In the Apostles’ Footsteps – Part 6 – Brad Jersak – “The Great Artemis”
Follow Dr. Bradley Jersak, PTM’s pastoral scholar, as he walks the ancient streets of biblical cities across Türkiye and Greece—sites where Christ’s apostles once trod. Knowing that Paul the apostle or John the beloved disciple traversed those same stones is a profound experience that brings the words of Scripture to life. In this series, Brad offers reflections on key locations he visited with students and friends of St. Stephen’s University.
I began our visit to Ephesus in Part 5 of this series with a visit to the Library of Celsus and the statues depicting four ways of knowing. While there, we also visited the Ephesus Museum in Selcuk, where valuable statues, coins, and relics discovered in the ruins are housed. I was fascinated most by the idols of “the Great Artemis,” whose devotees triggered a riot when Paul’s preaching threatened their business.
“The Great Artemis”
The example to the left must have been nearly eight feet tall. It is decorated with carved bees and rosettes. And on her head, a crown topped with a replica of her temple. This seems to be a Roman copy of the earlier Greek versions.
The Ephesians believed she was “born” in their city and regarded her as one of the three virgin goddesses. Despite that, she is associated with fertility, which probably contributed to the belief that we’re looking at forty bare breasts on her torso. There’s debate about that among scholars, with the two other options being bull testicles (!) and gourds. In any case, she was certainly beloved to the silversmiths in Paul’s day, because sales of her image constituted a lucrative industry.
With that backdrop, here’s the rest of the story:
Paul versus Artemis – Acts 19
23 About that time there arose a great disturbance about the Way.24 A silversmith named Demetrius, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought in a lot of business for the craftsmen there. 25 He called them together, along with the workers in related trades, and said: “You know, my friends, that we receive a good income from this business. 26 And you see and hear how this fellow Paul has convinced and led astray large numbers of people here in Ephesus and in practically the whole province of Asia. He says that gods made by human hands are no gods at all. 27 There is danger not only that our trade will lose its good name, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be discredited; and the goddess herself, who is worshiped throughout the province of Asia and the world, will be robbed of her divine majesty.”
28 When they heard this, they were furious and began shouting: “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” 29 Soon the whole city was in an uproar. The people seized Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul’s traveling companions from Macedonia, and all of them rushed into the theater together.
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The Ephesus Amphitheater
30 Paul wanted to appear before the crowd, but the disciples would not let him. 31 Even some of the officials of the province, friends of Paul, sent him a message begging him not to venture into the theater.
32 The assembly was in confusion: Some were shouting one thing, some another. Most of the people did not even know why they were there. 33 The Jews in the crowd pushed Alexander to the front, and they shouted instructions to him. He motioned for silence in order to make a defense before the people. 34 But when they realized he was a Jew, they all shouted in unison for about two hours: “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”
35 The city clerk quieted the crowd and said: “Fellow Ephesians, doesn’t all the world know that the city of Ephesus is the guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of her image, which fell from heaven? 36 Therefore, since these facts are undeniable, you ought to calm down and not do anything rash. 37 You have brought these men here, though they have neither robbed temples nor blasphemed our goddess. 38 If, then, Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen have a grievance against anybody, the courts are open and there are proconsuls. They can press charges. 39 If there is anything further you want to bring up, it must be settled in a legal assembly. 40 As it is, we are in danger of being charged with rioting because of what happened today. In that case, we would not be able to account for this commotion since there is no reason for it.” 41 After he had said this, he dismissed the assembly.
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Just a P.S. here. Yunus, our brilliant tour guide, pointed out that the amphitheater we saw in Ephesus would have held all sorts of events there. It was considered the largest in the world then, with a seating capacity of 25,000! At first, it was used for open-air dramas, but the Romans also used it for gladiatorial combat.
However, a caveat: while the amphitheater began construction 200 years before Paul and was expanded by the Romans to its current size, Yunus also was not 100% sure that this is the same “theater” mentioned in Acts 19, though it’s fun to imagine standing in the very places he might have.
Alright, please stay tuned for our third and final segment on the Ephesus excursion!
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