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Biblical References
- Adramyttium
(Edremit) - Acts 27:2
Opposite (northeast) of the
Island of Lesvos in the Aegean, the remains of an ancient seaport have
been identified in the modern village of Karatas. The name is preserved in
the harbor and a nearby city of Edremit. The port has only scant
excavation, but is properly identified. The city had been prominent in
Hellenistic times, but was a declining and relatively unimportant city by
the time of journeys of St. Paul.
After St. Paul’s appeal before
Herod Agrippa II and Festus to state his case to Caesar in Rome, he was
taken by a centurion of the Roman Imperial guard (Acts 27:1) to the harbor
at Caesarea, where they found a ship of Adramyttium to convey them to Asia
Minor. From Asia Minor, they anticipated finding another ship to Rome
(27:6).
The contrary winds at Cyprus
(27:4) were likely a foreshadowing that a Mediterranean storm was
approaching. The storm system brought a fierce North-Easter the wind that
brought down the boat they caught in Asia Minor, wrecking that ship.
The boat of Adramyttium was
probably on the way back to her homeport, exchanging goods and passengers
from Caesarea to Asia Minor, with several stops along the Aegean coast. It
was likely that the Centurion Julius could find another boat to Rome from
Asia Minor.
-
Acts
11:19-27;13:1;14:26,15:22-35,Gal. 2:11, II Tim. 3:11
After the death of Alexander
the Great, Seleucus I Nicator in about 300 BCE founded this city. Choosing
a site fifteen miles inland on the Orontes River, Seleucus named the site
after a family name, passed from his father to his son. The site was
designed to be serviced by a nearby port at the river’s mouth, and is
located where the Taurus and Lebanon mountains converge.
The historian Strabo (contemporary
of St. Paul) mentions that the city was about the same size as Alexandria,
or slightly smaller. Diodorus of Sicily states that number to be near
300,000 freedmen. This important crossroad city had grown in both size and
importance, and was the capitol of the Roman province of Syria by time of
St. Paul.
Josephus says that Antioch
was considered the third most important city
of the Empire, after Rome and Alexandria (Wars 3:2.4). He also comments on
a large Jewish community that lived there and converted many Greeks to
proselytes of Judaism (War 7:3.3). The combination of sea trade and desert
trade on a constant east west flow, along with the political power seat
placed there made the city’s growth unrestrained.
To the east, the Euphrates
basin lead to the Parthian Empire with its coveted spice trades. To the
south, the Via Maris passed through Judea to Egypt. The luxury of the city
gave rise to its reputation as morally lax, and it was later chastised by
the Roman satirical poet Juvenal (C2 CE) thus: Obscene Orontes, diving
underground conveys the his wealth to Tiber’s hungry shores and fattens
Italy with foreign whores!
Two significant earthquakes
preceded the years leading up to the visit by St. Paul, and some speculate
this may have made people more receptive to the message of St. Paul.
During the reign of Caligula (37-41 CE) and then Claudius (41-54 CE) the
disastrous destruction caused the city to be rebuilt, and perhaps to be
more open to spiritual warnings.
In the New Testament, Antioch
was one of the most prominent cities in the
movement of early followers of Jesus. Some were no doubt converted at
Pentecost, like Nicolas of Antioch (Acts
6:5) who was appointed to aid the church in Jerusalem. Many, however were
likely first acquainted with the faith through those who fled persecution
after the stoning of Stephen (Acts 11:19).
Upon hearing of the growing
community of faith in Antioch, St. Barnabas was dispatched from Jerusalem
to check out the new community forming there (Acts 11:23ff). This mission
was the catalyst for St. Barnabas to search out Saul of Tarsus, and enlist
his aid in accompanying him on this mission. St. Paul followed St.
Barnabas and stayed on at Antioch
to preach the Gospel for the next year.
The first group of believers
called by their Greek term Christians was at Antioch
(Acts 11:26). This was the sending
church for St. Paul and St. Barnabas ’s Mission Journeys to Asia Minor,
Macedonia and Achaia (Acts 13:2; 14:26; 15:25). This church felt the brunt
of the dispute over Gentile born converts to Christianity that was
resolved in the Jerusalem Council (Gal. 2:11-21; Acts 15).
-
Asia - Acts
2:9; 6:9; 16:6; 19:10, 22, 2627; 20:4, 16,18; 21:27; 24:19; 27:2; Rom
16:5; 1 Cor 6:19; 2 Cor 1:8; 2 Tim 1:15; 1 Peter 1:1; Rev 1:4
This seaport is located on the
southern Troad, opposite the Island of Lesbos (due south) is located near
Cape Lectum. The position of the harbor made it less susceptible to the
northerlies, a constant wind that made navigation difficult at certain
times of the year.
The harbor was engineered and
is not a natural one, according to a reference from the historian Strabo (Geography
13.1.57). Established about 1000 BCE by Aeolians from nearby Mitylene, the
city passed through history with the succession of rulers of the Lydians,
Persians, Pergamenes, and Romans.
The city that has such
impressive remains today was built on a mound of rock over 700 feet high
carefully surrounded by a wall in the C4BCE by Hermias, the Philosopher
King. A student of Plato, Hermias tried to live according to the lessons
he had learned by his tutor. Aristotle taught here for several years, and
married an adopted daughter of King Hermias.
The ruins today stand as a
marker for that C4 BCE city. Excavations have uncovered a temple to Athena
that appears to have been built about 520 BCE. The interesting structure
combines Doric and Ionic elements but sadly has been dismantled and
shipped to museums in Paris, Boston and Istanbul. The agora, gymnasium,
several baths, and a theatre complex resemble the organization of Pergamum
. In the New Testament St. Paul left by boat and sailed to across to
Mitylene on Lesbos Island (Acts 20:14) before eventually giving his great
address at Miletos to the Ephesian elders (Acts 20:15-38).
- Attalia (Antalya) -
Acts
14:25
Not to be confused with
Attalia in Lydia, this city near the mouth of the Cataractes River (modern
Aksu) was the chief port of Pamphylia. After a temporary peace was
established in 188 BCE at Apameia, western Pamphylia came under the
control of Pergamum .
Because the port at Side was
still outside the boundary of his Kingdom, Attalus II, King of Pergamum
(159-138 BCE) founded the new Mediterranean port at Attalia (and
apparently named it after himself). Upon his death it was passed to his
son Attalus III, who willed to Rome when he died. The Roman grip on the
city was from time to time challenged by pirates.
The city today bears the ruins
of antiquity in a modest museum. A tower over the harbor (Hidirlik Kulesi)
bears evidence of a lighthouse that existed on that location since the C2
CE, probably built over the mausoleum of a hero that stood at the time of
St. Paul’s visit. Also from that century is the three-arched Hadrianic
gate built about 135 CE.
The city became the seat of
the Bishop from the rise of Christianity in the Empire until 1084, when
the city was elevated again to the seat of the Archbishopric. It has
Ottoman period walls, and two prominent mosques: the C16th CE Murat Pasa
Mosque and the C18th CE Tekeli Mehmet Pasa Mosque.
Positioned on a peninsula that
projected as an obstacle from the coastline between Coos and Rhodes, the
port of Cnidus helped service the maritime traffic of southwest Asia Minor
in antiquity.
The peninsula was known in
antiquity for the defeat of the Spartan navy in 394 BCE at the hands of
the Athenian admiral Conon (commanding a Persian fleet). The city is
mentioned in 1 Maccabees 15:23 as having a Jewish population, and was a
free city. St. Paul’s struggling boat from Alexandria, Egypt (he was under
custody and bound for Rome) came over against Cnidus in the journey.
Along a main inland road from
Ephesus to the Euphrates River, Colossae shared the beauty of the Lycus
Valley with its sister cities: Hierapolis (12 miles northwest) and
Laodicea (12 miles west). The original roads from Ephesus and Sardis
joined there, and this defensible and well-watered
hill became a strategic point in antiquity.
Declining in importance by the
time of St. Paul’s Epistle to them, they had already been surpassed in
size by the other Lycus Valley cities. Strabo lists Colossae with smaller
villages, not with major cities. The city received an Epistle because of
the unique and insidious errors taking hold there, not because of its
size. The site is abandoned today, near the village of Honaz.
By the C5BCE, Herodotus noted
the large city of Phrygia. The center of a large and prosperous textile
and wool industry, Xenophon remarked this was a well populated city, large
and wealthy. The dark red wool from the region took the special name
colossinium. The attraction of wealth and industry brought together a mix
of Jews, Phrygians, and Greek traders.
This combination no doubt
helps the modern reader of Colossians account for the variety of
philosophies addressed in the corrective Epistle.
The gospel probably arrived in
Colossae with St. Paul’s preaching in Ephesus (cp. Acts 19:10) on the
third journey. Perhaps Epaphras, the Lycus Valley’s own evangelist heard
St. Paul at Ephesus and returned with the message. It is impossible to
know for sure, but it seems as though St. Paul had not yet visited at the
time of the writing of the Epistle to the Colossians. Philemon and his
slave Onesimus apparently were both natives of Colossae.
The omission of any reference
by St. Paul to the great earthquake of 60 CE, causes many scholars to
believe St. Paul had not yet heard the news, or the Epistle predates the
quake (Tacitus records the quake, Annals 14.27). Epaphras visited St. Paul
during his house arrest, and brought news of the Lycus Valley to St. Paul,
refreshing him during the imprisonment.
Southeast of Lystra some thirty miles
distance was the small town of Derbe . In the Lycaonian District, this
town was at the extreme edge of cities considered Galatian.
The town was small, but the work of St. Paul and St. Barnabas yielded a
number of followers. Among them, Gaius was converted and much later joined
St. Paul’s team on the third journey (cp. Acts 20:4).
Following the strengthening that no doubt resulted from the encouragement
of the growth in the movement at Derbe , St. Paul and St. Barnabas
journeyed back to Lystra and Iconium (45 miles northwest), in spite of
their prior reception (Acts 14:21-22) and strengthened the small flock of
believers in each place. St. Paul and Silas made their way to Derbe on the
Second Journey (Acts 16:1).
Attempts to locate the exact site of the ancient village have been
attempted by M. Balance in 1956 and 1964. His identification favors a
small outcropping four kilometers south east of Kerti Huyuk.
Introduction:
Historians use terms to describe the ancient city of Ephesus like the
supreme metropolis of Asia which reflects evidence of a highly developed
city. By the time of the New Testament it was a city that had become a
cultural and religious memory, a yesterday romance, not unlike Paris in
the modern world. Filled with the symbols of greatness, but struggling in
the economics of a changing world and a troublesome silting harbor, the
bustling city continued to play a significant role, but was fading with
time.
Location and Population:
Location: Ephesus was constructed on a river bend, that was
eventually dredged into a full harbor near the mouth of the Cayster River,
on the western coast of Asia Minor (modern Turkey). Along the coastal
plain between Smyrna to the north and Miletos to the south, the site is
now about six miles from the Aegean Sea. The city shifted in five distinct
locations over time, each within a small area. The St. Paul and St. John
were familiar with the city that scholars have dubbed "Ephesus III" the
largest (in area) of the five. The areas where Ephesus located are as
follows: Ephesus I: Ayasuluk (St. John Area); Ephesus II: Artemision area;
Ephesus III: Port of St. Paul: base of Mount Koressos; Ephesus IV: north
of Ayasuluk; Ephesus V: Selcuk area.
Because of the man-made harbor structure and the flow of the river, a
backwash flow caused the harbor to frequently silt up (by 449 BCE we
already read of problems documented about the silting. Later, Eusebius
records that Ephesus honored Emperor Hadrian for dredging and making
navigable the harbor). When cleared, Ephesus was in a location that
justified a great seaport. The city sat at the convergence of three land
routes with a shipping lane from the north via the channel created by the
Island of Chios and an opening facing the cities of Macedonia. The land
routes that converged on Ephesus included: 1) The Colossae / Laodicea road
(traveling east), 2) The road to Sardis and Galatia (northeast), and 3)
The Smyrna (north) main road.
Population: Some scholars estimate the number of people living at
Ephesus to have exceeded 250,000 inhabitants during Ephesus III, which
would make it perhaps the fourth largest of its day behind: 1) Rome; 2)
Alexandria; and 3) Antioch. This large a city was an economic stronghold
in Asia Minor, and justified the title supreme metropolis of Asia though
there is evidence that its overall economic standing may have been slowly
declining.
History of Occupation:
Archaic Period (900-560 BCE): The foundations of the city may date back to
the waves of Sea Peoples and resistance movements that characterized part
of the Archaic Period. A village developed though it was not as well
developed or known as Miletos . It appears to have played a significant
role as part of the Ionian Renaissance during the time of Heraclitus the
philosopher. It was a farming and trade village until the harbor was
established. A significant cultic site to Cybele developed there.
Cybele: Originally an Astarte-like warrior-goddess associated with
the sacred axe labrys, but later assimilated with the Anatolian Earth
Mother Goddess. Little is known of the cultic worship until much later,
when the cult was brought to Rome in 205 BCE. The later version required
the accession of self-emasculated priests known as galli. Another aspect
of the cultic worship was the use of immersion in the blood of a bull, a
practice later taken over by Mithraism.
Greco-Lydian Period (560-290 BCE): According to Herodotus (I.26), King
Croessus (560 BCE) conquered the city mid 6th century BCE, as he tamed the
Ionian cities. The establishment of mining operations for gold and the
minting of Lydian coins in this period gave rise to trade that can be
archaeologically documented. During this period the city re-engineered the
Cybele cultic site and built a Temple to the Greek goddess Artemis,
constructed entirely of marble.
In 546 BCE, the area became part of the Satrapy of Ionia. When Darius died
(485), the Persian King’s son Xerxes focused his conquest ambition on
Greek territory. On a return from battles in Greece he honored the Temple
of Artemis in 478 BCE, an unusual move as the Persians destroyed many
other contemporary shrines. The Persians were eventually defeated in the
region in 466 BCE, when Ephesus became a tributary of Athens. The city
undertook to restore the Artemision, and the city in 450 BCE.
As the center for tourism and trade, the Artemision became synonymous with
Ephesus . After the tragic fire in 356 BCE (tradition holds that
Herostratos set that temple aflame to make a name for himself), the city
took a long time to recover. Alexander would later offer to finish the
half-reconstructed Temple, but the city declined, not completing the work
until Lysimachus held the city upon Alexander's death. Lysimachus
introduced new colonists and renamed city after his wife Arsinoë, but name
didn’t last. He increased the prominence of the city by enclosing it with
six miles of wall. (Today, the traditional Prison of St. Paul is located
within westernmost tower of that wall).
Greco-Roman Period (290 BCE-300 CE): After Lysimachus was killed in 281
BCE, Ephesus came under control of Seleucid dynasty. They were defeated by
the Romans at Magnesia (189 BCE) and Ephesus was turned over to control by
Pergamum , until in 133 BCE Ephesus came under direct Roman rule.
The site was a known Roman haven, as a discovery of a statue of Julius
Caesar suggests, along with a record that Antony and Cleopatra wintered
there (33/32 BCE). The erection of an Egyptian style Serapis temple at the
northeast corner of the Agora may have been by Cleopatra. A famous
colossal head identified as Antony has also been found. The Austrian
excavation team found a stone head now universally accepted as that of the
Egyptian god Amon. Not always a period of comfortable relations, Ephesus
didn’t like Rome initially when Roman civil wars helped Brutus and Cassius
then Antony. Hailed by Pliny as the great luminary of Asia and by Strabo
as the greatest emporium of Asia, the city enjoyed frequent foreign guests,
and built its tourism industry.
Later emperors also enjoyed a relationship with the city. Statuary
dedicated to Augustus in the temple of Artemis is depicted on coinage. The
monumental triple gate to the commercial agora from the Library of Celsus
was dedicated to Augustus' family in 4/3 BCE. Augustus also regulated the
scope and size of the legal area of refuge for criminals at the Artemision
in hopes of stopping the city from becoming overloaded with criminals.
Later, Nero rebuilt the stadium and Ephesus coined a commemorative coin in
honor of his work. Nero was not embarrassed to openly take statuary from
the city for his own collection.
Emperor Domitian (81-96 CE the one who exiled St. John to Patmos) is
credited by some as having erected a great altar and temple to himself on
Curetes Street. When Domitian was assassinated in 96, the colossal statue
was destroyed, pieces are found in the Museum at Izmir. Trajan also took a
special interest in the city. His father had been appointed the proconsul
of Asia back in 79 and built a wall around the Artemision precinct. Trajan
added to his father's old work a new showpiece: the Nymphaion on Curetes
street.
After the time of St. Paul and St. John, Emperor Hadrian made Ephesus his
"favorite city" and entitled it the "Imperial Capital of Asia" (125 CE).
He instituted games called Hadrianea and local sponsors held the games in
his honor. A Neocorate temple was built and dedicated to Hadrian in 129 CE.
The citizens of Ephesus honored Emperor Antonius Pius on his birthday and
he built a great gymnasium in response. The city was eventually destroyed
by the Goth invasion of 262 CE, and it never regained any real importance.
A few miles north of
Laodicea in the Lycus Valley, the ruins of Hierapolis stand along the
ancient roadway connecting Laodicea to Philadelphia and Sardis to the
northwest. The ruins demonstrate it was a prosperous trade center built
around hot springs that were considered a source of healing power in the
Roman period.
In the southwestern edge of the Phrygian territory, the city is perched
250 feet above on a natural terrace overlooking the surrounding valley.
The ancient city had all the drawing points of a resort, with all the
regional goods of the other regional cities: wools, dying trades and
textiles.
With hot thermal springs ever present and cool mountain air to offer cold
water constantly available, the dying guilds no doubt made use of these
natural features required in adding color to cloth. The city also had an
advantage in the bath complex, still seen on the northwestern part of the
city’s edge, near the northern necropolis. Some scholars compare the hot
water of Hierapolis, and the cold water of Colossae to the lukewarm water
of Laodicea as the background for the imagery of Rev. 3:15-16.
Hierapolis was not a great city of antiquity, but was likely a pagan cult
center as demonstrated in the name, which means holy city. A Hellenistic
theatre demonstrates the city existed well before the earthquake of 17 CE,
when Augustus supplied some aid to restoring the city.
Inscriptions show there was a significant Jewish presence in the city.
Another damaging quake came in 60 CE, affecting the Lycus cities, and
requiring aid from Emperor Nero. The city may have been reached by St.
Paul’s ministry impact from Ephesus (Acts 19:10), but more likely came
under the evangelistic preaching of Epaphras (cp. Col. 4:12-13; see
Laodicea and Colossae).
Stoic philosopher Epictetus stayed in the city for some time, as did
Papias. Polycrates, Bishop of Ephesus (190 CE) is quoted by Eusebius (Church
History 3.31) as stating that the Apostle Philip was buried in the city,
though scholars debate whether the reference is to the Apostle or the
evangelist.
The site today includes two partially restored ancient baths (north and
south of the city), an impressive colonnaded street, a Temple of Apollo
and the Martyrium of St. Philip. The nearby hot springs at Pamukkale, or
cotton castle (named because of the white calcified hot springs) are not
to be missed!
In the central plateau of
the Lycaonian District, Iconium was a city set amidst a very large fertile
plain that stretched to the north and east. Well watered and surrounded by
an unusually productive and stoneless alluvial soil, the farms of the
region are still some of modern Turkey’s finest for grains, orchards of
plums and apricots.
Ramsey noted that the historian Strabo was struck by the difference
between the barren fields of the Lycaonian plains, and the lush area
around Iconium. He concluded that the intelligent use of irrigation
probably made the difference, since they were both subject to similar
weather patterns.
The actual founding of the city is uncertain, but it is clear that the
city was proud of its Greek heritage. By 25 BCE, Iconium was brought under
the Roman province of Galatia. Holding on to their Greek heritage, Dr.
Luke assigns the name Hellenes to this people in his writing.
The city was connected by a roadway to Pisidian Antioch some eighty miles
to the northwest and had good lines of trade and communication. It was a
Greek minded community with a significant but not dominant Jewish
community. As a more democratic and Greek metropolis, resistance against
St. Paul and St. Barnabas was not swift and decisive as in places with
dominant leadership structures.
In this city some of this community stirred up mobs against St. Paul’s
message, but St. Paul was evidently able to manage the unrest for a period.
The team remained in place, and saw considerable success in their
preaching. After a spell of success, another mob began to stir. Unlike
Pisidian Antioch, where the aristocrats expelled St. Paul and his
companion, the mob of the Hellenes was stirred and eventually threatened
to stone them. St. Barnabas and St. Paul fled the city south to Lystra and
Derbe.
In addition to St. Paul’s first visit to Iconium, he returned on the
second journey and possibly on the third journey (Acts 16:1-4; 18:23).
Certain of the Jewish community followed St. Paul from Iconium and
harassed him again in Lystra, pushing the crowd to stone him (Acts 14:19).
St. Paul recalls the problems he had in Galatia in his late writings (2
Tim. 3:11).
St. Paul’s concerns over the perversion to the Gospel message were
directed at this and the surrounding communities in the Epistle to the
Galatians. In addition, Peter’s first Epistle was likely written to this
city, along with Lystra, Derbe and Pisidian Antioch (1 Pet. 1:1).
The last of the seven
churches of Book of Revelation was that of Laodicea. As a crossroad of two
important roads, this city had an important commercial and logistical
position. The road that carried St. John’s letter began at Ephesus, and
moved north through Smyrna and Pergamum before turning east to Thyatira.
Dropping due south, the letters were carried to Sardis, then southeast to
Philadelphia and finally Laodicea. Evidence of the ancient road
demonstrates that it continued to Colossae and eventually to the
Mediterranean port at Attalia (Antalya).
Intersecting with the Pergamum Attalia road was an inland roadway from
Cappadocia via Apamea (due east of Laodicea). This road gently eased down
to the coast at Ephesus, some 160 kilometers away. Ten miles east of the
city lay the remains of Colossae, an important city in the writing and
ministry of the St. Paul.
Established in the C3 BCE by the Seleucid Antiochus II, the city was named
after his wife Laodicea. Built on the Lycus Tributary of the Meander River,
it was surnamed Laodicea on Lycus, to distinguish it from other similarly
named cities. The city was apparently addressed with the nearby cities of
Hierapolis and Colossae (Col. 2:1; 4:13-16) and was no doubt linked in
trade and commerce with those cities.
Though reasonably strong from the trade in what Strabo referred to as
raven-black wool and its thriving agricultural base, the city did need the
assistance of Rome after an earthquake disabled the city in 60 CE,
according to Tacitus. The garment industry recovered, and competed with
Hierapolis and Colossae for the textile manufacture and sale.
There was also development of a medical industry, based on the eye salves
and Phrygian powders used in eye treatment (cp. Rev. 3:15-16). The banking
and money exchange industry also thrived in the city, an ironic reality of
the city that was called poor and naked and blind!
Positioned in the Lycus Valley a few miles from the hot calcium waters of
modern Pamukkale, the tell affords a view to the north and east of the hot
waters that pour out of the earth, and the distant snow capped mountains
to the south. Drawing the hot water from a distance of more than four
miles away, the water would arrive to the city lukewarm, and need to be
reheated. Many have noted the irony of Rev. 3:15.
The church of Laodicea was begun by Epaphras while St. Paul was at Ephesus
(cp. Acts 19:10). The New Testament offers no direct evidence of a visit
by St. Paul to the city, though he refers to believers there in the letter
to Colossae. The letter to Laodicea did not survive (Col. 4:16).
In contrast to the larger
and more prominent cities of the mission journeys of St. Paul, Lystra was
a much smaller city. After the unwanted attention of the mobs of Iconium,
St. Paul was perhaps looking for a safe haven in this young Roman colony,
established in only 6 BCE.
Though a Gentile and largely Latin speaking colony, the dialect was beyond
the comprehension of St. Paul and St. Barnabas (Acts 14:11). Some scholars
suggest that the team stayed in the home of Timothy during the visit on
this journey (cp. Acts. 16:1).
When a cripple was healed and began to walk the crowd at Lystra began to
venerate the Apostle and his companion, believing them to be gods in human
form. After numerous attempts to persuade them otherwise, St. Paul
eventually found a forum to preach to them. During the time of St. Paul’s
visit, some of the Jewish community of Antioch and Iconium began to stir
the town against St. Paul.
Eventually, the tide of public opinion turned, and they stoned St. Paul,
leaving him for dead outside the city. The following day, St. Paul arose
from the stoning and went southeast on to Derbe.
The southern most Ionian
port, Miletos stood at the mouth of the Meander River. It had a long and
glorious history. In the C8-C6 BCE it was strong enough a power to settle
new colonies in areas as far away as the Black Sea, and maintained an
important and profitable trade relationship with Egypt.
Famous personalities were associated with the city that was dubbed the
birthplace of Greek philosophy. The great father of philosophy named
Thales lived in the city (640-546 BCE), and was followed by other
important philosophers, such as the so called father of geography
Anaximander (611-547 BCE), Hecataeus the chronicler and Anaximenes
(550-500 BCE).
Pharoah Neco made an offering at the Milesian Temple after his victory at
Megiddo and recapture of Charchemish (608 BCE, cp. 2 Kings 23:29; 2 Chron.
35:20). The offering did not help him from being overwhelmed a few years
later by Nebuccadnezzar II (605 BCE).
The Persians destroyed the the original harbor in 495 BCE, and the whole
area was reconstructed in 479 BCE. This new improved city suffered a
crushing blow at the hands of Alexander the Great (334 BCE) during his
campaign through the region. Rebuilt again, the city boasted four harbors
and three agora (market) areas from the Hellenistic through Roman times
(325 BCE to 325 CE).
The city was taken by Rome in 130 BCE, and somewhat redesigned. During
Roman times, the harbor was silting slowly (now creating an inland lake
five miles from the coast). This problem was causing constant problems and
gradually forcing the city into an economic decline. Another market force
also hurt the city.
The major export was likely superior wool called Milesia Vellera which
sold in markets in Rome and Alexandria in the early Roman period, but also
declined when the Romans bred the variety in their homeland. A city of
former glory, it experienced the decline that eventually befell Ephesus.
St. Paul visited the city some thirty five miles from Ephesus (a two day
journey on foot), allowing some time for the Apostle to strengthen the
Milesian faithful, and to prepare for a moving moment with his beloved
disciples arriving from Ephesus. He loved them, but he dared not stop in
Ephesus if he was going to keep to his vow to visit Jerusalem by Shavuot.
His heart for them as he ended this third journey is easily spotted in the
record of the sermon (Acts 20:22ff).
Among the remains of the city is an impressive theatre that visitors can
enjoy today. The original seated about 15,000 people. Found among the
stones in the excavation between the third and sixth row of seats, was an
inscription that read: Place of the Jews, also called the God fearing.
The city of Myra was a
chief Lycian port in antiquity. Including both the city and the harbor a
short distance away, the once prosperous city was near to the Lycian tombs
(a short walk to the north), a rock carved necropolis with an impressive
façade from the C4 BCE and onward.
Along with the necropolis, there was a Roman theatre erected, which still
appears in a good state of preservation. The port regularly serviced
Alexandrian grain ships, serving the needs of the Lycian Cities.
Though not extensively excavated, the city has significant remains. Julius
the Centurion chose the ill-fated ship bound for Italy to take St. Paul
for his requested presentation to Caesar (Acts 27:5-6). The contrary winds
and waves eventually overwhelmed the vessel. Christianity took hold in the
city, and a world famous Christian bishop of Myra.
St. Nicolas is remembered in the restored C 11 CE Byzantine basilica.
Nicolas was a late C4 CE bishop who served the people of his region with
zeal, and is remembered as a particularly selfless and giving Christian.
After a gift of three small bags of gold were left as dowry payments from
three young women of Patara (to aid them in escaping a life of
prostitution) the fame of his selfless acts grew in historical legend.
It was said that Nicolas sold possessions dear to him to gain the money to
care for these women. Today, a pawnbroker uses the three balls of gold to
remember this gift. St. Nicolas is today the patron of Russia, virgins and
sailors in liturgical settings, and is remembered world wide in the Santa
Claus tradition.
On the southern edge of
Turkey in the Xanthus Valley, the ancient Mediterranean harbor of Patara
was marked by a prominent hill that may have held a lighthouse. The port
area is now silted and marshy, but the Patara of old was a famous city.
The winter setting for the Oracle of Apollo each year, the city eventually
rose to prominence and became the judicial seat of the Roman governor. The
city was an outfitting and launching place for longer journeys, like a
journey to Alexandria or Phoenician cities.
The remains of the city today include two Roman bathhouses, including one
known as the Baths of Vespasian (69-79 CE). In addition, a theatre that is
fairly well preserved (though partly filled with sand) and a Temple of the
Corinthian order are discernible.
Alexandrian texts of Acts 21:1 state that St. Paul made his way to Tyre by
means of Patara, but the Western text adds the and Myra that many scholars
believe was a scribal error influenced by Acts 27:5-6. It is likely that
the Alexandrian text reflects the original event, as the prevailing winds
made Patara a better launch site for this long journey. Emperor Hadrian
and his wife Sabina visited here (circa 130’s CE), and a granary of
Hadrian can still be seen west of the harbor marsh.
As the capitol of the
region of Asia Minor called Pamphilylia, this city was served by the port
of Attalia (today called Antalya) on the Mediterranean Sea.
Just over five miles from the port, the city enjoyed the constant
availability of products from both east and west, as well as the moderate
climate of a Mediterranean city.
The city rivaled Ephesus in its beauty (though a bit smaller) and
celebrated its Greek culture in architecture and presentation. St. Paul
and St. Barnabas arrived here along with Baranabas’ nephew John Mark, who
abandoned the team from here. This proved to be a point of contention that
eventually divided St. Paul and St. Barnabas.
Pergamon (also Pergamos,
Pergamum) received the third letter of the seven letters of the St. John
to the Churches of Asia Minor. The impressive city has been variously
described as the most illustrious city of Asia (Barclay); the most
spectacular Hellenistic city of Asia Minor because of its imaginative town
planning (Mellink, IDB, III: 734); and a royal city (Ramsay, Letters, p.
295).
The city was located 16 miles inland from the Aegean Sea, two miles north
of the Caicus River (modern Bakir Cay) in southern Mysia. It was about 57
miles north of Izmir, built on a precipice about 1165 feet above sea level,
one thousand feet above the surrounding plain. The image of strength and
permanence is obvious on first glace of the city’s remains. The terraces
that overlook the Caicus River valley lead to the entry gate of the city.
The two small tributaries of the Caicus that neared the city, the Selinus
to the west, the Cetius to the east were navigable by small vessels that
transported goods in the ancient period from the sea. The city was also
joined to an inland road climbing over toward Thyatira and on into Sardis.
Today, the modern Turkish town of Bergama (population 45,000) surrounds
the ancient precipice, and partially covers the ruins of Roman Pergamum.
There appears to have been a small settlement in antiquity, but little is
known of its history. By the C5th BCE coins were issued. The city became
prominent in the Hellenistic Period. Lysimachus, a successor to Alexander
the Great, deposited 9,000 talents of gold for war expenses with a
regional General named Philetaerus. The General revolted against the rule
of Thrace, and when news came of the death of Lysimachus in 232 BCE,
Philetaerus used the 9,000 talents to set up his own kingdom, calling it
the Attalid Kingdom (named after the nephew of Philetaerus).
The successive dynasty was celebrated in the heroon, built by the citadel
gate. This served as a sanctuary for the kings, then worshipped as gods.
The succession was as follows:
Philetaerus (282-263 BCE).
Eumenes I (263-241 BCE). Extensive minting of coinage.
Attalus I (241-197 BCE). Held against the attacking Galatians who
had migrated from Gaul (Gallic tribes). He carefully aligned himself
closely with Rome. He took the title savior as the protector against
barbarians. He expanded the kingdom along the Aegean and inland.
Eumenes II (197-159 BCE). This king was most responsible for
building the majority of the Pergamum city seen today. He built the Doric
Temple to Athena and a theatre on the steep western slope (170 BCE). The
now decimated altar of Zeus to commemorate the victory of Attalus I was
built in his reign, as well as the 200,000 volume library, which rivaled
Alexandria. He completed most of the work on the city’s five palaces and
five theatres. Built toward the end of his reign, the arsenal contained a
huge supply of catapult stones, and was said to have contained enough
grain for 1000 men for a year. Most archaeologists also credit his
building campaign with the 2700 foot Corinthian colonnade called the
Sacred Way (common to many noble cities). This lead to the Asclepion, or
healing center.
Attalus II (159-138 BCE). He sent money for the famous Stoa of
Attalus (now entirely restored as a museum) near the forum in Athens.
Attalus III (138-133 BCE). Intending apparently to bequeath all the
movable assets of his lands to the Romans, they generously interpreted the
gesture as a complete inheritance of his throne and lands totaling some
66,750 square miles.
In the Roman period, Pergamum became the capital of Asia, as the first
city to make an alliance with Rome. Ephesus became the capital of the
province, but scholars have argued that this city remained the focal point
of the worship of the Roman Emperors. The city lost its great library to
Alexandria when Mark Antony gave it to Cleopatra. The famous physician
Galen, who served the emperors Marcus Aurelius, Commodus, and Septimius
Severus, was born here in 129 CE.
The religious life of Ephesus has been the subject of much research by
scholars and historians. Three specific threads appear to be visible.
First, the association with the worship of snakes and the handling of
reptiles in antiquity appears valid. Other early signs of the worship of
Dionysus, the god of vegetation also appears to be well accepted. Later,
worship of Asklepios (Roman Aesculapius) the god of healing emerged. The
serpent became the emblem of Asklepios.
A Pergamene coin shows the emperor Caracalla standing spear in hand before
a great serpent twined around a bending sapling. Christians must thus have
found the cult of the god of healing, and his serpent infested temple,
peculiarly revolting (Blaiklock, Ibid.). The altar of Zeus built by
Eumenes II to commemorate the victory of Attalus I over the Gallic
invaders had striking pagan scenes on the frieze. The gods of Olympus were
represented as giants with serpent like tails. Zeus was called savior.
The second association was dominant in the Hellenistic kingdom. This
included the worship of Zeus and the goddess Athene. Finally, the Imperial
Cult flourished in the city, making it a neokoros or temple guardian for
the Roman Imperial cult. The first temple in Asia was erected to Augustus
in 29BCE. Other temples were later erected to honor Trajan and Caracalla.
It was Emperor Domitian who made these temples a litmus test for civic
loyalty.
The sixth letter of the
St. John to the seven churches of Asia Minor was the letter to
Philadelphia. The city lay along a fault line, and is subject to frequent
and sometimes powerful earthquakes, making the task of recovering the past
in archaeology a difficult one.
The city may have been founded by Eumenes King of Pergamum (197-160 BCE)
in the C2BCE, and the name was likely after his brother Attalus (later
reigned 159-138 BCE), who through loyalty won the title Philadelphus (brother
love). The city was handed over to Roman rule in 133 BCE on the death of
Attalus III. The city may well have been founded for a social purpose.
Ramsey states that the city was a missionary city from the beginning,
founded to promote a certain unity of spirit, customs, and loyalty within
the realm.
Located along the Cogamus River, the valley connects with the Hermus River
basin to the northwest, where Sardis stood 26 miles away. The valley road
was the lifeline connection between the Phyrgian territory to the east and
the harbors of the Aegean to the west.
The earthquakes are amply recorded in history, a severe on occurring in 17
CE, which destroyed this city and eleven others. Sardis fared worse from
the initial quake, but Philadelphia shook more frequently from severe
aftershocks, traumatizing the population.
Strabo noted the city was ever subject to quakes. After Emperor Tiberius
aided in their rebuilding, it took the new name of Neocaesarea (New Caesar).
Under Vespasian’s rule (69-79 CE), it changed names to Flavia. By the
third century, paganism had held on in the face of a Christianizing Empire,
and the city became known as little Athens for its dedication to deities.
None of these names or epithets lasted, and today the modern city is
called Alasehir.
Early Church history reveals that Ignatius made a visit to the city on his
way to his martyrdom in Rome, and sent a letter to the church there.
Later in the life of
Seleucus Nicator I, the successor of Alexander the Great that organized
Asia Minor, the city of Antioch of Pisidia was founded. He located the
city strategically one hundred miles north of Perga, long after (25 years)
the founding of such cities as Antioch on Orontes and the nearby port of
Seleucia. Part of the so called lake district of southwest Asia Minor, the
strategic value of Pisidian Antioch was the guard like position it held at
3500 feet above sea level in the Taurus Mountains.
The position guarded the road access from the south, as well as the so
called high road from Ephesus to Syria. It was settled and maintained as
the military command center of southern Galatia, and was located in the
proximity of the border of Pisidia and Phrygia. Because it was near the
border, the historian Strabo referred to the place as near Pisidia. The
city was set atop a precipice described by Sir William Ramsey on his visit
at the beginning of the twentieth century as an oblong plateau varying
from 50 feet to 200 feet above the plain nearly two miles in circumference.
By 25 BCE the city had become a colony of Rome. Westerners had poured into
the city, retired soldiers with a military pension, merchants and those
seeking a quieter life than those close to Rome. The expatriate Romans
enjoyed full citizenship, something not attained for their indigenous
counterparts until later, yet the whole city flourished and enjoyed peace
and prosperity in the generation leading up to St. Paul and St. Barnabas’
visit. The frequent host of Roman governors on travels from west to east,
the city hosted festivals and games, and the money attracted greater
investment in this, a center of Galatian activity.
On the First Journey, St. Paul and St. Barnabas left the area of Perga
without John Mark and proceeded to Antioch, where they entered the
synagogue on the Sabbath. The address given there caused the reaction that
later characterized St. Paul’s mission journeys, some had a revival,
others a riot! Driven from the city, St. Paul and St. Barnabas moved on to
Iconium , experiencing an early moment of joy in the journey. It was here
that St. Paul was moved by the hardness of his fellow countrymen and
turned to the Gentiles, a decision that would mark a concern of the
Jerusalem Church for years to come.
Today, modern Yalvac is settled by a large agricultural and rural
settlement amidst the still rich and fertile plains and pasturelands.
The fifth letter of St.
John to the seven churches was to the ancient and historic city of Sardis.
As one of the oldest cities of Asia Minor, the city lay along a highway
that stretched from the Persian city of Susa, following a parallel course
to the Tigris River, passing through Cappadocia to Sardis. Located in the
Hermus Valley (modern R. Gediz) on the banks of a southern tributary, the
Pactolus (modern Sart Cay) and north of the range of the Tmolus Mountains
(modern Bozdag). It is about 30 miles southeast of Thyatira and about 45
miles of Izmir (Smyrna).
The name Sardis is that of the stone, sardius (Greek: sardinos; carnelian,
RSV, cp. Rev 4:3). The semi-precious stone is orange-brown but reflects
deep red when light is passed through. It was an economic stronghold of
the wool industry. The acropolis was built about 1500 feet above the plain
on a ridge of the 5,800 foot high Mount Tmolus. The precipice was
difficult to reach and was considered unassailable by an enemy. The lower
city was more accessible. Today the site is a ruin, but nearby the small
Turkish village bears the name Sart, and the memory of fabled characters
such as Midas and King Croesus of Sardis live on.
Sardis was a place of importance from the Lydian Kingdom in the 13th
century BCE. The Lydian Kingdom made Sardis its capital as early as 700
B.C. The first king of the Mermnad Dynasty was Gyges (687-652 B.C.),
credited with the invention of the first coined money. The earliest coins
were made of electrum, an alloy of gold and silver. In excavations in the
early 1980s, many were found in buildings of the Lydian period.
The last and most famous Lydian King Croesus (560-546 B.C.) was said to
have panned gold from the nearby river Pactolus introduced coinage of pure
gold and pure silver. Crucibles and a few gold objects have made
conclusive evidence for the gold-refining process from the 6th century
B.C. for modern archaeologists.
Following the Lydian Kingdom, Persian domination began in 546 BCE, when
King Croesus and Sardis fell to Cyrus. Herodotus records the shock of the
Lydian defeat, as they considered the city impregnable. According to the
ancient historian, the Persian forces were in the valley below the citadel,
when a Lydian soldier dropped his helmet over the city wall. He scaled
down the rock to get it. A local slave watched carefully and when captured,
revealed the city’s vulnerability. The soldiers used the information to
capture the city for Cyrus, and King Croesus was taken prisoner. At the
end of the Susa Road, Sardis became the most important Persian city in
Asia Minor.
With the decline of the Persians under the advancing Greeks, the city
surrendered willingly to Alexander the Great in 334 BCE. Sardis became the
western administrative center for the Seleucid Dynasty. One notable battle
of the period was in 214 BCE, when the city fell to Antiochus the Great
through the use of the employed by the Persians more than three centuries
earlier.
Sardis came under Pergamene rule from 189 to 133 BCE, and was passed into
the hands of the Romans upon the death of Attallus II. Under Roman rule
the city flourished until it was devastated by the great earthquake in 17
CE (called by Eusebius the greatest earthquake in human memory). and
Tiberias assisted in the rebuilding of the city (Tacitus Annals II.47).
Some scholars feel that because of this great indebtedness to Tiberius,
the city gave itself to the cult of emperor-worship, largely abandoning
its historic love affair with the Cybele cult. In 26 CE, Sardis lost the
competition with Smyrna for the coveted permission to build a temple to
the emperor.
Until the change in 17 CE, Sardis was a center for the worship of Cybele.
Nash provides us with a good summary of information about the Cult of
Cybele: Cybele, also known as the Great Mother, was worshipped throughout
much of the Hellenistic world. The cult of Cybele underwent a number of
significant changes over a period of several hundred years. Cybele
undoubtedly began as a goddess of nature; the early worship of her in
Phrygia was not unlike that of Dionysus. But it went beyond the sexual
orgies that were part of the primitive Dionysias cult, as the frenzied
male worshipers of Cybele were led to castrate themselves. Following their
act of self-mutilation, these followers of Cybele became Galli, or eunuch-priests
of the cult.
From her beginnings as a Nature-goddess, Cybele eventually came to be
viewed as the Mother of all gods and the mistress of all life (Nash,
Christianity and the Hellenistic World, pp.138-139). Barclay points out
that even on pagan lips, Sardis was a name of contempt. Its people were
notoriously loose living, notoriously pleasure-and luxury loving. Sardis
was a city of the decadence. In the old days it had been a frontier town
on the borders of Phyrgia, but now it was a byword for slack and
effeminate living... The most splendid temple in Sardis was the one
devoted to Artemis, the later memory of the Cybele worship. It had
apparently undergone three specific phases of construction beginning in
the C3 BCE, and ending at the earthquake of 17 CE. Coins also depict
sanctuaries to Aphrodite Paphia.
A great colonnaded marble road of 4600 feet in length divided the Roman
city, whose population was estimated as large as 120,000 in the time of
the St. John. A variety of inscriptions on extant statuary reveal the
relationship with succeeding Emperors. Hadrian visited the city in 123 CE.
Later, Emperor Diocletian reorganized Asia in (297 CE) and Sardis became
capital of the revived district of Lydia. Melito, Bishop of Sardis, served
in the second century, and some of his sermons have been preserved.
Several representatives from Sardis attended the First Council of Nicaea
(325), Council of Ephesus (431), and the so-called Robber Council of
Ephesus (449). Sardis was conquered by the Arabs in 716 CE, and eventually
by the Ottoman Turks in the 14th century.
The seaport that was
responsible for the tremendous wealth and expansion of Syrian Antioch was
named after Seleucus Nicator I around 300 BCE. The port was founded first,
then a trade route established, and finally the planting of a major city.
Located a few miles from the mouth of the Orontes River, the flow of goods
made their way the fifteen miles to Antioch. There may have been about
30,000 inhabitants during the time of journeys of St. Paul. St. Paul and
Joses Barnabas sailed from Seleucia to Cyprus St. Paul's First Journey.
The second city of the
seven churches of Book of Revelation to receive the message from the St.
John was that of Smyrna. Established as a Roman commercial center, the
city was a port located on the Aegean. Smyrna was established thirty-five
miles north of Ephesus on the road that lead to Pergamum. It was built
near the ruins of a Greek colony destroyed by the Lydian Kingdom in the C7
BCE. Following the death of Alexander the Great, a General of Alexander’s
army named Lysimachus took over the region, and established the new
Hellenistic city (C3 BCE).
The port was a natural one, and had the distinctive fortune of the Hermus
River which flowed from inland to this natural gulf. Because of the river
access to inland along with the major north-south highway the city grew to
importance. The well watered region produced significant crops, and this
provided the backbone of a prosperous trade between land and sea.
The city was reputed to be the most faithful ally of Rome according to
Cicero, as the city had a history of siding squarely with Rome. In the
conflicts of Rome and Seleucia of 195 BCE, and the war between Mithridates
and Rome the city showed true loyalty, and received significant patronage
from the Emperors in exchange.
The city was noted by the geographer Strabo for its beautiful public
buildings:
Next one comes to another gulf, on which is the old Smyrna, twenty stadia
distant from the present Smyrna. After Smyrna had been razed by the
Lydians, its inhabitants continued for about four hundred years to live in
villages. Then they were reassemble into a city by Antigonus, and
afterwards by Lysimachus, and their city is now the most beautiful of all;
a part of it is on a mountain and walled, but the greater part of it is in
the plain near the harbor and near the Metroum and near the gymnasium. The
division into streets is exceptionally good, in straight lines as far as
possible; and the streets are paved with stone; and there are large
quadrangular porticoes, with both lower and upper stories.
There is also a library; and the Homereium, a quadrangular portico
containing a shrine and wooden statue of Homer; for the Smyrnaeans also
lay especial claim to the poet; and indeed a bronze coin of theirs is
called Homereium. The river Meles flows near the walls; and, in addition
to the rest of the city’s equipment, there is also a harbor that can be
closed. But there is one error, not a small one, in the work of the
engineers, that when they paved the streets they did not give them
underground drainage; instead, filth covers the surface, and particularly
during rains, when the cast-off filth is discharged upon the streets.
It was here that Dolabella captured by seige, and slew, Trebonius, one of
the men who treacherously murdered the deified Caesar; and he set free
many parts of the city.” (Strabo 14.1.37) and its roads were commended for
their geometric design. With a stadium that likely seated as many as
20,000 people, and a well developed infrastructure, scholars believe the
city grew to about 100,000 by the time of the St. Paul and St. John.
Tacitus records the city had requested and gained permission to build a
Neokorite Temple (to the Emperor Tiberius) in the following record:
The deputies from Smyrna, on the other hand, after retracing the antiquity
of their town-whether founded by Tantalus, the seed of Jove; by Theseus,
also of celestial stock; or by one of the Amazons-passed on to the
arguments in which they rested most confidence: their good offices towards
the Roman people, to whom they had sent their naval force to aid not
merely in foreign wars but in those with which we had to cope in Italy,
while they had also been the first to erect a temple to the City of Rome,
at a period (the consulate of Marcus Porcius) when the Roman fortunes
stood high indeed, but had not yet mounted to their zenith, as the Punic
capital was yet standing and the kings were still powerful in Asia.
At the same time, Sulla was called to witness that “with his army in most
critical position through the inclement winter and scarcity of clothing,
the news had only to be announced at a public meeting Smyrna, and the
whole of the bystanders stripped the garments from their bodies and sent
them to our legions. The Fathers accordingly, when their opinion was taken,
gave Smyrna the preference. (Tacitus, Annals 4.56).
The Church of St. Polycarp reminds the modern visitor that Polycarp, an
Apostolic Father and student of the St. John, was martyred in the city in
155 CE. His famous speech concerning his dedication to Jesus is recalled
here.
The site has little excavation, as this important commercial port city is
the second largest population in the modern Republic of Turkey. Because of
the Christian community, the city carried the appendage infidel Smyrna for
some time.
Tarsus was the capital of
the Roman Province of Cilicia, situated between the Taurus Mountains and
the Mediterranean Sea. The Province of Cilicia varied between 30 to 60
miles wide and was about 300 miles long. The city of Tarsus was about 10
miles inland of the Mediterranean on the alluvial plain, watered by the
Cydnus and may have had as many as one half million inhabitants in the
time of St. Paul. Ramsey described the city as about 70 feet above sea
level on a level plain.
The lower Cyndus was made navigable and a port had been built to carry
goods to and from the sea. A major road lead to the north where the famous
mountain pass known as the Cilician Gates lay less than 29 miles inland.
Sir William Ramsey described the pass as one of the most famous and
important passes in history.
The origins of the city are shrouded in mystery, but it appears the city
was a native Cilician town taken over by Ionian settlers of antiquity.
Josephus attributes the city to the Tarshish of Genesis 10:4, but this is
by no means certain. It is mentioned several places in historical record
with certainty. The Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser says this city was taken
by the Assyrians (mid C9 BCE). Xenophon passed through in 401 BCE, and
found the ruler to be a local. Alexander found the rulership in the hands
of the Persians, and he replaced the ruler (334 BCE).
Coins found in excavations of the region make no claim of autonomy until
after the defeat of Antiochus the Great at the hands of the Romans (189
BCE). Syria appears to have undergone some reorganization at this time,
allowing autonomy in some of the regions. Tarsus appears to have grown
into autonomy at this time establishing a constitution as a free city. The
city became part of the Roman Empire with the arrival of Pompey the Roman
General and the defeat of the pirates that often harassed the city by
about 64 BCE.
Some scholars speculate that St. Paul may be a descendant of some of those
who were promised free citizenship if they moved to the Cilician city in
171 BCE. Another claim for the citizenship ancestry of St. Paul can be
found in some who raise the possibility that St. Paul’s father or
grandfather helped Marc Antony (and thus Rome) during Cleopatra’s renowned
visit to Tarsus in 41 BCE.
The historian Strabo mentions the splendor of the event, as Cleopatra
sailed her gilded barge in the Cyndus into the city. In addition, there is
reason to believe that Antony and Octavian used some resources of the city
in their struggle against Brutus and Cassius, who they later defeated at
Philippi in Macedonia. Some have even suggested that a tent maker’s gift
could have been repaid in citizenship (cp. Acts 18:3), though this is mere
speculation.
Autonomy meant that Tarsus was able to govern itself under its own laws,
impose import taxation and a variety of other freedoms. Strabo mentions
that the city was excited by education, and was home to the third largest
university, after Athens and Alexandria. One teacher or note that came
from Tarsus was the famous Athenodorus, a Stoic Philosopher that tutored
Augustus at Apollonia, and later became his advisor from 44 to 15 BCE.
This probably accounts for August’s favor on the city. Athenodorus
returned to Tarsus and established a reform to the city in15 BCE. Along
with the reforms, he established a patrician class that probably included
the family of St. Paul, who boasts of his association with the city (Acts
21:39).
In addition to being the hometown of St. Paul (Acts 9:11; 21:39; 22:3), it
was also the city St. Paul returned to after his escape from Jerusalem (Acts
9:30). Barnabas found St. Paul in the city and enlisted him to service at
Antioch (Acts 11:25ff). St. Paul may well have visited on the Second and
Third Mission Journeys (Acts 15:41; 18:22-23).
Thyatira was the fourth
of the seven churches of Asia Minor to receive an epistle from the St.
John (Rev. 2:18-29). An important trade center particularly for the
textile industry of Hellenistic and Roman times, the city lay along a low
lying corridor that followed a north south river bed connecting the Caicus
and Hermes River beds (Pergamum - Smyrna, Laodicea Road). Though the city
existed earlier, it reached notoriety when reconstructed by Seleucus
Nicator about 300 BC.
It was said that while he designed the city, he was informed of the birth
of his daughter. He name the city after the news (thygater is Greek for
daughter). It was a cultic center to Apollo (the sun god), and apparent
home of the wealthy trade guilds. It was for centuries a frontier fort,
first for the western edge of Seleucus I or Syria’s territory, then the
eastern frontier of the Pergamene Kingdom. It passed from the hands of
Pergamon to Rome in 133 BCE.
The city was wealthy in ancient times, with its gentle rolling hills and
fertile valleys. Ramsey expressed that the connection with this inland
road was what made Pergamon important, so it gave careful attention to the
cities that gave free course to the trade industry. It had a garrison
maintained there (first Seleucids, then Pergamene, then Roman). Ramsey
notes that The condition of Thyatira was the best measure of the power of
Pergamum. It was considered by some ancients to be a city of Mysia, but to
others a city of Lydia.
The combination of a low plateau for an Acropolis and the sloping valley
surrounding it, gave an impression of the city as more cosmopolitan and
open, as opposed to the more austere cliffs at Pergamum. The church at
Thyatira, visited by St. Paul (Acts 19:10) and represented by a convert
who was away doing business in Philippi (Lydia, cp. Acts 16:14) was also
more open to heresy.
The letter of St. John to the church suggests that her openess and
gentleness in the face of heresy (Jezebel and Nicolaitines) was her
downfall (Rev. 2:18-23). About 150 AD, Montanus began a cult practice from
Thyatira, claiming his prophetesses spoke with the voice of the Holy
Spirit (hence, Montanism). The city was wealthy, but did not reach its
zenith until the C2nd CE.
The trade guilds that flourished there included wool workers, garment
workers, linen workers, leather workers, dyers (purple), bakers, potters,
slave dealers and bronze smiths. Each guild was accompanied by its patron
gods and in many cases included immoral practices in participation with
the guild members. A faithful Christian may have found it difficult to
live his faith, as well as practice his craft.
Points of interest for the visitor today include the ruins of a temple.
Thyatira's ancient ruins were left untouched until Rustem Duyuran began to
excavate the site from 1968 to 1971. Numerous inscriptions were found (21
sent to Manisa Museum), along with the location of the colonnaded stoa and
other public buildings.
The principal seaport in
northwest Asia Minor with an artificially engineered harbor to shelter
boats from the prevailing northern winds. The site was established about
11 miles from the historic city of Troy (Illium). Strabo refers to the
city as one of the notable cities of the world. The harbor was a launching
site for many boats ferrying people and goods to Neapolis (modern
Kavalla), to begin their land journey to Rome. Emperor Augustus made it a
Roman colony, and it served as a strategic point on the east west
communication route.
After the split with Barnabas, St. Paul and Silas proceeded to visit the
churches of the First Mission Journey in Syria and Cilicia, and then on
into southern Galatia (Acts 15:36-41) carrying the message of the
Jerusalem Council to the churches. Eventually they headed west toward
Europe. Stopping at Troas, St. Paul appeared to desire to turn north into
the regions of upper Galatia, but received the vision of the Macedonian
Man at Troas.
He later described the experience as a door opening in the Lord (2 Cor.
2:12ff). This occurred during St. Paul's Second Journey (Acts 16:6-10).
Years later he returned to Troas from his more than two year stay in
Ephesus (Acts 19:8,10) toward the end of the St. Paul's third journey,
before continuing on to Assos. During the last seven day stay at Troas,
the fallen Eutychus was healed (Acts 20:8-12). The team took the boat to
around Cape Lectum to Assos, but St. Paul chose rather to journey the 20
miles on foot, perhaps desiring a rare time of solitude.
Some suggest that St. Paul’s urgent request to return a cloak he left in
Troas (2 Timothy 4:13) may have reflected that St. Paul’s departure from
the city was hurried. Later church history recalls the reference to
Ignatius, after writing three Epistles at Troas, set sail under arrest to
Rome. The site is abandoned today, with only a few monumental walls intact.
A stadium, a gymnasium, some of the city walls, and the harbor can be
outlined.
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