The whole city was filled with confusion. — The loud shouts from the quarter in which Demetrius and his workmen met would, of course, attract attention. A rumour would spread through the city that the company of strangers, who had been objects of curiosity and suspicion, were engaged in a conspiracy against the worship which was the pride and glory of their city. It was natural, in such circumstances, that they should flock together to the largest place of public concourse, and drag thither any of that company on whom they might chance to light. We may compare, as an interesting historical parallel, the excitement which was caused at Athens by the mutilation of the Hermæ-busts at the time of the Sicilian Expedition under Alcibiades (Thuc. vi. 27).
Gaius and Aristarchus. — The former name represents the Roman “Caius.” It was one of the commonest of Latin names, and appears as belonging to four persons in the New Testament: (1) the Macedonian mentioned here; (2) Gaius of Derbe (but see Note on Acts 20:4); (3) Gaius of Corinth, the host of St. Paul, whom he baptised with his own hands (Romans 16:23; 1 Corinthians 1:14); (4) Gaius to whom St. John addressed his third Epistle; (3) and (4), however, may probably be the same. (See Introduction to the Third Epistle General of John.) Of Aristarchus we learn, from Acts 20:4, that he was of Thessalonica. As such he had probably had some previous experience of such violence, and had, we may believe, shown courage in resisting it (1 Thessalonians 2:14). He appears as one of St. Paul’s companions in the journey to Jerusalem (Acts 20:4), probably as a delegate from the Macedonian churches. He appears, from Colossians 4:10, to have been a Jewish convert, and to have shared the Apostle’s imprisonment at Rome, either as himself under arrest, or, more probably, as voluntarily accepting confinement in the Apostle’s hired house (Acts 28:30), that he might minister to his necessities. The description given of them, as “Paul’s companions in travel” is not without significance as implying a missionary activity beyond the walls of Ephesus, in which they had been sharers.
They rushed with one accord into the theatre. — The theatre of Ephesus was, next to the Temple of Artemis, its chief glory. Mr. Wood, the most recent explorer, describes it as capable of holding twenty-five thousand people (Ephes. p. 68). It was constructed chiefly for gladiatorial combats with wild beasts and the like, but was also used for dramatic entertainments. The theatre of a Greek city, with its wide open area, was a favourite spot for public meetings of all kinds, just as Hyde Park is with us, or as the Champ de Mars was in the French Revolution. So Vespasian addressed the people in the theatre of Antioch (Tacit. Hist. ii. 80; comp. also Apuleius, Metamorph., bk. iii.).