"Great Is Artemis of the Ephesians": Acts 19:23-41 in Light of Goddess Worship in Ephesus

C. L BRINKS
University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, IN 46556

AT THE END of Paul's lengthy stay in Ephesus, which included miraculous healings, exorcisms, and even a hook huming, Luke records the story of a riot that took place after Paul had decided that it was time for him to move on fi-om the city. Instigated by a group of silversmiths who were concerned that Paul's preaching was harming the worship ofthe goddess Artemis and thereby their business of making silver shrines of Artemis, the riot culminated, according to Luke, in a crowd gathering in the city's theater and two hours of shouts of praise for the goddess. To the contemporary reader, Paul's message that "gods made with hands are not gods" (Acts 19:26) hardly seems worth a citywide riot and hours of confusion and shouting. In first-century Ephesus, however, such an uproar would have beeen not only plausible but understandable in light ofthe Artemis cult. Archaeological evidence unearthed from Ephesus demonstrates how widespread and prevalent worship of Artemis was in this city and beyond.' The city's destruction in the
' For an interesting account of events surrounding the original excavation of ancient Ephesus, see John Turtle Wood, Discoveries at Ephesus, including the Site and Remains ofthe Great Temple of Diana (London: Longmans, Green, 1877); for more recent discussions of archaeology and Ephesus, see Helmut Koester, ed., Ephesos Metropolis of Asia: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Its Archaeology, Religion, and Culture (HTS 41; Valley Forge, PA: Trinity Press Intemational, 1995); for a discussion of inscriptions relating to Ephesus and Artemis, see G. H. R. Horsley, "The Inscriptions of Ephesos and the New Testament," NovT 34 (1992) 105-68; for a discussion of coins relating to Ephesus and Artemis, see Larry J. Kreitzer, "A Numismatic Clue to Acts 19.23-42: The Ephesian Cistophori of Claudius and Agrippina," JSA?r30 (1987) 59-70.

776

"GREAT IS ARTEMIS OF THE EPHESIANS"

777

seventh century CE. and subsequent relocation have afforded archaeologists extraordinary access to ancient Ephesus, where they have unearthed the Ephesian theater and stadium, temples, houses, streets, coins, statues, mosaics, and inscriptions.^ Such evidence allows us to see more clearly the socioreligious setting that forms the backdrop for the events about which Luke writes in Acts. I will begin this study with a description ofthe history of Artemis in Ephesus, including some ofthe social, political, and economic factors that relate to the goddess and her cult.^ I follow this with a close look at Luke's account ofthe Ephesian riot (Acts 19:23-41), in which I argue that the historical circumstances surrounding Artemis worship in Ephesus, while contributing to an understanding of the meaning of the account itself, also illuminate Luke's purpose for including it in his history of the early church. The account cannot simply be grouped as yet one more attempt by early Christians to legitimize Christianity,"* nor is it satisfactory to dismiss Luke as a fiction writer whose goal is to push his own theological agenda.^ Instead, Luke's account ofthe riot in Ephesus, while implicitly acknowledging the reality ofthe widespread popularity and influence of Artemis's cult in Ephesus, cleverly and subtly compares Artemis with the God of the Christians and insinuates that even Artemis's worshipers believed that the goddess faced a serious threat from a more powerful deity. I. Artemis of the Ephesians A. Artemis Although Artemis came to be depicted differently in each location in which she was worshiped, the various manifestations ofthe goddess had some basic traits in common. Identified with the Roman goddess Diana, Artemis in Greek mythology was a moon goddess and the daughter of Zeus and Leto, and the twin sister of Apollo (Hesiod Theog. 918-20). The older ofthe twins, Artemis was said, after she was bom, to have helped her mother deliver her younger brother.* Though forever a virgin herself, she was the goddess who assisted women during the major

^ Horsley, "Inscriptions of Ephesos," 105-68, esp. 109-11. ^ This is not to suggest that Artemis was everywhere conceived of or worshiped in the same way. Her Ephesian incarnation differed from those of other locations, though some common traits can be identified. '' Joseph A. Fitzmyer, The Acts ofthe Apostles: A new translation with introduction and commentary (AB 31; New York: Doubleday, 1998) 655-56. ' Gerd Ldemann, The Acts of the Apostles: What Really Happened in the Earliest Days of the Church (Amherst, NY: Prometheus, 2005) 257. ' Pierre Grimai, "Artemis," in The Dictionary of Classical Mythology (trans. A. R. MaxwellHyslop; New York: Blackwell, 1986) 61-62, esp. 61; Andrew E. Hill, "Ancient Art and Artemis: Toward Explaining the Polymastic Nature ofthe ?\g\xnne," JANES 2\ (1992) 91-94.

778

THE CATHOLIC BIBLICAL QUARTERLY | 71,2009

transitions of their lives, from little girls to young women, from marriageable to married, and from marriage to motherhood. She was also the one responsible for the deaths of mothers and infants during childbirth.^ Artemis, often pictured with a bow and arrow, was a hunter who roamed freely with the animals in the wild.^ Her perpetual virginity was indicative of her freedom from men rather than of any kind of morality,' and in fact she is still embraced today as a symbol of female independence.' The history of Artemis goes further back in time than Greek mythology and imagination, however. That she was associated with hunting and the wild suggests origins more primitive than an agricultural soeiety," although it is, of course, impossible to trace her history back this far with any certainty. Particular characteristics that Ephesian Artemis shares with mother goddesses of the ancient Near East have led scholars to posit some type of connection between her and Cybele, Astarte, and Ishtar.'^ Pausanias {Descr. 3.25.3) wrote of sanctuaries associated with Artemis called Aarpaxeia, a name that some have suggested is derived from Astarte; both Artemis and Astarte are portrayed as violent goddesses, hunters who carry similar weaponry.'^ In addition, Ishtar was depicted in artwork as wearing necklaces of beads that resemble the breasts of Ephesian Artemis,'^ whose appearance is discussed below. This evidence suggests that, although Artemis is too ancient to have developed directly from conceptions of ancient Near Eastern

' H. King, "Bound to Bleed: Artemis and Greek Women," in Sexuality and Gender in the Classical World: Readings and Sources (ed. Laura K. MeClure; Interpreting Ancient History; Maiden, MA: Blackwell, 2002) 77-97, esp. 89; Rick Strelan, Paul, Artemis, and the Jews in Ephesus (BZNW 80; Berlin/New York: de Gruyter, 1996) 48; Valerie A. Abrahamsen, Women and Worship at Philippi: Diana/Artemis and Other Cults in the Early Christian Era (Portland, ME: Astarte Shell, 1995). * Hesiod Astronomy 3-4; idem, Theog., 14. In the Homeric Hymns (27.11) she is called ApTejiiv ioxaipav, "shooter of arrows," a term that shows up also in PGM 1V.2818-19 and IV.2524 (Stuttgart: Teubner, 1973); Homer (//. 5.51-52, also 21.470-71) calls her nTvia Gnpcuv, ApTenit; ^potpri ("mistress of beasts, Artemis living in the wilds"); see also Simon Price, and Emily Keams, eds.. The Oxford Dictionary of Classical Myth and Religion (Oxford/New York: Oxford University Press, 2003) 59. ' Strelan, Paul, Artemis, 49. '" See Annis Pratt, Dancing with Goddesses: Archetypes, Poetry, and Empowerment (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1994) 294-306. In Abrahamsen's words, "her primary attribute and appeal was her freedom and independence from others" {Women and Worship at Philippi, 46). " David R. West, Some Cults of Greek Goddesses and Female Daemons of Oriental Origin (AOAT 233; Kevelaer: Butzon & Bercker, 1995) 59. West notes that Artemis was also associated with tree worship and rituals such as body painting and human sacrifice, which provide further evidence of her antiquity. '^ Ibid.; Strelan, Paul, Artemis, AA; Hill, "Aneient Art and Artemis," 92. '^ West, Some Cults of Greek Goddesses, 69-73; Homer depicts Artemis as one who kills in anger (//. 6.204-5,428; 24.605-8). '" Hill, "Aneient Art and Artemis," 93-94.

"GREAT IS ARTEMIS OF THE EPHESIANS"

779

mother goddesses, their influence is apparent in the way she is portrayed in Greek mythology and art. According to Greek legend, Ephesian Artemis was the protector ofthe Amazons, the supposed founders of Ephesus who reflected the wild and ferocious nature of their goddess. The Greeks who came to Ephesus toward the end ofthe second millennium B.C.E. adopted the goddess already worshiped in that city as their own.'^ The result was a synthesized version of Artemisincorporating aspects of Greek mythology as well as characteristics of ancient Near Eastern mother goddesses, yet distinct from hothwhom the Ephesians worshiped as the powerful protector and nurturer of their eity. Evidence from inscriptions suggests that Ephesian Artemis was associated also with magic, since her name is invoked in spells (e.g., PGM IV.2524, 2721-22), though how close this connection was is in dispute.'* It seems safe to say that magic was part of religious life in Ephesus, as in many other parts of the ancient world. It prohahly affected other aspects of cultic life, including Artemis worship, but Artemis was not first and foremost a goddess of magic.'^ Ephesian Artemis is portrayed in rst- and second-century artwork with her arms outstretched and with long bracelets hanging from her wrists. She has animals carved into her skirt, perhaps because of her association with the wild, and symbols ofthe zodiac on her neck, to convey a sense of her cosmic power.'^ Her most distinctive feature as she appears in statuary, however, is her polymastic nature, which scholars usually connect to her role as a goddess of fertility. No one has been able to explain the origins of this aspect of her appearance definitively, though a variety of theories have attempted to do so, associating her breasts with symbols including eggs, nuts, bull testicles, symbols of the zodiac, and jewelry, among others." In light ofthe similarities between the ancient Near Eastern mother goddesses and Ephesian Artemis, an explanation has been sought in Artemis's ancient

'^ Grimai, "Artemis," 62; Hill, "Aneient Art and Artemis," 91-94, esp. 92; Simon Pnce, Religions of the Ancient Greeks (Key Themes in Ancient History; Cambridge/New York: Cambridge University Press, 1999) 23. " Clinton E. Arnold, Ephesians: Power and Magic; The Concept of Power in Ephesians in Light of Its Historical Setting (SNTSMS 63; Cambridge/New York: Cambridge University Press, 1989) 14, Arnold associates Artemis with magic, while Strelan (Paul, Artemis, 86-88) criticizes Amold for his lack of evidence for Ephesus as a center of magic and for Artemis as elosely connected to magie. " Strelan, Paui, Artemis, 87. As Strelan points out, magical practices did have an influence on the Jews (as evideneed by Sceva's seven sons). It seems reasonable to assume that magical practices also had an influenee on Artemis worship (as inferred from the spells), but the paucity of evidenee does not allow for positing anything more than this with certainty. ^^ Amo\d, Ephesians, 28. " Robert Fleischer, Artemis von Ephesos und verwandte Kultstatuen aus Anatolien und Syrien (EPROER35; Leiden: Brill, 1973) 74-88; see also Hill, "Aneient Art and Artemis," 91.

780

THE CATHOLIC BIBLICAL QUARTERLY | 71,2009

Near Eastem counterparts. The Mesopotamian Ishtar, for example, wore necklaces adorned with egg-shaped beads, similar in appearance to scale armor (appropriate for her role as goddess of war as well as fertility). It is possible that Ishtar's beaded necklaces were the inspiration for the egg-shaped breasts of Ephesian Artemis,^" It does seem, however, that Ephesian Artemis was not always polymastic. Older representations on coins and in artwork show her with ornamentation on her stomach instead of her chest, or without ornamentation altogether,^' L, R, LiDonnici notes that a change in the appearance of Artemis can probably be dated to the beginning of the Hellenistic period, after a fire destroyed her original temple in 356 B,c,E, (on the very day, according to Plutarch Alex. 3,3-5, when Alexander the Great was bom^^), and probably older statues of her along with it. It seems that she was given a new look as time went by; whereas earlier her chest was plain and unomamented, depictions from the third century and onward show Ephesian Artemis as polymastic and with other chest adornment. This new, more decorated look followed the current styles of representing deities at that time, while also perhaps reflecting shifting perceptions of her role as a fertility goddess,^^ Whatever the origin and development of her appearance, Ephesian Artemis came to have a look uniquely her own, different from other cults of Artemis in the ancient world,^'' The Artemis cults, embraced by Greeks and non-Greeks alike, had spread throughout much ofthe known world by the flrst century CE, There is evidence of them in Asia Minor, Greece, Italy, France, Spain, Phoenicia, and Palestine,^^ An Ephesian inscription dating from the middle of the second century CE, demonstrates how the Ephesians in particular viewed the goddess they had adopted:
r\ n]potax>aa Tfjc; noXewc; li^icov 9e<;ApTe[|ii(;] [o |ivov] v Tfl auTfjc: narpii TEi^xai, q [7iaa(I)v] [T)V TtXecuv] vooTpav i Tfjc; lia 0iTr|T[oc; 7te7toir|-] [KEV, ]XX Kal Tiap [EXXqaiv TE K]OI [j3]appp[o]i<;, )[0TE nav-] Taxo v00ai arfii; lepa TE Ka[t TE(ivr|, vaoc; ] aTfi TE Epuaoai Kai c|iouc; aTr) vaKEaai i Tc; i)7t' aTfjc; YEivo|ivac; eapyEtc;,, ,^*

2 Hill, "Ancient Art and Artemis," 93-94, ^' See Fleischer, Artemis von Ephesos, 436-44, for various representations of Artemis, both with and without chest ornamentation, ^^ Strabo {Geogr. 14,1,22) writes that Alexander offered to fund a new temple, provided such philanthropy be noted on an inscription, but the Ephesians turned him down, ^^ L, R, LiDonnici, "The Images of Artemis Ephesia and Greco-Roman Worship: A Reconsideration," HTR 85 (1992) 389-415, esp, 396-403, ^'' Representations of Artemis outside Ephesus did not show her, for example, as polymastic, but as having more realistic-looking breasts. See LiDonnici, "Images of Artemis," 405-6, ^' Horsley, "Inscriptions of Ephesos," 155, ^* Text from Die Inschriften von Ephesos, ed, Hermann Wankel (7 vols,; Inschriften griechischer Stdte aus Kleinasien 11-17; Bonn: Habelt, 1979-84) la, 148-49 (24B,8-14),

"GREAT IS ARTEMIS OF THE EPHESIANS"

781

Since the god Artemis, patron of our city, is honored not only in her native city, which she has made more famous than all other cities through her own divinity, but also by Greeks and barbarians, so that everywhere sanctuaries and precincts are consecrated for her, temples are dedicated and altars set up for her, on account of her manifest epiphanies .. .^' This evaluation was corroborated outside Ephesus as well; in the midst of a description of how Artemis came to be worshiped in Messenia, Pausanias {Descr. 4.31.8) gives an excursus on her widespread popularity:
'Ecpeaiav pTe|iiv TtXeic; Te vo|iiouaiv ai Ttaai Kai avpEc; iia ejv youaiv v Ti|ifj- T aTia |ioi oKetv ariv Ajiaviov Te xXoc; a <pr||iriv T ayaX^a xouotv ipi)aaa6ai KM TI K naXaioTTou T iepv TOTO 7roiti9r| Tpia XXa ni TOTOic; auveTXeaev c; oav [iyeoc; TE TOO vao Ta n a p naiv vSptuTtoic; KaTaaKEua|jaTa nEpr|pKTO<; Kai 'Ecpeaicv Tfjc; TIXECC; f] K(if) Kai v aTfi TO

mcpavc; Tfjc; 9eoO. But ail cities worship Artemis of Ephesus, and individuals hold her in honour above all the gods. The reason, in my view, is the renown ofthe Amazons, who traditionally dedicated the image, also the extreme antiquity of this sanctuary. Three other points as well have contributed to her renown, the size ofthe temple, surpassing all buildings among men, the eminence ofthe city ofthe Ephesians and the renown ofthe goddess who dwells there, (trans. W. H. S. Jones) The center of the Ephesian Artemis cult was, of course, the great temple of Artemis just outside the city of Ephesus, one ofthe seven wonders ofthe ancient world. Pliny gives a glowing description of its size and appearance (425 feet by 225 feet, with 127 columns, 60 feet tall) {Nat. 36.95-97). The temple was burned to the ground in 356 B.C.E., and it took 120 years to rebuild it, according to Pliny {Nat. 16.213-14), complete with a cedar roof and a statue ofthe goddess made of either ebony or "the wood of the vine," according to Pliny's contradictory sources.^^ The temple was a political, religious, and cultural symbol, the image chosen to appear on coins minted in Ephesus in the first century c.E. A wealthy goddess, Artemis possessed a large portion of land around Ephesus, including two lakes, vineyards, quarries, pastures, and salt-pans, as well as herds of animals, the income from which was used to finance the temple and the cult.^' In addition, the temple was an essential part ofthe Ephesian economy, "probably the most impor-

^' English translation from Price, Religions of the Ancient Greeks, 181. ^^ This second temple was destroyed in the third century c.E. by the Goths, and it was never fully rebuilt, lt fell out of use by the tum ofthe fifth century, and its ruins were taken for building projects in other parts ofthe city. Since it was built on marshy ground, over time silt covered more and more of it, completely burying it until excavation began in the nineteenth century (Clive Foss, Ephesus after Antiquity: The Late Antique, Byzantine and Turkish City [Cambridge/New York: Cambridge University Press, 1979] 86-87). ^' Price, Religions ofthe Ancient Greeks. 65-66.

782

THE CATHOLIC BIBLICAL QUARTERLY | 71,2009

tant economic factor in the city."-'" It functioned in the manner of a bank, where people could deposit money for safekeeping and acquire loans, the priests having charge of protecting the money deposited there.^' The two primary festivals associated with Ephesian Artemis are the Artemision and the Thargelion.^^ The Artemision, which was held in March-April, was an entire month devoted to honoring Artemis. It was a month of celebration that included competitions in athletics and theater, dancing, music, and sacrifices to the gods. It was during this festival that the gods went to work, bringing together young men and women with their future spouseswork accomplished, of course, by the parents arranging the marriages. The young people would then participate in a procession, singing and dancing their way from the city to the temple, where they offered sacrifices to Artemis. The Artemision was significant not only for religious and social reasons but also for economic ones, as hordes of people streamed to Ephesus to participate in the month of festivities." Another inscription on the same statue base in Ephesus that was mentioned above, recording the decision of the Ephesians to dedicate an entire month to the festival, testifies to the importance ofthe Artemision for the city:
[]Xov Tv \if\va Tv ApTe^iiai)va elvafi iepv Traac;] [TJ rj^ipac;, ayeaoai en' aTac; ^ir|v[c; Te Kai] [i'] TOui; Tc; opTt; Kai Tfiv Ttbv ApTE|i[iav Ttavti-] [y]upiv Kal Tc; ieponr|viac;, ATE TOO \ir\v6c; [Xou vaKein-]
vou Tfi QEW- oiJTu) yp m TO |iEivov r\\c [9EO TI|)|-]

[v]r]c, r) noXi ii|i[(I)v lvooTpa TE Kai Ei)[ai|iov0Tpa] Eic; T[v 7ta]vTa ia|iEVE xpvov.]^"*

Therefore it was decided that the whole month of Artemision be sacred in all its days, that there be held during these days every year in this month the festivals, both the festival ofthe Artemisia and the cessation of public business throughout the whole month, since the whole month is dedicated to the god. In this way, with the god honoured more highly, our city will remain for all time more famous and more blessed.-*^

The Thargelion was held in May-June to celebrate the birthday of Artemis and Apollo. Outside Ephesus, Artemis was said to have been bom at Delos, but the Ephesians claimed their city as her birthplace. The Ephesians celebrated by telling the story of her birth, ritually acting out the noise and commotion that frightened
"^ Scott Shauf, Theology as History, History as Theology: Paul in Ephesus in Acts 19 (BZNW 133; Berlin/New York: de Gruytcr, 2005) 244. " Strelan, Paul, Artemis, 11. ^^ For a more complete discussion of these festivals, see Strelan, Paul, Artemis, 57-68. 3^ Strelan, Paul, Artemis, 57-59. 3" Text from Wankel, Inschriften von Ephesos, la. 150 (24B.28-34). '' English translation from Prie, Religion ofthe Ancient Greeks, 181.

"GREAT IS ARTEMIS OF THE EPHESIANS"

783

Hera, angry about Zeus's unfaithfulness, away from the birth of Zeus and Leto's twins. This saved Artemis so that she could then watch over Ephesian women as they gave birth and lived through the other major transitions of female life.^^ Although it may seem logical that, Artemis being a fertility goddess, the cult would include cult prostitution, such was not the case. It seems instead that she was attended by a series of young women from prominent families who served as priestesses for a year at a time." LiDonnici explains why a fertility goddess in antiquity would not necessarily be associated with cult prostitution: whereas today it is almost impossible to separate women and motherhood from sexuality, in ancient Greco-Roman culture such was not the case.^^ A wife's responsibility was faithfulness to her husband, so as to bear him heirs; sexual pleasure was not inevitably a part of this function.^^ Thus, the figure ofa mother was connected not primarily to sexuality but to nurture. LiDonnici explains Artemis's function in Ephesus as the "symbolic role as a legitimate wife" ofthe city.'*'' B. Ephesus By the first century C.E., Ephesus, where Artemis had been worshiped since at least the eleventh century B.C.E., was a large and prospering city, with an estimated population of about two hundred thousand. During the Hellenistic and Roman periods, it grew to be the largest city in Asia Minor, as well as an important commercial center."" Located near the coast, across the Aegean Sea from Greece and at the intersection of two major roads, Ephesus experienced over its history the changing tides of political power and influence, and absorbed into its midst people of various cultures, languages, and religions.''^
'^ Strelan, Paul, Artemis, 61-62. " S. M. Baugh, "Cult Prostitution in New Testament Ephesus: A Reappraisal," J f r S 42 (1999) 443-60. This is surmised from a series of inseriptions giving the names of females who served as priestesses. Being identified in relation to the fathers, they were probably unmarried, and many held prominent positions in the city. It does not seem likely that such girls would be involved in prostitution. Pausanias {Descr 8.13.1) also indicates that those who serve Artemis did so in year-long stints and remained sexually pure during that time. See also Strelan, Paul, Artemis, 72-73. "' LiDonnici, "Images of Artemis," 410. ^' But see also Miehel Foucault, The History of Sexuality, vol. 2, The Use of Pleasure (trans. Robert Hurley; New York: Vintage Books, 1990) 143-51, who criticizes too sharp a division between the role ofa wife and that ofa prostitute or concubine with respeet to sexual pleasure. ""^ LiDonniei, "Images of Artemis," 409. '" Foss, Ephesus after Antiquity, vii. ^ Ibid., 3; Arnold, Ephesians, 13-14. This ineluded Jews, of eourse; besides the account of Paul in Ephesus in Acts, Josephus provides information conceming Jewish life in Bphesus and some ofthe privileges they were granted. He quotes a letter sent from the governor of Asia to Ephesus, making known that he had exempted Ephesian Jews who were Roman eitizens from military service and that he permitted them to follow their native eustoms (Ant. 14.10.11 223-30).

784

THE CATHOLIC BIBLICAL QUARTERLY | 71,2009

Worshipers of Ephesian Artemis naturally attributed the prosperity ofthe city to their goddess's nurture and protection.''^ It is difficult to find a modem point of comparison to illustrate the close connection between the goddess and the city. She and her temple appear on numerous coins excavated in ancient Ephesus; these images were chosen to represent Ephesus and were tantamount to images of Ephesus itself. Even the ruler cult did not surpass the cult of Artemis in popularity or religious importance in Ephesus; the most that can be said for the ruler cult is that it existed side by side withand usually in the shadow ofthe Artemis cult.'*'' In this regard, it is necessary to say a word about the numismatic evidence that relates to Ephesian Artemis.''^ The several coins on which she and her temple appear, minted in Ephesus in the first century c.E., provide information concerning the relationship of Artemis and her temple to Ephesus, the significance ofthe cult within Ephesian society, and her particular appearance as depicted by the Ephesians. A closer examination of specific coins further elucidates the social context of Acts 19:23-41."^ The minting of gold and silver coins was typically under the control of the imperial power, but infrequently this privilege was granted to cities or states, "usually as an acknowledgment of faithful service to Rome or as a means of furthering Imperial interests in these localized settings.'"*^ In fact, two silver coins were minted in Ephesus during the reign of Claudius (41-54 c.E.) on the occasion of his marriage to Agrippina in 49 c.E. The first, which shows Claudius on the obverse and Agrippina on the reverse, is dated to his tenth year (50-51 C.E.). The second, which shows Claudius and Agrippina on the obverse and Diana/Artemis on the reverse, does not have a date but is similar enough to the first that it was likely minted at approximately the same time. In any case, it had to have been between 49 and 54 c.E., the years of Claudius's reign when Agrippina was his wife. A third coin, which shows Claudius on the obverse and Diana/Artemis and her temple on the reverse, also does not have a date but is dated by some scholars to the beginning of Claudius's ^^

"' Hilary Le Cornu with Joseph Shulam, A Commentary on the Jewish Roots of Acts: Acts 16-28 (2 vols.; Jerusalem: Academon, 2003) 2. 1072. Strelan, Paul, Artemis, 41-44. '*'' Amold, Ephesians, 37; Strelan, Paul, Artemis, 80. In this regard, Steven J. Friesen (Twice Neokoros: Ephesus, Asia and the Cult ofthe Flavian Imperial Family [Religions in the GraecoRoman World 116; Leiden: Brill, 1993] 17-18, 75) notes that in the early first century Ephesus lost the bid for housing the temple ofthe imperial eult because ofthe dominance ofthe Artemis cult in that city, though later it was recognized that the cults could exist alongside one another. ^^ The importance of numismatic studies to the NT and early Christianity is discussed by Richard Oster, "Numismatic Windows into the Social World of Early Christianity: A Methodological Inquiry," yfl 101 (1982) 195-223. "* Kreitzer, "Numismatic Clue," 59-70. "'Ibid., 60-61. "8 Ibid., 61-63.

"GREAT IS ARTEMIS OF THE EPHESIANS"

785

The exact date is not important, but the implications of this coin, together with the first two, are quite significant. As Larry J, Kreitzer says, "We must remember that coins represented a most effective means of Imperial propaganda at the time. It was a convenient means of emphasizing official policies and ideas and was, by its very economic nature, guaranteed to touch every level of society,'"*' These coins communicated to anyone who used them that there was a close connection between the imperial power and Artemis, between Rome and Ephesus; the emperor supported Artemis, and Artemis stood behind the emperor. Coins such as these were in circulation by the time Paul came to Ephesus, and this association of imperial power with Ephesus "may offer a brief numismatic glimpse into the highly-charged atmosphere in Ephesus; an atmosphere which was consumed with pride over the Imperial honour granted to their city,"^" II. Acts 19:23-41 According to Luke's account in Acts, the riot ofthe silversmiths occurred near the end of Paul's stay in Ephesus, during his third missionary joumey (54-57 C,E,),^' Having spent three months arguing about the kingdom of God in the synagogue, Paul followed this up by two years doing the same outside the synagogue, with the result that "all the residents of Asia, both Jews and Greeks, heard the word ofthe Lord" (19:10), Luke recounts that Paul had already decided to leave the city to go into Macedonia and Achaia when a riot broke out. Instigated by a man named Demetrius, a silversmith whose business it was to make silver shrines of Ephesian Artemis, the riot began when he brought his colleagues together to lodge his complaint regarding Paul and his preaching. Echoing Luke's narration in 19:10, Demetrius acknowledged that Paul's message ("gods made with hands are not gods" [19:26; cf, 17:29]) had made its way through all Asia, and that the message had persuaded many. He had two concerns: that his trade would come into disrepute, and that Artemis and her temple in Ephesus would lose respect. This incensed Demetrius's colleagues, and they went to the theater, dragging a couple of Paul's traveling companions along with them, Luke reports that Paul wanted to speak to the crowd gathered at the theater but was persuaded not to do so. Instead, a Jew named Alexander got up to make a defense, but was shouted down by the crowd's cry of "Great is Artemis ofthe Ephesians!" This went on for a record two hours, until the town clerk reasoned with the crowd, convincing them that rioting was not the way to solve the dispute and dismissing them, Joseph A, Fitzmyer writes that this account "serves as another recognition of the legitimacy of Christianity" and that Luke's main points are three: that Christi" Ibid,, 64, 50 Ibid,, 66-67, 5' Fitzmyer, Acts of the Apostles, 140,

786

THE CATHOLIC BIBLICAL QUARTERLY | 71,2009

anity is reacting against the idolatry ofthe Artemis cult the way it responded to the "cult of Yahweh" in Jerusalem, that Paul is not a temple robber or insulting the Ephesian goddess, and that Christianity is a legitimate religion in Ephesus." Although these points certainly have a place in the narrative, they do not seem to pinpoint Luke's central aim in including the story in Acts.^^ Rather, a close and detailed reading shows that the main thrust ofthe narrative is a contrast between the Ephesian goddess, worshiped by "all Asia and the world" (19:27), and the God for whom Paul has gained converts among "all the residents of Asia" (19:10). Luke's account ofthe Ephesian riot elicits an interesting observation. Paul, his main character, is largely absent from the story. In 19:1-12, Luke gives a general description of how Paul came to be in Ephesus, and how he spent his timethree months in the synagogue, and two years in the lecture hall of Tyrannuspreaching and performing miraculous deeds. Then follows the story of the seven sons of Sceva, in which Paul himself plays no direct role. Luke brings Paul back into the story long enough for him to decide to leave Ephesus but again gives him no direct role in the story ofthe riot. Luke says that Paul intended to speak but does not take this opportunity to put a Christian sermon on Paul's lips, as he does elsewhere, for example, in Athens (17:16-31). In addition to this, although the conflict starts as a Christian-pagan one (19:23, nepi Tqc So, "concerning the Way"), it seems to tum into a Jewish-pagan one (19:34). These two facts have led some to wonder whether Luke is using the story of an anti-Jewish riot and slanting the story to his own purposes by creating a role for Paul.^"* Christopher Mount, for example, suggests that Paul's place in this narrative is "entirely at the level of redaction," the author expanding the story to include Paul and thereby enhancing his image." A close reading ofthe passage will help to sort out some of these difficulties. In 19:20, Luke gives the summary statement OTOX; Kax Kpxoc; TO Kupou Xyoc, t]vi,avv Kalfaxuev.Because ofthe activity of Paul in Ephesus, "the word ofthe Lord grew and prevailed," a statement that sets the stage for the riot. The phrase KaraTOVKaipv Keivov ("about that time" [19:23]) provides the transition between this narrative and what precedes it. It is unclear what particular time is meant; it need not be, as Hilary Le Comu suggests, that the timing coincided with
" Ibid., 655-56. " Luke depicts Paul as preaching against idolatry in general, but not specifically against Artemis. He actually does implicitly insult Artemis by saying that her image is without divine power, and whether Christianity is legitimate is not decided but is referred to the authority of legal courts rather than mobs. ^'' Ldemann, Acts ofthe Apostles, 257-64; see also the summary in Robert F. Stoops, Jr., "Riot and Assembly: The Social Context of Acts 19:23-41,'VS 108 (1989) 73-91, esp. 74-76. ' ' Christopher Mount, Pauline Christianity: Luke-Acts and the Legacy of Paul (NovTSup 104; Leiden: Brill, 2002) 123-27. Mount goes on to say (pp. 126-27) that the author of Acts, using the persona of Paul to "exemplify" Christianity, has in this narrative "gone beyond any information available" to him concerning the mission of Paul.

"GREAT IS ARTEMIS OF THE EPHESIANS"

787

either the Artemision or the Thargelion (spring-summer).^"^ Alleged disrespect toward the goddess, based on what we have seen of the relationship between Ephesus and Artemis, would have made tempers run high at any time, since a threat to the goddess was equivalent to a threat to the city. It is also quite clear that a threat to Artemis meant a threat to businesses related to the goddess and her temple, and this is how Luke introduces Demetrius's complaint into the narrative. Luke implies that Demetrius's motivation is his pocketbook when he describes Demetrius as one who napetxeTO TO TexvTatc; Xi^qv pYaaiav ("brought no little business to the artisans" [19:24]). Because Ephesus was a prominent city that welcomed many tourists from the surrounding areas, especially during Artemis's festival months, the idea that this was a lucrative enterprise is quite plausible. No silver shrines such as Luke describes in Acts are extant,^' but one can imagine that, in light ofthe cult's popularity, such items made popular souvenirs of trips to Ephesus. Because ofthe perceived threat to his business, Demetrius calls together the guild of silversmiths to point out to them the ramifications of what Paul was preaching.^^ His synopsis of Paul's message, OK eialv eoi o i xeiptv ytviievot ("gods made with hands are not gods" [ 19:26]), is not a distinctly Christian belief, as Jews also asserted the same thing.^' That the two groups had this in common may explain the sudden tum later in the narrative from an anti-Christian riot to an anti-Jewish one. Although Jews and Christians were on opposite sides of numerous arguments in Acts, in this regard the two groups would have been virtually indistinguishable to Artemis's Ephesian devotees. Regardless of who delivered the message, if believed, it had the potential seriously to undermine the guild's profits, and Demetrius had the foresight to realize this. Whether because of religious conviction or a shrewd understanding of what might best persuade his audience, he adds that Paul's message posed the threat of making the templewonder of
^^ Le Cornu and Shulam, Commentary on the Jewish Roots of Acts, 2. 1071. Le Cornu says this on the basis ofthe opportune times for travel in the ancient world. " Ibid., 2. 1073; Fitzmyer, Acts of the Apostles, 657. The custom of making such shrines is not known from archaeological evidence and was unknown by Chrysostom as well, whieh leads to a variety of suggestions for what Luke meant by this term. See C. K. Barrett, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Acts ofthe Apostles (2 vols.; ICC; Edinburgh: Clark, 1998) 2. 923. '* That there was such a guild is attested in an Ephesian inscription concerning the ownership of a tomb. The tomb belonged to a silversmith and his wife, who had given responsibility for it to TOCTuvpiovT(I)v pYupoKOnwv ("association of silversmiths"). See G. H. R. Horsley, New Documents Illustrating Early Christianity, vol. 4 (North Ryde, N.S.W.: Ancient History Documentary Research Centre, Macquarie University, 1981) 7. ' ' Both the rabbis and the Church Fathers ridiculed idolatry, though in different ways. The rabbis appealed to the Hebrew Scriptures; the Christians more often to Greek literature. See Saul Lieberman, "Rabbinic Polemics against Idolatry," in Hellenism in Jewish Palestine (Texts and Studies of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America 18; New York: Jewish Theological Seminary of America, 1950) 115-27.

788

THE CATHOLIC BIBLICAL QUARTERLY | 71,2009

the world, most famous symbol ofthe Artemis cults, representative image of Ephesus itselfof no account, as well as causing Artemis, guardian ofthe city's prosperity, to lose her magnificence. That Demetrius's speech affected the entire city is probably something of an exaggeration, but in light ofthe tremendous religious, political, and economic significance ofthe Artemis cult, it is not entirely unbelievable that the artisans might respond with a defiant "Great is Artemis ofthe Ephesians!" and a trip to the theater. Peter R. L. Brown expresses the significance ofa mass excursion to the theater in this way: The citizen body was no abstraction in late antiquity. It became a reality by assembling on frequent occasions in the great theaters and hippodromes that remained an enduring feature of late Roman urban life Seated row upon row in this manner, the theater crowd was the city.*" It was at the theater. Brown says, that citizens "made their wishes known to the governors by means of careilly orchestrated acclamations"*'though in this case the riot scene Luke describes is anything but carefully orchestrated! The following details ofthe story are rather perplexing. The silversmiths drag Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul's traveling companions (cf 20:4; 27:2; Phlm 24; Col 4:10), to the theater, though Luke neither explains how they got caught up in the action nor mentions them again after this brief reference. Paul comes into the narrative very briefly for the first and only time, wanting to talk to the crowd in the theater, though Luke does not tell us how he became a part ofthe commotion either. Some of Paul's disciples, as well as some of the Asiarchs,*^ convince Paul not to do so. This whole portion ofthe narrative Gerd Ldemann finds to be so fantastic as to be unbelievable.*^ The puzzling and somewhat artificial entrance of Paul and his companions into the account, as well as the unlikelihood that Asiarchs, whom he believes to be the "staunchest supporters" ofthe imperial cult, might be concerned with Paul's safety, he sees as evidence that Luke has fabricated the story. Yet one wonders if Luke were indeed doing this, why he could not have done so in a less confusing way.*''

*" Peter R. L. Brown, Power and Persuasion in Late Antiquity: Towards a Christian Empire (Curti Lectures; Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1992) 84-85. <" Ibid., 85. *^ The meaning ofthe term "Asiarch" (Aaiapx<I>v) is disputed. Possibly it referred to "priests in the cult of Roma and Augustus in the province of Asia" or "delegates of towns bound together in a league sent to the provincial assembly" (Fitzmyer, Acts of the Apostles, 660). *^ Lemann, Acts of the Apostles, 257-64. ^ Ldemann finds Luke to be guilty of "intellectual effrontery" {Acts ofthe Apostles, 263) in this narrative and in another place describes Luke's historical method as one of "complete and unabashed freedom to invent stories in the service of theological purposes" (p. 257). The same details, however, ean be used to argue just the opposite. If Luke were inventing the story from

"GREAT IS ARTEMIS OF THE EPHESIANS"

789

The scene Luke describes continues to be one of confusion, with most people unaware of why the riot has started in the first place. The Jews push forward Alexander, who attempts to make a defense (noXoYEa6ai) to the assembly, though again Luke does not explain how Alexander and the Jews became a part of the riot. Since the text does not specify what defense Alexander was trying to make, three possibilities present themselves. Perhaps "Luke means that Jews were pushing Alexander forward as their spokesman to explain to the gathering that Christians were not Jews."*^ In light ofthe reason for the riot, this would not seem to be very effective, since the Jewish position on idolatry was much the same as Paul's and the Christians'and probably equally unpopular. Some give the interpretation that Alexander is actually a Christian Jew, known to all Luke's readers, who was about to defend the Christian position,^'' though if this were the case it seems odd that Luke did not specify so. It is also possible that Alexander was making a defense of the Jewish position against idolatry and not Judaism as opposed to Christianity. In any case, in this narrative it is evident that the attack on Paul was felt by the Jews to be an attack on them, whether by the crowd's uninformed association ofthe two groups or by true similarity of belieffor if Judaism was spreading, it was as much a threat to the Artemis cult (and therefore the Ephesian economy) as was Christianity.^' Luke certainly places the Jews in opposition to Paul and the Christians enough times that the first possibility is easy to assume, but nothing in this particular passage would obligate us to believe that Alexander's defense involved distancing himself and the other Jews from the Christians. Paul's message as restated by Demetrius is not uniquely Christian, and the crowd was obviously no more favorably disposed toward the Jews than Demetrius and his colleagues were toward Paul. As mentioned above, the presence of Alexander and the Jews causes some to propose that Luke is using the story of an anti-Jewish riot, which he changes as necessary though quite confusedly, to suit his theological purposes. Robert F. Stoops, Jr., wants to give more credit to Luke the storyteller: "The abortive appear-

scratch, surely he could have made the account flow in a smoother and less confusing manner than to cause Paul and his traveling companions to enter and exit so abruptly. It is impossible to determine with the certainty that Ldemann exhibits the historicity of certain details in the account, and in any case it contributes little to discovering the purpose and function of this passage in its place in Acts. *^ Fitzmyer, Acts of the Apostles, 660. ^ Hans-Josef Klauck, Magic and Paganism in Early Christianity: The World ofthe Acts ofthe Apostles (trans. Brian McNeil; Edinburgh: Clark, 2000) 107. ' ' Le Comu and Sulam (Commentary on the Jewish Roots of Acts, 2. 1074) see evidence that Hellenistic Jewish ideology "actively sought to proselytize," though Martin Goodman (Mission and Conversion: Proselytizing in the Religious History ofthe Roman Empire [Oxford: Clarendon, 1994] 60-90) fmds no "proselytizing attitude" in first-century Judaism. In any case, whether through active proselytizing or not, there were converts to Judaism in the first century (see Acts 10:2; 14:1 ).

790

THE CATHOLIC BIBLICAL QUARTERLY | 71,2009

anee of Alexander is a surprising twist in the narrative, but the surprise should not be glossed over as a vestige remaining from Luke's source. The surprise is intended to direct the reader's attention to the issue of Jewish rights,"*^ In Ephesus and elsewhere, Jews were provided with special circumstances that often set them apart from other foreign groups in Greek cities,*' and "the distinctive customs ofthe Jews fueled resentment of their unusual autonomy and other privileges," Josephus notes that there was strife (oTaic) between the Jews and the native inhabitants of Alexandria because of special privileges granted by Alexander {B.J. 2,18,7 487), He also records an anti-Jewish riot in a theater in Antioch, where several Jews were put to death because of false accusations that they were planning to set fire to the city. In a later incident, Jews were accused of burning the marketplace, and only the intervention of city officials prevented a similar outcome {B.J. 7,3,3-4 43-62), Further, Josephus tells of Titus's visit to Antioch, during which the people invited him to the theater and there made a request that he banish the Jews from their city, and, when he denied that request, that he remove the inscriptions stating the privileges of the Jews, which he also denied {B.J. 7,5,2 100-115), Thus, ethnic and religious violence surrounding the Jewsand in the theater!is not without precedent. The presence of Alexander and the Jews, instead ofan accidental and awkward detail, might be Luke's way of drawing attention to the way that Jews, with whom the pagans usually associated Christians, had certain privileges and had been supported by imperial power in the past. Elsewhere Luke has Paul including himself as part of a smaller group within Judaism to his own advantage (e,g,, 23:6-7; 24:10-21), and Luke's implication may be that Christians should be sheltered under the same protection as Jews, If this is the case in such an important city as Ephesus, it would set the tone for all Asia,^' Whatever Alexander might be planning to say, he never succeeds in actually saying it, as the crowd shouts him down with the ciy, neyXr] r\ Apteni'Ecpeaiv ("Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!")a phrase that Rick Strelan describes as "shorthand for the whole mythology of Ephesus and her goddess,"''^ This goes on for two hours, until the town clerk (Ypa|i|iaTec;) comes on the scene. He pacifies the crowd by reminding them ofthe incontrovertible fact that everybody in Ephesus and probably all Asia knows, Ephesus is the temple keeper (vewKpoc) of Artemis and of her heaven-sent image,^^ j]^^^ p^yi ^ |^g companions are not

^^ Stoops, "Riot and Assembly," 86, " See n, 42 above, Stoops, "Riot and Assembly," 79, " tbid,, 82, '^ Strelan, Paul, Artemis. 57, " The former is well attested; the latter is a tradition that is found only in Acts, but the idea ofan image from heaven is not without parallel. See Fitzmyer, Acts of the Apostles, 661,

"GREAT IS ARTEMIS OF THE EPHESIANS"

791

temple robbersa serious charge in light of the vital economic function of the templenor blasphemers is an assertion Luke places on the lips ofthe town clerk. After all, they are preaching against gods made by hands, which the crowd believes the image of Artemis certainly is not.^'' If the people have a complaint, they can file it in the appropriate manner, so as not to bring the charge of rioting against the city. Again Brown illumines this aspect of ancient culture: "A riot called into question the town council's ability to control the city. Once the civic notables could no longer vouch for the peace ofthe cities, their credibility with the imperial government was severely weakened."" The town clerk and, along with him, the Asiarchs would have had a stake in dispersing the rioting crowd; violence erupting in the theater, such as Josephus relates, would call into question their ability to govern the city. III. The Purpose of Acts 19:23-41 As Scott Shauf accurately points out, what ties this entire narrative together is "the status of Artemis for the city of Ephesus."'^ Artemis is the thread that holds together Demetrius's speech to the silversmiths, the riot at the theater, and the town clerk's speech at the end. The incidental details that make up the narrative all point in the same direction: in the city of Ephesus, in Asia, and in the whole world, the God ofthe Christians is challenging the power and supremacy ofthe goddess of the Ephesians. Luke has already argued for Christianity's superiority over Judaism, over pagan religions, and over magic. Luke's purpose in this narrative is to set up a contrast between God and God's followers and Ephesian Artemis and her followers, showing how the power ofthe Christian God is threatening to eclipse the power of even the great Artemis ofthe Ephesians. Luke sets up the contrast between God and Artemis already in 19:10 and 19:27. All of Luke's readers would have known of Artemis's popularity, especially in Ephesus, but also in various cults throughout Asia. The word of the Lord was growing mightily, however, having reached the ears of everyone living in Asia, a fact corroborated by Demetrius in 19:26. Artemis has cults in Ephesus and in all Asia, he observes, but now, because of Paul, the Christian God is also worshiped in Ephesus and in all Asia. In a competition for followers, God is beginning to gain ground. Next is a contrast between Artemis's spokesperson and God's. Demetrius's primary concem is his margin of profit; the risk of its shrinking is his first com'* Shauf, Theology as History, 255. '^ Brown, Power and Persuasion in Late Antiquity, 89. '^ Shauf, Theology as History. 262. He also rightly notes (p. 259) that this is not primarily an apologetic; Demetrius's introductory speeeh, very damaging to Paul in pagan eyes, precludes the possibility that this is Luke's primary purpose.

792

THE CATHOLIC BIBLICAL QUARTERLY | 71,2009

plaint when he gathers his colleagues together. Luke does not leave the reader with the impression that Demetrius is pious as much as that he is worried about his business and, as a side concern, about the status of his city and its goddess in the eyes ofthe world. Paul, on the other hand, neither in his letters nor in Acts, comes across as being in the missionary business for his own gain. On the contrary, he works at his trade to support himself while preaching (cf 18:3) and has not only his financial but also his physical well-being thrown into jeopardy over and over again on account of his religious convictions. In this passage, he is ready to risk his own neck to speak with the mob. In a competition of spokespersons, God's chosen vessel comes out looking superior to Demetrius. Luke also addresses the temple of Artemis, the pride of Ephesus. People flock from all over to see it and the image of Artemis that it houses. The reader still has in mind Paul's assertion of 17:24, that God made the world and everything in it and does not live in human-made shrines. That Paul's converts have lost their reverence for the temple of Artemis is concretely displayed by the fact that they are no longer spending their money on silver replicas ofthe temple and of Artemis, who is, as Paul was preaching, no god at all. On the other hand, Paul's God is so powerful that even a handkerchief touched by Paul has the power to heal (19:11). In a competition of esteem and awe, people in Ephesus are beginning to tum from Artemis and her temple to God. Finally, Luke turns to the city of Ephesus and its inhabitants. The eminence of Ephesus is one ofthe reasons Pausanias gives for the renown ofthe goddess, but in this account, the whole city becomes part of an unruly and potentially violent mob, storming to the theater with no idea why they are doing so. As the town clerk points out, they are in danger of being charged with rioting, an accusation that would not reflect well on their city or on the officials entrusted by the empire with keeping the peace. The Christians and Jews, on the other hand, are victims ofthe riot, dragged along with the crowd but not permitted to get a word in edgewise. In a competition of conduct, Artemis's faithful are rebuked for being rowdy and disruptive, and the respectability of her city is cast into doubt. God's faithful are selfpossessed and proclaimed innocent by Ephesus's very own town clerk. To reframe the question of what Luke's purpose was in including this narrative, it might be instructive to consider how Acts would look without it. From the present study of Artemis ofthe Ephesians, we have seen that the Artemis cult was integral to all areas of life in Ephesus, and it had adherents outside that city as well. If Luke had reported that Paul stayed over two years in Ephesus without once mentioning Artemis, it would be a glaring omission indeed. Neglecting to bring up Artemis at this point in the Acts narrative would have been to ignore the proverbial elephant in the room, and all Luke's ancient readers would have noticed her conspicuous absence. Portraying Christianity as a significant threat to Artemis may well have seemed preposterous at the time, in light of the extensive reach of her

"GREAT IS ARTEMIS OF THE EPHESIANS"

793

cults, hut leaving out mention of the goddess would have eommunieated something significant, alheit unintentionally. The latter not being a viahle option, Luke cleverly sets up a narrative in which the Ephesians are so convinced that Paul's God poses a threat to their goddess that they riot. The end result is that "the riot is quelled, the pagan moh is sent home empty-handed and red-faced, and the Christians come out clean"^^and the implication of it all is that Artemis, held in honor above all gods, is in danger of losing out to the God ofthe Christians. More incongruous than any difficulty in the passage is that, eontrary to this implication, Christianity does not seem to have made much ofa dent in Artemis worship in Ephesus,^^ at least during the first two centuries C.E.^'As Schauf states, "Demetrius's anxiety about the status of Artemis and her temple does not at all match up with the reality ofthe religious situation at Ephesus at any time within a hundred years and more of Paul's stay there. The cult of Artemis Ephesia and her temple prospered well past Luke's lifetime and into the third century."^" In light of this, it is interesting that God does not achieve wild success over Artemis in Luke's account. Paul does not preach a rousing sermon to convert the crowd, the issue of bringing a eharge against Paul and his eompanions is not definitively resolved but referred to the courts, and Paul leaves for Maeedonia almost immediately (20:1). God emerges as a worthy opponent to challenge the power of Artemis, but the ending is left open. Indeed, at that time, it appeared that nothing could topple Artemis from her prominent status in Ephesus. Ironically, however, as history turned out, Luke did have it right. It took a couple of centuries, but in the end Christianity did

" Shauf, Theology as History, 263. '^ Pliny the Younger, in a letter to Trajan dating from the early seeond eentury (10.96), deseribes Christianity as spreading throughout towns and villages in the provinee of Bithynia and indicates that temples had been temporarily neglected because of this. He was confident, however, that it was possible to put a stop to the spread of Christianity and wrote that already temples were the busy places they onee had been. It is possible that the same thing happened in Ephesusthe quick but temporary spread of Christianity, followed by persecution and then widespread recanting. If this is the ease, it is worthy of note that Pliny, at least, apparently did not consider Christianity to be a threat so much as an irritating but short-lived problem. If this were the situation in Ephesus as well as the province of Bithynia, it is interesting to observe how Luke and Pliny gave a different "spin" to the same general eourse of events (see Correspondence with Trajan from Bythinia (Epistles X): Translated, with Introduction and Commentary [trans. Wynne Williams; Warminster: Aris & Phillips, 1990] lO-iy). The exact date of Acts is, of course, unknown, though most likely it predates Pliny's letter by a couple of decades or more (cf discussion ofthe date of Acts in Fitzmyer, Acts of the Apostles, 51-55). " A misreading ofthe text of line 9 in Wankel {Inschriften von Ephesos, la. 148 [24B]) that Artemis was tintai ("dishonored") instead of Ti|jTai ("honored") for some time led scholars to believe that Christianity had made inroads into Artemis worship already by the second century. Subsequent scholarship has corrected this error. See Richard Oster, "Acts 19:23-42 and an Ephesian Inseription," HTR 11 (1984) 233-37. *" Shauf, Theology as History, 247.

794

THE CATHOLIC BIBLICAL QUARTERLY | 71,2009

eclipse the Artemis cult in Ephesus. The temple of Artemis was destroyed for good in 262 c.E. when the Ostrogoths, seizing the opportunity afforded by civil war within the Roman Empire, attacked the city of Ephesus. The site ofthe temple was buried for a millennium and a half, the excavations of which turned up several statues of Artemis that had been defaced or engraved with crosses.^' In the first century, of course, this was yet part of an uncertain and far-off future. The historical reality at the time was that Artemis was renowned in various cults throughout Asia and was the powerful protector of a large and prospering Ephesus. The Artemis cults had spread so that she was worshiped in one form or another throughout much of the known world. Her presence was felt in the religious, social, political, and economic life of Ephesus, and her magnificence lent prestige to the entire city. She was a force to be reckoned with for the early Christians, and Luke boldly met that force head-on, his story ofthe rioting silversmiths in Ephesus challenging the notion of Artemis's supremacy in Ephesus, Asia, and the whole world. The message of this story, his purpose for including it, is that Paul's God, not Artemis, is the one worthy of worship in Ephesus, in Asia, and in the whole world. In actual fact, the Christian gospel does not seem to have had such an immediate and decisive impact on Ephesus and the Artemis cult to the extent that one might infer from Luke's narrative. Nevertheless, his assertion was surely a rallying point for the Ephesian Christians who did not worship Artemis and thus lived in the religious margins of her cityas well as for those Christians throughout Asia and the world who felt the power of her widespread influence.

' Foss, Ephesus after Antiquity, 60, 70, 82.