The movie presents a moment in the ancient Rome history when Nero was the emperor and christians persecuted. Story revolves around Antigonus's plan, archon of Corinth, to build a magnificent temple dedicated to the goddess Aphrodite, for which the people are oppressed by new and very high taxes. The sculptor Demetrius, asked to make the face of the goddess Diana, falls in love with a slave, the Christian Lerna, and wants to marry her, but another jealous slave has other plans. In the meantime there are plots and intrigues for power and a plan to capture and execute all christians; but things turn out different than expected.