Garlands

Garlands (Greek stemmata) were wreaths of flowers or foliage worn as festive decorations in religious ceremonies and public celebrations throughout the ancient Mediterranean world. They appear once in the New Testament, in Acts 14:13, where the priest of Zeus at Lystra brought oxen and garlands to the gates of the city, intending to offer sacrifice to Paul and Barnabas after the healing of the lame man. The crowd had concluded that the gods had come down in human form, identifying Barnabas as Zeus and Paul as Hermes.

Garlands were standard equipment for Greco-Roman sacrificial ceremonies — animals were adorned with them before being led to the altar, and worshippers wore them during festivals. Paul and Barnabas tore their garments in distress when they understood what was about to happen and rushed into the crowd, crying out that they were merely human beings bringing the good news of the living God who made heaven and earth. The garland-bearing priests represent the pagan religious establishment of a provincial city encountering the apostolic mission and attempting to assimilate it into existing cultic categories — a misidentification the missionaries forcefully rejected.