Gate of Mazeus and Mithridates

The monumental Gate of Mazeus and Mithridates is located at the end of Curetes Street, right by the Celsus Library. The three-arched gate dates back to 40 AD and was built by two slaves named Mazeus and Mithridates during the reign of Emperor Augustus.

Both Mazeus and Mithridates were slaves of Emperor Augustus, and the Emperor set them free and sent them to Ephesus as officers in charge of maintaining the prosperities belonging to the Roman Empire in Ephesus.

The gate of Mazeus and Mithridates has a Latin inscription on it that says, “From Emperor Caesar Augustus, the son of the god, the greatest of the priests, who was consul twelve and tribune twenty times; and the wife of August Livia; the son of Lucus, Marc Agrippa, who was consul three times, Emperor, and tribune six times; and the daughter of Julio Caesar Augustus, Mazeus and Mithridates to their master and the people.”

The inscription is known as the longest inscription of Ephesus and is written in both Latin and Greek. In front of the gate, there was an auditorium, and the steps of the Celsus Library were the seats for the spectators who would come and listen to the lecture.