Revelation 2:1-7

The Ephesians were a wealthy and proud people. Their city boasted the great temple of Artemis (a fertility goddess, known as Diana to the Romans), which was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. This temple was four times the size of the Parthenon in Greece. Even when their temple was partially destroyed in the fourth century BC, the Ephesians refused help from Alexander the Great, and rebuilt the temple themselves. This shows the wealth and power of the city. Artemis was not the only deity in Ephesus. There were as many as 50 other gods and goddesses worshipped there. Pluralism was the social order of the day.