Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Acts 19:24

"For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Diana, brought no little business unto the craftsmen;" — Acts 19:24 (ASV)

Artemis of Ephesus, depicted as a grotesque, multibreasted woman, was believed to have been fashioned in heaven and to have fallen from the sky (cf. v.35). Probably she was originally a meteorite that resembled a multibreasted woman and became the object of worship. Her temple had become the primary basis for Ephesus’s wealth and continued prosperity (cf. comment on 19:1).

Paul’s preaching had turned many away from the idolatry of the Artemis cult, with the result that the economy of Ephesus was being affected. One profitable business was the making of “silver shrines of Artemis,” probably silver statuettes of Artemis to be used as souvenirs, votive offerings, and amulets. When the Gospel began to touch their income, the silversmiths, led by their guild master Demetrius, instigated a disturbance they hoped would turn the people against the missionaries and stir up greater devotion for the goddess Artemis—and greater profits for them.