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Herostratus
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Herostratus was a young man who set fire to the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus (currently in Turkey) in his quest for fame on July 21, 356 BC. The Temple of Artemis in Ephesus was built of marble, and was considered the most beautiful of some thirty shrines built by the Greeks to honor Artemis; 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. This harsh stipulation apparently did not preclude Herostratus from achieving his goal. The name of Herostratus has lived on in classic literature, and evolved 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, This includes a citation from the Sartre story just mentioned, which describes Erostratus's name as enduring "like a black diamond".
- Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, edited William Smith (1870) v. 2, page 439 [1] scanned image, not text-searchable