History
Artemis Ephesia, an Anatolian fertility goddess,
was worshipped on the same site at Ephesos
for a long period, her altar and shrine undergoing
various construction phases and alterations.
Temple of Artemis
The many-breasted "Lady
of Ephesus",
identified by Greeks with Artemis, was venerated
in the Temple of Artemis, the largest building
of the ancient world, and one of the Seven
Wonders of the World, of which scarcely a
trace remains. Ephesus was an important center
for early Christianity. Paul used it as a
base.
"The Ephesians then,
being besieged by him, dedicated their city
to Artemis and tied a rope from
the temple to the wall of the city: now the
distance between the ancient city, which
was then being besieged, and the temple is
seven furlongs." Herodotus Histories
- Book 1
Historical sources tell us that the temple
was deliberately burnt down by Herostratus
in 356 BC, and, according to tradition, on
the very night that Alexander the Great was
born in Macedon. Many of the architectural
elements and sculptures from the Archaic
Artemision show clear signs of burning.
God Destroys Her Temple
"And all the
graven images thereof shall be beaten to pieces,
and all the hires thereof
shall be burned with
the fire,
and all the idols thereof will I lay desolate. In
the house of Aphrah roll
thyself in the dust." Micah
1:7-10
Micah says "Burned with fire"
The temple of Artemis (Diana) at Ephesus was
destroyed in an act of
arson committed by Herostratus.According
to the history, his motivation was fame at
any cost, thus the term herostratic fame.
Micah says "Idols will I lay desolate"
There are only two columns of the Temple that
remain today and the rest of it sits completely
under a swamp land.
Micah says "In the house of Aphrah roll
thyself in the dust." Aphrah in the Hebrew
has only two meanings - Dust as in house of
Dust and a Female
Deer.
Today there is only one statue of the Godess
Diana
of the Ephesians that remains. It can
be seen at the Louvre Museum in Paris. In the
statue behind her stands a female
deer.
Theatre at Ephesus
The theatre at Ephesus
was used
initially for drama, but during later Roman
times gladiatorial
combats
were also held on its stage. The population
of Ephesus has been estimated to be in the
range of 400,000 to 500,000 inhabitants in
the year 100 CE, making it the largest city
in Roman Asia and one of the largest cities
of the day. Ephesus also had several major
bath complexes, built at various points while
the city was under Roman rule. The city had
one of the most advanced aqueduct systems in
the ancient world. "They rushed with one accord
into the theatre" - Acts 19:29
Merchants Selling Statues of Diana
Acts 19:24 In chapter 19 a silversmith named
Demetrius who makes statues of Diana complains
about Paul and how he is interfering with their
trade to earn a living by building and selling
statues of Diana "this Paul hath persuaded
and turned away much people"
This is still done in Ephesus to this very
day. The merchants try and sell statues of
her to tourists!
Acts 19:35 And
when the townclerk had appeased the people,
he said, Ye
men of Ephesus, what man is there that
knoweth not how that the city of the
Ephesians is a worshipper of the great
goddess Diana
Acts 19:34 But when
they knew that he was a Jew, all with one voice
about the space of
two hours cried out, Great is Diana
of the Ephesians
Acts 19:27 So that not only this our craft
is in danger to be set at nought; but also
that the temple of the great
goddess Diana should be despised
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