Artemis and Ephesus

The procession occurred on the days the city assembly met, on important festivals such as the nativity of Artemis and on a number of other occasions. Rogers estimated that the procession would have occurred at least once every two weeks throughout the year, and that the whole procession would have lasted at least ninety minutes on each occasion. Since at least two hundred and sixty individuals were involved in the procession through the streets, it would have hindered, if not totally halted travel in the city on each occasion. Salutaris clearly intended the procession to be a significant event in the city each time it occurred.—Paul Trebilco, “Not Engaging the City: Reading 1 and 2 Timothy and the Johannine Letters in the City of Ephesus,” in The Urban World and the First Christians, 160