I stand on the stage in the Roman theater of the ancient city of Ephesus, thinking of how different history might have been.

Here, if the anonymous story in Acts 19 is to be believed, the enraged citizenry of Ephesus nearly lynched Saul of Tarsus, known later to the church as “saint” Paul. Angered by his blasphemies against their patron goddess Artemis—known to the Romans as Diana—for two solid hours they chanted “Great is Diana of the Ephesians!”

Alas, Saul's life was saved by a conscientious city magistrate who talked down the crowd by reminding them that extrajudicial killings are morally wrong.

Such conscientiousness in a public official is surely to be praised. Still, one can only wonder.

According to Acts, the crowd's anger was fomented by a souvenir manufacturer worried about potential loss of trade. One need only think about this to see how unlikely such a scenario really is. Why do non-pagans find it so difficult to believe that pagans, too, might actually love our gods?

Walking the streets of the city earlier that day, I had been struck by the frequency with which one found little bas-reliefs of the Ephesian Goddess, with her distinctive polymastate (many-breasted) shape, carved into the gateposts of doorways, watching maternally over the comings and goings of her people.

Me, I know a mezuza when I see one. You can't tell me that the ancients didn't touch these little goddesses and then kiss their hands, coming and going. In fact, I did so myself.

Thanks to this episode, historical or not, Artemis/Diana is the only goddess to have been mentioned by name in the New Testament. If Craft historian Ron Hutton is correct, for this reason through the Christian centuries She became the paradigmatic example of the pagan goddess—think of all those medieval accounts of wicked women flying by night with the goddess Diana, dea paganorum—and thus, eventually, the patronal Lady of Revival Witchery, She Who Shines by Night.

If that's so, then I'm standing in the place where the New Paganisms were seeded, nearly 2000 years ago.

Well, the Goddess abides, and Wheels turn. Joining my voice with those of the ancients, from center stage I call out, giving the ancient Greek words their modern pronunciation: Megháli i Ártemis tôn Efesíôn:

Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!

Three times, I call it out.

Coda

I wrote this post on the morning of Saturday, April 18 which, as it happens, was Eastern Orthodox Holy Saturday. 

Later that night, I tuned in to the livestreamed midnight Resurrection Service at a local EO church. (Orthodox Easter is one of humanity's truly great rituals, with much to teach any aspiring ritualist.) In this particular parish, it's customary to read aloud from Scripture continuously from Holy Friday until the midnight ritual on Holy Saturday.

It just so happened that, at the very moment that I tuned in, a parishioner was reading from the book of Acts: Acts 19:28, to be specific.

And what were literally the first words that I heard from her lips? You guessed it.

"Great is Diana of the Ephesians!"

Of course.

I burst into laughter and immediately ran downstairs to the temple to light some incense.

What a Goddess! Who says They aren't listening?