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ARTEMIS

(Gk. Ártemis)

The patron deity of Ephesus. Artemis Ephesia — a local manifestation of the Greek goddess Artemis and the Roman Diana — is a form of the native Anatolian Mother Goddess, a fertility and lunar deity known for her protection of new life, especially animals and women in childbirth. Ephesus claimed to be the place of her birth, feted twice annually, in the month-long spring artemisia, which involved athletic, theatrical, and musical celebrations as well as banquets and assemblies, and a late summer or fall event reenacting the birth as part of a mystery cult. In these celebrations, sacred images of Artemis were carried in procession from the Artemisium, the temple, into the city and then back to the sanctuary. Songs and acclamations of the crowds, similar to “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” (Acts 19:28, 34), were sung during the processions. These festivals attracted thousands of visitors and were the city’s primary economic industry. The tradition in Acts 19:35 that her cult image had “fallen from heaven” suggests that the original statue had been carved from a meteor, although no other literary references to that claim survive.

The center of the cult of Artemis was in Ephesus, where her image was minted on silver coins and the statuettes carried in civic processions. Conversions to Christianity certainly would have curtailed donations to the Artemisium, would have had a detrimental influence on the cult worship of the goddess, and would have been seen as a threat to the temple’s ancillary economic activity. Thus, Demetrius, probably a member of the temple board, saw Christianity as a direct threat to the religion and economy of the city, and he incited the silversmiths to riot over this intrusion of the Way (Acts 19:23-41).

Joseph A. Coray

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

ARTEMIS

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)