Diana of Ephesians

[Acts 19:24-35] For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, which made silver shrines for Diana, brought no small gain unto the craftsmen;
The universal belief of the people was that they were gods, though the more intelligent regarded them only as habitations of Deity, and some, probably, as mere aids to devotion. It is exactly so in the Church of Rome.
So the masters of the poor Pythoness put forward the religious revolution which Paul was attempting to effect at Philippi, as the sole cause of their zealous alarm, to cloak the self-interest which they felt to be touched by his success (16:19-21). In both cases religious zeal was the hypocritical pretext; self-interest, the real moving cause of the opposition made.
The very appearance of a Jew (Paul) had the opposite effect to that intended. To prevent him obtaining a hearing, they drowned his voice in one tumultuous shout in honor of their goddess, which rose to such frantic enthusiasm as took two hours to exhaust itself.
Diana was a goddess of great renown amongst the Greeks. Her temple at Ephesus was a most magnificent structure. It was reckoned one of the wonders of the world. It was built about 550 B.C., of pure white marble, and though burned by a fanatic on the night of the birth of Alexander the Great, 356 B.C., was rebuilt with more splendor than before. It was four hundred twenty-five feet long by two hundred twenty broad, and the columns, one hundred twenty-seven in number, were sixty feet in height, each of them the gift of a king, and thirty-six of them enriched with ornament and color. It was constantly receiving new decorations and additional buildings, statues, and pictures by the most celebrated artists, and kindled unparalleled admiration, enthusiasm, and superstition. Its very site is now a matter of uncertainty. The little wooden image of Diana was as primitive and rude as its shrine was sumptuous; not like the Greek Diana, in the form of an imposing huntress, but quite Asiatic, in the form of a many-breasted female (emblematic of the manifold ministrations of Nature to man), terminating in a shapeless block. Like some other far-famed idols, it was believed to have fallen from heaven (verse 35), and models of it were not only sold in immense numbers to private persons, but set up for worship in other cities. What power must have attended the preaching of that one man by whom the death blow was felt to be given to their gigantic and witching superstition!
She is generally represented with many breasts, symbolizing the generative powers of nature and her ability to communicate fruitfulness in offspring. In the month of May, sacred to the goddess, immense numbers of models and shrines were sold to strangers, and thus carried all over the world. The Grecian goddess of the same name is not the Ephesian Diana; they differ in many respects.
Great is Diana of the Ephesians the civic cry of a populace so proud of their temple that they refused to inscribe on it the name of Alexander the Great, though he offered them the whole spoil of his Eastern campaign if they would do it.
They having caught Gaius and Aristarchus, it was in the house of Aquila and Priscilla that Paul found an asylum (1 Cor. 16:9), that would explain Romans 16:3, 4, where he says of them that "for his life they laid down their own necks".
They being certain of the chief of Asia, literally, "And certain also of the Asiarchs." These were wealthy and distinguished citizens of the principal towns of the Asian province, chosen annually, and ten of whom were selected by the proconsul to preside over the games celebrated in the month of May (the same month which Romanism dedicates to the Virgin). It was an office of the highest honor and greatly coveted. Certain of these, it seems, were favorably inclined to the Gospel, at least were Paul's "friends," and knowing the passions of a mob, excited during the festivals, "sent a message to him desiring him not to adventure himself into the theater.
[35] And when the townclerk had appeased the people, he said, Ye men of Ephesus, what man is there that knoweth not how that the city of the Ephesians is a worshipper of the great goddess Diana, and of the image which fell down from Jupiter?Jupiter was known as the father of light or of the sky. This deity is not referred to in the Old Testament, but is referred to in 2 Macccabees 6:2; and in the book of Acts.
We might get a glimpse of Barnabas and Paul’s physical characteristics from these deities since Jupiter, who the people applied to Barnabas was supposed to have been a large and age man. Mercury, who they thought Paul was, is pictured as a small, young man, and eloquent of speech. Jupiter and Mercurius (14:12), Jupiter was the supreme heathen divinity; and supposed to have absolute control over all idols and creation. Mercurius was the 'god of speech or eloquence,' and the special messenger of Jupiter. Hence Barnabas, probably because of his venerable appearance or supposed likeness to their god, was named 'Jupiter' by the Lystrians; and Paul, because of his speech, 'Mercurius.'
The Roman name for Artemis is Diana, at Ephesus there was a large cult of Artemis. The Biblical Text mentions the worship of Diana and the image that fell from Jupiter. It was a popular shrine that became a major tourist attraction and economic asset to the city. We can easily see why the silversmiths were angry with Paul preaching against making idols.
In the early Christian times some of Diana’s traditions were carried over to the Virgin Mary. Often, this same deity is worshipped in many areas as the divine power of reproduction under various names: Istare (Babylon), Astarte to the Greeks, Ashtoreth to the Jews, Iris to the Egyptians, Aphrodite to the Grecians, and Venus or Diana to the Romans.
Who are the idols in your life?