FRIDAY April 5, 2024
The Goddess Diana
And about that time there arose a great commotion about the Way. For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Diana, brought no small profit to the craftsmen.
Acts19:23-24
In Ephesus, the citizens zealously worshiped the fertility goddess known to the Greeks as Artemis and to the Romans as Diana. Her name Diana means “luminous, perfect.” The Temple of Artemis (or Diana) was considered to be one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
Designed by the architect Chersiphron, the temple of Artemis was mostly made of marble and was 377 feet in length and 180 feet wide. It had 127 individual columns that stood 60 feet high and were 6 feet thick. Amazingly, 36 columns were sculptured and overlaid with gold. Croesus, the wealthy king of Lydia, financed the entire project. Historians differ on the time it took to build the temple; some say it took 120 years to build, while others believe it took as much as 200 years.
The citizens in Ephesus were very zealous worshippers of Diana. Their idolatry was joined with the practice of ritual prostitution. The Christian community needed to be careful; the men could no longer give in to the seduction of the prostitutes.
When Paul preached that idols ...are not gods which are made with hands (Acts 19:26), the craftsmen in Ephesus became very upset. They were afraid that their businesses would be destroyed. So they incited the people in the city, saying, “... the temple of the great goddess Diana may be despised and her magnificence destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worship” (Acts 19:27).
Paul’s preaching caused a riot. So all with one voice [they] cried out for about two hours, “Great is Diana of the Ephesians!” (Acts 19:34). It was a very dangerous situation. Paul’s travel companions were almost killed!
You don’t have to go to heathen lands today to find false gods. America is full of them. Whatever you love more than God is your idol.
~D. L. Moody~
For more from Raul Ries, please visit SomebodyLovesYou.com!
