Acts 19 · a question people ask
Who was Artemis?
Apart from telling what Demetrius made (19:24), the chapter names her only in the words of Demetrius, of those who cry out, and of the town clerk. Demetrius "made silver shrines of Artemis" (19:24), and he speaks of "the temple of the great goddess Artemis" and "her majesty", "whom all Asia and the world worships" (19:27). The town clerk calls the city "temple keeper of the great goddess Artemis, and of the image which fell down from Zeus" (19:35), and says of Paul's companions that they are "neither robbers of temples nor blasphemers of your goddess" (19:37). What Demetrius says Paul has been saying is "that they are no gods that are made with hands" (19:26). The chapter says nothing more about her, and these notes add nothing from outside the Bible.
The verses
“For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought no little business to the craftsmen,”
“You see and hear that not at Ephesus alone, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away many people, saying that they are no gods that are made with hands. Not only is there danger that this our trade come into disrepute, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be counted as nothing and her majesty destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worships.””
“When the town clerk had quieted the multitude, he said, “You men of Ephesus, what man is there who doesn’t know that the city of the Ephesians is temple keeper of the great goddess Artemis, and of the image which fell down from Zeus?”
“For you have brought these men here, who are neither robbers of temples nor blasphemers of your goddess.”