.

About 12,000 scrolls were stored in niches in the walls, and a double wall kept the damp away from them. Few libraries in the Roman world were larger. In the 3rd century fire destroyed the interior, most likely during an earthquake or a Gothic raid, and later earthquakes toppled the facade. Between 1970 and 1978 the Austrian Archaeological Institute put the front back up from its original blocks, using new stone where pieces were missing.

Highlights

• The front. Paired columns on two levels, topped by alternating pediments. The design plays with perspective: the columns at the edges are a little shorter, which makes the facade seem wider and higher than it really is.
• The four virtues. The statues in the lower niches stand for Wisdom (Sophia), Virtue (Arete), Thought (Ennoia) and Knowledge (Episteme). What you see are copies; the originals belong to the Ephesos Museum in Vienna.
• The inscriptions. Texts in Greek and Latin on the walls and steps give the names of Celsus and his son.
• The Gate of Mazaeus and Mithridates. Next to the library, this three-arched gate was put up by two freed slaves to honour Emperor Augustus, and it opens into the commercial agora.
• The interior. Only an open shell is left, but the niches that once held scrolls are still visible.

When to go

The facade looks east, so the early morning sun lights it directly. The site is also at its calmest then, before cruise groups from Kusadasi turn up at about 09:30. Between late morning and early afternoon the square in front is crowded. After 16:00 it gets quieter again, though by then the front is in shadow.

With our Private Ephesus Highlights Tour with Skip-the-Line Access, an expert guide takes you to the Library of Celsus, the Terrace Houses and the House of the Virgin Mary, from US$300. If you are based in Istanbul, the Ephesus Day Trip from Istanbul with Flights flies you to Izmir and home again on the same day. For cruise passengers there is the Private Ephesus Tour with On-Time Return, also from US$300.

How readers used the building

Visitors climbed the steps and passed through one of three doorways into a single high hall. Scrolls were kept in rectangular wall niches on several levels, which readers reached from galleries. A space of roughly one metre between the inner and outer walls kept moisture out, a practical idea for a seaside city. The large apse facing the entrance probably held a statue, of either Celsus or Athena, the goddess of wisdom. Scrolls were not lent out; people read them at tables in the hall.

In the Roman world, a library was a public building that showed off the generosity of a wealthy family. This one stood at the city's busiest junction, next to the agora and the main road down to the harbour.

Photography advice

• For the familiar view from above, stop on Curetes Street on the way down.
• To get the whole facade with nobody in front, come at opening time and walk directly down from the Upper Gate.
• The square is narrow, so a wide lens is useful.
• Bring a zoom for close-ups of the capitals and cornices.

Read more on our Ephesus Ancient City page and our Ephesus and Kusadasi destination page.

Questions visitors ask