What was Ephesus like?
It is helpful to understand the setting. Ephesus was a wealthy Asian city that revolved around the massive Temple of Artemis, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Understanding the religion of Artemis, also known as Diana, is very important in understanding the words Paul writes. Notice in the quotation below that Artemis, a fertility goddess, was believed to protect women during childbirth. “‘Artemis of the Ephesians’ was not a Greek divinity, but Asiatic. This is shown by the fact that eunuchs were employed in her worship– a practice quite foreign to Greek ideas. She was not regarded as a virgin but as mother and foster-mother, as is clearly shown by the multitude of breasts in the rude effigy. She was undoubtedly a representative of the same power presiding over conception and birth that was adored in Palestine under the name Ashtoreth. Her worship, frantic and fanatical after the manner of Asia, was traced back to the Amazons. Her temple at Ephesus was one of the wonders
