Herostratus

Herostratus, or Eratostratus (fl. 356 BCE), was an arsonist who destroyed the Temple of Artemis in an attempt to achieve infamy. Considered an early case of terrorism, his crime prefigured modern terrorist acts, including the assassination of Empress Elisabeth of Austria and the September 11 attacks. His name has become an eponym for someone who commits a criminal act solely to become famous, and the Herostratus syndrome afflicts "people who perpetrate odious attacks for the sake of infamy".

An obscure character, Herostratus burned down the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, in 356 BCE. He was swiftly arrested and tortured to death, during which he confessed his intentions: to gain everlasting fame. The arson prompted the passing of a damnatio memoriae law barring anyone from mentioning his name, although many ancient writers, including one contemporary of the arson, documented him. While Herostratus is thought to have been spurred on by resentment at what he considered societal injustice, his exact motives are not known with any certainty.

His life and crime have been adapted, discussed, and paralleled extensively in Western literature ever since the Middle Ages. Writers from Alessandro Verri to Jean-Paul Sartre have repurposed him into a fictional character, sometimes in the context of a modern world.