Ephesus is pronounced EF-uh-sus: three syllables, with the stress on the first (/ˈɛfəsəs/). The name is older than Greek. Most scholars trace it to Apasa, a Bronze Age city named in Hittite records, and its original meaning is unknown. In Turkish the ancient city is called Efes.
This guide covers how to say Ephesus and Ephesians, how the name is written in other languages, what it is supposed to mean, and the names the place has had over 3,000 years. For visiting the ruins, see our Ephesus ancient city complete guide.
How Do You Pronounce Ephesus?
Say EF-uh-sus. The first syllable sounds like the start of "effort", the "ph" is an f as in "phone", and the last two syllables are short and light. Dictionaries give the same pronunciation for British and American English. Two mistakes are common:
- eh-FEE-sus: the stress moves to the second syllable, probably borrowed from the word Ephesians.
- EP-hes-us: the p and h said separately. Oddly, this is closer to how Athenians said it 2,500 years ago, when the Greek letter φ was a p with a puff of air; it only became an f sound later.
Ephesians is different. The stress moves to the second syllable: ih-FEE-zhənz, as in Paul's Letter to the Ephesians. One person from Ephesus is an Ephesian, ih-FEE-zhən.
| Language | Written | Roughly said |
|---|---|---|
| English | Ephesus | EF-uh-sus |
| Turkish | Efes | EH-fes |
| Ancient Greek | Ἔφεσος (Éphesos) | EP-he-sos, with a breathy p |
| Modern Greek | Έφεσος | EH-fe-sos |
| German | Ephesos | AY-feh-zos |
| French | Éphèse | ay-FEZ |
| Italian | Efeso | EH-feh-zo |
| Spanish | Éfeso | EH-feh-so |
| Arabic | أفسس | afasus |
| Hebrew | אפסוס | efesos |
What Does the Name Ephesus Mean?
Nobody knows for certain, because the name is older than the Greeks who made the city famous.
Hittite records of the 14th century BC name Apasa (or Abasa) as the capital of Arzawa, a kingdom in western Anatolia. Many scholars identify Apasa with Ephesus: the two names appear to be related, and Bronze Age remains have been found on Ayasuluk Hill in Selçuk, where the earliest settlement stood. If they are right, Ephesos is simply the Greek form of an older Anatolian name whose meaning has been lost.
The Greeks had their own explanation. Pausanias, a travel writer of the 2nd century AD, says the city took its name from Ephesus, a son of the river god Cayster, who founded the sanctuary of Artemis together with a local man called Coresus. The better-known founding story, of Prince Androclus following a fish and a boar, is told in The Founding Myth of Ephesus.
Search for the biblical meaning of Ephesus and you will usually find "desirable". That comes from older Bible reference books such as the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, while Smith's Bible Dictionary gives "permitted" instead. Both are guesses based on Greek words that sound a little like the name. Ephesos has no meaning in Greek, and the name was in use before Greek was spoken here, so these are devotional readings rather than etymology.
| Explanation | Where it comes from | How likely |
|---|---|---|
| Greek form of Apasa, capital of Arzawa | Hittite texts and modern archaeology | The scholarly view; the meaning of Apasa is unknown |
| Named after Ephesus, son of the river god Cayster | Pausanias, 2nd century AD | Myth |
| "Desirable" | International Standard Bible Encyclopedia; Boyd's Bible Dictionary | No linguistic basis |
| "Permitted" | Smith's Bible Dictionary | No linguistic basis |
What Does Ephesus Mean in the Bible?
The Bible does not explain the name. Ephesus appears as a real city: Paul lived and taught there for about three years (Acts 19), the Letter to the Ephesians is addressed to its church, and the first of the seven letters in the Book of Revelation is written to it.
When preachers talk about the "message of Ephesus", they usually mean that letter in Revelation 2:1–7. The church is praised for its hard work and its refusal to tolerate false teachers, then rebuked for abandoning the love it had at first. Our article on the Church of Ephesus in Revelation explains the letter line by line.
What Has Ephesus Been Called Through History?
The city has had more names than most, partly because its people moved more than once.
| Period | Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 14th century BC | Apasa | Capital of Arzawa in Hittite records; probably the same place |
| From the 10th century BC | Ephesos | Greek city founded by Ionian settlers |
| Early 3rd century BC | Arsinoeia | King Lysimachus moved the city and renamed it after his wife, Arsinoe II; the old name soon returned |
| From 129 BC | Ephesus | The Latin form, used under Roman rule; Augustus made the city capital of the province of Asia |
| Byzantine period | Hagios Theologos | "Holy Theologian", after St John, whose basilica stood on Ayasuluk Hill |
| 14th century to 1914 | Ayasoluk, Ayasuluğ | Turkish forms of Hagios Theologos; in the 14th century the town was capital of the Aydınid emirate |
| From 1914 | Selçuk | The town was renamed after the Seljuk Turks |
| Today | Efes | The Turkish name for the ancient city, next to Selçuk in Izmir province |
In other words, the ancient city never really lost its name; its people left it. As the harbour silted up, life moved to Ayasuluk Hill around the Basilica of St. John, and the hill's name, a Turkish rendering of the Greek for "Holy Theologian", served as the name of the town until 1914.
How Did the Ephesians Write Their Name?
On their coins, in two letters. For centuries the city's silver was stamped with a bee, its emblem, between the letters Ε and Φ, the first two letters of Ephesos. The other side usually shows a stag, the sacred animal of Artemis, the city's goddess.
You can see coins of Ephesus, including some of the earliest coins ever struck, in the coin room of the Ephesus Museum in Selçuk.
What Is Ephesus Called Today?
In Turkish it is Efes. The ruins are an open-air museum site just outside Selçuk, 2–3 kilometres from the town centre, in Izmir province, and nobody lives in the ancient city itself: the modern town grew up around Ayasuluk Hill instead. Ephesus was a Greek city in antiquity, but it has always stood in Anatolia, in what is now Turkey. Most visitors come from Kuşadası, 20 kilometres away; see how to get from Kuşadası to Ephesus.
The Turkish name is everywhere in the region. Efes, the country's best-known beer, has been brewed in Izmir since 1969 and is named after the ancient city, so do not be surprised to hear "Efes" in a restaurant as often as at the ruins.
If you would like to hear the story of the city's names where it happened, from Ayasuluk Hill to Harbour Street, our private Ephesus tours cover both, with a licensed historian guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you pronounce Ephesus?
EF-uh-sus, with the stress on the first syllable: /ˈɛfəsəs/. The "ph" is pronounced f.
How do you pronounce Ephesians?
ih-FEE-zhənz, with the stress on the second syllable. The singular, Ephesian, is ih-FEE-zhən.
What does Ephesus mean?
Its original meaning is unknown. The name probably comes from Apasa, the Bronze Age capital of the kingdom of Arzawa named in Hittite records, and it is older than Greek in the region.
What does Ephesus mean in the Bible?
The Bible gives no meaning for the name. Older Bible dictionaries say "desirable" or "permitted", but neither has a linguistic basis.
What is Ephesus called in Turkish?
Efes. The ruins lie next to the town of Selçuk in Izmir province.
Is it Ephesus or Ephesos?
Both are correct. Ephesos is the Greek form, used by archaeologists and in German; Ephesus is the Latin form used in English.
What was Selçuk called before?
Ayasoluk or Ayasuluğ, from the Greek Hagios Theologos, "Holy Theologian", a title of St John. The town was renamed Selçuk in 1914.
Is Ephesus a Hebrew word?
No. It is an Anatolian place name that reached English through Greek and Latin. In Hebrew it is written אפסוס, Efesos.
Part of the Ephesus ancient city complete guide. For the city's later Christian history, see the Council of Ephesus.
Photos via Wikimedia Commons: Bernard Gagnon (CC BY-SA 3.0), cgb.fr (CC BY-SA 3.0), Hugh Llewelyn (CC BY-SA 2.0).
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