Charles Ellicott Commentary Acts 19:29

"And the city was filled with the confusion: and they rushed with one accord into the theatre, having seized Gaius and Aristarchus, men of Macedonia, Paul`s companions in travel." — Acts 19:29 (ASV)

The whole city was filled with confusion. The loud shouts from the district where Demetrius and his workmen met would, of course, attract attention. A rumor would spread through the city that the group of strangers, who had been objects of curiosity and suspicion, were engaged in a conspiracy against the worship that was the pride and glory of their city. It was natural, in such circumstances, that they should flock together to the largest place of public gathering and drag there any of that group whom they might happen to find. We may compare, as an interesting historical parallel, the excitement caused at Athens by the mutilation of the Hermæ-busts at the time of the Sicilian Expedition under Alcibiades .

Gaius and Aristarchus. The former name represents the Roman “Caius.” It was one of the most common Latin names and appears as belonging to four persons in the New Testament:

1. The Macedonian mentioned here.
2. Gaius of Derbe (but see Note on Acts 20:4).
3. Gaius of Corinth, the host of St. Paul, whom he baptised with his own hands (Romans 16:23; 1 Corinthians 1:14).
4. Gaius to whom St. John addressed his third Epistle.

The third and fourth individuals named Gaius may, however, probably be the same person. (See Introduction to the Third Epistle General of John.) Regarding Aristarchus, we learn from Acts 20:4 that he was from Thessalonica.

As such, he had probably had some previous experience of such violence and had, we may believe, shown courage in resisting it (1 Thessalonians 2:14). He appears as one of St. Paul’s companions on the journey to Jerusalem (Acts 20:4), probably as a delegate from the Macedonian churches. From Colossians 4:10, he appears to have been a Jewish convert and to have shared the Apostle’s imprisonment at Rome, either by being under arrest himself or, more probably, by voluntarily accepting confinement in the Apostle’s hired house (Acts 28:30) to minister to his necessities. The description given of them as “Paul’s companions in travel” is not without significance, as it implies a missionary activity beyond the walls of Ephesus in which they had been sharers.

They rushed with one accord into the theatre. The theatre of Ephesus was, next to the Temple of Artemis, its chief glory. Mr. Wood, the most recent explorer, describes it as capable of holding twenty-five thousand people (Ephes. p. 68). It was constructed chiefly for gladiatorial combats with wild beasts and the like, but was also used for dramatic entertainments. The theatre of a Greek city, with its wide open area, was a favourite spot for public meetings of all kinds, just as Hyde Park is with us, or as the Champ de Mars was in the French Revolution. So Vespasian addressed the people in the theatre of Antioch (Tacitus, Histories 2.80; compare also Apuleius, Metamorphoses, book 3).