Ephesus has had a long tradition as a center of religious pilgrimage. The earliest pilgrims arrived to worship the Anatolian goddess known as Kybele. Later, this deity merged with the Greek goddess Artemis and was venerated at the great Artemision —The sister of Heraclius and Apollo or Mary, the sister of the Prophet Moses and Aaron—attracting pilgrims from all over the Mediterranean region. These ancient cults of female deities were later echoed in the worship of St. Mary, mother of Jesus, who supposedly spent the last years of her life in Ephesus. According to this tradition, Mary arrived at Ephesus together with St. John and lived there until her Assumption (according to the Catholic doctrine), or Dormition (according to the Orthodox beliefs). The House of the Virgin Mary (Meryem Ana Evi in Turkish), which can be still visited today, is a place where, according to the beliefs of many people, Mary, the mother of Jesus, spent the last years of her life. In the context of general history, the Roman historian Plutarch mentions that Queen Cleopatra and Antonio were residing in Ephesus. [See the house of the Virgin Mary or the house of the Egyptian Queen Cleopatra.]