Ancient gods, Modern Worshipers- Part 6 Fertility goddesses
In the previous part, we started the discussion on the fertility goddesses. In this part, we will look at another fertility goddess — Artemis of the Ephesians.
Artemis of the Ephesians
Artemis was the Greek goddess of nature, hunting, chastity, young women, and sudden death. She was associated with the moon and her Roman equivalent was Diana. Artemis’s prevalent depiction was of a fierce goddess. She was portrayed as a woman with a bow and arrow putting on a short tunic.
However, at Ephesus (in modern Turkey), her primary place of worship the Ephesians made a distinct form of this goddess similar to a Near Eastern fertility goddesses. In Ephesus, her statue was a goddess with multiple breasts.
In many places where she was worshipped, her worship involved a wild and lustful dance called the Dance of Maidens. In Paul’s ministry at Ephesus, he faced fierce opposition.
About that time there arose a great disturbance about the Way. A silversmith named Demetrius, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought in a lot of business for the craftsmen there. He called them together, along with the workers in related trades, and said: “You know, my friends, that we receive a good income from this business. And you see and hear how this fellow Paul has convinced and led astray large numbers of people here in Ephesus and in practically the whole province of Asia. He says that gods made by human hands are no gods at all. There is danger not only that our trade will lose its good name, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be discredited; and the goddess herself, who is worshiped throughout the province of Asia and the world, will be robbed of her divine majesty.” When they heard this, they were furious and began shouting: “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” Soon the whole city was in an uproar. The people seized Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul’s traveling companions from Macedonia, and all of them rushed into the theater together. Paul wanted to appear before the crowd, but the disciples would not let him. Even some of the officials of the province, friends of Paul, sent him a message begging him not to venture into the theater. The assembly was in confusion: Some were shouting one thing, some another. Most of the people did not even know why they were there. The Jews in the crowd pushed Alexander to the front, and they shouted instructions to him. He motioned for silence in order to make a defense before the people. But when they realized he was a Jew, they all shouted in unison for about two hours: “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” The city clerk quieted the crowd and said: “Fellow Ephesians, doesn’t all the world know that the city of Ephesus is the guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of her image, which fell from heaven? Acts 19:23–35
From the last verse of the referenced scriptures, we see that it was a widely held belief that Artemis’ statue fell from heaven.
In his epistle to the church he had established at Ephesus, Paul described his ministry as a “wrestle”, not against his physical opposition, but the spiritual forces that propelled them. Paul alluded to the resistance to the gospel’s message due to the Ephesians’ idolatrous practices.
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world, and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Ephesians 6:12
Paul handed over the oversight of the Ephesian church to his protegee Timothy, a Greek youth. He would have to inspire courage in the young minister, because of the fierce opposition he also experienced.
To Timothy my true son in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain people not to teach false doctrines any longer. 1 Timothy 1:2–3
For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love, and self-discipline. 2 Timothy 1:7
The worship of Artemis made the people fierce and the nature of the worship rites inspired lewdness. In this society, as well as other Roman societies of the 1st century, oppression was on the rise. The most oppressed members of society were sadly the weakest members of society, slaves, women, and children. Women, especially slave women, were seen as inferior to men and objects of sexual pleasure. However, Christianity emerged with a message that radically opposed the norm.
There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. Galatians 3:28
An ancient secular writer Demosthenes summed up the general treatment of women this way:
We keep prostitutes for pleasure, we keep mistresses for the day-to-day needs of the body; we keep wives for the faithful guardianship of our homes.
In contrast, Christian women were taught that in the sight of God, they were equal to men, as beings created in the image of God. This knowledge was liberating in a society where women held little value, other than as objects of sex. Nevertheless, there was a need for Paul and the other apostles to teach God’s proper order in the institution of marriage, which was greatly misunderstood in his day.
Husbands love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husband’s ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church — for we are members of his body. “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” This is a profound mystery — but I am talking about Christ and the church. However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband. Ephesians 5:25–33
Ephesian Christian men were charged to love their wives, following Jesus’ sacrificial example and the women were to submit to their husbands, like the church submits to Christ. The idea of men loving their wives was alien in a society where men could easily fulfill their sexual urges, with multiple women, because the prevalent religious system permitted it. Christianity upheld monogamy, as God’s will and the marital fidelity of both men and women.
Paul gives Timothy more instructions for the Ephesian women to help them understand their value and unique societal roles.
I also want the women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, adorning themselves, not with elaborate hairstyles or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God. A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be quiet, for Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner. But women will be saved through childbearing — if they continue in faith, love, and holiness with propriety. 1 Timothy 2:9–15
Paul makes the following points in these verses:
1. Christian women are to be modest in dressing and character. In this way, they set themselves apart from non-Christian women, whose assigned value was their sexuality.
2. Christian married women were to be submitted to their husbands, following God’s creative order for the marital institution. The attempt of women to dominate their husbands was an aberration of God’s original plan. God has always recognized men as the head of the family in all aspects. The instruction to not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was given to the first man Adam. It was his duty to pass it on to his wife — Eve. Eve’s decision to usurp her husband’s authority and eat from the tree was the cause of the fall of humanity.
3. Women are valuable not only as image bearers of God and beneficiaries of his saving grace but also because of their unique role of birthing children. It is through this special role that God chose to initiate his work of salvation.
And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers, he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” Genesis 3:15
This verse, the Protoevangellium, is God’s first revelation of his plan to save humanity through “the seed of the woman”. This is an intimation of the virgin birth, that was fulfilled by the birth of Jesus Christ by a virgin.
Thank you for reading. In the next part, I will continue with the fertility goddesses. We will discuss the goddess Aphrodite.
