Ephesus a Historical Survey

38 38 BI Spring 2008 AHistorical Survey Ephesus p ILLUSTRATOR PHOTO/ BRITISH MUSEUM (31/18/89) a statueofan Above: Headfrom about 650-600B.C. Ephesus; datedto her sanctuaryat dess Artemisin them tothegod- then dedicated chased theseand Worshipers pur- shaped plaques. Left: Star of earth. mother goddess birthplace ofthe proximity tothe because ofits ly builtEphesus Amazons alleged- the cityclaim establishment of the concerning B.C. Legends from 2ndcent. Amazon probably

ILLUSTRATOR PHOTO/ BOB SCHATZ (11/35/16)

ILLUSTRATOR PHOTO/DAVID ROGERS/BRITISH MUSEUM (512/35) of commerce andculture. Romans, Ephesusthrived asacity the Greeks, andafter themthe vated asanentrance into Asiaby and cultures. Secured andculti- different nationalities, languages, city, Ephesusattracted peopleof zens andtourists alike. Aport street fullofshops beckoning citi- theaters, stadiums,andamain in thearts,sports,andtrade, with 24,000. ing capacityfor theater hadseat- (A.D. 98-117).The emperor Trajan the reign ofthe final formduring until itreached its it wasmodified Through theyears 3rd cent.B.C. was builtinthe theater atEphesus Left: Thegrand region presently contribute little Ephesus and thesurrounding In contrast to itsearlierhistory, Place Locating EphesusinTime and I By Adkisson Randall L. Confederacy. cities intheIonian Ephesus as1of12 and established quered theAsians Androclus con- About 1044B.C., 2nd cent.A.D. hunter; from depicted asa of Ephesus, mythical founder Androclus, the Athenian King of astatuethe Right: Remains teemed with people engaged teemed withpeopleengaged times, thecityofEphesus N NEW TESTAMENT

ILLUSTRATOR PHOTO/ DAVID ROGERS/ EPHESUS MUSEUM/ EPHESUS (208/17) of Artemisat the priestesses great number, because oftheir head. Probably either sideofits with voluteson obverse; bee 500–480 B.C.; drachma dated Left: Silver LESSON REFERENCE Paul’s day includeddifficult, even Ephesus to Athens orJerusalem in in ancienttimes.Thejourney from few hours was ajourney ofweeks distance easilyreached today ina far more difficult thantoday. A and Washington, DC. Tennessee, orbetween New York between Nashville andKnoxville, two citiesissimilarto thedistance miles, thedistancebetween the Greece. At approximately 194 the Aegean Seafrom Athens, ity city’s ruinsliedirectly across coast ofmodernTurkey, theanc- world. Located alongthewestern in importanceorinterest to the BSFL: Ephesians 1:15–3:21 BSFL: Of course ancienttravel was ANTHROPOLOGY (32/42/89) OF ARCHAEOLOGYAND PENNSYLVANIA MUSEUM BRUCE/ UNIVERSITYOF ILLUSTRATOR PHOTO/ bees. monly depicted Ephesus com- coins stuckin or “Bees.”Thus called Ephesus were Melissai BRENT

39 BI Spring 2008 40 BI Spring 2008 population associated with Ephesus to Josephus, thesubstantialJewish ing for three months. According synagogue preaching andteach- conversion, Paul entered thelocal ings ofJohn theBaptist.After their men whohadfollowed the teach- found aready audienceamong 12 years. According to Acts 19, he visited Ephesus andremained two Sea to Jerusalem inA.D. 52. Ephesus across theMediterranean Sea to Ephesusandsailingfrom and thentraversing theAegean from Athens to CorinthinGreece Paul madethesejourneys, traveling On hissecondmissionary trip, dangerous, landandseapassage. On histhird journey, Paul again 1 proclamation (vv. 8-10). enjoyed many monthsofsuccessful to theschoolofTyrannus and church relocated with its disciples pel intheJewish community, the opposition arose against thegos- of AsiaMinor anditsprofitable trade into andoutofthe interior as animportantaccess route for Cayster River, Ephesusserved and Sabbath observances. gate freely for religious assembles fices andwere allowed to congre- free to gather suppliesfor sacri- the armedservicesandyet were Ephesian Jews were exempt from upon theirreligious distinctions. enjoyed liberal privileges based Located at themouthof

ILLUSTRATOR PHOTO/ DAVID ROGERS (5/4/16) visible. stones are still in thepavement tory, chariotruts city’s earlierhis- traffic wasinthe of howheavy Giving evidence Street atEphesus. Below: South Ephesus. at grandtheatre, mask oftragedy Left: Reliefofthe

When When 2

ILLUSTRATOR PHOTO/ BOB SCHATZ (11/36/6) in importanceandprestige. political intrigue,Ephesusflourished ports succumbed to erosion and to thePhygian regions. Asnearby Hieropolis, Laodicea,andfurther as aninterior route to Colossae, through Smyrna to Troas, aswell to thecoastalroad runningnorth Ephesus gave merchants access Ionian Confederacy. Theportat was 1of12citiescomprising the the mid-11thcentury B.C. Ephesus the interior, thecitydates at leastto pose ofopeningtrade routes into as afree Greek colony for thepur- and storied. Evidently established 281 B.C. Ninety-one years later the when defeated by SeleucusIin Alexander’s generals. ship passed to Lysimachus, oneof B.C. At hisdeath, thecity’s owner- hands andinto hisempire in334 brought thecitybackinto Greek Persians, Alexander theGreat to thePersians. By defeating the of Lydia in560B.C. andthen servience, first to King Croesus city-state, Ephesusfell into sub- with theirgoddess Diana. goddess worship, equating Artemis association between thecityand Artemis. TheRomans accepted the Greeks establishedastrong cultto each successive The occupation. goddess worship prospered under Ephesus’s connectionto pagan of theearthwas reputedly born.” temple where the“mothergoddess builders ofthetown, establishing a female warriors, were theearliest Amazons, aculture ofmighty accessible cityinAsia.” called Ephesus“themosteasily and archaeologist MerrillUnger land routes. Biblical theologian at 250,000 residents. the population duringPaul’s time the ancientworld. Estimates place cultural andcommercial wonder of ferent eras propelled Ephesusasa city enjoyed through several dif- location andimperialfavor the The history of Ephesus is long The history ofEphesusislong Lysimachus lost theregion From itspositionasa free One ancientmyth records that 4

3 Both the the Both 5

ILLUSTRATOR PHOTO/LOUISE KOHL SMITH (33/38/11) against the Seleucids, Ephesus II ofPergamum for hisassistance In appreciation to King Eumeness defeated at theBattle ofMagnesia. when AntiochustheGreat was Seleucid Empire fell to theRomans including ancientreplicas ofthegoddess. city andlocated inSeljukdisplays artifacts, tifiable. Amodernmuseumdedicated to the years ofarchaeological work andclearlyiden- find many ofthestructures uncovered by edly buriedbeneath theruinsofbasilica. Ephesus andtheapostleJohn, whowas report- city ofSeljik,testifies to theassociation of of theBasilicaSt. John intheneighboring theologian.” Thisvillage,alongwiththeruins A the Greek phrase village ofAyasoluk, whosenameisaform of destroyed by theGothsinA.D. 262. six milesinland.Still Ephesusthrived until The ruinsoftheancientcityare now about ually clogged itsharborandlimited itstrade. greatly suffered from whichgrad- landerosion, of theCayster River, Ephesusseemsto have of ancientEphesus. uncovered muchof thelandscapeandruins first halfofthe20thcenturysystematically temple. Otherarchaeologists throughout the Wood discovered theremains ofthegreat Visitors to thesite ofancientEphesuswill By Adkisson Randall L. Nearby theancientsite today sitstheTurkish century. OnDecember31,1869, J. T. back to thesecondhalfof19th rchaeological study ofEphesusdates WHATEVER BECAMEOFEPHESUS? Hagios Theologos 1 Situated nearthemouth in 133B.C. Pergamum’s last king, Attalus III, fully bequeathed to theRomans by The cityprospered andwas peace- ceded to thePergamum Empire. and thesurrounding region were , “the holy , “theholy Ecumenical Council,inA.D. 431. ing asignificant church meeting, theThird the ancientchurch asindicated by itshost- became andremained animportantcenter of tor duringthelatter partofhislife. Ephesus and isreported to have resided there aspas- included aletter to EphesusintheRevelation a central mission pointto theregion. John was buriedon at Ephesusand supposedly died early tradition, according toan The apostleJohn, John atEphesus. the BasilicaofSt. Above: Ruinsfrom Baptist Church, Cookeville, Tennessee. AdkissonRandall L. isseniorpastor, First Publishing, 1982),117. gen ed.Geoffery W. Bromiley, vol.2(GrandRapids:WilliamB.Eerdmans Zondervan PublishingHouse,1962),252-53. St. Sophia inConstantinople(Istanbul). of St. John inEphesusandthe Basilicaof in boththeconstructionofBasilica stones andpillars from thesite were used umns are intheBritish Museum.Pilfered though fragments ofthestructure’s col- Few remains exist from thetemple ofArtemis, 2. G.L.Borchert, “Ephesus”in 1. SeeMerrilF. Unger, The church at Ephesusgrew andbecame Archaeology andtheNewTestament many Corinthian evidenced bythe was built,as larger church In A.D.400,a Roman period. grave duringthe stood overthe this hill.Achapel The InternationalStandard BibleEncyclopedia, the Roman province ofAsia,the consular seat andthecapital of of theRoman Empire. Asapro- tioned asastrong andvibrant part New Testament era, Ephesusfunc- From thisperiodthrough the the 6thcentury. larger basilicain erected aneven Justinian, who remains are from Most ofthese the Syntron. mosaics under capitals andthe (Grand Rapids: (GrandRapids: 2 i

41 BI Spring 2008 42 BI Spring 2008 and red marble. sive blocksofwhite, blue,yellow, ined, having been builtwithmas- beauty ofthetemple iswell imag- by over 100large columns. The building, itsroof beingsupported the temple was astalla6-story at feet 420feet wide, longand240 er thananAmericanfootball field Parthenon. More thanathird larg- times larger thantheAthenian the ancientworld andstood four as oneoftheseven wonders of the temple ofArtemis was listed to New York, orMoscow. London, perspective might beacomparison in theworld. the streets ofthefourth largest city first-century citywas walking on of thecity. Atraveler entering the adequately express therelative size sons ofpopulation alonemay not North Carolina. Yet suchcompari- Beach, Florida,orGreensboro, Lexington, Kentucky, Daytona comparable insizeto modern-day lion inhabitants,thecitywas population reached aquarter mil- scape. Ifassuggested, Ephesus’s culture initsbuildingsandland- Ephesus reflected itswealth and A cityofgreat prominence, ancient Prominence A CityPositionedfor sidebar, p. 41.) sacked thecityinA.D. 262. (See and buildingprojects, untilGoths imperial interest, garneringmoney strength, Ephesus maintained institution. Becauseofthecity’s also served asanancientbanking commerce Thecity andtourism. temple complex was acenter of ing intheregion andbeyond. The city enjoyed influenceandstand- to thetemple, aswell asvarious val involving agreat procession Ephesus duringApril for afesti- the ranks oftheinhabitantsin across theancient world swelled ship ofthegoddess. Travelers from try oftourism associated withwor- and compelledanexpansive indus- As acentral feature ofthecity, The impressive temple reflected 6 Therefore abetter 7

ment buildings, a music hall, and ment buildings,amusichall, and baths, asmaller theater, govern- thoroughfare—flanked by ancient the impressive andimposingmain with peopleandcommerce. From suggest acitythat onceswarmed Christian history. of thecityisimprinted with the theater. Either way, thisarea a metaphorfor themob sceneat Paul was using“wild beasts”as 15:32. Someschoars suggest that beasts mentionedin1Corinthians have beenwhere Paul faced wild atorial battles, thisstadiummight athletic events andpossibly gladi- stadium. Aplacedesignedfor of thetheater was theEphesian to face mob judgment. ging Paul’s traveling companions street into thegreat theater drag- the riotous crowd moved alongthis the port.According to Acts 19:29, shops stretched through thecityto by ornate columns, buildings,and marble paved thoroughfare flanked theater, theArcadian Way, abroad 70 feet. The stagealonemeasured 115-by- stadium with66tiers of seating. form reminiscent ofamodern theater was circular shapedina Seating approximately 24,000, the of whichmay stillbevisited today. maintain ahuge theater, theruins of tourists allowed Ephesusto the acceptanceofPaul’s gospel. business that would result from envisioned thedeclineintheir men trading inimagesofArtemis as silversmiths andothercrafts- caused theriotrecorded inActs 19, tourist trade of goddess images this portcity. Thethreat to the sans, businessmen, andcitizensin and plentyfilled thecoffers ofarti- goddess associated withfertility venirs, worshipers honoringthe Fromtourism. prostitution to sou- designed to supportworship and were many commercial endeavors tions. Surrounding suchanevent athletic andmusicalcompeti- Archaeological efforts at Ephesus Less thanonehalfmilenorth The large population andinflux 8 From theentrance to the Company, 1982),116. vol. 2(GrandRapids:WilliamB.Eerdmans Publishing Standard BibleEncyclopedia, Publishers, 1991),425. Dictionary, 1962), 249. (Grand Rapids:ZondervanPublishingHouse:GrandRapids, A CompanionVolume toArchaeology andtheOldTestament 1987), 14.10.12and25(pp.280382). trans WilliamWhiston(Peabody, MA:Hendrickson Publishers, Company, 1977),255. Set Free Tennessee. First BaptistChurch, Cookeville, AdkissonRandall L. isseniorpastor, 8. GeraldL.Borchert, “Ephesus”in 7. Unger, 253. 6. Reddish,425. 5. Unger, 249. 4. MitchellG.Reddish,“Ephesus”in 3. MerrilF. Unger, 2. 1. Compare F. F. Bruce, importance for thebeliever. Revelation bearevidence ofits record oftheEphesianchurch in and Pastoral Epistles,andthe being mentionedintheCorinthian city’s name,alongwiththecity in Acts, hisEpistlebearingthe records. Paul’s visits,asrecorded ily beseenintheNew Testament ence inearlyChristianitymay eas- the history ofAsiaMinor. Itsinflu- Ephesusplayednium, akey role in world. For more thanamillen- influence andwealth intheancient Ephesus enjoyed alongperiodof merce, and favored by itsrulers, by richinitscom- itslocation, Greek, andRoman citizenry. subcultures ofEgyptian, Jewish, across theregion. Records reveal and welcoming immigrants from chronizing thevarious religions the citycontinuedto thrive, syn- Withreligion. Roman conquest, the flavor ofGreek culture and city’s originalpopulation assumed different peopleandperiods.The the cultures andhistories ofmany of itspositionandcommerce. with boththeadvantages andvices port city, Ephesuswas adorned ancient city’s character. Athriving houses. Theruinshighlightthe vast area ofresidences andware- smaller streets leadingto thecity’s a multistory library—stretched The AntiquitiesoftheJewsinWorks ofJosephus, Diverse initsculture, endowed Ephesus successfully combined (Grand Rapids:WilliamB.Eerdmans Publishing gen.ed.Trent C.Butler(Nashville:HolmanBible Archaeology andtheNewTestament, gen.ed.Geoffrey W. Bromily, Paul: ApostleoftheHeart The International Holman Bible

ILLUSTRATOR PHOTO/ BOB SCHATZ (12/1/19) The silt-filled delta where the sea used to come to the port at Ephesus.

Ruins of the temple of Artemis at Ephesus, which measured 377-by-197 feet. The temple of the Ephesian Artemis was built and rebuilt several times. In the 6th cent. A.D., Justinian totally Ephesus destroyed the in the First Century temple. ILLUSTRATOR PHOTO/ BOB SCHATZ (12/2/18)