[1] The sanctuary is connected to the mythology around the founding of the city of Massalia by the Greeks in the 7th century BCE.
Strabo described the temple: The Temple of Artemis Ephesia in Massalia was an important center of the Massaliotes and its colonies and the Greek population in Gaul.
According to Strabo, a second temple was established near the Rhône (Rhodanos in Greek): "They [the Massiliotes] also established a temple of Artemis Ephesia there [i.e. at the mouth of the Rhodanos in southern Gaul], after first enclosing a piece of land which is made an island by the mouths of the river.
"[3] The cult of The Ephesian Artemis also reportedly spread so far as to the Iberians: "They [the people of Massilia] founded in Iberia [towns] as strongholds against the Iberians, and they also taught the Iberians the sacred rites of Artemis Ephesia, as practiced in the fatherland, so that they sacrifice by the Greek ritual.
"[4] While an Ionic capital has been found, believed to belong to the sanctuary, the exact location of the temple has not yet been established.