DIV Artemis of Ephesos was one of the most widely worshiped deities of the Graeco-Roman World. Her temple, the Artemision, was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, and for more than half a millennium people flocked to Ephesos to learn the great secret of the mysteries and sacrifices that were celebrated every year on her birthday. In this work Guy MacLean Rogers sets out the evidence for the celebration of Artemis's mysteries against the background of the remarkable urban development of the city during the Roman Empire and then proposes an entirely new theory about the great secret that was revealed to initiates into Artemis's mysteries. The revelation of that secret helps to explain not only the success of Artemis's cult and polytheism itself but, more surprisingly, the demise of both and the success of Christianity. Contrary to many anthropological and scientific theories, the history of polytheism, including the celebration of Artemis's mysteries, is best understood as a Darwinian tale of adaptation, competition, and change. /div

Artemis of Ephesos was one of the most widely worshiped deities of the Graeco-Roman World. Her temple, the Artemision, was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, and for more than half a millennium people flocked to Ephesos to learn the great secret of the mysteries and sacrifices that were celebrated every year on her birthday. In this work Guy MacLean Rogers sets out the evidence for the celebration of Artemis's mysteries against the background of the remarkable urban development of the city during the Roman Empire and then proposes an entirely new theory about the great secret that was revealed to initiates into Artemis's mysteries. The revelation of that secret helps to explain not only the success of Artemis's cult and polytheism itself but, more surprisingly, the demise of both and the success of Christianity. Contrary to many anthropological and scientific theories, the history of polytheism, including the celebration of Artemis's mysteries, is best understood as a Darwinian tale of adaptation, competition, and change.

In this study, Michael Immendorfer examines the relationship between the New Testament letter to the Ephesians and the ancient city of Ephesus, which had the great Artemis as its goddess. He seeks to make a contribution to the discussion on the extent to which conclusions can be drawn concerning the local-historical explanation of New Testament epistles by viewing the latter through the lens of Greco-Roman cultic practices. Thus the contents of Ephesians are compared with the abundantly available archaeological and epigraphical sources of the Asia Minor metropolis. This endeavour reveals that the letter contains numerous unequivocal references to the cult of Artemis, a nexus suggesting that the author was very familiar with the historical background of ancient Ephesus and contextualised his letter accordingly for the intended readers who lived in this particular cultic environment.

Published by Nicea Press. In perhaps one of the most definitive works on Artemis of the Ephesians ever published, James D. Rietveld, Ph.D., provides a comprehensive examination of the cult statue of Artemis Ephesia, examining her representations throughout the ancient world and discovering that her image cannot be confined to a limited set of explanations, but that Artemis Ephesia was a figure in constant flux, with interpretations dependent on the particular time period and audience viewing it. Second, personal religious perspectives are investigated in relation to the image and the cult of Artemis in general, providing a counterbalance to many modern studies more focused on the political and social aspects of her cult.The third section investigates Artemis Ephesia in relation to the city's sacred geography, creating a more contextually discerning view of how her belief system permeated the daily lives of the Ephesians through examining what they left behind in the material culture. Finally, the fourth section examines how understandings of Artemis Ephesia changed with the spread of Christianity, explaining how this Ephesian goddess eventually succumbed to the forces of this new religious perspective, but also noting how some aspects survived even within this new context. Ultimately, Artemis Ephesia is revealed as a goddess of protection, the sacred space of her precinct understood as a place of asylum for individuals seeking refuge; a bank for those wishing to secure their material wealth, and a shrine for virgins desiring to protect their chastity. By extension of the Via Sacra, her role as protective mother moved beyond the Temple of Artemis to the city itself. Along with the images of Artemis, the Ephesian letters carried her perceived magical protective powers even further, all along the shores of the Mediterranean and even to the very ends of the Greco-Roman world.

Around this collection of extracts from Steiner's books and lectures, the author examines the Mystery schools of the ancient world, and their revevance to Christianity and the world today.

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In an extraordinary exposition, Lorenzen – an expert beekeeper and student of contemporary spiritual science – describes the ‘Logos mysteries’, based at the ancient temple of Artemis in Ephesus, where priestesses were known as ‘Melissas’ (‘honeybees’) and the sacrificial priests were called ‘Essenes’ (or ‘bee-kings’). These cultic mysteries, he says, bore remarkable parallels to the workings of a bee colony – specifically in the relationship between the queen and worker bees to the spiritual ‘group-soul’ of the bees. Lorenzen commences his unique study with a discussion of flowers and insects, exploring their common origins. He then describes the beginnings of the honeybee, its connection with the fig wasp, and the subsequent controlled transformation of the latter that took place in pre-historic mystery-centres. Breeding the honeybee from the fig wasp – a sacred deed performed at consecrated sanctuaries – was part of the ‘Fig-tree mysteries’. The initiates behind this task developed the ability to commune with the bees’ group-soul and to work consciously on the mutual development of the hive and humanity. This concise but rich work features an illuminating foreword by Heidi Herrmann of the Natural Beekeeping Trust as well as a lucid introduction by translator Paul King that explains the anthroposophical concepts employed by Lorenzen in his text.

This volume brings together studies on Greek animal sacrifice by foremost experts in Greek language, literature and material culture. Readers will benefit from the synthesis of new evidence and approaches with a re-evaluation of twentieth-century theories on sacrifice. The chapters range across the whole of antiquity and go beyond the Greek world to consider possible influences in Hittite Anatolia and Egypt, while an introduction to the burgeoning science of osteo-archaeology is provided. The twentieth-century emphasis on sacrifice as part of the Classical Greek polis system is challenged through consideration of various ancient perspectives on sacrifice as distinct from specific political or even Greek contexts. Many previously unexplored topics are covered, particularly the type of animals sacrificed and the spectrum of sacrificial ritual, from libations to lasting memorials of the ritual in art.

A definitive account of the great revolt of Jews against Rome and the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple “A lucid yet terrifying account of the 'Jewish War'—the uprising of the Jews in 66 CE, and the Roman empire’s savage response, in a story that stretches from Rome to Jerusalem.”—John Ma, Columbia University This deeply researched and insightful book examines the causes, course, and historical significance of the Jews’ failed revolt against Rome from 66 to 74 CE, including the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple. Based on a comprehensive study of all the evidence and new statistical data, Guy Rogers argues that the Jewish rebels fought for their religious and political freedom and lost due to military mistakes. Rogers contends that while the Romans won the war, they lost the peace. When the Romans destroyed the Jerusalem Temple, they thought that they had defeated the God of Israel and eliminated Jews as a strategic threat to their rule. Instead, they ensured the Jews’ ultimate victory. After their defeat Jews turned to the written words of their God, and following those words led the Jews to recover their freedom in the promised land. The war's tragic outcome still shapes the worldview of billions of people today.

This volume of the New Documents Illustrating Early Christianity series introduces scholars and students to the historical, political, civic, religious, cultural, and social context of Ephesian inscriptional evidence. Each of the twenty-five entries in this volume includes one or more original inscriptions, English translation, and a commentary that sheds light on early Christianity, particularly as it relates to Ephesians, Acts, Revelation, and the Pastoral Epistles. Contributors Bradley J. Bitner, James R. Harrison, Phillip Ort, and Isaac T. Soon examine topics such as the gods and the founder of Ephesus, the political and economic relationship between Ephesus and Rome, Ephesian elites and the dynamics of honor, building activity, local sites, and graffiti.