FaithonMaps › All places › Cave of the Seven Sleepers

Cave of the Seven Sleepers

Asleep for two centuries · Ephesus, Turkey

Early Church
c. 250 AD
Location uncertain

During a persecution under Emperor Decius, seven young Christians from Ephesus hid in a cave and fell asleep. According to the story they woke almost two centuries later, when the empire had become Christian, and their return showed people that God raises the dead. From the 5th century the story was told all over the Christian world. Today you can see the excavated cave complex, with hundreds of graves, on the slope of Mount Pion near the ancient city.

Ephesus is the classic location, but towns in Jordan and Turkey also claim the cave.

Did you know?

The same story appears in the Quran, which makes it one of the stories shared by Christians and Muslims.

View on the map Open in Google Maps

Sources

Legend of the Seven Sleepers · Wikipedia

Also on the map

EphesusPaul and the riot of the silversmiths · Turkey · c. 54 AD