Who is the Artemis mentioned in the Bible?

Name of the heathen goddess Diana, as given in the Greek of Acts 19:24-35: she was regarded as presiding over the productive and nutritive powers of nature.

This is the Latin name of one of the principal goddesses of the Greeks and Romans: the Greek name is Artemis. An image of her was said to have fallen from heaven, or to have been formed of wood or ebony which fell from the clouds. It was worshipped by all Asia. Her temple was at Ephesus, built of choice marble. A Roman coin in the British Museum bears a representation of the temple with the image of the goddess in the centre. Acts 19:24-35. Though Ephesus was otherwise an enlightened city, it was dark as to religion, the excited people could shout for two hours "Great is Diana of the Ephesians."

Ephesus was a famous trade city of Asia Minor near the coast of the Aegean Sea. It had a temple of the Greek goddess Artemis, in which an image of this goddess had been erected. This had supposedly fallen from heaven (Acts 19:24, 35). In New Testament times, Ephesus was the capital of the Roman province of Asia. There were many Jews living in Ephesus.

The city of Ephesus was situated in Lydia on the River Cayster, about forty miles from Smyrna. It was a place of considerable commerce and also noted for its magnificent temple of Artemis, which was from very ancient times the center of the worship of that goddess. This temple was burnt down by Herostratus 355 B.C., but rebuilt at immense cost, and was one of the wonders of the ancient world. Pliny tells us that it was 425 feet long and 220 feet in breadth. All Asia contributed to its erection, and 127 magnificent columns were bestowed by so many kings. Little models of the temple in silver, with the image of the goddess enshrined in them, were made for sale, and sold in large quantities (Acts 19:24-29).

I love to listen when father reads, even though I cannot always understand it all, but then dear mother is willing to go over the chapter again with me, and explain what I find difficult. We had such a lovely time together last Sunday evening. I must try to write down as much of what mother told me as I can remember. Father had been reading the nineteenth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, which gives an account of how, when Paul preached at Ephesus, a silversmith named Demetrius made a great uproar by calling his fellow-workmen together, and telling them that their craft was in danger, and their goddess Diana would be despised. So they were very angry, and all cried together, "Great is Diana of the Ephesians."

I asked mother to tell me about Diana, as I thought her name was something like one of Truyken's favourite saints, about whom she sometimes tells me wonderful stories: But mother said that the old Greeks and Romans, who did not know the true God, had a great number of false gods and goddesses, one of whom was Diana. Her temple was very beautiful, much more beautiful than the church Truyken attends, and I think that must be a lovely place, for she has told me so often about its grand pictures, and statues of marble as white as snow. But the temple of Diana was called one of the wonders of the world. And amid all that was pleasing to the eye, the supposed image of Diana was nothing but an ugly, shapeless, black stone, which the priests told the people had fallen from Jupiter.

Sebomai is found ten times in the Greek New Testament. Six times it is translated worship: Matt. 15:9; Mark 7:7; Acts 16,14; 18:7,13; 19:27. Three times it is translated devout, and once religious. So we may see that the basic meaning of sebomai is, 'I worship'. But note, the worship may be right or wrong, true or false. Matt. 15:9 reads: "But in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men." And Acts 19:27 tells of the worship of the idol, Diana of the Ephesians. Both these are 'wrong worship.'

409 A certain man, Demetrius, gained large sums from the manufacture of little silver shrines to Diana, because this Diana was celebrated in the entire pagan world; and her temple was one of the seven wonders of the world (v. 27). Incited by the desire for gain, he assembles the craftsmen to oppose the truth which was destroying all their trade (v. 25, 26), the truth which shewed that gods made with hands were no gods. How deep the gloom into which man, without God, and by his very need of a God, throws himself!

Not only were their gains at stake, but the importance of their goddess and of their city was in danger of being destroyed. They do not say, "Great is Diana," but "Great is Diana of the Ephesians." The knowledge of the true God makes our own nothingness felt, and judges the state of the heart; but in a false religion there is an alliance with the passions of the heart. The worshippers are great according to the measure of their religion, and of that which they worship. If the Diana of the Ephesians was great, the Ephesians themselves were important according to her importance. To despise Diana was to detract from the greatness of her followers. Gain and importance were the two things which accompanied the worship of this goddess. Such was the source of the passions awakened by a few clever words from Demetrius. Such is the religion of the natural heart, which however feels the need of a God. It is a false religion which does not act on the conscience, unless perhaps to produce fear, if God be against it; but which nourishes human passions, and allies itself with the malice of the heart against truth.

The multitude rise in fury, and rush with one accord to the theatre. The brethren restrain Paul, and prevent him from going there, whither his zeal would have led him. God watches over His servant; there was nothing for him to do there. The crowd, however, take possession of two brethren, companions of Paul, and drag them to the theatre. Certain chiefs of the public festivals of Asia, friends of Paul, send to him, warning him not to present himself at the theatre, where there was only violence and tumult. But once more the poor Jews prove themselves without light. Walking in darkness in their own errors, they put forward one of their countrymen to defend the doctrine of the one God. But this only still further excites the fury of the people, who cry out for the space of two hours, "Great is Diana of the Ephesians." Without God it is impossible either to oppose the devil, or to maintain the truth; neither the truth of the one God, nor the name of Jesus associated with that of Paul who announced Him, had any power without faith and truth in the heart. The poor Jews had rejected the Saviour, and without their perceiving it, strength entirely failed them, as it did Samson, shorn of the Nazarite's hair. Although enemies to the new doctrine, yet they expected to be able to present amicably the doctrine of the one God. But, enemies to the grace of God and despised by men, all they could do was to excite the multitude to continue still longer their senseless and passionate cry, "Great is Diana of the Ephesians."

'And about that time arose no small disturbance about the Way. For a certain [man] by name Demetrius, a silver-beater, making silver shrines [miniature temples] of Artemis, brought no little business to the artisans, whom he gathered together with the workmen of like nature, and said, Men, ye are aware that we2 have our prosperity from this business. And ye behold and hear that this Paul has persuaded and turned away a considerable crowd, not only of Ephesus, but of almost all Asia, saying that they are no gods that are made by hands. Now, not only is there danger for us that this trade come into disrepute, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis be counted for nothing, and that even she should be deposed from her3 magnificence, whom all Asia and the world [habitable earth] reveres. And when they heard, they were filled with wrath and kept crying out, saying, Great is Artemis of the Ephesians. And the city was filled with confusion; and they rushed with one accord into the theatre, having seized together Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians, Paul's fellow-travellers. And when Paul was minded to enter to the people, the disciples suffered him not. And some of the Asiarchs also, being his friends, sent to him and urged him not to adventure himself into the theatre' (vers. 23-31). 2 Tischendorf has shown the mistake of Griesbach in giving ὑμῶν for ἡμῖν (ABDE, et al.), instead of the vulgar ἡμῶν. This error is faithfully repeated in the notes of Scholz, a very inferior critic. 3 τῆς μεγαλειότητος ℵABE and near 20 cursives, et al., rather than τὴν μεγαλειότητα as in Text. Rec.

Such was the fresh effort of the enemy, not so much by means of Jews as Gentiles, and accordingly by an appeal to worldly lusts rather than by spiritual power in an evil shape. Nevertheless, religious motives, such as they were, even here threw a certain halo around that which was really selfish and utterly sordid. Nor is any device of the enemy more common or permanent. Satan contrives in this world to interweave debasing and destructive superstition with the present interests and honour of mankind. This being so, one cannot wonder that the mass of men are most readily inflamed by the testimony of the truth which threatens to undermine their religion and their worldly property. It is the same today, in principle, as then at Ephesus. An active leader was easily found to take the matter up and blow it into a flame. The artisans and the workmen engaged in the trade of the silver shrines of Artemis were roused by their employer Demetrius, who appealed to their covetousness and at the same time pointed out that Paul's teaching threatened not only their trade but the discredit of the great goddess Artemis. And the appeal was not in vain; it never is, save where grace makes known the truth.

Man, ignorant of God, will fight for nothing more keenly than for his wealth and his religion. Nor could it be denied that throughout much more than Ephesus, or even Asia, Paul had persuaded and turned away much people from their gods many and lords many. There was no doubt that he really did mean that those are no gods which are made with hands, that to us there is one God, the Father, of Whom are all things, and we to Him, and one Lord Jesus Christ, through Whom are all things and we through Him (1 Cor. 8:6). We ought not to think, therefore, that the divinity is like to gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and device of man. And that one God now commends men that they should all everywhere repent, because He has appointed a day in the which He is going to judge the world, or habitable earth, in righteousness by the Man Whom He has ordained, giving to all proof of it in that He raised Him from the dead. So had Paul openly preached at Athens during his brief visit; assuredly his long abode in Ephesus was not less fruitful in the solemn proclamation of the truth. We need not have wondered if the silversmith had taken fire at the beginning of his stay. But grace knows how to make the wrath of man praise God, as well as to restrain the residue of wrath.

However, Satan could not stand by and see one of his great strongholds attacked and weakened by the power of the Spirit of God. He succeeds in working upon the greed of Demetrius, a silversmith, to suggest to him that Paul's doctrine was robbing him of customers for his idolatrous silver shrines. Calling together other such silversmiths, he impresses them with the need of protecting their financial interests. This is his first consideration, though he adds that Paul's teaching was also endangering the magnificence of their great goddess Diana. He knew well that this latter accusation would likely have more weight with the people. His fellow-tradesmen recognized this too, and being angry at the prospect of losing any trade, began an uproar by crying out in the streets, "Great is Diana of the Ephesians."

After two hours of riotous confusion, the town clerk of Ephesus was eventually able to gain the attention of the people and to quieten them. At least he was a reasonable man, and appealed to the fact that everyone knew that Ephesus worshiped Diana and the image that (they claimed) fell down from Jupiter. The image was manifestly a man-made thing, symbolizing the generative and nutritive powers of nature, and for this reason having many breasts. Its base was a block covered with mystical inscriptions and animals. But idolatrous men will accept any kind of superstitious deception.