Tyrannus

Tyrannus (Greek, meaning "tyrant" or "prince") was a man at Ephesus in whose school or lecture hall Paul conducted his daily teaching ministry for approximately two years (Acts 19:9–10). When opposition in the synagogue became too severe, Paul withdrew with the disciples and began reasoning daily in "the school of Tyrannus," a practice that continued long enough that, as Luke records, "all who dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks." Whether Tyrannus was a philosopher, rhetor, or simply the owner of a hall available during midday hours (the Western text adds that Paul taught there from the fifth to the tenth hour, the customary siesta time when lecture halls were idle), his premises provided the base for one of the most extensive periods of settled ministry in Paul's career. The Ephesian mission, with its attendant miracles and the riot of the silversmiths (Acts 19:23–41), was built on this extended teaching period in the school of Tyrannus.