"Historical Ephesus." Ephesus by Tdiver

In 10th century B.C. Andoclos,the son of Kodros,King of Athens was running from the Dor invasion of Greece.It was predicted by an oracle that a fish and a boar would show the site to establish a settlement.While frying a fish it fell from the pan and spooked a boar hiding in bushes nearby.Where Androclos killed the boar he founded Ephesus.
Androclos was later killed in the wars with the Carians and a mausoleum was built to his memory somewhere around the Gate of Magnesia which is where most people enter the ruins today.
Lydian king Kreisos ruled around 6th century B.C. and prospered but due to the inhabitants dislike of authority a lot of them moved away and settled at Artemis nearby.
Later Ephesus was ruled by the Persians being saved from destruction as they did not join in the Ionian rebellion against the Persians.
Ephesus was governed by 2 systems the democratic and oligarchic.These clashed around 356 B.C. and the oligarchic supporters fired the temple of Artemis.
Alexander the Great then beat the Persians in 334 B.C. and all the cities around got their independence.
Alexander proposed to rebuild the temple but the population refused stating that "A God cannot build a temple to a God".They later rebuilt the temple under the Ephesian architect Dinocrates.

Amphitheatre,Ephesus.

After Alexanders death the city was ruled by Lysimakhos who decided to move the city west as the river was silting up.He named the new city Arsinoeina after his wife and surrounded the city with 10 meter high walls.After his death the population destoyed the walls and renamed it Ephesus again.
190 B.C. saw the Romans in charge and they left the Bergamian kings ruling until the death of King Attalos III in 133 B.C. when they took over.It reached its peak around 1-4 A.D. and had a population of 225,000 mainly due to the dredging of the river and creation of a large port.
Prosperity brought construction and much of this is what we see today like the Celsus library.

Ephesus.

Ephesus later played a significant role in early Christianity and its prestige increased with the arrival of Saint Paul.
St.Jean and the Virgin Mary visited with the Virgin Mary settling down nearby on mount Bulbul.
1090 it became a state of Seljuk,briefly held by the Byzantines then back under Seljuk control by 1307.
As the river again silted up it lost its significance to Izmir and Kusadasi.

• Pros:Fantastic site with more being uncovered.
• Cons:Lack of shade if it's sunny.
• In a nutshell:Gets better and better.