The miracle performed through Paul has made it clear to the crowd that he is important. Since Lystra is a pagan town, the people of the city worshipped numerous different gods. They understand that these gods can sometimes take on the form of human beings. In Metamorphoses (Acts 8:1–40), the poet Ovid tells a story of two gods, Zeus and Hermes, assuming human form and visiting the region of Phrygia. After knocking on several doors and being refused hospitality, they are eventually received by an old couple. This couple is then richly blessed while the other inhabitants of a town are killed in a flood. It is generally assumed that the people living in Lycaonia would have known this story, and that it explains their rush to honour Paul and Barnabas.1
11 And when the crowds saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in Lycaonian, “The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men!”