ST. PAUL’S EPHESUS Figure 1 The Roman Province of Asia at the time of Saint Paul ST. PAUL’S EPHESUS Texts and Archaeology JEROME MURPHY -O’CONNOR , O.P. A Michael Glazier Book LITURGICAL PRESS Collegeville, Minnesota www.litpress.org A Michael Glazier Book published by Liturgical Press Cover design by David Manahan, OSB. Photo © Mark Tenniswood and iStockphoto .com. Ruins of the ancient cit of Ephesus in Turkey. The Scripture quotations contained herein are from the Revised Standard Version Bible, Catholic edition, © 1971 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA. Used by permission. All rights reserved. © 2008 by Order of Saint Benedict, Collegeville, Minnesota. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, by print, microfilm, micro­ fiche, mechanical recording, photocopying, translation, or by any other means, known or yet unknown, for any purpose except brief quotations in reviews, without the previous written permission of Liturgical Press, Saint John’s Abbey, P.O. Box 7500, Collegeville, Minnesota 56321­7500. Printed in the United States of America. 12345678 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Murphy­O’Connor, J. (Jerome), 1935– St. Paul’s Ephesus : texts and archaeology / Jerome Murphy­O’Connor. p. cm. “A Michael Glazier book.” Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978­0­8146­5259­6 1. Ephesus (Extinct city)—Church history. 2. Ephesus (Extinct city)— Antiquities. 3. Artemis (Greek deity)—Cult—Turkey—Ephesus (Extinct city) 4. Ephesus (Extinct city)—Religion. 5. Bible. N.T. Epistles of Paul—History. I. Title. II. Title: Saint Paul’s Ephesus. BR185.M87 2008 225.9'3—dc22 2007044977 To my colleagues and students at the École Biblique de Jérusalem where I have now taught for forty years. CONTENTS Foreword ................................................................................................... xiii Acknowledgments .................................................................................. xvii List of Illustrations ................................................................................... xxi PART 1: THE ANCIENT TEXTS Historians Strabo Introduces Ephesus ........................................................................ 5 Marseilles, Daughter of Ephesus ............................................................ 5 Ephesus Founded by Amazons . .............................................................. 7 Athens Colonizes Ionia . .......................................................................... 9 The Site of the First Settlement .............................................................. 9 The Name of Artemis ............................................................................ 14 Wine Good and Bad .............................................................................. 14 Ephesus, Birthplace of Artemis and Apollo .......................................... 15 A Moving History ................................................................................ 17 The Temple of Artemis .......................................................................... 20 The Right of Asylum ............................................................................ 24 The Harbors of Ephesus ........................................................................ 26 Fishy Business in Ephesus .................................................................... 27 Worthies of Ephesus .............................................................................. 29 North of Ephesus .................................................................................. 31 Ephesus Passes into the Hands of Rome . .............................................. 33 South of Ephesus . .................................................................................. 35 The Road System around Ephesus ........................................................ 36 Appian ........................................................................................................ 38 Hannibal in Ephesus ............................................................................ 38 A Witticism of Hannibal ....................................................................... 38 Ephesians Act against Rome ................................................................ 39 Ephesians Kill Italians .......................................................................... 41 Ephesians Murder Zenobius ................................................................ 41 Ephesus Punished by Sulla . .................................................................. 42 vii viii St. Paul’s Ephesus Pompey Departs from Ephesus . ............................................................ 43 Mark Antony at Ephesus ...................................................................... 43 The Excesses of Mark Antony .............................................................. 45 Athenaeus ................................................................................................... 47 The Foundation of Ephesus .................................................................. 47 Temple Museum .................................................................................... 49 Seafood from Ephesus . .......................................................................... 49 Luxury Goods . ...................................................................................... 50 Magic Spells . ........................................................................................ 51 Caesar .......................................................................................................... 52 Robbing the Bank .................................................................................. 52 Cicero .......................................................................................................... 54 Ephesus, the Gateway to Asia .............................................................. 54 Runaway Slaves .................................................................................... 57 Another Hannibal Story . ...................................................................... 59 Dio Cassius . ................................................................................................ 61 Mark Antony Violates the Temple of Artemis ...................................... 61 Ephesus Honored .................................................................................. 61 Cheap Glory .......................................................................................... 62 Astrologer Honored .............................................................................. 63 Dio Chrysostom ......................................................................................... 64 The Bank of Asia . .................................................................................. 64 Herodotus . .................................................................................................. 67 Artemis Protects Ephesus . .................................................................... 67 Rich as Croesus . .................................................................................... 69 Greek Dialects . ...................................................................................... 69 The Royal Road from Ephesus to Persia . .............................................. 71 A Harbor and Houses . .......................................................................... 72 A Tragic Error . ...................................................................................... 73 Ignatius of Antioch .................................................................................... 74 A Letter to Ephesus . .............................................................................. 74 Flavius Josephus ........................................................................................ 78 Exemption from Military Service . ........................................................ 78 A Bizarre Report . .................................................................................. 79 Exemption from Military Service Extended . ........................................ 80 An Ephesian Decree .............................................................................. 80 Security of the Temple Tax .................................................................... 81 Agrippa and Herod in Ephesus ............................................................ 83 Contents ix Rome Again Confirms Its Laws ............................................................ 84 Medicine in Ephesus . ............................................................................ 84 Livy . ............................................................................................................ 86 The Temple of Artemis .......................................................................... 86 Seleucid Control of Ephesus . ................................................................ 87 The Harbor of Ephesus . ........................................................................ 88 Asia after Antiochus . ............................................................................ 90 Luke . ............................................................................................................ 92 Riot of the Silversmiths ........................................................................ 92 Pausanias 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