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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;dltsrq, post: 7342953, member: 75482&quot;]I would interpret the reverse inscription as &quot;of the Ephesians, those thrice acclaimed <i>neokoros</i> (temple-keepers)&quot;. Ephesus&#039; third neocorate was originally intended for a temple dedicated to Caracalla but following that emperor&#039;s disgrace, the title was transferred to the city&#039;s famous temple of Artemis, giving Ephesus the unusual distinction of a neocorate for a civic temple.</p><p><br /></p><p>Divination seems to have been a component of worship at the temple. The British Museum holds an ivory astragalus excavated there c. 1907.</p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/G_1907-1201-449" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/G_1907-1201-449" rel="nofollow">https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/G_1907-1201-449</a></p><p><br /></p><p>Interestingly, the biblical book of Acts (19:35), composed in the 80s CE, uses the word <i>νεωκόρον</i> in its general sense to describe the Ephesians as keepers of the temple of Artemis.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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