Ephesos was a city of many temples, many gods, many priests, and Paul wanted nothing to do with any of them. The new excavation on the hill on the right side of the street has produced this.
And here is the explanation…..
Meanwhile, on the other side of the street and a little further down we have this…
There were not merely temples everywhere, there were statues and steles of gods and goddesses everywhere, ranging from demi-gods like Herakles/Hercules to Nike the goddess of victory.
Not to mention of course the clinic of Asklepius nearby,
If one turns around half way down the hill, one discovers that the gate to the upper city is called the Herakles Gate.
If none of this was of interest to you, as an ancient person you could always stop half way down the hill and play backgammon with a friend.
And you could play that game while cooling off in the shade of the fountain of Trajan (which of course was built, as was the Domitian temple, well after Paul’s day, but John of Patmos may have seen it).
Or perhaps you might just watch the hordes of pedestrians walking down toward the harbor, or the theater, or the library.
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