Wealth and Worship in Ancient Ephesus

Ancient Historians describe Ephesus as the financial capital of the ancient world in the first century CE. Social and religious life linked to the worship of the goddess Artemis and daily activities in her temple, the Artemisium.

This included banking, tourism, festivals, and trade bringing money to the city. From literary, epigraphic, and numismatic sources, we find rich citizens playing key roles at the center of community life and reaping many benefits as a result.

Others have previously explored wealth and worship in ancient Ephesus. This fresh look includes input from a text not widely known, Ephesiaca by Xenophon of Ephesus, recently dated to mid-first century CE to see how it might add to our knowledge.

The findings from this examination of wealth and worship follow in four sections: (1) the role of the Artemisium, (2) worship activities, (3) priestly and community roles, and (4) implications for biblical reading and interpretation.