Boyd’s Bible Dictionary:
(safety). A Roman goddess. Artemis of the Greeks. Her temple at Ephesus regarded as one of the seven wonders of the world (Acts 19:24-28).
Concise Bible Dictionary:
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 center (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.”
Strong’s Dictionary of Greek Words:
Meaning:
probably from the same as 736; prompt; Artemis, the name of a Grecian goddess borrowed by the Asiatics for one of their deities
Jackson’s Dictionary of Scripture Proper Names:
complete light: flow restrained
Potts’ Bible Proper Names:
A great mother; luminous; perfect; just now; prompt; this day:―a Roman divinity [ARTEMIS], Acts 19:27. {Magna mater}
“846. Shrines of Diana” From Manners and Customs of the Bible:
Acts 19:24. A certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, which made silver shrines for Diana, brought no small gain unto the craftsmen.
These shrines were miniature representations of the most sacred portion of the heathen temple; that part of it where the statue of the goddess was situated. They were made of wood or precious metal, and were worn as charms. A little door on one tide concealed the image of the goddess within. Roberts found a similar practice in India, where shrines of idols are often made in the shape of a temple and suspended from the neck of the wearer.
For a description of the temple represented by the shrines mentioned in the text, see the note on Acts 19:21 (#847).
“847. The Temple of Diana” From Manners and Customs of the Bible:
Acts 19:21. That the temple of the great goddess Diana should be despised, and her magnificence should be destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worshipeth.
This was the largest of the Greek temples, and the most magnificent of the ancient world. It is said to have been burned and rebuilt no less than seven times, the temple referred to in the text being the eighth of the series. This and the two which immediately preceded it were built on the same foundation, which was laid by Theodorus about B.C. 500. The first temple of the three built on this foundation was burned about B.C. 400. The second was burned on the same night that Alexander the Great was born, B.C. 356. Great efforts and sacrifices were made to replace this by a building which should far excel all the others in magnificence, and it was this splendid edifice on which the eyes of the Apostle Paul gazed. It is said to have been two hundred and twenty years in building, though some writers claim that this period is intended by the ancient historians to include the time from the foundation by Theodorus to the completion of the great temple. It was four hundred and twenty-five feet long, and two hundred and twenty feet wide. In the interior was a chapel containing the image of the goddess. See note on verse 35 (#850). The roof of this chapel was of cedar. The rest of the vast building was open to the sky, and consisted of colonnades, the columns of which were sixty feet high and seven feet and a half in diameter. It is commonly said that there were one hundred and twenty-seven of those columns, each the gift of a king, and Pliny is referred to as the authority for this statement. There are late commentators, however, who, by punctuation, give a different translation to the statement of Pliny, making it read: “The columns were one hundred and twenty, seven of them the gilts of kings.” Leake suggests the probability of an error in transcribing: “It is very possible that the early copiers of Pliny made the common oversight of omitting an unit, writing 127 instead of 128” (Tour in Asia Minor, p. 347). Either of these interpretations makes the number of columns even. Thirty-six of the columns were richly carved, and ornamented with precious metals and stones. Some suppose that Paul makes reference to this great temple in 1 Corinthians 3:9-17 and in Ephesians 2:19-22.
“850. Town Clerk - Diana of Ephesus” From Manners and Customs of the Bible:
Acts 19:35. 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 worshiper of the great goddess Diana, and of the image which fell down from Jupiter?
1. The grammateus, scribe, or “townclerk,” as the word is here rendered, seems to have been charged with duties of a higher order than those of the ordinary scribes among the Greeks. It is supposed that, under the Roman rule in Asia Minor, the work of the scribes was not limited to recording the laws and reading them in public. They presided over popular assemblies, and sometimes legally assumed the functions of magistrates. The title is preserved on ancient coins and marbles, and the scribes were evidently regarded as governors of cities or districts.
2. While the Diana of the Romans corresponded to the Artemis of the Greeks, this Ephesian Diana or Artemis was a totally distinct divinity of Asiatic origin. Her worship was found by the Greeks in Ionia when they settled there, and to her they gave the name of Artemis. There was in many respects a resemblance between the Ephesian Artemis and the Syrian Astarte. See note on 1 Kings 11:5 (#304). Her worship extended over a vast region, and cities vied with each other for the honor of being called neokoron, sweeper, or keeper, of the temple; “worshiper” in the text. The original Ephesian image was said to have fallen from heaven, as was also asserted of images of other deities in other cities. This has given rise to the opinion that this and similar images were aerolites, and were worshiped according to the ancient superstition which gave sanctity and divinity to certain stones. See note on Isaiah 57:6 (#527). Ancient authorities, however, assert that the Ephesian Artemis was of wood, some say of ebony, others of vine-wood. Whatever the material, the figure was very coarse and rude. The later image of the Ephesian goddess was elaborately made, and was covered with carefully-wrought symbols and mystic figures. See note on verse 19 (#845).
The following is the description given of this statue by Mr. Falkener (Ephesus, pp. 290-291): “The circle round her head denotes the nimbus of her glory, the griffins inside of which express its brilliancy. In her breast are the twelve signs of the zodiac, of which those seen in front are the ram, bull, twins, crab, and lion; they are divided by the hours. Her necklace is composed of acorns, the primeval food of man. Lions are on her arms to denote her power, and her hands are stretched out to show that she is ready to receive all who come to her. Her body is covered with various beasts and monsters, as sirens, sphinxes, and griffins, to show she is the source of nature, the mother of all things. Her head, hands, and feet are of bronze, while the rest of the statue is of alabaster, to denote the ever-varying light and shade of the moon’s figure.... Like Rhea, she was crowned with turrets, to denote her dominion over terrestrial objects” (Fairbairn, Imperial Bible Dictionary).
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