The Maltese thought that Paul was a god because a snake did not harm him.

Acts 28:1-6

28 After we (exc) had arrived safely on the shore, we learned that it was an island called Malta. 2 The people who lived there received us kindly. They lit a fire and invited us to come and warm ourselves, because it was raining and it was cold. 3 Paul gathered some sticks and put them on the fire. But among those sticks was a snake that had come out from the fire to escape from the heat, and it fastened itself on Paul’s hand. 4 The islanders knew that the snake was poisonous, so when they saw it hanging from Paul’s hand, they said to each other, “Probably this man has murdered someone. Although he has escaped from being drowned, the god ◄who pays people back/who punishes people► for their [MTY] sins will cause him to die.” 5 But Paul simply shook the snake off into the fire, and nothing happened to him. 6 The people were expecting that Paul’s body would soon swell up or that he would suddenly fall down and die. But after they had waited a long time, they saw that the snake had not harmed him at all. So then the people changed their minds and said to one another, “This man is not a murderer! Probably he is a god!”