Antigonus, archon of Corinth, wants to build a magnificent temple dedicated to the goddess Aphrodite, for which the people are oppressed by new, very high taxes. The sculptor Demetrius, asked to make the face of the goddess Diana, falls in love with a slave, the Christian Lerna. With the arrival of the plague the people are increasingly discontented and Antigonus has easy game accusing the Christians who are immediately arrested and sentenced to death. The Roman troops arrive to restore order, saving the two lovers Demetrius and Lerna.