# How did Herostratus burn a marble temple? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 29, 2011, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-herostratus-burn-a-marble-temple/583622 "2011-05-29T01:31:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Willcross](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b2d939/32.png) [@Willcross](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Willcross)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2011, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-herostratus-burn-a-marble-temple/583622/1 "2011-05-29T01:31:05Z")
I was researching the seven wonders of the ancient world earlier. I found that the Temple of Artemis was burned down by Herostratus in a quest for fame. The article also mentioned the temple was made of marble. This just seemed counter intuitive to me. Am I missing something? ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2011, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-herostratus-burn-a-marble-temple/583622/2 "2011-05-29T01:40:59Z")
I’m going to take a wild guess that there was a bunch of other stuff in the temple made of wood, cloth, leather, and other flammable things, and that these things fueled the fire, and eventually it got so hot that the marble exploded. I really have no idea how fires work so I could be utterly wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Willcross](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b2d939/32.png) [@Willcross](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Willcross)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2011, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-herostratus-burn-a-marble-temple/583622/3 "2011-05-29T01:48:05Z")
Yeah I didn’t think of the marble cracking. I figured there were flammable things inside, but assumed it just gutted the temple. I thought they would refurbish it afterwards. I just didn’t understand why it would be a total loss. Surely if you spend years building the place, it’s not worth totaling it over losing the interior. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2011, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-herostratus-burn-a-marble-temple/583622/4 "2011-05-29T02:02:17Z")
Fire will reduce marble to lime. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2011, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-herostratus-burn-a-marble-temple/583622/5 "2011-05-29T02:50:22Z")
My brother once went to a marble quarry to pick up some scrap slabs for a outdoor fire pit. One of the employees told him it wouldn’t work - the heat of a normal fire would make the marble crack and crumble into pieces. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2011, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-herostratus-burn-a-marble-temple/583622/6 "2011-05-29T02:58:14Z")
From what I’ve seen of ancient marble temples, etc., the roof of each one was made of wood, and has been gone for centuries. Just an amateur’s viewpoint. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2011, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-herostratus-burn-a-marble-temple/583622/7 "2011-05-29T06:18:46Z")
Yeah, it’s tough to make a good roof out of stone-- It’s just too heavy for its strength. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2011, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-herostratus-burn-a-marble-temple/583622/8 "2011-05-29T12:05:57Z")
And I’ve read, here & there (notably in De Camp), that the Temple of Artemis was made of wood. ---
**Author:** ![Walther\_Ego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8dc957/32.png) [@Walther\_Ego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walther_Ego)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2011, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-herostratus-burn-a-marble-temple/583622/9 "2011-05-30T19:53:28Z")
Stone buildings often have wooden pillars, wooden beams above windows and doors, roof framing etc. I doubt even a tile roof could survive a fire.