Artemis

In Greek mythology, Artemis is the goddess of the hunt and the moon, and the ruler over the wild animals. In Latin her name is Diana. Artemis is the daughter of Leto and the god Zeus. Her twin brother is Apollo.

In the city of Ephesus in Asia Minor, the Greeks equated an existing goddess of fertility with Artemis, and they built a temple for her. The temple of Artemis was one of the Seven Wonders of the World in antiquity. They started building the temple in the sixth century BC and it became the biggest temple that the Greeks had ever known. The area was over 86 000 square feet (about 7 990 m2) and the building had 127 marble pillars. In the centre of the temple there was a large statue that, according to legend, had fallen from heaven (see Acts 19:35).
The worship of Artemis had resulted in a booming pilgrimage economy in Ephesus. Little silver temples were made, for instance, that were sold to the followers of Artemis (see Acts 19:23-40).