Contrasting temples. Paul’s illustration of a spiritual temple was also most fitting for the Christian congregation living in the shadow of the awe-inspiring pagan temple of Artemis, which was regarded as one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Whereas “the whole district of Asia and the inhabited earth” paid worship to Artemis and highly esteemed the famed temple at Ephesus, anointed Christians constitute “a holy temple,” in which Jehovah dwells by his spirit.​—Ac 19:27; Eph 2:21.

By reason of the fact that the temple of Artemis was a sanctuary, crimes were encouraged and the criminal population of Ephesus increased. No one within a certain area around its walls might be arrested for any crime whatever. The result was that a village of thieves, murderers, and the like grew up around the temple.

Temple of Artemis. The most outstanding edifice of the city was the temple of Artemis, ranked by the ancients as one of the seven wonders of the world. The temple existing in the first century C.E., when the apostle Paul visited Ephesus, had been rebuilt according to the plan of an earlier Ionic temple said to have been set on fire by Herostratus in 356 B.C.E.

According to excavations of the site in the latter half of the 19th century, the temple was erected on a platform measuring about 73 m (240 ft) in width and 127 m (418 ft) in length. The temple itself was approximately 50 m (164 ft) wide and 105 m (343 ft) long. It contained 100 marble columns, each standing almost 17 m (55 ft) high. The columns measured 1.8 m (6 ft) in diameter at the base and at least some of them were sculptured to a height of about 6 m (20 ft). The temple’s inner sanctuary measured about 21 m (70 ft) in width and 32 m (105 ft) in length. The altar contained therein was approximately 6 m (20 ft) square, and the image of Artemis may have stood directly behind this altar.

The fragments that have been found indicate that brilliant color and sculpture adorned the temple. Large white marble tiles covered the roof. Instead of mortar, gold is reputed to have been used between the joints of the marble blocks.