Biblical Turkey

runs between the Hermus plain and the Gygaean Lake (Marmara Gölü).

Three mounds are more conspicuous than the rest. These are traditionally identified as the tombs of Alyattes, Gyges, and Tos (Tmolus or Ardys), in order from east to west. The size of the tomb of Alyattes (Kocamutaf Tepe) is 1184 ft/361 m in diameter and 230 ft/70 m high. The earliest known example of a phallic marker atop a tumulus is still in situ on this tumulus. The volume of the Alyattes tumulus is only slightly smaller than that of the largest of the Egyptian pyramids. The tumulus of Gyges (Karnıyarık Tepe) is set on the highest point of the limestone ridge. This tumulus is 769 ft/234 m in diameter and 161 ft/49 m high. Gyges (Lydian “Gugu”) is most probably to be identified as the biblical Gog (Ezekiel 38:2; Revelation 20:8). In 1963 American archaeologists began to tunnel into the tumulus hoping to find the burial chamber. After 5 years of excavation they discovered no chamber at the center but only a maze of robbers’ tunnels. However, inside the mound was discovered a monumental circular retaining wall of limestone blocks, many of which were inscribed with the royal monogram of Gyges. The tumulus of Tos (Kırmutaf Tepe) measures 1148 ft/350 m in diameter and 151 ft/46 m high.

The most visible antiquity in Sardis is the monumental bath and gymnasium complex. The elaborate Marble Court was reconstructed by American archaeologists between 1964–1973. The plan is the large imperial type built with two stories. The first story features Ionic capitals, the second a style known as “acanthus and fluting.” Dedicatory inscriptions on the first-story architrave date the structure to AD 211–212 during the reign of Septimius Severus and Caracalla (Geta’s name is erased). It is probable that the court did not have a roof but was left open to the sky.

The court’s lavish decoration suggests that it was associated with imperial cult worship. Behind the Marble Court is a long oval pool which was in the frigidarium (cold room) and the ruins of the heated bathhouse.

To the east stood a palaestra surrounded by a square peristyle courtyard measuring 211.9 ft/64.6 m per side. Its colonnade had a total of 100 columns. The Byzantine shops contain 27 shops and their colonnade dates to around AD 400. Of these 27, 6 shops were occupied by Jews, 10 by Christians, and the remaining 11 evidenced no religious affiliation.

Religious objects such as a cross or menorah found in the shops helped to identify the religion of its owner-occupant. On the inside face of a block in the western door jamb of “Jacob’s shop” are two incised menorahs. Near the shops is an exposed section of the Roman street that ran 302

Sardis, Bin Tepe

Sardis, Acropolis Walls

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through the central district of the city. The largest ancient synagogue of the Jewish Diaspora was discovered at Sardis. It consists of two principal rooms: a colonnaded atrium (Forecourt) and a long assembly hall (Main Hall). The total space occupied by the structure was 279 x 66 ft/85 x 20 m. Although the synagogue dates from the 4C AD, its site was originally developed two centuries earlier, and three earlier structures were found beneath. The synagogue’s remarkable size and central location as part of the bath and gymnasium complex indicates the wealth and strength of the city’s long-standing Jewish community. Inscriptions from the synagogue show the Jews being citizens of the city and using Greek names.

More than 80 inscriptions were found during the excavations with most being in Greek. These were situated either in floor mosaics or mounted on the walls. Only two Hebrews fragments were legible; one reads “Shalom.” More than 12 representations of menorahs were found carved in stone, scratched in pottery, cut from sheet bronze, or appliquéd on glass.

One large marble menorah was donated by the sculptor Socrates.

The Forecourt, measuring 82 ft/25 m long and decorated with monolithic columns, formed the entrance. In this forecourt was a lovely fountain that apparently served both the Jewish and non-Jewish members of the community. Four panels of the floor mosaic have Greek inscriptions that identify donors to the synagogue. The main hall, measuring nearly 197 ft/60 m long, was probably roofed. Semicircular benches filled the apse. However, most of the 1000 or so attendees probably stood (or sat on mats) on the mosaic floor that contained mainly elaborate geometric designs. However, some panels contained donor inscriptions, while a panel in the apse featured a vine growing from a golden, water-filled urn and an inscription set in a brightly colored wreath. Located near the apse was a marble table that was probably used as a lectern for reading the Torah. This marble “eagle” table and the lion sculptures beside it are the only known case of pagan sculpture being reused in a synagogue.

However, the supports of the table had their pagan, thunderbolt-carrying eagles intentionally beheaded first. Similarly a stele of Artemis and Cybele had their faces defaced before it was reused with the relief downward in the stylobate of the synagogue’s outer court. The table supports date from 2C BC–1C AD and may originally have decorated a Roman monument. The two pairs of lions perhaps originally flanked a Cybele image and date from the Lydian-Persian period (5–4C BC). The lions were probably taken to symbolize the Lion of Judah (Genesis 49:9) or 304

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Sardis, Synagogue

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the community itself as the Leontioi (“tribe of Judah”). Excavators have suggested that the Jews of Sardis intentionally tried to make a connection between the biblical lion of Judah and the traditional Sardis lion. Built into a southern pier of the synagogue was an epichoric (local) inscription in an unknown language believed to be Carian.

The congregation faced east toward Jerusalem. On the eastern wall of the main hall were two large square Torah shrines (aediculae). The northern shrine perhaps held additional scrolls while the southern shrine apparently held the primary reading scrolls. Beneath the latter shrine were found all the Hebrew inscriptions as well as a menorah plaque flanked by a shofar and a lulav with rolled Torah scrolls carved under the curved branches. It resembles the menorah plaque found at the synagogue in Priene. A marble-inlay decoration, speaking of the Torah shrine, states that it was “the place where the Law was guarded” (nomophylakeion).

A Greek inscription found near the synagogue entrance commanded the Jews to “Find, open, read, observe,” that is, the commandments of God. Further Reading: Sardis from Prehistoric to Roman Times by George M. A. Hanfmann (1983); The City of Sardis: Approaches in Graphic Recording by Crawford Greenewalt, Jr., Nicholas Cahill, Philip Stinson, and Fikret Yegül (2003)

Sardis, Royal Road

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In-Sites

The Jews in Sardis and Queen Esther Obadiah 20 mentions that exiles from Jerusalem were residing in Sepharad, which is believed to be the Hebrew word for Sardis. In Old Persian the word is sparda while in Elamite it is isparda. This indicates the presence of a Jewish population in the area by the 6C BC. Sardis was the westernmost satrapy of the Persian Empire, and its Jewish population was threatened with destruction by the edict of Haman (Esther 3:12–14). When Mordecai through Esther’s intervention was able to forestall the edict, thousands of Jews throughout the empire, including those in Sardis, were saved (Esther 8:1–9:5). Some of the 2000 Jewish families relocated from Mesopotamia to Lydia by Antiochus III were probably settled in the city.

During the reign of Julius Caesar the propraetor Lucius Antonius sent a letter to the Jews of Sardis guraranteeing their right as citizens to maintain an association and keep their native laws (Josephus Antiquities 14.235). Augustus later upheld the right of the Jews, which was being challenged by the Asian city administrations, to collect monies for Jerusalem (Josephus Antiquities 16.171). In the literary sources such as Josephus five rights for the Jews are frequently mentioned: 1) Right to assemble or to have a place of assembly such as a synagogue; 2) Right to keep the Sabbath; 3) Right to eat their “ancestral” (kosher) food; 4) Right to govern their own affairs; 5) Right to contribute money such as to the temple in Jerusalem. The Jews in Anatolia shared numerous points of religious observances with their counterparts in Palestine: monotheism and the refusal to worship statues, circumcision of males, observance of the Sabbath rest, food laws, assembly, and study and observance of the law of Moses.

Sardis and the Royal Road During the Persian period a Royal Road ran from the westernmost satrapy Sardis eastward to the capital at Susa. This route running 1500 mi/2414 km took almost three months to travel by foot; however, an imperial courier service could cover the distance on horseback in nine days. This became the model for the Pony Express, and the Post Office’s motto—“Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor darkness of night prevents these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds”—is drawn from the historian Herodotus (5.52–54; 8.98) who describes its

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route. From Sardis the road ran eastward through Lydia and Phrygia to the Halys River near Gordium, continuing east to Anycyra (Ankara) and Hattusha. It then skirted Cappadocia arriving at the northern ford of the Euphrates at Melitene (Malatya). There the road crossed two passes in the rugged Taurus range striking southeast to Amida (Diyarbakır) where an easy ford crossed the Tigris. Proceeding south along the eastern bank of the Tigris the road passed below Cudi Dağ at Cizre before arriving at Nineveh. At Ninevah the route continued overland southeast to its destination at Susa.

Ancient Voice

Dio Chrysostum and Erasing a Name Greek cities in the ancient world maintained a list of male citizens in a public register. When a citizen was condemned after committing a criminal action, he lost his citizenship and his name was then erased from the register. This action is attested by ancient authors such as Dio Chrysostum (Orations 31.84): And so I now wish to tell you of a practice which I know is followed at Athens, and here too, I imagine, in accordance with a most excellent law. In Athens, for instance, whenever any citizen has to suffer death at the hands of the state for a crime, his name is erased first. Why is this done? One reason is that he may no longer be considered a citizen when he undergoes such a punishment but, so far as that is possible, as having become an alien. Then too I presume that it is looked upon as not the least part of the punishment itself, that even the appellation should no longer be seen of the man who had gone so far in wickedness, but should be utterly blotted out, just as, I believe, traitors are denied burial, so that in the future there may be no trace whatever of a wicked man. Come, therefore, if anyone says that in the case of benefactors the same course is followed in your city as is customary among many peoples in the case of evil-doers, will you not be exceedingly offended? Then do not be vexed at the man who seems to have given expression to this criticism on the present occasion, for you may find that he is to be thanked for its not being said again in the future or even always.

In the letter to Sardis John uses the same Greek verb exaleipho (Revelation 3:5).

However, the promise from Jesus here is that the victor’s name will not be erased from the book of life.

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Smyrna Revelation 1:11; 2:8; Ignatius: Ephesians 21.1; Magnesians 15; Trallians 1.2; 12.1; 13:1; Romans 10.1; Philippians 11.2; Smyrnaeans Introduction; Polycarp Introduction; Martyrdom of Polycarp 12.2; 19.1; Fragments of Papias 1; 2 Old Smyrna (İzmir) was located at the head of the Gulf of Smyrna (İzmir Körfezi) and established as an Aeolian city in the 11C BC. Smyrna is the frontrunner among those cities that claimed to be the home of the poet Homer. His original name was Melesigenes (“born of Meles”), which was the name of a river that flowed by the city. Ionians from Colophon later drove the Aeolians out at the end of the 8C BC, and the city became part of the pan-Ionic League. The Lydian king Alyattes destroyed Smyrna around 600 BC, and it was reduced to the status of a village throughout the classical period. According to Strabo (14.1.37), the Hellenistic rulers Antigonus and Lysimachus were responsible for situating the new Smyrna around Mt. Pagus, while later authors such as Pliny and Aelius Aristides credit Alexander the Great with the city’s refounding.

According to Pausanius (7.5.1), Alexander fell asleep while hunting and had a dream that he should establish a new city at the foot of Mt. Pagus.

The Smyrnaeans then consulted the oracle at Claros and asked where the new city should be located. The oracle told them to proceed with the plan to build “at Mt. Pagus, across the Sacred Meles.” Coins from Smyrna show Alexander dreaming under a plane tree beneath Mt. Pagus.

Regardless of which tradition is correct, the city was re-founded in the late 4C BC. Because of its strategic location, Smyrna developed into a major seaport. It was also connected by road with Ephesus which was located 40 mi/64 km to the southwest. In 195 BC Smyrna became the first city to establish a cult to Rome by building a temple for the goddess Roma.

The Roman writer Cicero called Smyrna “the city of our most faithful and most ancient allies.” Smyrna was noted for its beauty in the ancient world. Some of its coins read “First of Asia in beauty and size”—a statement continually contested by its chief rivals, Ephesus and Pergamum.

Smyrna lost its status as a free city when it aligned itself with Mithridates during his insurrections against the Romans in the early 1C BC. In late 43 BC Brutus and Cassius met in Smyrna to form an alliance against the 309

second triumvirate of Octavian, Antony, and Lepidus. They plundered Asia for money and supplies for the fight. However, in October 42 BC the two were defeated by the triumviral armies at Philippi and each took his own life. In AD 26 Tiberius chose Smyrna from eleven Asian applicants to become the temple keeper for Asia’s second imperial cult temple. No archaeological remains of this temple have yet been discovered, although it must have been located near the ancient harbor. The only other temple of significance was the temple of Nemesis. At Smyrna Nemesis had two manifestations; however, the reason for this duality is difficult to explain.

Perhaps they represened two aspects of the goddess—kindly and implacable, or she was the goddess of old Smyrna and of new Smyrna. Archaeologists think they might have discovered the temple of the Nemesis near the agora under the Hürriyet Anadolu Lisesi (high school) building. At its peak Smyrna had a population of around 100,000 persons. In the 2C AD Smyrna was the home of two famous citizens—M. Antonius Polemo, who was originally from Laodicea, and Aelius Aristides. Polemo’s life was documented by his biographer Philostratus, and Aelius wrote a spiritual biography called The Sacred Tales. In his Orations (17.8, 11) Aelius described Smyrna this way: “All the way down to the shore it is resplendent with gymnasia, agoras, theatres, sacred precincts and harbors, beautiful works of nature vying with those wrought by man…and there is nothing which does not serve both for ornament and for use.”

After Paul left Ephesus following the riot, he probably followed the coastal road north through Smyrna (Acts 20:1). Smyrna was the second of the Seven Churches mentioned in Revelation 1–3. No archaeological evidence exists yet for a synagogue (“of Satan”; Revelation 2:9). In the ancient world a connection existed between death and Smyrna. Its name is identical to the Greek word for the sweet-smelling spice in which dead bodies were wrapped (e.g., Jesus; John 19:39). A number of mourning myths became associated with Smyrna, particularly that of Niobe whose tear-stained face was thought to be etched in the marble of nearby Mount Sipylus. Some of the most famous martyrdoms in church history took place in Smyrna.

Sites: The remains of Old Smyrna have been excavated in the district of Bayraklı. A massive mud brick and stone fortification wall surrounded a 32,290 ft2/3000 m2 area that contained around 500 homes. On the eastern side of the mound excavations have revealed a wall 591 ft/180 m 310

Ancient Voice

The Martyrdom of Polycarp Smyrna is closely associated with the church father Polycarp. His disciple Irenaeus (Against Heresies 3.3.4; Eusebius Church History 4:14) says that Polycarp not only was instructed by apostles but also conversed with many who had seen the Lord.

He served as the bishop of Smyrna for at least forty-five and maybe sixty years.

Irenaeus also reported how Polycarp would describe his discussions with John and the others who had seen the Lord (Eusebius Church History 5.20). Polycarp met with Bishop Anicetus in Rome on one occasion to discuss the quartodeciman controversy. The church in Asia celebrated Easter on the Jewish Passover (14 Nisan, hence quartodecimans), while the Roman church celebrated Easter on the first Sunday after Passover. Anietus could not persuade Polycarp to change his practice because he had learned it from John, the disciple of the Lord, and the other apostles with whom he had associated (Eusebius Church History 5.24). His dramatic execution around AD 156 at the age of 86 for his refusal to renounce his faith and sacrifice to the genius (guardian spirit) of the emperor is recorded in the Martyrdom of Polycarp. The stadium was the place where Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna, was burned at the stake. When the flames were miraculously prevented from consuming his body, his executioner was ordered to stab him with a dagger.

The church in Smyrna sent an account of his death to the church at Philomelium.

Polycarp’s refusal to apostatize is described vividly: But as Polycarp entered the stadium, there came a voice from heaven: ‘Be strong, Polycarp, and act like a man.’ And no one saw the speaker, but those of our people who were present heard the voice. And then, as he was brought forward, there was a great tumult when they heard that Polycarp had been arrested. Therefore, when he was brought before him, the proconsul asked if he were Polycarp. And when he confessed that he was, the proconsul tried to persuade him to recant, saying, ‘Have respect for your age,’ and other such things as they are accustomed to say: ‘Swear by the Genius [Guardian Spirit] of Caesar; repent; say, “Away with the atheists!” ’ So Polycarp solemnly looked at the whole crowd of lawless heathen who were in the stadium, motioned toward them with his hand, and then, groaning as he looked up to heaven, said, ‘Away with the atheists!’ But when the magistrate persisted and said, “Swear the oath, and I will release you; revile Christ,” Polycarp replied, “For eighty-six years I have been his servant, and he has done me no wrong. How can I blaspheme my King who saved me? (9)

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St. Polycarp’s Catholic Church stands as a memorial to Polycarp’s witness in Smyrna. Polycarp was not the only Christian to be martyred in Smyrna. Eusebius (Church History 4.15) records that in the 2C AD a Christian named Germanicus was thrown to the beasts at the festival of the assembly (koinon) of Asia. Pionius was another famous martyr of Smyrna. When the emperor Decius ordered everyone in the empire to sacrifice, Pionius was taken into the temple of Nemesis to offer sacrifice to the emperor. An apostate named Euctemon was bowed before the altar and offering sacrifice. However, Pionius refused to offer worship the emperor and so was burned at the stake in AD 250.

long and 14.4 ft/4.4 meters high; on the southern side 246 ft/75 m of wall have been uncovered. A double megaron house dating from the 6C BC is one of the first examples of a multi-roomed house with a courtyard found in the Greek world. The temple of Athena was built around 640 BC, but destroyed when the Lydians sacked the city. It was repaired and continued in use until 545 BC when it was demolished by the Persians led by Harpagus the Mede. One of the earliest stone fountains in existence dating to the early 7C BC stands in the southeast part of the site.

Looming 460 ft/140 m over the city, Mount Pagus (Kadifekale, “Velvet Castle”) was the acropolis of the Hellenistic city. It was called the city’s “crown” by ancient writers such as Aristides. The foundations of the castle walls date after 295 BC with reconstructions during the Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman periods. Several cisterns built during the Roman period and restored by the Byzantines remain on the summit. They supplied water via pipes to the lower city. On the back side of Mt. Pagus are two aqueducts that brought water to the cisterns before being distributed to the city below. The aqueducts cross the Meles River south of the Kadifekale. The main highway passes directly through the Yeşildere Aqueducts. The Şirinyer Aqueducts sit east of the interchange of the Buca road (Mehmetakif Caddesi) on the NATO compound. The remains of the ancient theater that seated 16,000 persons are found on the hillside directly beneath the castle. The site is overbuilt, and all the seats have long been removed. However, part of the cavea can still be seen as well as spolia built into the retaining walls of nearby houses.

The site of the ancient stadium on Mt. Pagus is covered by buildings today. Across from a fire station (itfaiye) along Elkutlu Caddesi is an 312

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artificially leveled area. This is the area where Polycarp was martyred in AD 156. A section of the original Roman street leading to the acropolis still exists. It is over 300 ft/91 m long with some original curbing still intact. The ancient street is located near the Hasan Sağlam Öğretmenevi off Eşrefpaşa Caddesi, the street that leads up from the agora.

Smyrna’s agora is perhaps the most interesting and best preserved in Anatolia. The present structure dates from after 178 AD when an earthquake destroyed the earlier one. It is a state, rather than a commercial, agora and built on three levels. Important provincial judicial functions were performed in the state agora. Smyrna, like Ephesus, was a conventus city for Asia. Here the proconsul would hold his court sessions as he made a circuit of the province. Its courtyard measures 394 x 262 ft/120 x 80 m. Stoas stood on the east and west sides; each was 59 feet/18 meters wide and had two storys. On its north was another two-story colonnade that consisted of a nave and two aisles measuring 95 feet/29 meters wide. The main stoa was called a basilica. Beneath the north colonnade was a vaulted basement, whose north aisle was composed of shops and 313

Smyrna, Temple of Athena

Smyrna, Acropolis Cisterns 314

probably opened onto a street. Recent excavations in this basement have revealed numerous examples of graffiti painted on its plaster walls dating from the 1–2C AD. Like the graffiti found at Pompeii, the subjects varied among sex, love, politics, and religion. Some were in code (gematria) like the number 666 found in Revelation 13:18. One example provides perhaps the earliest Christian graffiti yet discovered. It reads o dedwkwj pneuma: “the one who has given the Spirit,” that is, the Lord (kurios) Jesus. The function of this graffito was apparently to announce that there were Christians in the city with whom other believers could fellowship and worship. Around AD 150 Aristides reported that an altar to Zeus occupied a central position in the agora. Reliefs depicting a group of gods and perhaps connected to this altar were found in the agora excavations.

In these reliefs the goddesses Demeter and Artemis are depicted standing next to the sea-god Poseidon who is seated on a throne. These reliefs, now on display in the Izmir Archaeological Museum, are among of the best preserved and most beautiful examples of Roman sculpture found in Asia Minor. In AD 178 a severe earthquake occurred in Smyrna, and Marcus Aurelius helped with the city’s reconstruction. A portrait of the emperor’s wife Faustina II still exists over an arch of the west colonnade.

This portrait was an ever-present reminder not only of the benevolence of the imperial family but also of their authority over the city. In the basement of the nearby Şifa Hastanesi ancient city walls are visible in the hospital’s coffee shop.

Izmir has two archaeology museums. The older Izmir Archaeology Museum contains antiquities not only from Smyrna but from other local sites such as Metropolis, Clazomenae, Kyme, and Phocaea. Its upper floor displays terracotta and ceramic objects; the ground floor exhibits various marble sculptures and busts; and the basement exhibitions are devoted to burial practices in antiquity. The new History and Art Museum in the Izmir Culture Park (Fuar) displays its holdings in three buildings: one displays coins, precious stones, and jewelry; another houses ceramic objects and the third marble displays statues, sarcophagi, and friezes. A number of inscriptions displayed in the Inscription Hall begin with a dedication to ΑΓΑΘΗ ΤΥΧΗ (“Good Luck”). Such language provides insight into the religious background of the Hellenistic and Roman periods. Tyche was the goddess of blind fate who mysteriously ruled humanity. People in antiquity were gripped with a sense of fatalism making them dependent on uncontrollable powers. Tyche was thought to determine personal 315

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destinies. Many Hellenistic cities, after they were founded, adopted Tyche as their personal goddess to protect them. Erecting stelai to Tyche was believed to influence positively the goddess to bring good luck to the city.

The Ahmet Piriştina City Archive and Museum, located downtown in the old fire station (Itfaiye), tells the history of Izmir in English and Turkish through a series of illustrated panels and displays. The Izmir Museum of Commercial History and Trade in Antique Aegean is located on the second floor of the building of the Izmir Chamber of Commerce (İzmir Ticaret Odası). Various articles related to commerce in ancient Smyrna are nicely displayed but the descriptions are only in Turkish. A scale model of Izmir in the AD 1700s shows the location of the inner harbor before its infilling and later occupation by the Kemeraltı shopping area.

Further Reading: Izmir Archaeological Museum (1993); Smyrna by Yusuf Gül (2005)

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Ancient Voice

Asia’s Entrance into the Roman Empire In the northwest corner of the agora is a very important inscription, possibly in situ.

The damaged stone (IGRR IV 262) was perhaps originally an anta block for a large public building in the agora. The inscription dates after 129 BC when Asia was incorporated as a province into the Roman Empire. Pergamum had sent envoys to Rome to discuss its boundaries because the city was in a dispute with tax collectors over the proper assessment amount. To settle the dispute the Roman Senate sent a magistrate to investigate the problem (lines 1-20). The inscription also lists 55 members of the Roman Senate (consilium) with whom the magistrate consulted in reaching his decision in Pergamum’s favor. The names are listed by rank, beginning with Q. Caecilius Q. F. Aniensis, the senior consular. The first third are senior officials, perhaps 20–30 years older than the men who comprise the final twothirds of the list. It was this senate then that was responsible for bringing Asia into the Roman Empire as its first province in Asia Minor.

In-site

Sabbatai Zevi The Jewish Quarter of Ottoman Smyrna formerly stood near the agora. An incident occurred here in the 1600s important to the history of Messianism. Sabbatai Zevi was born in Smyrna in 1626 to a prosperous broker. Sabbatai was a manic-depressive visionary who was expelled from the city by the other rabbis in the 1650s. He wandered around the east for a decade but in the summer of 1665 returned to Smyrna where he became the center of a messianic frenzy. Hysterical scenes of mass repentance, which began in Smyrna’s streets, soon spread throughout the whole Jewish world. When news of Sabbatai’s messianic claims reached England, it heightened the expectations of Christians there that the year 1666 was to be apocalyptic. However, Sabbatai was arrested by the Turks and in September 1666 brought before the Sultan. Faced with the choice of death or conversion, Sabbatai became a Muslim. Many of his disciples followed him into Islam; however, others refused to believe in him after his apostasy and left the movement. Sabbatai’s heresy survives today in the Judaeo-Muslim sect called the Dönme. The ruins of Sabbatai Zevi’s house still stand west of the agora.

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Sidetrip

Colophon, Notion, and Claros Colophon (Değirmendere) was an Ionian city that was the home of the poet and philosopher Xenophanes (6–5C BC) and where the Greek philosopher Epicurus lived for a time (ca 320–309 BC). Paul encountered some of Epicurus’ disciples on Mars Hill when he preached in Athens (Acts 17:18). An important decree found in the city (311–306 BC) describes the steps required to found a Greek city: 1) plan the walls, 2) choose an architect and determine his salary, 3) raise public funds, 4) lay out roads and building sites and oversee the sale or lease of the latter, 5) plan an agora, workshops, and other public buildings.

Claros was an important oracle site, second only to Didyma in Asia Minor.

According to tradition, it was founded by the legendary seer Mopsus. In its typical cryptic style the oracle once prophesied to Germanicus, the adopted son of Tiberius, about his impending death. Civic delegations from Laodicea regularly visited the oracle for advice, as five inscriptions found at the shrine attest. Tacitus, the Roman historian and a former governor of Asia, describes how the oracle worked: “Here it is not a prophetess, as at Delphi, but a male priest…who hears the number and the names of the consultants, but no more, then descends into a cavern, swallows a draught of water from a mysterious spring, and…delivers his response in set verses dealing with the subject each inquirer has in mind” (Annals 2.54). The oracle at Claros was consulted by the residents of Smyrna before founding their new city at the foot of Mt. Pagus. Since only priests could live at Claros, the nearby town of Notion (Sahilevleri) served as the guardian for the oracle. The city, situated up the Aegean coast from Ephesus, was the guardian of Claros.

The well-preserved remains of its Hellenistic walls as well other ruins on its acropolis are still visible.

Claros, Apollo Oracle

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Thyatira Acts 16:14; Revelation 1:11; 2:18, 24 Thyatira (Akhisar) was founded as a Lydian town (“Teira” is Lydian for “fortress” or “town”) near the shrine of the Lydian sun god Tyrimnus. Situated on a broad, fertile plain along the Lycus River (Gördük Çay), the city served as the central road junction in northern Lydia. It was midway on the Sardis-Pergamum highway which connected with a major road running southwest to Smyrna and north to Bithynia. Because of its strategic location, Seleucus I (d. 281 BC) settled Macedonian soldiers here to form a military colony. During the 3C BC the Galatians, Seleucids, and Attalids struggled for control of the city. During the Syrian war in 190 BC the Seleucids under Antiochus III held the city (Livy 37.8.7; 37.44.4). However, the treaty of Apamea awarded control to the Attalids. Because of its vulnerability, the city was invaded by Prusias of Bithynia (150 BC) and Aristonicus (133 BC). In the 1C AD Thyatira was a major inland city in Asia, and its location made it an ideal commercial center. The local god was called Helius Pythius Tyrimnaeus Apollo, who represented a syncretistic conception of Lydian, Macedonian, and Greek deities. Outside the city was a shrine of the oriental Sibyl Sambathe in a sacred precinct of the Chaldeans. Lydia, the purple-dealer whom Paul met in Philippi (Acts 16:14), had probably become familiar with Judaism at a local synagogue. However, no remains of such a building have been found. A Jewish funerary inscription from the city calls the synagogue a sabbateion, that is, a Sabbath building. A locally-organized civic cult of Rome and Augustus was dedicated sometime before 2 BC. Thyatira was the fourth of the Seven Churches (Revelation 1–3). The letter to Thyatira is the central and longest of the seven letters. By AD 200, according to Epiphanius (Refutation of all Heresies 51.33), the city was completely Christian but aligned with the Montanist movement. In AD 214 the emperor Caracalla visited the city and designated it the center of a new judiciary district. Because of this privilege the city honored Caracalla as Founder and Benefactor.

Sites: The site of Thyatira was lost until the 17C AD. The British consul in Smyrna, Paul Rycault, began to visit the seven churches in October 1669. His party visited Tire, then widely believed to be the site of Thyatira. However, he discovered neither such a tradition among the local Greeks nor archaeological confirmation. He concluded that the site was 319

In-Sites

Lydia and the Trade Guilds Inscriptions testify to the prominence of various trade guilds in Thyatira—potters, tailors, dyers, wool-workers, leather-workers, shoemakers, linen-weavers, bakers, smiths, and slave merchants. But its purple dyers were noted throughout the empire.

In Thessalonica an inscription mentions a Menippus of Thyatira who was honored by the purple-dyers there. Lydia was a purple seller from this city whom Paul met in Philippi. She must have been a wealthy woman because she was able to host the apostolic party in her home. Lydia also supported a household that undoubtedly included slaves (Acts 16:14–15, 40). Textiles were dyed using the native madder root.

For this process dyers and fullers used a great deal of water. Usually these businesses were located at the edge of the city because they produced both a strong odor and much polluted waste water. In the village of Medar near the Lycos River northwest of Akhisar, an inscription was discovered that praises a certain Marcus for paying for the construction of an aqueduct (early 2 AD) from the mountains to Thyatira. This aqueduct ensured that both the residents and the guild of dyers had an adequate supply of clean water.

Food Sacrificed to Idols For modern readers of the Bible the subject of food sacrificed to idols is not an issue and therefore of little relevance. But for the early church it was a matter of great importance. Eating food sacrificed to idols was one of the four practices which the Jerusalem council asked Gentile believers to abstain from (Acts 15:29; 21:25). Paul addressed this issue in his first letter to the Corinthians (8:1–13; 10:14–22) written from Ephesus about AD 55. In Revelation it is mentioned explicitly in the messages to Pergamum (2:14) and Thyatira (2:20). Trade guilds, like those found in Thyatira, would hold their banquets in the pagan temples. After eating, the diners often engaged in sexually immoral acts on the couches (klinai) where they reclined.

Apparently in both Pergamum and Thyatira some of the Christians still clung to their membership in the pagan guilds and shared in the fellowship of the ritual meal. Until such participation was stopped, this spirit of compromise threatened to undermine the purity and sanctity of the Christian congregation. Paul wrote unequivocally, “You cannot have a part in both the Lord’s table and the table of demons” (1 Corinthians 10:21). Balaam and Jezebel were the quintessential false prophets in the Old Testament who caused the Israelites to sin. These names, along with the Nicolaitans, served as code words for the contemporary false teachers who advocated compromising behavior in the Asian churches. Hence their message of accommodation was vigorously opposed by John.

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northeast of Smyrna as the literary evidence suggested. On October 8, 1670, after a visit to Pergamum, Rycault rode into Akhisar. There he saw “Pillars and broken Stones with rare Sculptures, and…Inscriptions, which at a distance were so fair, that they seemed almost legible.” Upon seeing the Greek word Thyateira he realized that his quest was over.

Today even fewer antiquities at Thyatira remain. A city block near the center of Akhisar (Tepe Mezarlığı) contains several remains: (1) a section of a 2C AD Roman street, (2) column bases and drums as well as Ionic and Corinthian capitals of a monumental entrance to a colonnaded street, and (3) the walls of a 6C AD administrative building, which perhaps was used as a church at one time. Also scattered around the site are several interesting inscriptions. Lying behind the administrative building are two marbles bases dating from AD 218–222. They honor a prominent citizen of Thyatira named C. Perlius Aurelius Alexander. The inscriptions still show the prominence of trade guilds in the city. The last line of each indicates that one was sponsored by the fullers (OI GNAFEIS; gnapheis), the other by the wool workers (OI LANARIOI; lanarioi). In the fifth line of the fullers’ inscription the name of the emperor Antoneinon, better known as Elagabulus, was erased. After Elagabulus was assassinated in AD 222, the Roman senate passed a decree damning his memory (damnation memoriae). His name, like that of the emperors Domitian and Geta, was erased from all public monuments. Near the colonnaded street is a Greek inscription that was originally the right part of a marble panel.

It is dated to AD 76 and honors the emperor Titus Vespasian. Another inscription standing east of the administrative building records an oracle obtained from the shrine at Didyma. The stone was later recycled and used as an altar in a church. On the face a cross was inscribed, and in the center of the inscription a round hole was made. Apparently a bowl with four legs was fitted on top of the stone; its purpose was undoubtedly a liturgical one. The Ulu Cami is the oldest mosque in Akhisar. Large stone blocks in its southeast corner and a wall and arcade on its southern side predate the Christian era. The structure was probably a pagan temple that was later converted into a church and then a mosque. (The church’s apse can be traced outside the eastern wall.) Other inscriptions from Thyatira as well as the statue of an ephebe can be found in the nearby Manisa Museum.

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Tralles Ignatius: Trallians Intro; Martydrom of Polycarp 21 Tralles (Aydın) is located in the fertile Meander valley at the foot Mt. Messogis. According to Strabo (14.1.42), the city was originally founded

by Argives and some Trallian Thracians. When Cyrus captured nearby Sardis in 546 BC, Tralles fell under Persian control. In 334 BC the city surrendered to Alexander the Great. In 313 BC Antigonus captured the city. After the battle of Ipsus in 301 BC Lysimachus controlled Tralles; after the battle of Corupedium in 281 BC hegemony passed to the Seleucids. During the Seleucid period the city was named Seleucia. However, when the Attalids gained control after the treaty of Apamea in 188 BC the city’s name reverted to Tralles. After 26 BC the city’s name appears as Caesarea on coins and inscriptions. After Nero’s death in AD 68, the name Tralles reappears; however, the double name of Caesarea Tralles continued in use until the 3C AD. Here one of the supernatural events that foreshadowed Julius Caesar’s defeat of Pompey at Pharsalus (48 BC) occurred—the spontaneous growth of a palm tree out of the pavement inside the temple of Victory (Cassius Dio 41.61.4). Pythadoris, a granddaughter of Marc Antony and wife of the king of Pontus Polemon I, was from Tralles. She reigned as queen of Pontus for nearly four decades after Polemon’s death in 8 BC. Her grandson Polemon II was briefly married to Bernice (Acts 25:13, 23; 26:30), the granddaughter of King Herod.

Coins issued during the principate mention its Pythian and Olympian games and a combined Olympian Augustan Pythian festival. Tralles was initially a conventus city for the province of Asia. But after the devastating earthquake in 26/25 BC, Tralles lost its status as a judicial (assize) center probably because the facilities had become inadequate to host the governor and the many visitors who would come to the city. In AD 25 Tralles applied for permission to build the second imperial cult temple in Asia, but it was disqualified due to lack of civic wealth required to maintain a provincial cult. The school of sculpture of Tralles was renowned throughout the Roman Empire, and Tauriscos and Apollonius were two of its most famous sculptors. Anthemius, one of the architects of the Hagia Sophia (6C AD) in Byzantium (Istanbul), was from Tralles.

Numerous deities were worshiped in the city, with the foremost being Zeus Larasius. However, the locations of the temple to Zeus Larasius and the temple of Asclepius have not yet been discovered. An active Jewish 322

Tralles, Arches of Gymnasium

community apparently existed in the city because a local inscription records the name of a benefactor who decorated the local synagogue by donating revetment plaques. An inscribed stele outside the archaeology museum, dating from the late Roman period, is decorated with characteristic Jewish art—a menorah with lulav (palm branch) and ethrog (citron). Because of its location along the main Roman road linking Ephesus with Hierapolis, Laodicea, and Colossae, Tralles was the likely site of an early Christian church dating from the Pauline period. One tradition states that Philip the Evangelist became the bishop of the city, where he eventually died.

Sites: Ancient Tralles is located on a plateau above the modern city of AydÄąn. The remains of city walls are still evident on the acropolis. On its southern slope is the cavea of a theater that once held 10,000 persons.

The steps and seats have all been removed, however. This theater and the one in Magnesia ad Meandrum were the only ones in Asia Minor that had a tunnel leading from the stage building to the middle of the orchestra. Through such tunnels actors could appear as if rising from 323

the underworld, a performance required in several surviving Greek tragedies. Southwest of the theater the remains of the stadium are discernible. Southeast of the theater was the agora, though nothing remains of it today. This area is presently in a military zone so entrance to these antiquities is forbidden. The three arches (Üç Gözler; “three eyes”) of the bath-gymnasium (2C AD) with their stone and red brick façade are the most visible ruin of Tralles. The whole complex comprised approximately 269,097 ft2/25,000 m2. Recent excavations have revealed part of the caldarium, a large hall, and a large latrine. The plan of the complex is similar to that in Sardis. Jewish lamps found in the area during the excavations have suggested that a synagogue stood south of the complex during the late Roman period. A large Roman villa featuring a mosaic with a blue Meander design in its dining room is located west of the arches. Just down the ancient street from the villa was a bishop’s palace dating to the Byzantine period. It was built over an earlier Roman villa that was probably destroyed in an earthquake. At its center is a large sanctuary with apses and a piscina (shallow basin) used in consecration ceremonies. The underground arsenal is perhaps the most unusual structure in Tralles. Only its three-story entrance can be seen because the interior of the arsenal is closed to the public because of safety reasons. The city served as an important garrison town during the Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine periods.

So a massive underground structure was constructed over time to store weapons, catapults, and siege weapons. Tunnels, ranging

Tralles, Arsenal Tunnel 324

in height from 13–30 ft/4–9 m, connected the arsenal to the important public buildings. The total length of this labyrinthine defensive facility is still unknown. The archaeology museum in Aydın displays a variety of antiquities from the local area. It has several unique pieces including African terra cotta figures, a painted cremation jar, and an undisturbed clay sarcophagus. One of the finest holdings in the Istanbul Archaeology Museum is the marble statue of a boy boxer (ephebe) from Tralles.

Pausanius (6.14.3) mentions such a boy who fought in the Ionian games at Smyrna.

Further Reading: Tralles by Rafet Dinç (2003)

Ancient Voice

Ignatius and the Letter to the Trallians In 110 AD Ignatius, the bishop of Antioch, wrote a letter to the church in Tralles from Smyrna in which Polybius is named as its bishop. Here is a portion: [10] But if, as some atheists (that is, unbelievers) say, he suffered in appearance only (while they exist in appearance only!), why am I in chains? And why do I want to fight with wild beasts? If that is the case, I die for no reason; what is more, I am telling lies about the Lord. [11] Flee, therefore, from these wicked offshoots that bear deadly fruit; if anyone even tastes it, he dies on the spot.

These people are not the Father’s planting. For if they were, they would appear as branches of the cross, and their fruit would be imperishable—the same cross by which he, through his suffering, calls you who are his members. The head, therefore, cannot be born without members, since God promises unity, which he himself is. (Holmes translation) This excerpt, as well as Polycarp’s speech in the stadium at Smyrna, shows a play on words illustrating how Christians were called atheists in antiquity. This happened for three reasons: 1) Christians did not use temples for worship but instead met in homes (Romans 16:5; 1 Corinthians 16:19; Philemon 2); 2) they did not have a priesthood; rather every believer was considered a priest unto God (1 Peter 2:9); and 3) they did not offer animal sacrifices because they considered Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross to be the final sacrifice necessary for the forgiveness of sin (Hebrews 10:1–14).

To have a real religion in the ancient world, a temple with priests offering sacrifices was thought to be necessary. Because the Christians had no visible expression of their faith incorporating these three elements, they were called atheists.

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In-Site

Chairemon the Intercessor Tralles, along with other cities in Asia, was struck by an earthquake during the reign of Caesar Augustus around 26/25 BC. The city was so devastated that a peasant farmer named Chairemon, deeply touched by the plight of his city, decided to undertake a personal embassy to appeal to Caesar himself. Neither the great dangers involved nor separation from his family dissuaded him from the task. Arriving in Rome, he found that Caesar had gone to Spain to direct a war against the Cantabrians. Undeterred, Chairemon continued his quest westward to tell Caesar.

The emperor was so touched by this incredible appeal that he immediately sent seven ex-consuls from the noblest and wealthiest families of Rome to escort the intercessor home to Tralles. Reaching the stricken city as quickly as possible, the Romans contributed a great deal of money to rebuild the city with great speed.

Augustus later visited this city that he rebuilt during his tour of Asia in 20 BC. The Tralles of the early Christian period was the very city rebuilt through the intercession of Chairemon. Agathias of Myrina (born AD 530) wrote this amazing account, and he quotes a poem that he himself saw in the city inscribed on an altar honoring Chairemon. Chairemon’s intercession on behalf of his city serves as an example of self-sacrifice even today.

Trogyllium Acts 20:15 (KJV) The Mycale (Dilek) peninsula juts into the Aegean to form a strait less than 1 mi/1.6 km wide opposite the island of Samos. Strabo (14.1.12) mention a promontory at the end of the peninsula called Trogilian in Greek. This location is mentioned in the Bezan text of Acts 20:15 and reflected in the King James reading, “and (we) tarried at Trogyllium.”

This expanded reading apparently preserves a recollection that Paul’s ship was forced to make port after sailing through this passage, thus delaying his arrival in Miletus. Denham in his sea guide to the Aegean marks a port called St. Paul on the southwestern corner of the peninsula.

He suggests that this sandy cove, sheltered from the strong winds in the strait, provided a safe overnight anchorage for Paul’s ship before it continued its voyage to Miletus on the next day.

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Trogyllium, seen from Strait of Samos

Sidetrip

Samos The Greek island of Samos (Sisam) is visible from the Turkish port of Kuşadası. Samos was noted for its temple of Hera, one of the three most important temples of the ancient world along with the temple of Artemis at Ephesus and the temple of Apollo in Didyma. Samos was one of the places addressed by the Roman senate in its circular letter (139–138 BC) that forbade further attacks on the Jews and reaffirmed their right to observe the Sabbath and to observe their customs (1 Maccabees 15:23). The island was a stop on Paul’s third journey in AD 55 (Acts 20:15). After leaving Chios, Paul decided to sail past Ephesus rather than lose time in Asia, for he was in a hurry to reach Jerusalem by the day of Pentecost (Acts 20:16). Ramsay suggested that silting was already a problem at Ephesus’ harbor, and this caused Paul to avoid the city.

Additionally there were lingering dangers surrounding his encounter with Demetrius and the silversmiths, and Paul wanted to avoid any further legal entanglements in Ephesus at this time. The Samos Archaeological Museum displays extensive finds from excavations at the ancient city. At the eastern end of the island stands the monastery of Zoodohos Pigi, the “life-giving spring.” This monastery sits on a visible location on a promontory rising 1100 ft/335 m above the Aegean. Devoted to the Virgin Mary, the monastery was completed in 1782 and is built of massive columns transported intact from the ruins at Miletus. In a pine grove near the monastery a memorial to Paul’s visit has been erected. Inside a glass case is a beautiful mosaic showing the apostle’s image with the words in Greek, “The apostle Paul.” At Pythagorio is the famous tunnel of Eupalinos (6C BC). The tunnel is over 3398 ft/1036 m long and cut into the solid rock of Mt. Kastro. It is one of the most famous hydraulic projects of antiquity and was engineered to carry water to the city along a trench in its floor. It was excavated by stonecutters working from both ends in the same way that Hezekiah’s tunnel was built in Jerusalem around 700 BC.

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Amastris

BL ACK SEA REGION ( K A R A D E N İ Z B Ö LGESİ)

Yusufeli, Çoruh River

Ancient Region-Province Pontus Acts 2:9; 18:2; 1 Peter 1:1 Pontus was located along the southern coast of the ancient Pontus Euxinus (“Hospitable Sea”; Black Sea; Karadeniz) in northern Asia Minor.

The rugged, heavily forested Paryadres Mountains (Küre Dağları), with peaks over 6500 ft/1900 m, separated the narrow coastal plain from the inland plateau. Precipitous gorges that cut through the Paryadres carried the abundant rainfall down numerous streams to the sea. The longest river in Turkey is the Halys (Kızılırmak), which flows 842 mi/1355 km in a giant loop in central Anatolia to its mouth in the Black Sea near Bafra.

The Halys was named from the “halon,” or salt springs, through which it flows in its upper course. In the days of Croesus the river separated the Lydian and Persian empires. Another major river in the region is the Iris (Yeşilırmak), which flows 322 mi/519 km before emptying at a headland east of Samsun. Travel in the region was largely done by sea as few roads ran inland from the coast. The area along the Black Sea was divided into three regions—Bithynia, Paphlagonia, and Pontus. The Parthenius River (Bartın Çayı) separated Bithynia from Paphlagonia, while the Halys River separated Paphlagonia from Pontus.

A Hellenized Persian named Mithridates I founded the kingdom of Pontus in 302 BC. The kingdom reached its zenith under Mithridates VI Eupator (120–63 BC), who began by conquering the neighboring kingdoms. In 89 BC he invaded the province of Asia where he massacred tens of thousands of Romans. The Romans fought him in three wars (1st: 89–85 BC; 2nd: 83–81 BC; 3rd: 73–66 BC) with Pompey the Great finally defeating him in 66 BC. In 63 BC Pompey united Pontus with Bithynia to form the new double province of Bithynia et Pontus. This 331

province had thirteen cities including Amastris, Sinope, Amisus, Amasia, and Zela. Pharnaces II, son of Mithridates VI, reinstated himself over his father’s former kingdom during the Roman civil wars, but was defeated

by Caesar at Zela in 47 BC. Mark Antony reorganized Pontus in 39 BC and established a kingdom in eastern Pontus with Darius, son of Pharnaces II, as its first ruler. In 37 BC Polemo(n) I, son of Zenon of Laodicea, was installed as king. After his death in 8 BC his wife Pythodoris succeeded him as ruler of Pontus Polemoniacus. Her son Polemo II, who was a great grandson of Mark Antony, ruled from AD 38 to 64.

Around AD 50 Polemo married Bernice (Berenice), the wealthy and beautiful sister of King Agrippa II. Before the marriage Bernice insisted that Polemo convert to Judaism and become circumcised. However, Bernice soon abandoned Polemo and returned to her brother’s side in Judea, and Polemo subsequently left Judaism. Around AD 60 Paul appeared before Bernice and Agrippa at his defense in Caesarea (Acts 25:13–26:32). It was Polemo’s sister Queen Tryphena, both of whom were distant cousins of the emperors Caligula, Claudius, and Nero, who rescued Thecla from death at Pisidian Antioch (Acts of Paul and Thecla 27–39). Most of Pontus with Bithynia became a senatorial province with a proconsul in 29 BC. In AD 72 Vespasian incorporated portions of Pontus into his enlarged province of Galatia-Cappadocia. Drawing boundary lines on a map of Pontus during this period is difficult because of the continuous political changes imposed by the Romans.

Philo attests to an extensive settlement of Jews throughout Pontus (Embassy to Gaius 36). Jews from Pontus were present in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:9). Some were perhaps among the thousands who responded to Peter’s preaching (Acts 2:41; 4:4). Upon their return these Pontic Jews would have become the first believers in northern Asia Minor.

Aquila and perhaps his wife Priscilla were believers from Pontus who later moved to Rome and Corinth (Acts 18:2). Eusebius (Church History 3.1) preserves a tradition that Peter preached to the Jews of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Bithynia, Cappadocia, and Asia. Pontus was the second of the provinces addressed by Peter in his first letter written around AD 60 (1 Peter 1:1).

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Ancient Voice

Pliny the Younger Pliny the Younger, who served an imperial commissioner to Pontus-Bithynia from AD 111–13 wrote a letter to the Emperor Trajan in which he describes the spread of Christianity in this double province: I have therefore postponed any further examination and hastened to consult you. The question seems to me to be worthy of your consideration, especially in view of persons endangered; for a great many individuals of every age and class, both men and women, are being brought to trial, and this is likely to continue. It is not only the towns, but villages and rural districts too which are infected through contact with this wretched cult. I think though that it is still possible for it to be checked and directed to better ends, for there is no doubt that people have begun to throng the temples which had been almost entirely deserted for a long time; the sacred rites which had been allowed to lapse are being performed again, and flesh of sacrificial victims is on sale everywhere, though up till recently scarcely anyone could be found to buy it. It is easy to infer from this that a great many people could be reformed if they were given an opportunity to repent (Epistle 10.96 Loeb translation.)

Lucian, writing in the middle of the 2C AD (Alexander 25), confirms Pliny’s testimony saying that Pontus, the home of Alexander the impostor of Abonouteichos, was “filled with Epicureans and atheists and Christians.”

Ancient Cities Amasia 1 Peter 1:1?

Situated in a deep valley of the Iris River (Yeşilırmak), Amasia (Amasya) has one of the most beautiful settings of any city in Asia Minor. The main north-south trade route from Amisus to Tarsus passed through the city. Hermes was venerated as the founder of the city. Mithridates I established Amasia as the first capital of his kingdom in 301 BC, and subsequent kings maintained the royal residence there. In 183 BC 333

Pharnaces I transferred the capital to Sinope, but Amasia remained important because the shrine of the chief Pontic deity Zeus Stratios was nearby. This shrine along with its monumental altar is later depicted on local coins. After the Romans captured the city in 70 BC, Pompey granted Amasia city status in the newly created province of Bithynia-Pontus.

In 2 BC Augustus attached the inland region of Pontus including Amasia and Zela to the province of Galatia, and Amasia became the capital of the region Pontus Galaticus. Therefore it would be the first city in Galatia that Peter’s messenger would have visited. During Trajan’s reign the city was incorporated into the enlarged province of Cappadocia, and an imperial temple was built. Asterius (AD 350–410) was a famous bishop of the city who condemned participation in the pagan festival of Kalends and the vanity of richly decorated clothing. Because of its rich Islamic history, Amasya has a number of monuments from the Seljuk through the Ottoman periods.

Sites: Looming over the city is the ancient acropolis (Harşena Dağı) that still contains two towers and part of a city wall dating from the Hellenistic period. The view of the modern city and Yeşilırmak below is spectacular. At its base is the location of the Pontic royal palace (Kızlar Sarayı; Palace of the Maidens). Nothing remains except the terrace upon which it stood and its well-preserved Hellenistic walls. Cut into the citadel above the palace remains are five tombs that are the most important archaeological remains of the Pontic kingdom. These are the burial places of five Pontic kings (Kral Kaya Mezarları). The two tombs on the west (A-B), left to right as seen from Amasia, Ferhat Water Channel 334

Amasia, Pontic Tombs and Castle

below, belong to Pharnaces I (d. 159 BC) and Mithridates III (d. 189 BC). Above the tomb of Pharnaces is an inscription saying that Metrodoros, the commander of the castle (phrouarchos), dedicated an altar and a flower bed for king Pharnaces to the gods. Pharnaces’ tomb, left unfinished when he moved the capital to Sinope, was converted into a chapel during the Byzantine period, and some frescoes dating from the 11C AD still remain inside. The three tombs clustered together on the east (C-E), left to right as seen from below, belong to Ariobarzanes (d. 250 BC), Mithridates II (d. 220 BC), and Mithridates I (d. 266 BC). A stairway cut into the rock leads from the palace to the oldest tomb E. A tunnel above tombs C-D led either to the acropolis or to a walkway and tunnel that led to the terrace of Tomb B. Strabo referred to the former tunnel (now blocked up) as one of the “tube-like channels” that ran through the citadel and led to the city’s water reservoirs. Near the citadel and the palace are several smaller rock-cut tombs, and down the slope by the railroad tunnel is another large rock-cut tomb. During the ancient period two bridges connected the east and west banks of the city; today six bridges serve the same function. The Alçak Köprü (low bridge) still contains Roman arches supporting a later superstructure. The Archaeology Museum displays a number of artifacts from the ancient city. South of Amasya 335

and east of the highway is a long section of the Ferhat Su Kanalı. This channel cut into the rock dates from the Hellenistic period and brought water into the city. The so-called Mirror Tomb (Aynalı Mağara), which also dates to the Hellenistic period, is just north of Amasya. The tomb’s name derives from its well-burnished walls. The inscription is from the Byzantine era and reads “Great Prince Tes.” Further Reading: Greek, Roman and Byzantine Coins in the Museum at Amasya (Ancient Amaseia), Turkey by Stanley Ireland (2000)

Ancient Voice

Strabo the Geographer Much historical and geographical information about ancient Turkey comes from Books 12–14 of Strabo’s Geography. Strabo was born in Amasia around 64 BC and died after AD 23. He was born of Pontic aristocracy, and his family had served several kings in the Mithridatic dynasty. Like Paul, he was born a Roman citizen. How his family obtained the citizenship is unknown. He affectionately describes his home: My city is situated in a large deep valley, through which flows the Iris River. Both by human foresight and by nature it is an admirably devised city, since it can at the same time afford the advantage of both a city and a fortress; for it is a high and precipitous rock, which descends abruptly to the river, and has on one side the wall on the edge of the river where the city is settled and on the other the wall that runs up on either side to the peaks. These peaks are two in number, are united with one another by nature, and are magnificently towered. Within this circuit are both the palaces and monuments of the kings. The peaks are connected by a neck which is altogether narrow, and is five or six stadia in height on either side as one goes up from the riverbanks and the suburbs; and from the neck to the peaks there remains another ascent of one stadium, which is sharp and superior to any kind of force. The rock also has reservoirs of water inside it, a water supply of which the city cannot be deprived, since two tubelike channels have been hewn out, one towards the river and the other towards the neck. And two bridges have been built over the river, from the suburbs to the outside territory; for it is at this bridge that the mountain which lies above the rock terminates. And there is a valley extending from the river which at first is not altogether wide, but it later widens out and forms the plain called the Plain of the Thousand Villages (12.3.39 Loeb translation).

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Amastris 1 Peter 1:1?

Amastris (Amasra) was built on a rocky peninsula and, like Sinope, had a double harbor. The city, mentioned in the Iliad (2.853), was originally named Sesamos. It was founded as a Greek colony of Miletus in the 6C BC. Queen Amastris refounded the city around 300 BC, making it the capital of her Pontic kingdom. Amastris was the niece of the Persian King Darius III, and Alexander the Great gave her in marriage to his deputy Craterus. She later married another of Alexander’s generals, Lysimachus, who soon abandoned her to marry Arsinoe. Around 284 BC Amastris was murdered by her sons, Clearchus and Oxathres. After her death Lysimachus ruled the city until his death in 281 BC. Arziobarzanes was later to make the city part of his Pontic kingdom. In 70 BC during the Mithridatic wars Amastris was captured by the Romans. It became a metropolis of the Pontic assembly and served for a time as capital of the twin province. Pliny the Younger (Epistle 10.99) described Amastris as “a handsome and well equipped city.” Amastris prospered from its valuable timber trade of oak, beech, and fir. Amastris was a likely city for a Christian community in the 1C because of its prominence as a commercial port. A coasting vessel carrying Peter’s messenger would certainly have stopped here. Amastris has been suggested as an entry point for Peter’s letter to the cities of inner Pontus and northern Galatia, but the road to the interior was difficult. It is more probable that the messenger continued by sea to Sinope and Amisus.

Sites: The walls and citadel are the most prominent remains of the ancient city. Along with a watchtower, they project into the harbor and are connected to the mainland by a Roman bridge (Kemere Köprüsü).

Coats of arms hanging in the citadel attest to the Genoese rule of the city in the 15C AD. The foundations of a temple (to Zeus?) are also found at the end of the peninsula. Although the walls are of Byzantine construction, they probably rest on Hellenistic foundations. Four ancient harbor moles, used for protection, are visible in the larger east harbor (Büyük Liman); nearby is a 3-story warehouse. A gateway to the Roman theater can be found southwest of the modern city center with a gymnasiumbath complex nearby known today as the Bedesten. The museum overlooks the ancient mole of the small harbor (Küçük Liman). It contains Hellenistic and Roman artifacts as well as fragments of a large temple 337

perhaps dedicated to the sea god Poseidon. On display also is the torso of an emperor, with Romulus and Remus carved on his tunic, discovered in the citadel area in 1995. Southwest of Amasra 2.5 mi/4 km stands a unique rock-cut relief (Kuşkayası Yol Anıtı) along the Roman road to Parthenia (Bartın). This road was constructed by Gaius Julius Aquila, procurator of Bithynia-Pontus during the reign of Claudius (AD 41–54).

Within the arched niche is a figure in a toga (now damaged) believed to be Aquila. To his right is a column on a base topped by an eagle whose open wings symbolize Roman power. Two dedicatory inscriptions in Greek and Latin are found above and nearby the figure. This is the only Roman road monument to be found in Turkey today.

Amisus/Sampsames 1 Maccabees 15:23; 1 Peter 1:1?

Founded by settlers from Miletus in the 7C BC, Amisus (Samsun) was a leading city of Pontus. Its democratic constitution, suppressed under the Persians, was restored by Alexander the Great in the late 4C BC. Under the Mithridatic kingdom, the city was enlarged and adorned.

Mithridates VI Eupator built the new city of Eupatoria nearby to serve as his royal residence. In 71 BC Mithridates’ general Callimachus successfully defended Amisus from Roman attack for months using countersiege machines. When Callimachus abandoned the city by sea, he set it afire.

The Roman general Lucullus tried to save Amisus, but his troops were intent on pillaging and destroying what remained. Subsequently Lucullus rebuilt Amisus and gave it free status. Plutarch (Pompey 41) describes how, after the suicide of Mithridates VI, his son Pharnaces sent his body along with the corpses of other members of the royal family to Amisus. There Pompey the Great finally realized his victory and accepted as gifts many of the arms and clothes that Mithridates used to wear.

In 47 BC Julius Caesar confirmed the city’s free status. Around 36 BC Mark Antony placed Amisus under the control of a local tyrant, but in 31 BC Augustus again made Amisus a free city within the provincial system. Such freedom prevented the governor from interfering in local administration and jurisdiction. In the early 1C AD Amisus was the limit of Roman rule because Armenia Minor occupied the area further east around the source of the Euphrates (Fırat) River. While still a general, Vespasian brought military supplies through its port for the troops stationed at Satala in eastern Galatia-Cappadocia.

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Amisus, Harbor with Acropolis in Background

Amisus, Tumuli Tombs 339

The city had a significant Jewish population. Sampsames, one of the cities the Roman consul Lucius addressed on behalf of the Jews (1 Maccabees 15:23), is usually identified with Samsun. (The Latin Vulgate erroneously reads “Lampsacus.”). Some scholars think the Christian “problem” mentioned by Pliny the Younger in the early 2C AD describes the situation in Amisus because the letters before and after epistles 96–97 were written from Amisus. According to tradition, the city was evangelized by St. Andrew. Amisus was at the northern terminus of the main road that ran across Asia Minor to Tarsus. Peter’s messenger undoubtedly embarked at Amisus and initially made his way south along this route.

Samsun is important to Turkish history because on May 19, 1919 (the name of the local university), Atatürk landed here and began to organize the nationalist movement that resulted in Turkish independence.

Sites: The ancient acropolis (Toraman Tepe) in Cedit Mahallesi lies west of the modern harbor and is a massive headland rising to 522 ft/159 m and bounded on two sides by the sea. On its east side there were formerly the remains of a stadium and a large ancient mole, constructed because there was no natural harbor. However, these have now disappeared. In the late 1960s an almost complete floor mosaic depicting the four seasons, Achilles and Thetis, and a struggle between the Triton and Nereids was found on the acropolis (now a military area). The mosaic is displayed in the local archaeological museum along with other artifacts such as inscriptions and gold jewelry. Also displayed are the bronze statue of a young athlete and a bust of Augustus. To the west of the acropolis are the twin tumuli of Baruthane and Kalkanca, where the excavated remains of two ancient tombs and fortification walls can be seen. A cable car carries visitors up to the tumuli where a scenic view of the surrounding area is available.

Heraclea Pontica 1 Peter 1:1?

Heraclea (Karadeniz Ereğli) had the first major natural harbor east of the Bosporus. The Greek city was situated on a theater-shaped level site below the acropolis. Colonized in the 6C BC by Megarians, residents claimed that Heracles founded the city. This mythical founder supposedly made his descent into the underworld through a cavern on Cape Acherusia (Bababurnu). The city is the birthplace of Heraclides Ponticus 340

(ca 400 BC), who was a student of Plato and the first to postulate that the earth rotated on its own axis and that Mercury and Venus revolved around the sun. The city remained free until 74 BC when Bithynia was annexed by the Romans. Soon after, it was destroyed by the Romans because the Heracleans collaborated with Mithridates VI and massacred some Italian businessmen in the city. Either Caesar or Antony settled a number of ex-soldiers here, but it apparently never became a Roman colony. During the imperial period the city became part of the Pontic section of the province of Pontus and Bithynia. Coins from the period describe it as a “metropolis” and “mother of the city-colonies.” Heraclea was the first major coastal city in Pontus that the messenger carrying Peter’s letter would have reached. The city’s bishopric dating to the 3C AD is older than Constantinople’s, hence always preceded that bishopric in ecclesiastical processions.

Sites: A three-story lighthouse and a stadium with a temple are depicted on Roman coins, although today none of these exist. Temple remains were seen by visitors in the 19C AD. The ruins on the acropolis date from the Byzantine period. The city wall contains sections from the Greek, Roman, and Byzantine periods. In Orta Cami (Mosque), converted from a Byzantine church (5C AD), two colonnades of marble columns with ancient capitals can be seen. The archaeological museum has a collection of local antiquities.

Sinope 1 Peter 1:1?

Sinope (Sinop) was situated on a peninsula (Ince Burun) whose northwestern promontory (Lepte/Syrias) is the northernmost point in Asia Minor and the narrowest part of the Black Sea. Sinope was located astride a narrow isthmus on the eastern side of the peninsula. Its two deep-water harbors, located on the northern and southern sides of the isthmus, were the best on the Black Sea. Founded by Miletus in the 7C BC, Sinope itself established numerous colonies on the Black Sea including Amisus (Samsun), Kerausos (Giresun), and Trebizond (Trabzon). Diogenes (5–4C BC), the Greek philosopher who founded the Cynics, was born here. Exiled to Athens, Diogenes is said to have walked around that city in the daytime with a lamp looking for an honest man. Sinope retained its status as an independent free city until 183 BC, when Pharnaces I made it the capital 341

of his Pontic kingdom, thereby replacing Amasya in importance. Mithridates VI Eupator (ca 132–63 BC), the Pontic king who waged three wars against the Romans, was born and buried in the city, although his tomb has never been found. In 67 BC the Roman general Lucullus made it a free city again, and Julius Caesar established a Roman colony here in 46 BC. Both a Greek and a Roman community existed side by side in the city. In 14 BC King Herod of Judea sailed to Sinope to join Agrippa, Augustus’ deputy in the eastern provinces. While in the city Herod rebuilt a portico at his own expense. Strabo (12.3.11) called Sinope the greatest city of Pontus with fine walls and public buildings. Here the Romans introduced to the residents of Pontus such Roman entertainment as gladiators. The city remained the station for the Black Sea fleet of the Romans until the 3C AD. Pliny built an aqueduct to provide an external water supply for the city in the early 2C AD (Epistles 90.41–42).

Sinope was a certain stop in Pontus for the messenger carrying Peter’s first letter. A Greek inscription found here mentioning Akula (Aquila) recalls the biblical namesake who was from Pontus, perhaps Sinope (Acts 18:2). A different Aquila, who was a proselyte to the Judaism, made a literal translation of the Old Testament into Greek around AD 130. The Christian heretic Marcion was born in Sinope in the early 2C AD. He was a wealthy ship owner, whose father was a bishop in the city. Phokas, the patron saint of gardeners, was a famous Christian martyr from the city who was beheaded in AD 303 during the persecution of Diocletian.

In 1899 a French artillery captain purchased a manuscript now known as the Sinop Gospels from an aged Greek woman here. The manuscript was written in gold uncials on purple vellum and dates from around the 6C AD. The forty-four extant folios are now located in the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris.

Sites: The modern city of Sinop is built on a peninsula over the ancient one. Sinope’s walls stood in the 4C BC when they withstood the siege of the breakaway Persian governor Datames. In the late 2C BC the walls and towers were fortified by Mithridates V. The best-preserved Hellenistic walls run from the south port to the top of the acropolis, where there is also a fine gate. The walls are about 1.9 mi/3 km in length, 82–114 ft/25–30 m high, and 26 ft/8 m thick. Forty-three of the original sixty towers survive at least in part. Two gateways still remain, Kumkapı and Loncakapı. The acropolis at Skopelos (Boztepe) looms over the tip of the peninsula and is off-limits because of the presence of a military installation. On its lower slope are the remains of a massive building complex 342

Sinope, Balatlar Palace

Sinope, City Walls, Acropolis and West Harbor

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called Balatlar (Palaces). Traditionally known the palace of Mithridates, the structure was a large Roman facility that originally might have been a bath-gymnasium complex. The complex covers 32,800 ft2/10,000 m2 and has 15 different chambers. One of these chambers was converted into the Balat Church (Kilisesi) during the 7C AD and remained in use until the 19C. The church has numerous wall paintings, some well-preserved.

South of the narrowest point of the isthmus, which is approximately 1312 ft/400 m wide, the submerged remains of the ancient harbor are visible. The second harbor was located at the northern end of the isthmus.

The remains of a 4C BC rectangular Hellenistic temple dedicated to the Egyptian god Serapis can be seen on the grounds of the archaeological museum. The museum contains finds from Sinope and the surrounding region. A notable piece in its collection is the sarcophagus of Cornelius Arrianus adorned with a relief of two nautical vessels. On ships such as these the apostles undoubtedly traveled. At nearby Çiftlik are the remains of a Roman bridge and a 5C Byzantine church, both threatened by the rising sea level on the fragile coast.

Further Reading: Sinop Landscapes by Owen P. Doonan (2004)

In-Site

Sinop, Underwater Archaeology, and Noah’s Flood Underwater archaeologists in recent years have discovered that the area offshore from Sinop is a treasure-trove for ancient vessels. These ships have been well-preserved because of the Black Sea’s anoxic environment, that is, the water is depleted of dissolved oxygen hence destruction by wood-boring organisms is impeded.

Robert Ballard working with the Black Sea Project of the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology has been trying to salvage and identify these vessels. The discovery of inhabited villages on the floor on the Black Sea some ten miles north of Sinop caused Ballard and others to postulate that the sea formerly was a freshwater lake and that 7,000 years ago the Mediterranean Sea swelled and forced its waters through the narrow strait of the Bosphorus. The lake quickly rose and flooded its coastal communities. Geologists William Ryan and Walter Pitman postulated in their book Noah’s Flood that this catastrophe is the flood described in the book of Genesis.

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Sinope, East Harbor City Walls

Çiftlik Bridge, Sinop in Background

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Zela 1 Peter 1:1?

Zela (Zile) had an important temple of the Persian goddess Anaitis situated on its acropolis. This cult, especially revered in connection with oaths, was instituted by the Achaemenid Persian generals. The city was part of a large temple territory, along with nearby Comana, which was ruled by priests attended by many sacred slaves. Its nobility had strong Persian connections. The cult continued under the patronage of the Mithridatic dynasty. Outside Zela in 67 BC Mithridates VI defeated the Roman General Gaius Trarius, killing 7,000 of his men. Among these were 24 tribunes and 150 centurions, the largest of number of officers killed in a single ancient battle. After Pompey subsequently defeated the king, the Roman general in 64 BC established Zela as one of the eleven urban centers of Pontus. A civic organization now replaced the rule by priests from Comana, and the lands of the goddess became the territory of the new city. In 47 BC, between the villages of Yünlü and Bacul north of Zile, Julius Caesar defeated the Pontic king Pharnaces II after a fierce 5-hour battle. This victory inspired Caesar’s famous words to the Roman Senate: Veni, vidi, vici (“I came, I saw, I conquered”). Whether Caesar actually spoke these words is unknown, but he wrote them in a letter to his friend Amintius describing the triumph. Under Antony (ca 40 or 37 BC) the city reverted to its previous temple status and was ruled by Pontic client kings. In AD 64 the Romans annexed Zela, and it regained its city status. The city was on a key commercial route that ran south from the Black Sea through the upper Halys valley to Caesarea Mazaca. The messenger carrying Peter’s letter would have likely passed through Zela.

Sites: On the north side of the acropolis the seats of a small theater are cut into the rock. Nearby is a single rock-cut tomb. No remains of the temple of Anaitis can be found on the summit (kale), which was occupied later by a Byzantine and Turkish fortress. In the gate of the fortress inscriptions and cut stones can be found in secondary use. Column fragments, milestones, and inscriptions are displayed in an open-air museum within the citadel. Steps leading to a lower entrance from below have been excavated on the northern side of the acropolis.

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Zela, Theater

Zela, Plain 347

Troas, Harbor

MARMAR A REGION ( MA R MA R A B Ö LGESİ)

Nicea,350 Foundations of Constantine’s Palace

Ancient Regions and Province Bithynia Acts 16:7; 1 Peter 1:1)

Bithynia (Bitinya) was a region in northwest Asia Minor that bordered the Propontis (Sea of Marmara), the Bosporus, and the Euxine Sea (Black Sea; Karadeniz). The Sangarius (Sakarya) River flowed through this fertile area, much of which was mountainous and covered with forests. The Bithyians were originally Thracian in origin.

King Zipoetes founded a local dynasty in 298 BC. During the reigns of Nicomedes I and II and Prusias I many cities were founded and Greek culture promoted in Bithynia. Hannibal fled to Bithynia in 190 BC; and when the Roman envoy T. Quinctius Flamininus persuaded Prusias I to surrender Hannibal to the Romans, the Carthaginian general committed suicide by ingesting poison. The last Bithynian king Nicomedes III bequeathed his kingdom to the Romans in 74 BC. However, Roman rule could not be instituted until the conclusion of the war with Mithridates in 72 BC. Pompey the Great in 63 BC united coastal Pontus with Bithynia to form one senatorial province. However, each part of this twin province always retained its distinct identity, hence the official name was usually double—Bithynia et Pontus.

Bithynia’s size was approximately 18,555 mi2/48,057 km2. In 29 BC Augustus authorized the construction of two temples in Bithynia as he also did in Asia. The temples for Augustus were in the provincial capitals of Nicomedia and Pergamum and intended for Greek provincials. The temples for Julius Caesar and Thea Roma (Divine Rome) in Nicea and Ephesus were designed for the Roman residents. The two capitals served as the senatorial headquarters while the commercial centers of Nicea and Ephesus became the imperial centers. Bithynia bordered Asia to the north, so when Paul was prevented from preaching in Asia, the apostolic party next proceeded towards Bithynia. But after reaching Dorylaeum, which bordered the territory of Nicea, the Spirit of Jesus would not permit 351

Paul, Silas, and Timothy to enter Bithynia (Acts 16:6–7). Pliny governed Bithynia on a special mission from Trajan in AD 110–13. He wrote the emperor many reports which provide much information about the province and the Christians living there. Bithynia was a rich, fertile, peaceful, and highly civilized province. Philo (Embassy to Gaius 36) mentions the presence of Jews in Bithynia, but this province is not listed among the regions in the Pentecost account (Acts 2:9–11). Two important roads crossed Bithynia: one connected Nicomedia and Nicea with Dorylaeum and Phrygia in general; the other connected them with Ancyra directly.

This latter road became important later as the land route for European pilgrims to Jerusalem, hence it was called the Pilgrim’s Road.

Ancient Voice

Pliny the Younger and his Letters to Trajan When Pliny the Younger left Rome to take up his post as governor of the province Bithynia-Pontus around AD 110, he sailed directly from Rome to Ephesus. Because the prevailing yearly northern winds, called Etesians, would not allow him to sail up the Aegean to the Hellespont (Dardanelles), he was forced to travel by road in intense heat to Pergamum. He then boarded a coastal boat at its port Elaea, but the contrary winds delayed his arrival in Prusa (Bursa) where he began his administrative work.

Pliny the Younger is the first non-Christian author to write an account of how early Christians worshipped: They had met regularly before dawn on a fixed day to chant verses alternately amongst themselves in honor of Christ as if to a god, and also to bind themselves by oath, not for any criminal purpose, but to abstain from theft, robbery, and adultery, to commit no breach of trust and not to deny a deposit when called upon to restore it. After this ceremony it had been their custom to disperse and reassemble later to take food of an ordinary, harmless kind; but they had in fact given up this practice since my edict, issued on your instructions, which banned all political societies. This made me decide it was all the more necessary to extract the truth by torture from two slave-women, whom they call deaconesses. I found nothing but a degenerate sort of cult carried to extravagant lengths. (Epistle 10.96 Loeb translation)

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Mysia 2 Maccabees 5:24; Acts 16:6–7 Mysia (Misya) was located in northwestern Anatolia with boundaries on the Propontis to the north and Phrygia on the east. The Mysians migrated from Thrace in the late 2M BC, and are called “Musoi” or “Musa” in Hittite and Egyptian documents. Alexander the Great, the Macedonian leopard and the one-horned goat of Daniel’s visions (6:6; 8:5–8), crossed the Dardanelles in 334 BC. Alexander’s first defeat of the Persians occurred at Granicus River (Biga Çayı; near modern Biga).

In the 2C BC Antiochus IV Epiphanes hired 5000 Mysian mercenaries to serve in his army. Their Mysarch (leader) was Apollonius, who in 167 BC led the pillage of Jerusalem and the massacre of many innocent Jews (2 Maccabees 5:24–26; see 1 Maccabees 1:29 njb, nab). Cyzicus and Adramyttium were the important cities of Mysia; during the Roman period both served as judicial centers (conventus or assize) for the province of Asia. On his second journey Paul was forced to pass though (or by) Mysia on his way to Troas, after the Spirit denied him entry into Bithynia (Acts 16:6–7).

Thrace 2 Maccabees 12:35 Thrace (Trakya) was the ancient region that comprises the European section of modern Turkey. Geographically its leading city was Byzantium. The Roman province, founded in AD 46 by Claudius, was bordered on the northeast by the Euxine (Black) Sea and on the south by the Propontus (Sea of Marmara) and Aegean (Ege) Sea that were linked by the narrow strait called the Hellespont. Josephus (Antiquities of the Jews 6.1) claims that the Thracians were descended from Tiras, son of Japheth (Genesis 10:2; 1 Chronicles 1:5). The Thracians resisted Hellenization, and it was only on the coast that Greek colonies were founded. The Macedonian general Lysimachus founded the city of Lysimacheia (either Ortaköy or Bolayır) in 309 BC. Later Lysimachus founded a new city at Ephesus and there commissioned a mausoleum for himself at Belevi.

However, after his unexpected death at Corupedium in 281 BC, Lysimachus was buried in a temple at Lysimacheia by the city’s residents. During the Maccabean Revolt Thracian cavalry served in the Syrian army. When 353

the Selecucid commander Gorgias was about to be taken alive by a Jewish soldier named Dositheus, a Thracian cavalryman cut off Dositheus’ arm which allowed Gorgias to escape to Marisa (2 Maccabees 12:35).

The eastern portion of the Egnatian Way passed through Thrace to its terminus in Byzantium. Egnatius was a Roman governor of Macedonia who initiated its construction beginning in the late 140s BC. Paul and his apostolic parties traveled on the Egnatian Way during their second and third journeys between Neapolis, Philippi, and Thessalonica. The messenger carrying Peter’s letters to the Anatolian churches probably traveled along this road from Rome. The Italian portion of the route connected Rome to Brundisium (Brindisi) via the Appian Way. The Egnatian Way began at Dyrrachium (Durres) in the province of Illyricum (Romans 15:19) and ran eastward through Macedonia to the Hebros (Evros or Meriç) River, a distance of about 500 mi/805 km. At the Hebros near Cysela, the road branched north to Hadrianopolis (Edirne), south to the Hellespont, or east to Byzantium, a distance of 250 mi/403 km. Imperial couriers using the cursus publicus (road network system) could travel the 1110 miles between Constantinople and Rome in 20 days both in winter and summer.

Troad Acts 16:8?

The Troad was the mountainous peninsula in northwest Asia Minor bounded by the Aegean Sea and the Hellespont. Alexandria Troas and Assos were its two biblical cities. Troy (Truva), made famous by Homer in the Iliad is also found in the Troad. Mt. Ida (Kaz Dağı; 5609 ft/1710 m) is the Troad’s highest point, and the place where Aeneas fled with the Trojan refugees before they departed on their voyage to Rome. This story is recounted by Virgil in the Aeneid. The Aegean Sea was connected to the Propontis (Sea of Marmara) and Euxine (Black) Sea by a narrow strait .75–4 mi/1.2–6 km wide and 38 mi/61 km long called the Hellespont (Dardanelles; Çanakkale Boğazı). Leander swam between Abydos (Europe) and Sestros (Asia) to meet his lover Hero before his tragic drowning in the choppy waters. (On May 3, 1810, Lord Byron likewise swam the Hellespont to demonstrate his athletic prowess.) One of the greatest engineering feats of ancient times occurred in 482 BC when the Persian king Xerxes I built a double bridge across the Hellespont.

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The first bridge was destroyed in a storm; the second bridge, however, conducted his large army into Europe to battle the Greeks. In 334 BC Alexander the Great also crossed the Hellespont from Thrace into Asia.

His first defeat of the Persians occurred nearby at Granicus River that same year. Acts 16:8 could possibly be translated “Paul passed by Mysia (a region) and went down to the Troad (another region).” Paul passed through the Troad at least four times on his journeys.

Further Reading: The Troad by J. M. Cook (1973)

Ancient Cities Assos Acts 20:13-14 Assos (Behramkale) is situated on a rocky height on the southern coast of the Troad along the Satnioeis (Tuzla) River valley. Visible to the south is the Greek island of Lesbos (Midilli). On its northern shore was ancient Methymna, and settlers from that city colonized Assos in the 10C BC. By 600 BC Assos was the leading Greek city in the Troad. In the 6C BC Assos came under the control of the Lydian kingdom. After Cyrus’ conquest of Lydia in 546 BC the Persians incorporated Assos into the satrapy of Phrygia and the Hellespont. When the Greeks defeated the Persians at Mycale in 479 BC, the city briefly regained its freedom. However, in 477 BC Artabazus restored Persian control of the Troad, and his family dynasty ruled the region for the next century. Around 365 BC Ariobarzanes, the satrap of Phrygia, rebelled against the Persian king Artaxeres II. Assos was besieged by the Persian army led by Mausolus, the satrap of Caria, who later joined the revolt briefly. Ariobarzanes was finally defeated in 362 BC and crucified by the Persians after his son Mithridates betrayed him. In the 4C BC Assos became the home of an important philosophical school founded by the Platonist Hermias. After Plato’s death in 348 BC Zenocrates, Callisthenes, and Theophratus joined Hermias in Assos. Aristotle also lived in the city from 348–345 BC, and it is where he married Hermias’ adopted daughter Pythias. Assos was the birthplace of the Stoic philosopher Cleanthes (331–232 BC). From 241–133 BC Assos was controlled by the Attalid kingdom of Pergamum. Inscriptions 355

suggest that many Romans lived in the city during the imperial period.

The apostle Paul walked from Troas to Assos on his return to Jerusalem during his third journey. There he rejoined his fellow workers when the ship stopped at the harbor of Assos before sailing on to Mitylene, the main port of Lesbos (Acts 20:13–14).

Sites: Atop the 781 ft/ 238 m high acropolis stands the remains of the temple of Athena (530 BC). Made of the native andesite stone, it is the only known Doric building of its kind in Asia Minor. Only the stylobate—the platform for the columns—has been preserved, and it measures 46 x 99 ft/14 x30 m. Of its original 38 columns, only five have been reerected using some of the original architectural pieces. (A reconstruction of the temple facade can be found in the new section of the main floor of the Istanbul Archaeology Museum. A frieze block from the temple is displayed in the Çanakkale Archaeological Museum.) The mole of the ancient harbor can still be seen underwater at the foot of the acropolis near the mole of the modern port. On the northern side of the acropolis is an early Ottoman mosque, Hüdavendigâr Camii (14C AD). Above its door is a Greek dedicatory inscription that mentions Anthimos, the bishop of Scamander, who restored the Church of Cornelius in the 6C AD. This church was located in Skepsis, near modern Bayramiç so the lintel was taken from there. The city walls (4C BC) are the most complete fortifications in the Greek world. They originally ran 2 mi/3.2 km with half of their course still remaining mainly on the western side and around the acropolis. The current entrance to the site is through a turn-style on the asphalt road leading to the harbor. Below this road to the right is the pavement of the ancient road from Troas that ran directly to the harbor.

Inside the fence there is an excavated road leading to the city, the “Street of Tombs,” that first runs through the city’s necropolis. The oldest grave in the necropolis dates to the 7C BC. Various burial techniques—cremation urns, pithos jars, cist graves, and ossuraries—were discovered by archaeologists. Sarcophagi dating from the Roman period were made of local andesite. Along the city wall near the west gate is the monumental tomb of Publius Varius Aquila, an important citizen in the 1C AD. Other cemeteries also existed in the city, and the main necropolis for Assos’ Roman residents was probably just outside the eastern city gate. The well-preserved west gate flanked by towers leads into the city proper. Its eastern tower, more than 46 ft/14 m high, is preserved up to the loopholes and gutters with only the battlements missing. The walking path 356

Assos, Harbor

Assos, Street and Necropolis 357

Health center

to Ayvacık

to K a

dırg

a Co ve

to Gülpınar

AyazmaChurch Mosque

to harbor

s lis all W ropo ty Ci Nec

Entrance Cistern

Acropolis

Temple of Athena

Ahır Church Western Gate Gymnasium Agora Houses

Western Church

Long walking route Short walking route

Ancient Theater

Theater Church

Hotels

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ASSOS

PLAN OF THE RUINS

Gendarmerie Parking Area

Harbo CoastalChurch

Eastern Gate

and Restaurants

AncientHarbor

Assos, City Gate

or

AEGEAN SEA

In-Site

Paul’s Walk to Assos After a week of ministry in Troas, Paul decided to walk to Assos while his seven colleagues sailed the longer route around Cape Lectum—the southwestern point of the Troad (Acts 20:13–14). The route overland covered approximately 30 mi/48 km along the paved Republican road. Several landmarks along this route are still visible. A Roman bridge stands in the plain 2.5 mi/4 km west of Tuzla. Its overall length is 305 ft/93 m with nearly 230 ft/70 m of this span carried on seven arches. Further south at Chryse (Gülpınar) is the temple dedicated to Apollo Smintheus (“destroyer of mice”), mentioned five times in first book of the Iliad. A branch of the ancient road ran from the Smitheum to nearby Cape Lectum (Baba Burnu). Near Korubaşı, the first village northwest of Behramkale, a long section of the ancient road runs below the asphalt road. Luke never gives a reason for Paul’s solitary walk. Some scholars have suggested that Paul walked to avoid a passage around Cape Lectum.

Because of its adverse currents and winds, the cape was difficult to pass. It seems unlikely that Paul would have chosen a “safe” route while putting his travel companions at risk. A possible reason for Paul’s walk can be found in his address to the elders in Miletus: “And now, bound by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what things will happen to me there except that from city to city the Holy Spirit is warning me that prison and hardships await me” (Acts 20:22–23). Apparently prophets in Troas were the first to speak of Paul’s impending trials in Jerusalem. These warnings through the Spirit of future imprisonment in Judea must have been initially troubling. Paul was at the height of his ministry, having just spent three productive years in Ephesus with the gospel being proclaimed throughout Asia. The problems in the Corinthian church had finally been resolved, and the task of raising money for the Jerusalem church had just been completed among his Gentile congregations.

Here is where the Assos walk might fit in. The prospect of a possible prolonged imprisonment might not be readily welcomed by a free Roman citizen like Paul.

Upon first hearing these warnings, Paul must have wrestled with their implications for his public ministry, which would be effectively over. In fact, he acknowledges this at Miletus, stating to the Ephesian elders, “Now I know that none of you…will ever see me again” (Acts 20:25). On board the crowded coasting vessel he would have no time to be alone. The solitary walk to Assos was his chance to pray as Jesus had done in the Garden, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done” (Luke 22:42). So somewhere on the road between the harbor at Troas and the Hellenistic city gate at Assos Paul apparently accepted his personal cup of suffering. As he boarded the ship, his companions undoubtedly observed a fresh joy on Paul’s face. The struggle was over; he had allowed the Spirit to bind him to whatever would happen in Judea.

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Assos, Temple of Athena

leads first through a gymnasium dating from the 2C BC. The gymnasium was one of Assos’ most important public monuments. It measured 171 x 171 ft/52 x 52 m and was surrounded by Doric-syle porticos. In the area are also the remains of a Byzantine church that dates to the 5–6 C AD. The civic center built upon terraces on the southern side of the acropolis consists of an agora dating to the 2C BC with a north stoa cut into the living rock of the acropolis and a south stoa with a covered bazaar.

Beside it were shops built in the Hellenistic period. At the east end of the north stoa was a bouleterion with a square plan (67.6 ft2/20.6 m2) that dates to the 4C BC. An inscription identifies its builder as Ladama and his wife. At the west entrance is the foundation of a small Doric temple that was later converted to a chapel in the early Byzantine period. Its apse on the southwestern wall, not the eastern one, is still visible. Between the south stoa and the theater are the remains of a bath complex, one of the few buildings erected during the Roman period. An inscription found at the bath states that it was built by Lollia Antiochis, one of the leading citizens of the city in the 1C BC. Original city streets lead down from the agora to the theater. Dating from the 3C BC, the theater, now restored, was built into the rocky hillside out of native andesite stone. Its seating 361

capacity was 4,000–5,000 people, the orchestra was horseshoe shaped.

With a spectacular orientation southward towards the island of Lesbos, the theater was remodeled in the Roman period for gladiatorial contests.

Assos was first excavated by the Americans Joseph T. Clarke and Francis H. Bacon in 1881–83. Their expedition was the first to be sponsored by the newly established Archaeological Institute of America.

Today many of their finds are displayed at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, the Louvre, and the Istanbul Archaeology Museum. The modern port buildings and breakwater are built from cornice blocks and temple capitals that were abandoned on the quay after the Americans were denied permission to ship them back to Boston.

Further Reading: Assos by Nurettin Arslan and Beate Böhlendorf-Arslan (2010)

Byzantium/Constantinople 1 Peter 1:1?

Byzantium/Constantinople (İstanbul) was located on the west side of the Bosporus (Ox-ford), the channel linking the Propontus (Sea of Marmara; Marmara Denizi) with the Euxine (Black Sea; Karadeniz). Between 668–657 BC Greeks from Megara and Argos founded thes city on seven hills across from Chalcedon (Kadıköy). In 340/339 BC its defenders resisted the siege of Philip II of Macedonia, reputedly through the intervention of the goddess Hecate. Therefore her crescent was placed on the city’s coins, a symbol subsequently adopted by Islam. During the reigns of Augustus, Tiberius, and Nero, Byzantium functioned as a free city. Although situated in Thrace, Byzantium was attached to the province of Bithynia-Pontus (Pliny Epistles 43, 44). In early August AD 69 Mucianus, the governor of Syria, left Antioch with his 12,000 legionaries and marched 55 days to reach Byzantium. In late September Mucianus, governor of Syria, crossed the Bosporus with the Sixth Legion. His goal was Rome, where he was going to secure the principate for Vespasian who had been declared emperor in Alexandria on July 1. In December Mucianus arrived in Rome with his troops, soon after his fellow general Antonius had deposed Vitellius and secured the capital for Vespasian. This was how the infamous Year of the Four Emperors in Roman history ended. The harbor Chrysokeras (Golden Horn; Haliç) was the 362

likely embarkation point for the messenger (perhaps Silas) carrying the letter of 1 Peter.

Sites: The Golden Mile stands at the northern end of the hippodrome across from the Hagia Sophia. Although this milestone of the Egnatian Way dates to the late Roman period, it nevertheless marks the eastern terminus of the great highway that ran west across the Balkans to the Adriatic Sea. In Istanbul’s southwestern suburb of Bakırköy is its seventh milestone at Hebdomon where a small stone bridge still stands. In Byzantine times the highway entered the city through the Golden Gate, which today is permanently closed. The park west of the Blue Mosque covers the ancient Roman hippodrome (At Meydanı), with the streets corresponding to the course of the original track. It was built in AD 198 by Septimius Severus and reconstructed by Constantine to herald the birth of the New Rome on May 11, 330. Three monuments were erected in the hippodrome along its spina (central axis).

The Egyptian Obelisk, dating from the reign of Pharaoh Tutmosis III (16C BC), broke while being unloaded in Constantinople.

Only the top third was mounted on a marble base by Theodosius in AD 390. The bas-reliefs at the bottom portray the emperor and his family in a variety of activities with one scene depicting the imperial family watching the races. The Serpent Column, so-called because of its three entwined snakes, was brought by Byzantium, Golden Mile 363

Constantine the Great from the Temple of Apollo at Delphi. (One head is in the Istanbul Archaeology Museum.) At Delphi it served as a base for the thanksgiving trophy offered by thirty-one Greek cities after their armies helped to defeat the Persians at Platea in 479 BC. The names of the cities, called the “saviors of spacious Greece,” were engraved on the coils of the snake. The Column of Constantine dates originally to the 3C AD. The Greek inscription on its base states that the column had been damaged badly but repaired and covered in bronze by Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus (AD 913-959).

The Hagia Sophia is the third Church of the Holy Wisdom to stand on the site. The first was dedicated in AD 360 by Constantius, son and successor of Constantine. This church was destroyed by fire on AD 404 during riots protesting the exile of John Chrysostom by Empress Eudoxia.

The church was rebuilt by Theodosius II in AD 415 but again destroyed during the Nika riots of AD 532. The emperor Justinian set out to replace it with an even more magnificent structure. The head architect was Anthemius of Tralles, a distinguished mathematician and physicist who was assisted by Isidorus of Miletus, the greatest geometer of late antiquity.

Justinian’s Hagia Sophia was completed in AD 537. In the upper gallery the fifth (AD 553) and sixth (AD 680–81) Ecumenical Councils were held. The Hagia Sophia remained the foremost church in Christendom until 1453 when Mehmet II the Conqueror captured Constantinople. Its design is as a rectangular building covered by a central dome between two half-domes. Its total length is around 442 ft/135m. The floor area of the Hagia Sophia is about 194,000 ft2/18,000 m2, approximately the size of 3 ½ football fields. The north/south diameter of the central dome is 106 ft/32 m and the height from the floor is 182 ft/56 m. The dome has 40 windows at its base. The interior of the building features a number of mosaics featuring Jesus with Mary, John the Baptist, and various Byzantine emperors and empresses. Tradition holds that the 104 columns in the church came from pagan temples throughout the Mediterranean world. For example, the six green serpentine columns under the arches of the nave purportedly came from the temple of Artemis in Ephesus, and the eight red Egyptian porphyry ones on the sides of the nave from the temple to the Sun in Baalbek (or Rome). John Freely, the historian of Istanbul, discounts such speculation, stating the provenance of all the columns except the porphyry ones is known. Two beautiful lustration urns made from single blocks of marble stand on the sides of the nave.

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Dating from the Hellenistic period, they were brought from Pergamum in the 16C AD. The two-leafed exit door leading to the southwest porch dates to the 1C BC and was taken from a temple in Tarsus.

St. Irene’s (Church of the Holy Peace) shares a similar history with the Hagia Sophia. The original Hagia Eirene was built on the site of Aphrodite’s temple and dedicated by Constantine as the city’s first cathedral. In AD 381 it hosted the second Ecumenical Council. Burned to the ground in the Nika riots of AD 532, it too was rebuilt by Justinian. It is the only Byzantine church in the city never to have been converted into a mosque.

The nearby Topkapı Palace, which contains the purported hand of John the Baptist, was built on the site of Byzantium’s acropolis.

The İstanbul Archaeological Museums contains three museums within its courtyard—the Museum of Archaeology, the Ancient Orient Museum, and the Tiled Pavilion Museum (Çinili Köşk). The Tiled Pavilion Museum contains beautiful examples of Seljuk tiles and ceramics from the famous workshops at İznik and Kütahya. The Ancient Orient Museum features a reconstructed section of the Ishtar Gate from ancient Babylon. On display are numerous cuneiform tablets including two important Babylonian cuneiform letters. Several Neo-Hittite reliefs and statues from Zincirli are on display. An original copy in several fragments of the Kadesh Treaty dating to 1259 BC is on display. A large replica of the treaty hangs above the Security Council Chamber at the United Nations headquarters in New York City as an example of the earliest international peace treaty known in history. The stone, found at the Hittite capital at Hattusha, is written in Akkadian hieroglyph, the diplomatic language of the time. (Egyptian copies in hieroglyph survive on the walls of Ramses II’s mortuary temple at Thebes and in the temple inscriptions of Karnak.) The Hittite and Egyptian versions of the battle of 1274 BC that preceded the treaty differ markedly with each side claiming victory.

Although the Kadesh Treaty between the Hittite king Hattusili III and the pharaoh Rameses II was intended to establish “peace and brotherhood” between the two kings forever, hostility and mistrust continued between the two nations. The museum contains two partial relief slabs from the palace of the Assyrian king Tiglath-Pileser III at Nimrud as well as orthostats of Assyrian soldiers marching. Tiglath-Pileser, called Pul in the Bible, invaded Israel around 738 BC during the reign of Menahem (2 Kings 15:19–20; cf. 1 Chronicles 5:26). The Assyrian king Sennacherib is depicted on a limestone stele in a gesture of worship; a relief slab from his 365

palace at Nineveh shows archers, spear bearers, and prisoners constructing his palace. (It was Sennacherib who invaded Judah in 701 BC to fight with King Hezekiah, but the angel of the Lord slew 185,000 Assyrian soldiers outside Jerusalem’s gate; 2 Kings 19:35–36.)

The Museum of Archaeology contains a number of unique pieces related to the biblical world. On the ground floor of the Old Museum in Halls 8 & 9 the so-called tomb of Alexander the Great and sixteen other sarcophagi are displayed. These were found in the Sidon necropolis in 1887 by the archaeological museum’s founder Osman Hamdi Bey. Made by a Greek artist, the Alexander sarcophagus weighs over 50,000 lbs/22,680 kg and is one of the finest in existence. There are six battle and hunting scenes represented on its outer sides. The men and animals were executed in high relief, the garments were painted in vivid colors, and the weapons, now missing, were made of metal. The principal scene is a battle between the Greeks and Persians, with the Greeks being victorious. In the left corner Alexander appears on his rearing horse and raises a spear to kill the Persian in front of him. In Hall 14 artifacts from the period of Persian rule in Asia Minor are featured. Hall 16 contains sculpture from the Hellenistic period; it includes an impressive statue of Alexander the Great from Magnesia ad Sipylum and a fine head of young Alexander from Pergamum. In Hall 17 there are a number of sculptures from Magnesia on the Meander and Tralles including the statue of an ephebe, one of the finest examples of Greek sculpture in existence. Hall 18 features Hellenistic and Roman sculpture from Smyrna, Nicomedia, Pergamum, and other cities that were influenced by Hellenistic style and Roman portrait art. Hall 19 contains sculpture from Ephesus, Aphrodisias, and Miletus. Hall 20 features sculpture from the Roman imperial period with impressive pieces from Tarsus and Pisidian Antioch.

The ground floor of the New Museum features artifacts from Thrace and Bithynia as well as the façade of the temple of Athena at Assos. The first floor features a section called “İstanbul Through the Ages” that has artifacts from Byzantium, Chalcedon, and Christian objects from Byzantine Constantinople. Also displayed in this area is a mosaic from Jerusalem dating from the 3–4C AD that was found outside the Damascus Gate in 1901. Designed as the floor of a tomb chamber, the mosaic depicts Orpheus playing a lyre, a figure some scholars have suggested represents Jesus. This makes the mosaic a Christian one. The theme of the artifacts found on the second floor is Anatolia and Troy through the ages.

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The third floor of the New Museum features artifacts from Syria, Palestine, and Cyprus. In the Palmyra exhibit there are several altars to unknown gods. The thanatos inscription (1C AD) is an inscribed limestone block (24.02 x 35.83 15.35 in/61 x 91 x 15.35 cm) that was discovered by the Frenchman Clermont Ganneau on the grounds of a Muslim school at Jerusalem on May 26, 1871. This stone warns in Greek: “No Gentile is allowed in the courtyard and within the wall surrounding the temple.

Those who enter will invite death for themselves.” Josephus relates that a number of these inscribed stones were placed in a balustrade several feet high on the southern and eastern sides of the temple. These inscriptions in Latin and Greek were to prevent Gentiles from entering the temple courts. This is perhaps the “dividing wall of hostility” referred to by Paul in Ephesians 2:14. Paul’s arrest in Jerusalem was provoked by Jews from Asia who thought they saw Paul bring Trophimus, an Ephesian gentile, beyond this wall into the restricted courtyard area (Acts 21:27-29). The Gezer calendar (10C BC), which is inscribed on soft, chalky limestone, is one of the oldest Hebrew inscriptions known. It is thought to be an agricultural calendar or catalog. Interestingly, the calendar begins its reckoning in the fall rather than in the spring, which is contrary to Old Testament practice. The inscription consists of seven horizontal lines and one vertical line that reads “Abi,” perhaps the author of the inscription.

The horizontal lines read: 1. Two months, late crops - two months 2. Sowing - two months, spring crops 3. One month, cutting flax 4. One month, harvest of barley 5. One month, all the harvest 6. Two months, fruit vines 7. One month, summer fruits In display cases in the same area are additional artifacts excavated at Gezer and Megiddo.

Further Reading: Istanbul: The Imperial City by John Freely (1998); Istanbul Archaeological Museums, Alpay Pasinli (2001); The Treasures of the Istanbul Archaeological Museums by Fatih Cimok (2005)

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Ancient Voice

The Siloam Inscription Located in the museum between the thanatos inscription and the Gezer calendar is the famous Siloam inscription brought from Jerusalem. When the Assyrians threatened Jerusalem in the late 8C BC, King Hezekiah sought to ensure that the city’s water supply was secure. He constructed an underground aqueduct connecting the Gihon spring with the pool of Siloam (2 Kings 20:20; 2 Chronicles 32:3-4, 30). This tunnel was cut 1749 ft/533 m through solid rock. The six-line Siloam inscription, which commemorates this engineering feat, was found in 1880 near the Siloam entrance: This is the boring through. This is the story of the boring through: while the miners lifted the pick each towards his fellow and while three cubits yet remained to be bored through, there was heard the voice of a man calling his fellow, for there was a split in the rock on the right hand and on the left hand.

And on the day of the boring through the miners struck, each in the direction of his fellow, pick against pick. And the water started flowing from the source to the pool 1200 cubits. A hundred cubits was the height of the rock above the heads of the miners.

Chalcedon 1 Peter 1:1?

On the east side of the Bosporus (Ox-ford) was Chalcedon (Kadıköy), situated in the province of Bithynia. The city’s name was spelled various ways during antiquity; on its coinage the form was Calchadon. This Greek colony was founded around 676 BC, even before Byzantium’s founding.

The site was situated between two harbors, which today are the bays of Moda and Kadıköy. However, the site had two disadvantages that later caused it to be overshadowed by Byzantium: the Bosporus currents carried the fish toward the western shore and these same currents made it difficult to land at Chalcedon. During the Roman period Chalcedon was a free city. The messenger carrying 1 Peter would have likely completed his circuit in Asia Minor at Chalcedon before re-crossing the Bosporus to Byzantium. A temple of Aphrodite was located north of the city on the hill at Haydarpaşa. This temple was made into a church and re-dedicated to St. Euphemia, who was martyred in the city under Diocletian in 368

AD 303. (Near the hippodrome in Sultanahmet Square is another Church of St. Euphemia that was built in the 5C AD. Some frescoes, in poor condition, portray scenes of her death and torture at Chalcedon.) On October 8, 451, the fourth Ecumenical Council convened in the original St. Euphemia Church, which was probably located near the crossroads of Altı Yol in modern Kadıköy. The council was originally scheduled to meet in Nicea but moved to Chalcedon to be closer to the emperor Marcian and the empress Pulcheria in Byzantium. Unfortunately there are no remains of ancient Chalcedon extant today. On the ground floor of the new section of the Istanbul Archaeology Museum is a display of antiquities from ancient Chalcedon.

Further Reading: Constantinople and the Scenery of the Seven Churches by Thomas Allom and Robert Walsh, edited by Mark Wilson (2006)

Nicea 1 Peter 1:1?

Nicea (İznik) was situated on the eastern shore of Lake Ascania (İznik Gölü). The lake was important for commerce through its port of Cius (Gemlik), 10 mi/16 km west of the lake. The Sangarius (Sakarya) River lay 15 m/24 km east. The river was a natural highway south into Phrygia and Asia Minor and north through its navigable portion to the Euxine Sea. Antigonus founded the Hellenistic city of Antigonia here 316 BC. After the battle of Ipsus in 301 BC, Lysimachus captured the city and re-founded it, naming it after his first wife Nicea. The Bithynian kings gained control of the city after Lysimachus’ death in 281 BC. Nicea was the birthplace of Hipparchus (ca. 190 BC), an astronomer who believed the earth was the center of the universe, a theory believed until Copernicus. During the Roman period the city vied with Nicomedia for the distinction of being the principal city of Bithynia. Roman businessmen and imperial officials gathered in Nicea out of the immediate purview of the senatorial governor located in Nicomedia, Bithynia’s capital. In 29 BC Augustus authorized a sanctuary of Roma and the deified Julius Caesar to be built here for Roman citizens. The city was prosperous because of its rich agricultural land as well as a dyeing industry that used gall from the local kermes oak. Paul was attempting to reach Nicea in Bithynia on his second journey before the Holy Spirit directed him westward to Troas (Acts 16:7). The origin of the church in Nicea is unknown, but the 369

messenger carrying 1 Peter would certainly have visited the Christians in Nicea. When Pliny was proconsul of Bithynia-Pontus, he wrote to the emperor Trajan about the problems with the Christians (AD 110). In AD 193 on the southern side of Lake Ascania the armies of Septimius Severus and his rival Niger met in battle. Severus’s victory forced Niger to lose all of Asia Minor and ensured his eventual defeat later at Issus. The modern name İznik is an abbreviated Turkish version of eis Nikaia.

Sites: Nicea, like Nicomedia, was prone to earthquakes, and these common natural disasters account for the frequent reconstructions of the city. The modern city is built within the ancient walls, making this one of the most unique sites in Turkey. A stone obelisk, located 3 mi/5 km north of İznik near Elbeyli, formerly lay along the Roman road to Nicomedia. The obelisk, unique in Turkey, is comprised of five triangular sections (hence Beştaş) with a further top stone now lost. It is 39 ft/12 m tall and stands on a 6.6 ft/2 m wide square base. Recesses in the stone suggest that at one time lead cramps anchored standing life-size bronze sculptures to the face of the obelisk. The Greek inscription on the rear face of the lowest block states that the obelisk was erected for a Roman named C. Cassius Philiskos, son of C. Cassius Asklepiodotos, who lived for 83 years. The obelisk dates to the early 2C AD. A stone bridge (Taş Köprü) dating from the reign of Justinian is located Nicea, Philiskos Obelisk 370

1.9 mi/3 km west of İznik. East of İznik on the southeastern slope of Abdülvahap hill is a monumental tomb (Berber Taş) carved from a single rock that was built for the Bithynian king Prusias II (185–149 BC).

The excellent archaeological museum in İznik is housed in the 14C AD Nilüfer Hatun Soup Kitchen. The museum contains various Roman and Byzantine articles plus examples of the famous ‹znik tiles. In the garden are numerous inscriptions in Latin and Greek as well as monumental pieces from Byzantine churches including two “pulpits” decorated with crosses.

Nicea is noted for its regular city plan with its main streets still in use in İznik today: the decumanus maximus running east and west and the cardo maximus north and south. The city was surrounded by walls and four gates, which are the most unique in western Turkey. These span a thousand years of construction. Strabo (Geography 12.565) gives a detailed description of the original Lysimachan square walls that measured 2297 ft/700 m to a side. Little remains from the Hellenistic walls except perhaps the small Gate 6 standing a little northeast of the eastern Lefke gate. These were expanded by the Flavians (late 1C AD) to a pentagonal shape that now measured 16,306 ft/4970 m in circumference. The present city walls follow the lines of the Flavian walls but date from their reconstruction after the Goths destroyed them in AD 268.

Four gates provided entrance into the city. Little survives of the west gate toward the lake; the south gate (Yenişehir Kapısı) was erected by Claudius II (AD 268–70). The east and north gates are triple gates dating from the Roman and Byzantine periods. An inscription in the central east gate (Lefke Kapısı) states that the proconsul Marcus Plancius Varus built it for the emperor Vespasian with the help of a leading citizen C. Cassius Chrestos. (Chrestos’ unadorned sarcophagus was found in the necropolis outside the east gate, but is now on display in the museum garden.)

Varus was a patron of the city, and niches in the gate originally held statues of the governor. An earthquake heavily damaged Nicea in AD 120, and Hadrian provided funds for rebuilding the city. An inscription to Hadrian in the architrave suggests that the eastern gate was rededicated to the emperor upon his visit to the city in AD 123. Outside the east gate is an aqueduct built during the 6C AD by Justinian. The north gate (İstanbul Kapısı) was erected by Vespasian and restored by Hadrian too.

West of the north gate the wall is most complete, standing to a height of 36 ft/11 m. Three square towers remain that are faced with white marble 371

NICEA/İZNİK CITY PLAN

In-Site

The Seven Ecumenical Councils The seven ecumenical church councils were all held in Turkey. The chart below provides general information on these seven councils. All dates are AD. First Ecumenical Council Date / Location: Participants: Heresy: Outcome:

325 / Nicea in the emperor’s summer palace Convened by Constantine with over 300 bishops present Arianism Creed adopted stating that Jesus was “true God from true God, begotten not made, of the same substance with the Father through whom all things were made”

Second Ecumenical Council Date / Location:

381 / Constantinople in the Hagia Eirene Church

Particpants:

Convened by Emperor Theodosius with 150 eastern bishops present including Gregory of Nazianzus, Gregory of Nyssa, and Cyril of Jerusalem Arianism and Apollinarianism Teaching of Arius and Apollinarius denounced; refined the Nicene Creed by making 10 additions to the text and affirmed the deity of the Holy Spirit

Heresies: Outcome:

Third Ecumenical Council Date / Location: Participants: Heresy: Outcome:

431 / Ephesus in Church of Mary Convened by Emperor Theodosius II with over 200 bishops present Nestorianism and Pelagianism Teaching of Nestorius denounced, Mary called “Theotokos” (“God-bearer”), and Pelagius condemned for his view of original sin

Fourth Ecumenical Council Date / Location: Participants: Heresy: Outcome:

451 / Chalcedon in St. Euphemia Church Convened by Emperor Marcian with about 370 bishops present Eutychianism Eutyches’ teaching denounced and a brief definition of faith declaring that Christ’s two natures were “unmixed, unchanged, undivided, and inseparable”

Fifth Ecumenical Council Date / Location: Participants: Heresy: Outcome:

553 / Constantinople in the Hagia Sophia Church Convened by Emperor Justinian I with 152 mostly Eastern bishops present Monophysitism Affirmed that Christ had both a human nature and a divine nature

Sixth Ecumenical Council Date / Location: Participants: Heresy: Outcome:

680 / Constantinople in Hagia Sophia Church Convened by Emperor Constantine IV with 170 bishops present Monothelitism Affirmed that Christ had both a divine and human will; condemned Pope Honorius for supporting Monothelitism

Seventh Ecumenical Council Date / Location: Participants: Heresy: Outcome:

787 / Nicea in Hagia Sophia Church there Convened by Emperor Constantine VI and his mother Irene with 367 bishops present Iconoclasm Veneration of icons and statues declared legitimate; these were restored to the churches

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in contrast to the gray-blue block used elsewhere, perhaps to make a good impression on visitors coming from the capital city. These towers make much use of spolia, with the central tower using some 37 columns to decorate the upper story as well as to serve as floor joists. Between the north gate and the city center is the Meydan Hamamı. In front of this hamam below the modern street is a section of Nicea’s ancient street.

Pliny the Younger involved himself in several building projects here including a theater that was sinking and a gymnasium destroyed by fire (Epistle 10.39). The remains of these structures can still be seen in the southwest part of the city. According to Strabo (12.566), the gymnasium was situated at the center of the Hellenistic city walls and served as a main feature. Nothing remains except possible traces of a monumental gateway. A triumphal arch also survives, which was built during the time of Vespasian in the Roman style using good Greek stonework. The theater, begun during the reign of Trajan, had a planned capacity of 15,000 persons but was never completed. Only a part of the cavea survives; the orchestra and stage are missing. The theater’s upper section was later plundered for use in the reconstructed city walls. These now form part of the upper course along the southern and eastern walls.

In the lake outside the city walls are the stone ashlars from Constantine’s palace. The Palace of the Senate (İnciraltı Sarayı) is the location where the First Ecumenical council took place in AD 325. Some 318 bishops gathered from throughout the Roman Empire and east into Armenia, Persia, and Scythia to deal with the heretical teaching of Arius. Arius taught that there was a difference in the essential being between the deity of the Father and of the Son. To him the Son’s essence was like that of the Father (homoiousia), not the same (homoousia). Although Arius was condemned as a heretic, his teaching persisted in the church. A common misconception about Nicea was that the council voted on the official list of books to be accepted in the Bible—the canon of Scripture. However, such a decision was never made at this first Nicene council. The first list of the 27 canonical books of the New Testament was contained in the Festal letter of Athananius, bishop of Alexandria, in AD 367.

The Sacred Insect Spring (Böcek Ayazması) is located on the east side of the Church of the Koimesis (8C AD). Stairs lead to a circular underground chamber that contains a baptismal pool. It was built of recycled stones, one of which contains two Greek inscriptions. Above the inscription on the side face is one of the finest menorahs ever found in the Jewish 374

Nicea, East Gate

Nicea, Istanbul Gate 375

Nicea, Theater

Diaspora. The menorah has three parts: a lampstand, an amphora resting on the lampstand, and seven branches emanating from the amphora. The inscription contains Psalm 136:25 (135:25 lxx): “He who gives bread to all flesh, for his mercy endures forever.” Not only is this the only inscriptional example of Psalm 136:25 discovered in the Greco-Roman world, but it is also the longest citation of a biblical verse in a Jewish inscription from the Diaspora. The stone with menorah and inscription dates to the 4–6C AD. The other Greek inscription facing up reads: “Tower of Michael, the great king, emperor, in Christ.” This ashlar was taken out of its Jewish context in the 9C AD and used in the tower of Michael as part of the city walls. Emperor Michael III ruled from AD 842–67 and was involved in Nicea’s civic history in 857-58. The French diplomat Busbecq recorded the Michael inscription in the tower facing Lake Ascania before his death in 1591. Therefore the stone must have been taken from the tower of Michael and used for the baptistry after AD 1600.

Further Reading: İznik Throughout History edited by Işıl Akbaygil, Halil İnalcık, and Oktay Aslanapa (2003)

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Ancient Voices

Cassius Dio Cassius Dio (ca AD 164–229) was a Greek historian and Roman senator who was born in Nicea. He was the author of an 80-volume history of Rome, only part of which remains. Dio’s work displays an interest in supernatural phenomena such as portents. He believed that divine direction played an important part in the lives of people. In the following excerpt, he describes the rise of imperial cult worship in the cities of Asia Minor.

Caesar, meanwhile, besides attending to the general business, gave permission for the dedication of sacred precincts in Ephesus and in Nicea to Rome and to Caesar, his father, whom he named the hero Julius. These cities had at that time attained chief place in Asia and in Bithynia respectively. He commanded that the Romans resident in these cities should pay honor to these two divinities; but he permitted the aliens, whom he styled Hellenes, to consecrate precincts to himself, the Asians to have theirs in Pergamum and the Bithynians theirs in Nicomedia. This practice, beginning under him, has been continued under other emperors, not only in the case of the Hellenic nations but also in that of all the others, in so far as they are subject to the Romans. For in the capital itself and in Italy generally no emperor, however worthy of renown he has been, has dared to do this; still, even there various divine honors are bestowed after their death upon such emperors as have ruled uprightly, and, in fact, shrines are built to them. All this took place in the winter; and the Pergamenes also received authority to hold the ‘sacred’ games, as they called them, in honor of Caesar’s temple (History 51.20.6–9).

The Nicene Creed The creed today called the Nicene Creed, or Constantinopolitan Creed, was actually sanctioned by the Council of Chalcedon in 451. It incorporates much of the language of the original Nicene Creed but incorporates a fuller statement on the doctrine of the Holy Spirit.

We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible; And in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the onlybegotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all ages; Light of Light, true God of true God, begotten, not created, of one essence with the Father, through Whom all things were made; Who for us and for our salvation came down from the heavens and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit and the Virgin

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Mary, and became man; Crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, he suffered and was buried; Rising on the third day according to the Scriptures, And ascending into the heavens, He is seated at the right hand of the Father; And coming again in glory to judge the living and the dead, His kingdom shall have no end; And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of life, Who proceeds from the Father, Who together with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified, Who spoke through the prophets; In one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church; We acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins; we expect the resurrection of the dead; and the life of the age to come. Amen

In-Site

The Seventh Ecumenical Council Nicea also had its Hagia Sophia (Church of the Holy Wisdom), which was built in the 6C AD during the reign of Justinian. Its location is at the center of town where the two roads met at the junction from the four gates. The church was converted into a mosque in 1331 by Sultan Orhangazi. The seventh and last ecumenical council was held in this church in 787. It was convened by Emperor Constantine VI and his mother Irene at the request of Tarasios, the bishop of Constantinople. Some 367 bishops were present, and the council issued 22 canons related to disciplinary and administrative matters. A major issue was the veneration of icons in worship. The iconoclasts lost to the iconophiles, who believed that icons were not a form of idolatry and hence could be venerated. This is the statement on icons issued by the council: We define that the holy icons, whether in color, mosaic, or some other material, should be exhibited in the holy churches of God, on the sacred vessels and liturgical vestments, on the walls, furnishings, and in houses and along the roads, namely the icons of our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ, that of our Lady the Theotokos, those of the venerable angels and those of all saintly people.

Whenever these representations are contemplated, they will cause those who look at them to commemorate and love their prototype. We define also that they should be kissed and that they are an object of veneration and honor, but not of real worship, which is reserved for Him who is the subject of our faith and is proper for the divine nature. The veneration accorded to an icon is in effect transmitted to the prototype; he who venerates the icon, venerated in it the reality for which it stands.

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Nicomedia 1 Peter 1:1?

Nicomedia (İzmit; Kocaeli) lay at the northeast corner of the narrow Gulf of Astacus (İzmit Körfezi), the eastern arm of the Sea of Marmara.

Lysimachus razed the city of Astacus (“crayfish”) on the southern shore around 281 BC. Its residents became the first citizens of the new city that Nicomedes founded about 264 BC. In 149 BC Nicomedia was besieged

by Nicomedes II Epiphanes in his rebellion against his father Prusias II. After putting Prusias II to death in the city, Nicomedes then claimed the throne of Bithynia. Nicomedia was Bithynia’s major maritime port because of its good natural harbor, which is no longer visible. The city grew rich because of its strategic location. Every major land route passing from the Bosporus into Asia Minor passed through Nicomedia. It became the provincial capital of Bithynia in 74 BC after the Bithynian kingdom was bequeathed to the Romans. It was the seat of the assembly (koinon) of Bithynia and was the province’s most populous city. An imperial cult temple to Rome and Augustus for Greek residents was built here in 29 BC at the same time as the one in Pergamum. During the imperial period the city played an important role in the marble trade, with Potamogallenos marble quarried nearby. Nicomedia always vied with its sister city Nicea for prominence, especially in the titles so important to Greek cities.

The 38th oration of Dio Chrysostum, a resident of nearby Prusa (Bursa), addresses the strife between the two cities. Paul was attempting to reach the Bithynian cities of Nicomedia and Nicea on his second journey before the Holy Spirit directed him westward through Mysia to Troas. The origin of the church in Nicomedia is unknown, but the messenger carrying 1 Peter would certainly have visited the Christians in Nicomedia. In the early 2C AD Pliny attempted to build a canal from the gulf east to Lake Sophon (Sapanca Gölü). However, his efforts to provide a waterway for inland commerce were unsuccessful. After the Goths sacked the city around AD 256, Diocletian (AD 284-305) rebuilt the city as his new Rome, making Nicomedia the chief capital of his tetrarchy. From here he instigated his infamous persecution of Christians in AD 303. St. Barbara is traditionally named as one of the martyrs; however, no reference to her can be found in the authentic early Christian historical authorities and her name does not appear in Jerome’s original martyrology. Throughout its history the city experienced numerous earthquakes that brought 379

Nicomedia, Arch from Theater

Nicomedia, City Wall 380

frequent reconstruction under various emperors. The modern name İzmit is an abbreviated Turkish version of eis Nicomedeian (i.e., eis Med).

Sites: Few archaeological remains are extant today because of the presence of modern buildings over the ancient site. Brick sections and stone walls dating from the Hellenistic, late Roman, and Byzantine periods can be found on the acropolis area south of Bağ Çesme Camii. Stones and inscriptions have been built into modern retaining walls along its slope.

Blocks of the ancient theater can be seen on the hillside but the theater is heavily overgrown. The city had no external water supply until the time of Trajan. In 1839 Texier discovered the remains of ancient drainage channels, including a water channel, in the hills to the north. Remains of three aqueducts, large drains, and a nymphaeum represent what is left of the water system finally completed around AD 110 by Pliny the Younger (Epistles 10.37, 38). The site of the Roman forum and imperial cult temple were probably below the acropolis. Although a statue of the Great Mother was discovered by Dörner in his excavations, he never found her main temple which appears on local coinage. The earthquake of 1999 opened large fissures in the city, in which numerous antiquities from ancient Nicomedia were discovered. The new Kocaeli Archaeology and Ethnography Museum (Kocaeli Arkeoloji ve Etnoğrafya Müzesi) houses a rich collection of antiquities from the local area.

Further Reading: Ancient İzmit Nicomedia by Ayşe Çalık Ross (2007)

Ancient Voice

Arrian The noted Greek historian Arrian (ca. AD 86–160) was born in Nicomedia of a prominent family that also had Roman citizenship. He studied under the Stoic philosopher Epictetus in Nicopolis (where Paul also spent a winter; Titus 3:12) and later wrote two books about the philosopher’s teachings. Arrian also wrote an important volume, the Anabasis of Alexander, on the military campaigns of Alexander the Greek. While serving as legate of Cappadocia (ca. AD 131–37), Arrian wrote a maritime guide of his travels on the Black Sea called the Circumnavigation of the Black Sea (Peripus Ponti Euxini). The volume, based on reports sent to the emperor Hadrian, provides an accurate topographical survey of the southern and eastern Black Sea coast from Byzantium to Dioscurias (Sukhumi, Abkhazia-Georgia) via Trapezus (Trabzon).

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Troas, Alexandria Acts 16:8–11; 5–13; 20:5–13; 2 Corinthians 2:12; 2 Timothy 4:13; Ignatius: Philadelphians 11.2; Smyrnaeans 12.1; Martyrdom of Polycarp 8.1 Antigonus Monophthalmos founded Antigoneia in 310 BC on the site of former Sigia. In 300 BC, after the battle of Ipsus a year earlier, Lysimachus refounded the city as Alexandria Troas (Dalyan) in memory of Alexander the Great. It was one of eighteen Alexandrias in antiquity.

The city had commercial importance because it had the only harbor on the Troad’s western coast. Its strategic location opposite the island of Tenedos (Bozcaada) served to guard the western entrance to the Hellespont. Travelers to Macedonia would transship 150 mi/240 km by sea from Troas to Neapolis where they would link up with the Egnatian Way. In 216 BC a force of 4,000 men from Troas routed the Gauls who were besieging Ilium. After the Romans had defeated Antiochus III in 188 BC, they declared Troas free and autonomous. The Romans were well-disposed to the city because they traced their origins to nearby Troy (Ilion) through Aeneas. Julius Caesar once considered moving the capital of the empire from Rome to Troas, although this proposal was denounced by Horace in his Odes (3.3). In the 4C AD Constantine had a similar idea before choosing Byzantium as his capital. During his reign Augustus founded two Roman colonies at each end of the Hellespont: Parium and Troas. On the city’s coins and epigraphy the full title also appears—Colonia Augusta Troadensium. The water supply for Troas was only wells and cisterns until Hadrian’s time when an aqueduct was finally built. It was paid for in part by the procurator Herodes Atticus, an Athenian well known for his benefactions. After Constantinople was founded in AD 330, the city’s importance declined significantly and by the 6C AD its harbors were probably silted up.

Paul, after being prevented by the Spirit from preaching in Asia and Bithynia, arrived at Troas with Silas and Timothy. They had traveled almost 1000 mi/1600 km from Antioch on the Orontes, and still had not reached their destination. At Troas Paul had the night vision of a Macedonian man inviting him to come to Macedonia (Acts 16:9). The apostolic party soon left Troas, sailing past Samothrace to Neapolis (Acts 16:11). Paul apparently met Luke at Troas because the so-called “we” sections in the book of Acts (16:10-17; 20:5-21:18; 27:1-28:16) begin here. Luke was called the beloved physician and later became a coworker 382

Troas, Herodes Baths

Troas, Odeion Excavations 383

of Paul (Colossians 4:14; Philemon 24; 2 Timothy 4:11). The “we” sections suggest that Luke traveled with Paul on several of his journeys. Acts 20:5–13 gives a detailed account of Paul’s visit to Troas during his return to Jerusalem on the third journey. The church in Troas was gathered on the sabbath in a third-story room of an insula, or Roman apartment house. Around midnight Eutychus (“Good luck”) fell asleep in a window sill and plunged apparently to his death. Through Paul’s prayers, the young man was miraculously raised and the apostle continued preaching until daybreak. On his imprisonment journey to Rome Ignatius wrote three of his letters from Troas—to the Smyrneans, to the Philadelphians, and to Polycarp. He apologized to Polycarp for his inability to write more churches “because I am sailing at once from Troas to Neapolis” (Polycarp 8.1).

Sites: Very few ruins are left among the oak trees at Alexandria Troas because of plundering through the ages. Its proximity to Constantinople/ Istanbul enabled emperors and sultans such as Justinian and Mehmet IV to pillage its stones. Just up the beach from the modern harbor at Dalyan are the remains of the outer harbor and inner harbor. Abandoned columns from the granite quarry 5 mi/8 km inland near ancient Neandria (Çığrı Dağ) lay in the sea as well as along the lagoon. The remains of a stoa that once circled the inner harbor are still visible. Archaeological excavations are ongoing in the area of the Roman forum and agora. In the center of the forum is a podium temple. At its eastern end is an odeion with a columnar hall in front. The hall, built originally in the Hellenistic period, was remodeled in the Roman period under Hadrian (AD 2C). A wall from this period has marble revetment and beautiful opus reticulatum. Excavations have also revealed the upper end of the decumanus maximus, the east-west street that ran to the harbor. South of the forum a Doric temple and a theater have been discovered. Further east are the remains of a gymnasium/bath complex dedicated in AD 135 by Tiberius Claudius Herodes Atticus, the distinguished Athenian philosopher and benefactor. The plan of the gymnasium resembles that of the east gymnasium at Ephesus, which was probably built at the same time. The eastern walls of the city dating from the early Hellenistic period are visible in the fields, and the main eastern gate complex is well-preserved. This circuit wall enclosed an area of approximately 1000 acres/405 hectares.

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Sidetrip

Troy North of Troas is the fabled city of Troy (Truva), which today is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Excavations have revealed nine levels at Troy, the earliest from the Early Bronze Age around 2920–2350 BC. Troy VI (ca 1300–1100 BC) is the level most likely associated with the period of Homer’s Troy. The Iliad, which recounts the story of Priam, Helen, Paris, Achilles, and Agamemnon, has had a great literary influence on Western civilization. At Troy the Persian king Xerxes sacrificed a thousand cattle to Athena before he crossed the Hellespont in 480 BC. During the Greek and Roman periods the city was known as Ilion/Ilium. Alexander the Great offered sacrifices in 334 BC at the tomb of Achilles. His followers rebuilt the city and erected a magnificent temple to Athena. A theater built seating 6000 people was destroyed in 85 BC when the disloyal Roman general Fimbria sacked the city.

Because the Romans traced their lineage to Troy and its hero Aeneas, the city held great significance for them. The emperor Augustus visited the city in 20 BC. He restored the temple of Athena, and the odeion was perhaps built in honor of his visit. In AD 124 Hadrian also visited Ilium. An altar was built for him, and he supposedly rebuilt the tomb of the hero Ajax. The archaeological history of Troy is illustrious due to the pioneering excavations by the German businessman Heinrich Schliemann. His work at the site has been recounted in numerous books, most memorably in the biographical novel The Greek Treasure written by Irving Stone. A large wooden horse designed by İzzet Senemoğlu has been erected to recall the legend of how King Priam’s great city was conquered by a ruse.

Further Reading: Troia/Wilusa Guidebook by Manfred O. Korfmann (2007)

Troy, Western lower city

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Iznik Lake

GLOSSARY Acropolis

The highest part of a Greek city wherein its citadel was defensible from attack and upon which temples and civic buildings were often built.

Aedicula

Small shrines in homes, temples, or public buildings that held statues of gods and goddesses.

Agora

The public square of a Greek city (equivalent to the Latin forum) which was a place for meetings and market activities.

Amphitheater

An oval structure that looks like two theaters joined together.

Special performances were held in it as well as spectator sports such as gladiatorial games.

Analemma

The wall in ancient Greek theaters that contained the seats of the cavea.

Anastylosis

Literally, to erect again. An archaeological term for a reconstruction technique whereby a ruined building or monument is restored using the original architectural elements to the greatest degree possible.

Apse

A semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome and found in Roman and Christian basilicas. The apses often contained raised benches where the magistrates or clergy sat.

Architrave

In Greco-Roman temples the lintel that rests on the capitals of the columns and is therefore the lowest part of the entablature which consists of architrave, frieze, and cornice.

Assize

Also called a conventus; a regional center within a Roman province which the proconsul would visit annually for judicial and other state business.

Atrium

An architectural style in the Roman house (domus) wherein enclosed rooms led from an open central court. A shallow pool (impluvium) in the floor collected rainwater.

Basilica

A Roman building with a large, roofed hall used for transacting official business. Its interior consisted of a nave and two aisles with an apse at the end of the nave where

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the magistrates sat on raised benches. After Christianity was legalized, the church adapted this architectural style for its buildings because basilicas were very functional.

Bomos

In the necropolis it was the foundation upon which sarcophagi were placed.

Boule

The representative council of a Greek city chosen to carry out the decisions of the demos.

Bouleterion

Council house where the boule met. It sometimes functioned as an odeion where theatrical and musical performances were held.

Caldarium

The hot room of a Roman bath that was heated using the hypocaust system.

Cardo maximus The main north-south street of a Roman city.

Cavea

The semicircular, tiered seating area of a Greek or Roman theater. In a Greek theater the cavea was constructed into a supporting hillside; in a Roman theater the cavea rested on arches.

Chrismon

A monogram that represents the name of Christ and is formed by the letters chi and rho, the first two letters in the Greek word ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ.

Cella

Greek naos; the inner chamber of a Greek or Roman temple.

Conventus

Also called an assize; a regional center within a Roman province which the proconsul would visit annually for judicial and other state business.

Decumanus maximus

The main east-west street of a Roman city.

Demos

The representative assembly of citizens in a Greek city. The English word democracy is derived from it: the rule (kratos) of the people (demos)

Diazoma

The horizontal section into which the cavea of a theater was divided, with the typical theater having two or three diazomas.

Electrum

A natural alloy of gold and silver that was first used for coinage by the Lydians in the 7C BC.

Exedra

A semicircular outdoor platform upon which statues were erected that could also be used as seating; they were usually placed along sacred ways or in open places in sanctuaries.

Frigidarium

The room of a Roman bathhouse containing a pool of cold water in which bathers would cool off.

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Gymnasium

The area in Greco-Roman cities where naked (gymnos means naked) young men practiced athletics; later it served as a place for lessons, banquets, and meetings.

Heroon

Shrine of a hero or important person constructed inside a city over the tomb of the individual.

Hippodamian Grid Plan

A plan for ancient cities, developed by Hippodamus of Miletus, that was based on right-angled axes.

Hypocaust

A system used in Roman baths for heating rooms; hot air from a furnace was forced to circulate beneath floors supported by small brick piers.

In situ

In archaeology it refers to an artifact that has not been moved from its original place of deposit.

Kerkides

A vertical section into which a theater was divided.

Koinon

The assembly of Greek cities within a Roman province that usually met in the provincial capital.

Martyrium

A type of building in Christian architecture built in memory of a martyr.

Monolithic

Formed of a single stone block.

Naos

Latin cella; the inner chamber of a Greek or Roman temple.

Narthex

The entrance or lobby of a basilica located at the end of the nave.

Necropolis

Literally, the city of the dead. It was the cemetery of the ancient city usually located outside the city walls along an entry road.

Neokoros

Meaning temple warden or temple keeper. A city, after becoming the neokoros of a temple like that of Artemis in Ephesus, would then be responsible for its maintenance and protection.

Nymphaeum

A monumental fountain that in Roman times displayed sumptuous architectural decoration, statues, and reliefs.

Odeion

A Greek or Roman building where musical and dramatic performances were held. It was usually roofed and much smaller than the larger theaters.

Palaestra

Usually located next to the bath complex, it was the workout area of an ancient city where such sports as boxing and wrestling were played.

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Peripteral

A term used to describe a Greek temple that has a single row of outer columns on all four of its sides, a characteristic common to Doric temples.

Peristyle

A Hellenistic and Roman architectural form in which a columned porch or open colonnade in a building is surrounded by a court that may contain an internal garden.

Pronaos

The inner area of the portico of a Greek or Roman temple located between the portico’s colonnade or walls and the entrance to the naos/cella.

Propylon

An architectural term signifying the entrance between columns to a sanctuary, temple, agora, or civic building.

Prostas

Literally, hall; a type of Greek building in which the prostas separated the courtyard from the house (oikos).

Sarcophagus

Literally, “what eats or consumes the flesh�; a coffin made of stone, marble, or metal.

Spolia

Earlier building material or sculptural pieces reused in new buildings.

Stele

A stone, generally taller than wide, erected for funerary or commemorative purposes and usually inscribed with the names and titles of the deceased or the living.

Stoa

A covered portico consisting of a colonnade in front and a wall behind.

Stylobate

The top step of the crepidoma, which is the stepped platform on which colonnades of temple columns are placed; it is also the floor of the temple.

Temenos

Sanctuary or holy precinct in a temple.

Tepidarium

The warm room of the bathhouse in which bathers would cover their bodies with oil to loosen the dirt and then have a slave or attendant use a curved metal tool called a strigil to wipe the oil, sweat, and dirt from the body.

Theater

A semi-circular structure in which theatrical performances and civic assemblies were held. In Greek theaters the actors performed in front of a screen called a skene; Roman theaters had a stage. In late antiquity theaters were modified to allow gladiatorial games.

Tholos

In Greek architecture, a circular building.

Tumulus

A artificial mound of earth erected over a grave.

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Index Abgar 47 Abraham 49 Acmonia 197 Acts of John 227 Adana 68 Adramyttium 189 Aeolis 184 Ahtamar Church 35 Aizanoi 161 Alacahöyük 162 Alexandria ad Issum 69 Alexander Polyhistor 273 Altıntaş 161 Amasia 333 Amastris 337 Amisus 338 Ancyra 148 Andriace 88 Antioch on the Orontes 71 Antipater of Sidon 208 Apamea 197 Aphrodisias 254 Apollonia 117 Apollonius of Tyana 56 Aram-naharaim 40 Ararat, Mount (Ağrı Dağ) 27 Ararat, Mount (Cudi Dağ) 39

Ararat 31 Armageddon 58 Arrian 381 Asia 184, 317 Aspendus 128 Assos 355 Attalia 81 Babylonian Chronicles 45 Bartholomew 178 Belevi Mausoleum 230 Bithynia 351 Byzantium 362 Caesarea Mazaca 153 Cappadocia 141 Carchemish 42 Caria 185 Cassius Dio 377 Çatalhöyük 171 Celsus 217 Cerinthus 222 Chairemon 326 Chalcedon 368 Cilicia 63 Cilician Gates 134 Claros 318 Cnidus 191 Colophon 318 Colossae 194 Constantinople 362 Cos (Kos) 233 Cotiaeum 161

Cyprus 121 Daphne 83 Derbe 158 Didyma 274 Dio Chrysostom 199, 308 Docimium 178 Dorylaeum 159 Eden 40 Edessa 46 Eflatun Pınar 171 Ephesus 199 Esther 307 Eumeneia 197 Euphrates River 29 Euromos 277 Eusebius 47 Galatia 143 Gilgamesh Epic 30 Göbekli Tepe 53 Gordium 152 Gozan 41 Halicarnassus 231 Haran (Harran) 51 Harmagedon 58 Hattusha 162 Heraclea Pontica 340 Hierapolis 234 Hierapolis Castabala 85 Iconium 166 Ignatius 325

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Ionia 186 Ipsus 178 Issus 71 Jeremiah 45 Jews 307 John 222, 226 Jonah 135 Josephus 188 Kanesh 156 Karatepe 85 Kültepe 156 Laodicea 245 Latmus 268 Lesbos 190 Letoon 98 Lycaonia 144 Lycia 64 Lycian League 97 Lydia 187, 320 Lystra 173 Magnesia ad Meandrum 256 Magnesia ad Sipylum 263 Martyrdom of Polycarp 311 Mediterranean Sea 90 Meshech 145 Metropolis 230 Miletus 265 Mopsuestia 84 Muzur, Musru, Musri 65 Mylasa 277 Myndus 278 Myra 86 Mysia 353 Nahor 54 Nemrut Dağ 57 Nicea 369 Nicene Creed 377 Nicomedia 379

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Noah’s Flood 344 Notion 318 Onesimus 196 Ovid 175 Paddan-aram 41 Pamphylia 66 Parchment 287 Patara 90 Patmos 229 Paul 130, 224, 360 Pausanius 208 Perga 99 Pergamum 279 Pessinus 174 Peter 78 Phaselis 107 Philadelphia 293 Philemon 196 Philomelium 177 Phrygia 145, 187 Pisidia 66 Pisidian Antioch 109 Pliny the Younger 333, 352 Pompeiopolis 134 Pontus 331 Priene 259 Procopius 225 Prymnesus 178 Pseudo-Phocylides 273 Rhodes 193 Sabbatai Zevi 317 Samos 327 Sampsames 338 Sardis 296 Seleucia ad Calycadnum 137 Seleucia Pieria 118 Seleucus Inscription 79 Sergius Paulus 116 Seventh Ecumenical Council 378

Side 122 Simeon Stylites the Younger 121 Sinope 341 Smyrna 309 Soli 134 Statius 133 Strabo 336 Stratonicea 277 Synnada 178 Syria 67, 80 Tarshish 135 Tarsus 128 Tavium 179 Thecla 169 Thrace 353 Thyatira 319 Tibullus 133 Tigris River 29 Timothy 174 Tiphsah 54 Togarmah 32 Tralles 322 Troad 354 Troas 382 Trogyllium 326 Troy 385 Tubal 147 Tur Abdin 59 Tushpa 33 Tyana 157 Tyrannus 219 Ur 46, 49 Uraratian Fortresses 35 Urartu 31 Via Sebaste 170 Wooley, Leonard 44 Xanthos 98 Yazılıkaya 162 Zaphon, Mt. 122 Zela 346 Zeugma 54

Credits All photographs are those of the author except: İnci Türkoğlu, pp. 26, 58, 328-329 George C. Ruben, pp. 24-25 Burhan Oral for the maps “Turkey’s Seven Regions with its Biblical Sites,” “Jewish Communities in Asia Minor,” and “Peter’s Communities” Sinan Özşahinler for the map “John’s Seven Churches of Asia” Sinan Özşahinler and İnci Türkoğlu for the map “Paul’s Anatolian Journeys” The Sardis map (pp. 300-301) is courtesy of the Archaeological Exploration of Sardis and its director Nicholas Cahill Perga map (p. 102) is taken from Abbasoğlu in: Byzas 3 (2006), p. 294 Ephesus map (pp. 204-205) is taken from Ephesus, the New Guide (2000), pp. 250-251 Hierapolis map (pp. 236-237) is taken from D’Andria, Hierapolis of Phrygia (Pamukkale), an Archaeological Guide (2003), pp. 44-45 and Visualization of Hierapolis in the 3rd c. by J. Cl. Golvin, 1998 on p. 237 is taken from pp. 46-47 Laodicea map (pp. 248-249) is taken from Şimşek, Laodikeia (Laodikeia ad Lycum) (2007), pp. 56-57 Miletus map (pp. 266-267) is taken from von Graeve in: Byzas 3 (2006), p. 257 Pergamum map (p. 282) and Asclepium map (p. 283) are taken from Bayraktar, Pergamon (1996), back cover and p. 85 respectively The Nicea map (p. 372) is taken from J. Taylor, Imperial Istanbul, A Traveller’s Guide (1998), p. 258 Assos map (pp. 358-359) is courtesy of Assos team and its director Nurettin Arslan; it is taken from Arslan – Böhlendorf-Arslan, Assos, an Archaeological Guide (2010), back cover The Patara plan (pp. 94-95) is found on pp. 172-173 of Patara by Fahri Işık (2000).

The Pisidian Antioch plan (p. 112) is found on p. 92 of Pisidian Antioch by Stephen Mitchell and Marc Waelkens (1998) The diagram illustrating Roman road construction (p. 133) is copyright ©1999 by the Encylopaedia Britannica, Inc. (http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topicart/507905/19287/Ancient-Roman-road-shown-in-cross-section)

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About the Aut h o r Mark Wilson (D.Litt. et Phil., University of South Africa) is an American scholar who has lived in Turkey with his wife Dindy since 2004. He is the founder and director of two organizations—the Seven Churches Network and the Asia Minor Research Center. Their purpose is to promote the study of early Judaism and Christianity in Asia Minor within the context of the Greco-Roman world. Wilson regularly leads study trips to the biblical sites in Turkey and other countries in the eastern Mediterranean. He has also conducted several seminars for Turkish tour guides on Turkey’s biblical heritage. Wilson is the author and editor of numerous books including three studies on the book of Revelation. He has also authored many articles on Asia Minor, some of which are found in the Dictionary of the Bible and its Reception and the Baker Bible Handbook. He is a member of eight academic societies, and was featured in a History Channel production shot in Turkey called The First Christians. His research interests include ancient synagogues as well as ancient roads and biblical routes. Mark and his wife Dindy have four adult children, four grandsons and two granddaughters. His email address is: biblicalturkey@hotmail.com.

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Also Recommended HIERAPOLIS OF PHRYGIA (PAMUKKALE) An Archaeological Guide Francesco d’Andria ISBN 975807069X 2003, İstanbul

WALKING THRU BYZANTIUM Great Palace Region A. Tayfun Öner – Jan Kostenec (eds.)

ISBN 978-9944-0994-0-0 2008, İstanbul

AN EPIGRAPHIC GUIDE TO HIERAPOLIS OF PHRYGIA (PAMUKKALE) Tullia Ritti ISBN 9789758071517 2007, İstanbul

HATTUSHA GUIDE A Day in the Hittite Capital Jürgen Seeher ISBN 9758071459 2006, İstanbul A Byzantine City in Anatolia AMORIUM An Archaeological Guide Chris & Mücahide Lightfoot ISBN 975829380X 2007, İstanbul

BYZANTINE AND TURKISH HIERAPOLIS (PAMUKKALE) Paul Arthur ISBN 9758071343 2006, İstanbul

Living in the Rocks ASSOS An Archaeological Guide Nurettin Arsan – Beate Böhlendorf-Arslan ISBN 9789944483308 2010, İstanbul

LABRAUNDA A Guide to the Karian Sanctuary of Zeus Labraundos Pontus Hellström ISBN 9789758071708 2007, İstanbul

Sacred City of the Anatolian Mother Goddess PESSINOUS An Archaeological Guide Inge Claerhout – John Devreker ISBN 9789944483209 2008, İstanbul

ŞİRİNCE Once Upon a Time Çirkince Şükrü Tül ISBN 978-975-807-217-0 2008, İstanbul TEMPLE TO CHURCH The Transformation of Religious Sites from Paganism to Christianity in Cilicia Elton, H. – E. Equini-Schneider – D. Wannagat ISBN 9789758071883 2008, İstanbul THE GUIDE TO XANTHOS AND LETOON Jacques des Courtils ISBN 975807055X 2003, İstanbul

A Port City between East and West ELAIUSSA SEBASTE An Archaeological Guide Eugenia Equini Schneider ISBN 9789944483230 2008, İstanbul A Pirates’ Town in Lycia OLYMPOS An Archaeological Guide Ebru Parman et al.

ISBN 9758293958 2006, İstanbul

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