Hērostratus

Herostratus (Greek: ‘Ηρόστρατος) was a young man who set fire to the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus (currently in western Turkey) in his quest for fame on July 21, 356 BC. The temple was constructed of marble and was considered the most beautiful of some thirty shrines built by the Greeks to honor their goddess of the hunt and the wild. The temple was also one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

Far from attempting to evade responsibility for his act of arson, Herostratus proudly claimed credit in order to immortalize his name in history. In order to dissuade similar-minded fame-seekers, the Ephesean authorities not only executed Herostratus, but condemned him to a legacy of obscurity by forbidding mention of his name under the penalty of death. Obviously, this harsh stipulation did not preclude Herostratus from achieving his goal, as the ancient historian Theopompus recorded the event and Herostratus in his history.

Literary and popular culture references

The name of Herostratus lived on in classical literature, and has been passed on into modern languages.

• In German, for example, Herostrat is an individual in constant pursuit of fame.
• The English term Herostratic fame, likewise, relates to Herostratus.
• Jean-Paul Sartre wrote a short story titled "Erostratus" as part of his 1939 Le mur (The Wall). In the story, a man plans to commit a crime of random violence as a means of achieving fame.
• The Japanese version of the Momus CD Oskar Tennis Champion contains a track titled "Erostratus" in which he gloats about his posthumous fame. It references the Sartre story in describing Erostratus's name as enduring "like a black diamond".

References

• Smith, William, ed. (1870) Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, V. 2, pg 439 , Scanned image, not text-searchable

Donate to Wikimedia