St Paul’s Journey to Atlantis- Ephesus, the Birth of Artemis, and the Book of Revelations. Part One © Nicholas Costa 2025

Why Ephesus?

Few, if any, understand the real reason why Ephesus became so central an element in early Christianity. Why did Paul choose to visit and finally settle there for 3 whole years instead of other much more cosmopolitan locations? Why did the Apostle John, deemed ‘the son of thunder’ by Christ, choose to settle and die there? Why was the book of Revelations, the last book of the Bible written whilst he was in exile on the nearby island of Patmos? Also why was it that Ephesus became the focus of the narrative (accepted by the Catholic church) that Mary the mother of Jesus following Christ’s crucifixion, came to Ephesus with John, and that she died and was buried there in contravention of earlier assertions that she had died and was buried in Jerusalem?

It will surprise many, but exploring the mythology related to the birth of the goddess Artemis will provide answers to long unanswered questions, and help explain why the proponents of Christianity focused upon Ephesus.

Even though no surviving ancient text directly provides us with a date for the birth of Artemis, it is possible, as with Aphrodite to determine a precise date, a date supported not only by mythology, but by ancient historical records, as well as modern researches in paleo-climatology and archaeoastronomy.

Sadly the narrative concerning the birth of Artemis, even though clear, has consistently been ignored by modern researchers. Central to it is an airburst, tidal wave, and volcanic eruption, thus for example there are as far as the author is aware, no studies of tsunamis in the Aegean region citing the one that is central to Artemis’ birth dated c1327 BC

What’s in a Name?

Coeus and Phoebe

Leto is commonly called the daughter of the Titans Coeus and Phoebe. An analysis of the names shows them to be metaphors for a celestial event.

The name Coeus is usually interpreted as meaning intelligent which in the current context has little merit. However the word could equally derive from coein, meaning to swell, grow larger. Whilst the name Phoebe derives from phoibos meaning pure, bright or radiant. Thus ‘the bright light growing larger’.

Leto /Lato/Latona

There is no modern consensus as to the meaning of the name Leto. The Neo-platonist philosopher Proclus (who was a proponent of the veracity of the Atlantis narrative) in his Commentary on Plato’s Timaeus (3.109c) linked the name Leto with the word Lethe concealment. According to him, Leto symbolized the process by which the divine becomes temporarily hidden before revealing itself. Whilst this interpretation may fit within Neo-platonic philosophy, it also works quite comfortably as a metaphor describing the apparition of a comet.

William Smith in relation to Leto name noted that: “the most probable, according to which Leto is ” the obscure ” or ” concealed,” …This view is supported by the account of her genealogy given by Hesiod; and her whole legend seems to indicate nothing else but the issuing from darkness to light, and a return from the latter to the former.” _{(William Smith. A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology 1873.}) This is exactly how a comet behaves.

In the Homeric Hymn 3 to Delian Apollo (177 ff ) Leto is described as rich haired. The ancient Greek word for a comet, cometes, translates as long haired.

Given how the Greek myths are metaphorical, the name may also be an allusion to (given that she was linked to the sky in antiquity) the word anelito meaning to unravel or to travel in a reverse direction. It is a word used by Aristotle to describe planetary motion. _{(Metaphysics. 1074a2)} Her journey appears to have be one which in which she traveled from west to east.

Hyginus notably names Leto’s father as Polus. The word has various meanings, but all are connected in some way with the revolution of a sphere, the root of the word being the same as that which appears in poleo and poleome, which implies motion, especially motion round a centre. _{(Fabulae § 140).}

Asteria

It should come as no surprise therefore that Leto had a sister named Asteria meaning star or starry one who actually fell to earth. Apollodorus states that:

“Of the daughters of Coeus, Asteria in the likeness of a quail flung herself into the sea in order to escape the amorous advances of Zeus, and a city was formerly called after her Asteria, but afterwards it was named Delos_{. (Library, 1.4.1.)}

Asteria was married to Perses _{(Hesiod Theog. 409)}. Perses’ name is derived from the verb pertho, which notably translates as to sack, ravage, or destroy (a city).

Hecate

Significantly Asteria is also depicted as mother of Hecate, the deity who guided the souls of the dead to the underworld:

“She received honour also in starry heaven, and is honoured exceedingly by the deathless gods. For to this day, whenever any one of men on earth offers rich sacrifices and prays for favour according to custom, he calls upon Hecate.” _{(Hesiod, Theogony, 410).}

An impact or airburst over populated areas would inevitably result in destruction and multiple deaths of both men and beasts.

Near Earth Asteroid

Leto is depicted as having being impregnated by Zeus, but being denied anywhere to land to give birth (ostensibly because of Hera’s jealousy) she therefore had to travel over a long distance until she found a location when she could give birth. Leto was evidently a metaphor for a visible near earth asteroid or comet that fragmented which resulted in an airburst above Ephesus. This was subsequently commemorated as the birth of Artemis,

“And Leto was joined in love with Zeus who holds the aegis, and bare Apollo and Artemis delighting in arrows, children lovely above all the sons of Heaven” _{(Hesiod, Theogony, 918)}

The aegis as noted in the author’s article on Iconium is a metaphor for an airburst or explosion. _{(Saint Paul’s Journey to Atlantis- Iconium, the Birth of Athene, Plato and the Whirling Dervishes, Nicholas Costa 2025)}

Artemis the Butcher

Given the event associated with her birth it should come as no surprise that Artemis’ name has its roots in the Greek word for butcher, artamos a word also used metaphorically for a murderer. _{(Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon).}

“Over the shadowy hills and windy peaks she [Artemis] draws her golden bow, rejoicing in the chase, and sends out grievous shafts. The tops of the high mountains tremble and the tangled wood echoes awesomely with the outcry of beasts: earth quakes and the sea also where fishes shoal.” _{(Homeric Hymn 27 to Artemis)}

Both Artemis and Apollo are depicted with a bow and firing arrows at those they wish to destroy. This is evidently a metaphor for the fragments created by the airburst. Following the airburst of Chelyabinsk Russian authorities stated that 1,491 people sought medical within the first few days.

It is in conjunction with this that one needs to interpret three additional symbols associated with Artemis:

The palm tree: which is evidently a visual metaphor for an airburst or explosion, to be found again in the Bible associated with Artemis’ doublet- the prophetess Deborah whose name interprets as ‘bee’ (Judges 4)

The olive tree: a metaphor for an earthquake. An olive tree is traditionally shaken to get it to drop it olives.

The bee: which is a visual metaphor for stinging hot shards raining down upon the earth.

Artemis is consistently portrayed as having been born first, followed a little while later by Apollo:

“children, the lord Apollo and Artemis who delights in arrows; her in Ortygia, and him in rocky Delos, as you rested against the great mass of the Cynthian hill hard by a palm-tree by the streams of Inopus.” _{(Homeric Hymn to Apollo §1)}

The secondary airburst and impact into the sea near Delos in the Aegean was interpreted as the birth of Apollo.

Apollo the Killer

Notably Apollo’s name was most often associated by ancient authors with the Greek verb apollymi, to destroy or kill. The twins therefore make a very charming pair who one would not want to meet alone on a dark night!

Smelling the Airbursts?

Notably a curious myth exists in which Artemis and Apollo are accused of cross dressing.

Hyginus in his narration concerning their killing of Niobe’s children with arrows states they did this because Niobe, “spoke rather contemptuously against Apollo and Diana because Diana was girt in man’s attire, and Apollo wore long hair and a woman’s gown.” _{(Fabulae § 9  9)}. This may actually reflect a real memory of the events and the lingering smell in the air following the airbursts.

Theognis of Megara states that “all Delos was filled from end to end with an ambrosial aroma” when Leto clasped the palm tree. _{(Fragment 1. 5)}. (For further information see the author’s article St Paul’s Journey to Atlantis -Part One. The Birth of Aphrodite, 2024)

The Hittite text significantly attributes the initial airburst above Apasa/Ephesus to a male deity!

Impact into the Sea

Servius in his Commentary on Virgil’s Aeneid wrote, “Asterie. She wished to be transformed into a bird by the gods: and she was changed into a quail. And when she wanted to cross the sea…she was struck by Jupiter and turned into stone, and lay hidden under the waves for a long time. Later, Latona, praying to Jupiter, she began to be lifted above the waters.” _(III.73

Heracles and Icarus

A figure falling into the sea appears in other mythological narratives, most notably that depicted by the fall of Icarus whose body is found by Heracles and buried whilst he on his way to Cos following his encounter with the sea-monster (tidal wave) at Troy. According to mythological chronology the event is coeval with the birth of Artemis and the fall of Asteria into the sea.

“And having put in to the island of Doliche, he (Heracles) saw the body of Icarus washed ashore and buried it, and he called the island Icaria instead of Doliche. In return Daedalus made a portrait statue of Hercules at Pisa, which Hercules mistook at night for living and threw a stone and hit it” _{(Apollodorus, Library, 2.6.)}

Volcanic Eruption

Another facet of the event concerning the subsequent volcanic eruption is revealed in the narrative concerning a giant named Porphyrion. The name derives from the Greek word porphyreôs, a term applied to a surging sea

Apollodorus: states that “Porphyrion rushed against Herakles (Heracles) and also Hera. Zeus instilled him with a passion for Hera, and when he tore her gown and wanted to rape her, she called for help, whereat Zeus hit him with a thunderbolt and Herakles slew him with an arrow.” _{(Library 1. 36)}

This will be explored more fully in a future article.

Earthquake and Tidal Wave

Tzetzes knew of a location known as “Trembling” (or tremor) located near Delos, “It is appropriately called so because of the shaking of Delos and trembling in the past. The meaning is this; but “Trembling” is a place name…the “neighbor” of the “flying quail”, that is, of Delos, “will guard” the “roar” and sound of the “Aegean sea”…will no longer be disturbed by the waves” _{(To Lycophron § 401)}

Claudian refers to the giant Porphyrion’s attempt “to uproot trembling Delos, wishing to hurl it at the sky” _{(Gigantomachia 114–116)}

Porphyrion is evidently a metaphor for an eruption centered upon the Cos-Nysiros-Tilos volcanic field. He was thus depicted as intending to offer violence to Hera whose centre of worship was on Samos or, as noted, attempting to throw the island of Delos against the gods. Zeus hurled a thunderbolt at him, and Heracles completed his destruction with his arrows. _{(Apollodorus. i. 6. § 1, &c.; Pindar Pythian Ode. viii. 12; Horace. Ode. iii. 4. 54; Claudian, Gigantomachy. 114, &c.)}

Aristotle stated that Delos received its name from the fact of its having so suddenly made its appearance on emerging from the sea; Aglaosthenes is quoted as saying that the island had a variety of names “Cynthia, and others of Ortygia, Asteria, Lagia, Chlamydia, Cynthus, and, from the circumstance of fire having been first discovered here, Pyrpile” _{(Pliny the Elder, Natural History 1-11, 4.66 )}

Niobe

Hyginus states in the same section that Niobe was turned to stone on Mount Sipylus which was located approximately 69 kilometers (43 miles) further north from Ephesus. Interestingly the only other period in which Niobe makes a appearance in the Greek myths is that dated to 1796 BC and the birth of Athene. She is evidently a metaphor for natural disaster. As with the Leto mythos her story was also relocated to the Greek mainland where she is depicted as a queen of Thebes.

Solinus, the Polyhistor, notes that, “The capital of Maeonia is Sipylus, formerly called Tantalis. The bereavements of Niobe preserve the memory of the name.”

Niobe’s Children

“She said, too, that she surpassed Latona (Leto) in the number of children. Because of this Apollo slew her sons with arrows as they were hunting in the woods, and Diana shot and killed the daughters in the palace, all except Chloris. But the mother, bereft if her children, is said to have been turned into stone by weeping on Mount Sipylus, and her tears today are said to trickle down. Amphion, however, tried to storm the temple of Apollo, and was slain by the arrows of Apollo.” _{( Hyginus, Fabulae § 9  9).}

Note in the 2013 airburst over Chelyabinsk the Russian authorities stated that 1,491 people sought medical attention in Chelyabinsk Oblast within the first few days after the airburst, but luckily no deaths.

Artemis like her brother was depicted as armed with a bow, quiver, arrows, and sometimes a torch thereby sending plague and death among men and animals : she is a thea apollousa or destroying goddess par excellence, responsible for sudden deaths, _{(Homer. Iliad. vi. 205, 427, &c., xix. 59, xxi. 483, &c.; Odyssey. xi. 172, &c., 324, xv. 478, xviii. 202, xx. 61, &c., v. 124, &c.)}

Artemis ‘born’ in Ephesus

A number of ancient texts state that both Artemis and Apollo were born on the island of Delos, evidently because the two events were interlinked and happened very close together. However there was a distinction between the two which survived in antiquity. Her birth was annually celebrated at Ephesus, not Delos, the very place according to Hittite tablets that c1327 BC had been destroyed as the result of a ‘thunderbolt’.

“And as I marched, when I arrived at Mt. Lawasa, then the mighty Stormgod, my lord, displayed (his) divine might. He hurled a thunderbolt. And my troops saw the thunderbolt and the country of Arzawa saw the thunderbolt. The thunderbolt went and struck the country of Arzawa and it struck Apasa, Uhhaziti’s city.” _{(Annals of Mursili II year 3)}

The Curetes’ Din and Mursili II’s Aspasia

Note also that the Curetes stationed themselves on Mt. Solmissus “and with the din of their arms frightened Hera out of her wits” at the time of Artemis’ birth and compare it to Musili II being struck dumb by a noise from the heavens _{(Aphasia of Mursili II- CTH 486).} Asteroid airbursts can be very loud when they break up in the atmosphere. The 2013 Chelyabinsk asteroid airburst for example was estimated to be about 180dB at 3 miles distance.

Even short term exposure can cause permanent damage – Loudest recommended exposure WITH hearing protection	140dB
Jet engine at 100′	140dB
12 Gauge Shotgun Blast	165dB
Death of hearing tissue	180dB
Loudest sound possible	194dB

Some interesting numbers, collected from a variety of sources, that help one to understand the volume levels of various sources and how they can affect hearing. Source: https://www.gcaudio.com/about/about-galen-carol/

Delegation to Tiberius

In AD 22 a delegation from Ephesus appeared before the emperor Tiberius. They solemnly swore that,

“Apollo and Diana (Artemis), were not, as commonly supposed, born at Delos. In Ephesus there was a river Cenchrius, with a grove Ortygia;?where Latona (Leto), heavy-wombed and supporting herself by an olive-tree which remained to that day, gave birth to the heavenly twins.”

The grove they stated “had been hallowed by divine injunction; and there Apollo himself, after slaying the Cyclopes, had evaded the anger of Jove (Zeus). Afterwards Father Liber (Dionysus), victor in the war, had pardoned the suppliant Amazons who had seated themselves at the altar. Then the sanctity of the temple had been enhanced, with the permission of Hercules, while he held the crown of Lydia;” _{(Tacitus, Annals 3.61).}

Significantly the last section actually alludes to some hitherto unrecognized historical truths. Father Liber is a reference to the Hittites and the reference to Heracles is twofold for it not only encompasses the airborne disaster and concomitant after effects but also the incursions by the Greeks, whilst the suppliant Amazons are in fact the native Arzawan survivors (See the author’s work Atlantis, the Amazons, and the Birth of Athene, 2023 and forthcoming article on Heracles.)

Artemis’ ‘appearance’ at Ephesus is confirmed by Pausanias who refers to her manifestation or epiphany there _{(Guide to Greece 4.31.8)}. Likewise the Bible states that Artemis’ “image that fell from heaven” at Ephesus _{(Acts 19:35)}.

Callimachus with his Greek bias was evidently alluding to the event when he wrote:

“not long was it ere thou didst shoot at the city of unjust men, those who to one another and those who towards strangers wrought many deeds of sin, forward men, on whom thou wilt impress thy grievous wrath.” _{(Hymn 3 to Artemis 111 ff)}

St John Son of Thunder

Curiously the apostle St John who came to Ephesus and wrote Revelations is called, along with his brother James, the sons of ‘thunder’ by Christ _{(Luke 9:54)} . It was they who asked Jesus if he wanted to them ask God “to call fire down from heaven to destroy them” _{(Luke 9:54)}. The them being a nearby Sarmatian village which had refused assistance to the group.

Forthcoming: St Paul’s Journey to Atlantis- Ephesus, the Birth of Artemis, and the Book of Revelations. Part Two by Nicholas Costa 2025