Dianna (goddess)

Diana of the Ephesians
Greek name	Artemis Ephesia (Ἄρτεμις Ἐφεσία)
Roman name	Diana
Principal cult centre	Ephesus, Asia Minor
Religious origin	Ancient Anatolian religion
Principal sanctuary	Temple of Artemis at Ephesus
Religious associations	Fertility, nature, animals, protection of the city
Biblical reference	Acts of the Apostles 19:23–41
Famous acclamation	"Great is Diana of the Ephesians!"

Diana of the Ephesians was the ancient goddess worshipped at Ephesus in Asia Minor, known in Greek as Artemis Ephesia. Although identified by the Greeks with Artemis and by the Romans with Diana, the Ephesian goddess possessed a distinctive character and iconography originating in the older religious traditions of Anatolia. Her principal sanctuary, the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and attracted worshippers from throughout the Mediterranean.

The goddess was the principal religious patroness of Ephesus, and her sanctuary was a major centre of pilgrimage, commerce and civic identity. Her importance is particularly evident in the account of the disturbance at Ephesus recorded in Acts 19, when the silversmith Demetrius organised a public demonstration against the preaching of the Apostle Paul. The crowd repeatedly shouted, "Great is Diana of the Ephesians!"

Origin and identity

The Ephesian goddess originated in the indigenous religious traditions of western Anatolia, predating the period of Greek cultural influence in the region. The sanctuary of the Ephesian Artemis was established by the second millennium B.C. and developed into one of the largest and most influential religious centres of the ancient world.

As Greek influence spread through Asia Minor, the native goddess became identified with the Greek Artemis. The Romans subsequently identified her with their own goddess Diana. However, the Ephesian form retained distinctive Anatolian characteristics and was considerably different in appearance from the familiar Greek representation of Artemis as a huntress.

The goddess was regarded as the protector of Ephesus and was also associated with the natural world, animals and fertility. Her reputation extended well beyond the city itself. According to the account in Acts 19, her worshippers regarded her as the great goddess honoured throughout Asia and the wider world.

Image and iconography

The patron god of Ephesus was identified with the Hellenic Artemis, called Diana by the Romans.

The Ephesian goddess was represented in a distinctive, almost rigid standing posture, with her arms extended and her body covered by an elaborate garment. Her head was frequently surmounted by a tall crown, sometimes decorated with representations of buildings or the walls of the city. Animals, including deer, bulls, lions, griffins and other creatures, appeared in the decorative scheme of surviving representations.

Her most recognisable feature is a series of rounded objects covering the upper portion of her body. These have traditionally been interpreted as numerous breasts, leading to descriptions of the goddess as the many-breasted Artemis. They have consequently been associated with fertility and the nourishment of life.

However, the precise identification of these objects remains disputed. Different interpretations have identified them as breasts, eggs, beehives, bull testicles, or ornamental pendants. They may have formed part of a complex arrangement of sacred ornaments and symbols. It is therefore preferable not to present one interpretation as definitively established.

Coins issued at Ephesus frequently portrayed the goddess and her sanctuary, providing important evidence of her appearance and the civic significance of her worship. Some representations show her as a huntress, while others display the distinctive standing cult image.

The sacred image was also associated with an object reputed to have fallen from heaven. This belief is reflected in Acts 19:35, where the city secretary refers to Ephesus as the guardian of the great Artemis and of her image which had fallen from heaven.

Temple of Artemis at Ephesus

The Temple of Artemis, also called the Artemision, was the principal sanctuary of the Ephesian goddess. Its religious importance extended across successive periods of Anatolian, Greek and Roman history.

The site had been used for religious purposes from a very early date. A major temple was constructed during the sixth century B.C., with the Lydian king Croesus making substantial contributions. The Greek historian Herodotus recorded that Croesus dedicated golden cattle and most of the columns at Ephesus.

The architect Chersiphron is associated with the early construction of the great temple. According to Strabo, the building was subsequently enlarged. The temple was deliberately burned in 356 B.C. by a man named Herostratus, who sought lasting notoriety through its destruction. The Ephesians subsequently undertook its reconstruction, contributing their wealth and valuable possessions to the undertaking.

The rebuilt temple became one of the most celebrated architectural monuments of antiquity. Pliny the Elder described it as measuring approximately 425 feet in length and 225 feet in width, with 127 columns, each sixty feet high. He stated that its construction had occupied the whole of Asia for 120 years. These figures are those reported in his ancient account.

The Artemision was not merely a place of worship. It attracted pilgrims and visitors from throughout the Mediterranean and contributed substantially to the religious reputation and prosperity of Ephesus. Its importance continued during the Hellenistic and Roman periods, and its image was reproduced on coins and in smaller devotional objects.

The sanctuary suffered destruction during the Gothic invasions of the third century A.D., particularly around 262. It was subsequently partly restored, but its former importance gradually declined. The sanctuary continued to have religious significance into late antiquity before the final abandonment of its pagan cult and the dismantling of much of the ancient structure. Its building materials were subsequently reused in other constructions.

Diana in the Book of Acts

The worship of Diana of the Ephesians features prominently in the account of the Apostle Paul's ministry in Ephesus, recorded in Acts 19:23–41.

During Paul's preaching, many inhabitants of Ephesus abandoned their former religious practices. This threatened the business of craftsmen who manufactured religious objects associated with the goddess and her sanctuary.

A silversmith named Demetrius gathered together other craftsmen and workers engaged in the manufacture of silver shrines. He warned them that Paul's preaching was endangering their livelihood and that the great goddess's temple might lose its reputation and magnificence.

Demetrius declared:

Moreover ye see and hear, that not alone at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul hath persuaded and turned away much people, saying that they be no gods, which are made with hands:

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, and her magnificence should be destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worshippeth.

— Acts 19:26–27, King James Version.

The craftsmen and their supporters became enraged and rushed into the city's great theatre, dragging Paul's companions Gaius and Aristarchus with them. The crowd repeatedly shouted:

Great is Diana of the Ephesians.

— Acts 19:28, King James Version.

The disturbance continued for approximately two hours. The city's secretary eventually quieted the crowd and reminded the assembly that the reputation of Ephesus as the guardian of the great goddess and her heavenly image was well established. He also pointed out that the men who had been brought into the theatre were neither robbers of temples nor blasphemers of the goddess.

He advised Demetrius and the craftsmen to pursue any legitimate complaints through the courts, warning that the city might otherwise be accused of rioting by the Roman authorities. The assembly was then dismissed.

The passage provides an important contemporary account, within the biblical narrative, of the religious and economic significance of the Ephesian goddess. It also illustrates the conflict between the growing Christian movement and established pagan religious institutions in the Roman province of Asia.

Decline of the cult

The worship of Diana of the Ephesians remained influential for centuries after the events recorded in Acts. Her sanctuary continued to attract pilgrims, and the city's identity remained closely associated with the goddess.

The gradual decline of the cult occurred during the later Roman Empire as Christianity spread throughout Asia Minor and imperial support for traditional pagan worship diminished. The temple's destruction and subsequent dismantling removed the principal physical centre of her worship.

Ephesus subsequently became an important centre of early Christianity. The city hosted major Christian councils in 431 and 449 A.D., and its religious identity increasingly became associated with Christian pilgrimage and the veneration of the Virgin Mary and John the Apostle.

See also

• Artemis
• Diana (goddess)
• Ephesus
• Temple of Artemis
• Cybele
• Paul the Apostle
• Acts of the Apostles
• Seven Wonders of the Ancient World

External links

• Ephesus, UNESCO World Heritage Centre.
• The Image of Artemis at Ephesus, Macquarie University.
• Statuette of Artemis of Ephesus, J. Paul Getty Museum.
• Artemis and her Cult, Ruth Marie Léger, University of Birmingham.