Herostratus - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
Herostratus (Greek: Ηροστρατος) 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. That temple was built 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 one of the Seven Wonders of the World.
Far from attempting to evade responsibility for this act of arson, Herostratus proudly claimed credit in order to secure his place in history. In order to dissuade similar-minded fame-seekers, the Greek 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.
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