Ancient ruins of Turkey - Lonely Planet Ancient ruins of Turkey Ephesus, Turkey by Esther Lee Creative Commons Attribution Turkey has been a crossroads of civilisations as long as civilisations have existed, meaning you can’t visit the country without tripping over amazing ancient ruins seemingly everywhere you go. Ephesus is rightly acclaimed as one of the world’s great historic sites, with its vast (and very popular) group of excavated buildings dating back to its Roman heyday. Other similar sites run up and down the Aegean coast with highlights like Pergamum running Ephesus a close second when it comes to well-preserved remains, while Troy though more famous, needs a lot of imagination to appreciate its ruins. Evidence of Turkey’s long past and importance in world history can be found at three remarkable spots – Hattuşa, capital of the Hittite Empire; Çatalhöyük, a 9000-year old Neolithic settlement; and Göbekli Tepe, where archaeologists believe they’ve found the world’s oldest place of worship.

Troy | ancient city, Turkey | Britannica.com ancient city, Turkey Alternative Titles: Ilion, Ilios, Ilium, Troia, Troja Related Topics Carl Blegen Troy, Greek Troia, also called Ilios or Ilion, Latin Troia, Troja, or Ilium, ancient city in northwestern Anatolia that holds an enduring place in both literature and archaeology . The legend of the Trojan War is the most notable theme from ancient Greek literature and forms the basis of Homer ’s Iliad . Although the actual nature and size of the historical settlement remain matters of scholarly debate, the ruins of Troy at Hisarlık , Turkey , are a key archaeological site whose many layers illustrate the gradual development of civilization in northwestern Asia Minor. Overview of Troy. Contunico © ZDF Enterprises GmbH, Mainz Geography Ancient Troy commanded a strategic point at the southern entrance to the Dardanelles (Hellespont), a narrow strait linking the Black Sea with the Aegean Sea via the Sea of Marmara . The city also commanded a land route that ran north along the west Anatolian coast and crossed the narrowest point of the Dardanelles to the European shore.

In theory, Troy would have been able to use its site astride these two lines of communication to exact tolls from trading vessels and other travelers using them; the actual extent to which this took place, however, remains unclear. The Troad (Greek Troias; “Land of Troy”) is the district formed by the northwestern projection of Asia Minor into the Aegean Sea. The present-day ruins of Troy itself occupy the western end of a low descending ridge in the extreme northwest corner of the Troad. Less than 4 miles (6 km) to the west, across the plain of the Scamander (Küçük Menderes) River, is the Aegean Sea, and toward the north are the narrows of the Dardanelles. Archaeology The search for Troy at Hisarlık The approximate location of Troy was well known from references in works by ancient Greek and Latin authors, including Homer , Herodotus , and Strabo . But the exact site of the city remained unidentified until modern times. A large mound, known locally as Hisarlık , had long been understood to hold the ruins of a city named Ilion or Ilium that had flourished in Hellenistic and Roman times.

In 1822 Charles Maclaren suggested that this was the site of Homeric Troy, but for the next 50 years his suggestion received little attention from Classical scholars, most of whom regarded the Trojan legend as a mere fictional creation based on myth , not history. Those who did believe in the existence of a real Troy thought it to be at Bunarbashi (Pınarbaşı), a short distance south of Hisarlık. It took Frank Calvert, a scholarly amateur archaeologist, until 1860 to begin exploratory work on Hisarlık. It was he who persuaded the German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann to work at Hisarlık, though Schliemann soon took full credit for adopting Maclaren’s identification and demonstrating to the world that it was correct. (Not until the late 20th century was the full extent of Calvert’s role widely known.) In seven major and two minor campaigns between 1870 and 1890, Schliemann conducted excavations on a large scale mainly in the central area of the Hisarlık mound, where he exposed the remains of a walled citadel.

After Schliemann’s death in 1890, the excavations were continued (1893–94) by his colleague Wilhelm Dörpfeld and later (1932–38) by an expedition from the University of Cincinnati headed by Carl W. Blegen . After a lapse of some 50 years, excavations resumed (1988–2005) under the leadership of University of Tübingen archaeologist Manfred Korfmann and continued after his death. Similar Topics Bethel Questions of Troy’s physical size, population, and stature as a trade entrepôt and regional power became subjects of intense scholarly dispute following the resumption of excavations at Hisarlık in the late 1980s. Although Homeric Troy was described as a wealthy and populous city, by this time some scholars had come to accept the probability of a lesser Troy—a relatively minor settlement, perhaps a princely seat. Beginning in 1988, Korfmann’s team investigated the terrain surrounding the citadel site in search of wider settlement.

Korfmann’s findings at Hisarlık, drawn from geomagnetic surveying and isolated excavations, led him to conclude in favour of a greater Troy—that is, a settlement of some size and prosperity. His presentation of this perspective in a 2001 exhibition, accompanied by a controversial model reconstruction of the city, sparked especially intense scholarly debate over the city’s true nature. Findings Scientists Ponder Menopause in Killer Whales Before excavations began, the mound rose to a height of 105 feet (32 metres) above the plain. It contained a vast accumulation of debris that was made up of many clearly distinguishable layers. Schliemann and Dörpfeld identified a sequence of nine principal strata, representing nine periods during which houses were built, occupied, and ultimately destroyed. At the end of each period when a settlement was destroyed (usually by fire or earthquake or both), the survivors, rather than clear the wreckage down to the floors, merely leveled it out and then built new houses upon it. Capitals & Cities: Fact or Fiction? The nine major periods of ancient Troy are labeled I to IX, starting from the bottom with the oldest settlement, Troy I.

In periods I to VII Troy was a fortified stronghold that served as the capital of the Troad and the residence of a king, his family, officials, advisers, retinue, and slaves. Most of the local population, however, were farmers who lived in unfortified villages nearby and took refuge in the citadel in times of danger. Troy I to V corresponds roughly to the Early Bronze Age (c. 3000 to 1900 bce). The citadel of Troy I was small, not more than 300 feet (90 metres) in diameter. It was enclosed by a massive wall with gateways and flanking towers and contained perhaps 20 rectangular houses. Troy II was twice as large and had higher, sloping stone walls protecting an acropolis on which stood the king’s palace and other princely residences, which were built of brick in a megaron plan. This city came to an end through fire, and Schliemann mistakenly identified it with Homer ’s Troy.

In the “burnt layer’s” debris were found a trove of gold jewelry and ornaments and gold , silver , copper , bronze , and ceramic vessels that Schliemann named “Priam’s treasure.” The burning of Troy II seems to have been followed by an economic decline; each of the citadels of Troy III, IV, and V was fortified and somewhat larger than its predecessor, but the houses inside the walls were much smaller and more closely packed than in Troy II. Connect with Britannica Facebook Twitter YouTube Instagram Pinterest Troy VI and VII may be assigned to the Middle and Late Bronze Age (c. 1900 to 1100 bce). Troy at this time had new and vigorous settlers who introduced domesticated horses to the Aegean area. They further enlarged the city and erected a magnificent circuit of cut limestone walls that were 15 feet (4.5 metres) thick at the base, rose to a height of more than 17 feet (5 metres), and had brick ramparts and watchtowers.

Inside the citadel, which was now about 650 feet (200 metres) long and 450 feet (140 metres) wide, great houses were laid out on ascending, concentric terraces. Troy VI was destroyed by a violent earthquake a little after 1300 bce. Dörpfeld had identified this stage as Homeric Troy, but its apparent destruction by an earthquake does not agree with the realistic account of the sack of Troy in Greek tradition. Moreover, the city’s date, as indicated by imported Mycenaean pottery found in the earthquake debris, is too early for the Trojan War . The survivors of the earthquake quickly rebuilt the town, thus inaugurating the short-lived Troy VIIa. The ruins were leveled and covered over by new buildings, which were set close together and filled all available space inside the fortress. Almost every house was provided with one or several huge storage jars that were sunk deep into the ground, with only their mouths above the level of the floor. Troy VIIa probably lasted little more than a generation. The crowding together of houses and the special measures to store up food supplies suggest that preparations had been made to withstand a siege.

The town was destroyed in a devastating fire, and remnants of human bones found in some houses and streets strengthen the impression that the town was captured, looted, and burnt by enemies. Based on the evidence of imported Mycenaean pottery, the end of Troy VIIa can be dated to between 1260 and 1240 bce. The Cincinnati expedition under Blegen concluded that Troy VIIa was very likely the capital of King Priam described in Homer ’s Iliad , which was destroyed by the Greek armies of Agamemnon . Britannica Lists & Quizzes 1000+ images about ANCIENT CITIES of TURKEY on Pinterest | Istanbul, Pamukkale and The ruins Forward Ancient Site of Myra, Turkey. The ruins of the Lycian and Roman town are mostly covered by alluvial silts. The Acropolis on the Demre-plateau, the Roman theatre and the Roman baths have been partly excavated. The semi-circular theater was destroyed in an earthquake in 141, but rebuilt afterwards. See More Ancient Ephesus and the New Testament - Mark D. Roberts Mark D.

Roberts Ancient Ephesus and the New Testament Ancient Ephesus How our knowledge of the ancient city of Ephesus enriches our knowledge of the New Testament by Rev. Dr. Mark D. Roberts Copyright © 2011 by Mark D. Roberts and Patheos.com Note: You may download this resource at no cost, for personal use or for use in a Christian ministry, as long as you are not publishing it for sale. All I ask is that you acknowledge the source of this material: . For all other uses, please contact me at mark@markdroberts.com . Thank you. Ancient Ephesus and the New Testament: Introduction For many of us, the events of the Bible seem to take place in some distant, magic world of “Bible lands,” a wonderland rather like the one discovered by Alice. We read about Jerusalem, Nazareth, Corinth, and Ephesus, but picture some hazy world shaped by illustrations in our children’s Bibles. The places in which the stories of the Bible happened seem unreal, and, therefore, so can the stories.

The more we actually know about the places in which the Bible was written and in which the stories happened, the more we’ll be able to read the Bible as it was meant to be read, as the account of real experiences by real people in real places. Moreover, we’ll be able to understand the meaning of the Bible more accurately and precisely. I’ve spent a great deal of my life studying the Bible from both an academic and a pastoral perspective. I’ve also examined in great detail many of the archeological descriptions of biblical sites. The Internet has made all of this much easier and quite wonderful, actually. (Check out sites such as and ). But, until a few years ago, I had visited only one place that could count as part of “Bible lands.” In 1984, and again in 2004, I visited Rome, the city to which Paul’s famous letter is addressed, and which is referenced in several New Testament passages. Strictly speaking, however, none of the biblical stories actually took place in Rome.

The Arch of Titus in Rome, which commemorates the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the temple in AD 70 So you can imagine how excited I was in 2007 and then again this past summer (2011) to visit some of the locations in which New Testament events actually happened. In 2007, I visited Athens and Ephesus. This year, I was able to visit Patmos, Crete, Antalya (Attalia), Cyprus, and Israel, in addition to Ephesus (for the second time). Many of these islands or cities play a relatively minor role in the New Testament, with the obvious exception of Israel, of course. Athens appears in the New Testament as the place where Paul preached his famous “sermon” on the Areopagus (Mars Hill, Acts 17:22ff). But Ephesus is arguably one of the most important of cities in early Christianity. Jerusalem probably takes first place in this competition, but Ephesus runs a close second, along with Antioch. In the second century and beyond, Rome became the most prominent city for Christianity. Why was Ephesus so significant for early Christianity?

In part, this had to do with the prominence of the city itself in the first century and its central location along the coast of Asia Minor (modern day Turkey). But, more importantly, Ephesus attracted many influential Christian leaders, including Paul, John, and Timothy. (Ephesus claims to be the last place where Mary, the mother of Jesus, lived, though the historical evidence for this is mixed at best. I’ll have more to say about this later.) Prior to my visit to Ephesus, I had studied this city in great detail. It almost felt as if I had been there. So you can imagine my joy in actually seeing the extensive remains of the ancient city of Ephesus with my own eyes. During my first visit to Ephesus, the temperature was well over 100 degrees, but this didn’t wilt my enthusiasm. This year, I toured the ancient city with the temperature hovering around 90 degrees. Much better! I was also able to see parts of the city that I had missed in 2007.

In the posts that follow, I’ll share some of my pictures of Ephesus and explain how our knowledge of the ancient city enriches our understanding of the New Testament, especially Acts 18-19. If you’ve been to Ephesus, this can serve as a helpful reminder. If you’ve never been there, consider this an introduction and invitation. The Location and Environment of Ephesus Ephesus, or what is left of it, lies on the western edge of modern day Turkey, just about five miles inland from the Aegean coast. The picture to the right shows the location of Ephesus. It is close to the modern town of Selcuk. Most tourists visit Ephesus by way of the port city of Kusadasi, which is about a 45-minute drive from Ephesus. The countryside between these two cities is fertile, lush with agriculture. It reminded me of farmlands inland from San Diego, California. Given the current location of Ephesus, you might be surprised to learn that it was once a major port city. No, Ephesus didn’t move, or not much, anyway. Ancient cities did tend to move around a bit. When a city burned down, they’d rebuild it nearby.

Ephesus was no exception. But it wasn’t a change of location that made Ephesus a port city. Rather, it was the changing shoreline. In ancient times, Ephesus had a harbor, such that the city went right up to the water. But sediment from the Cayster River eventually filled in the harbor. (The photo to the right shows the location of the ancient harbor, with the ruins of the city in the center and foreground of the picture.) Ephesus itself lies in a valley. It is protected by steep hills on either side. In days gone by, this would have helped to guard the city from enemy attack. The valley also adds to the beauty of the location, even today. One of the most famous of Ephesus’s ancient structures, the Temple of Artemis, was not located in the center of the city as it was found in Roman times. Rather, the Artemision was a mile or so out of town. All that remains of the temple is a single pillar, which lies just to the left of the center of the picture to the right. (In the photo to the right, Ephesus lies on the other side of the two low hills in the middle of the picture, and at the bottom of the larger hill in the background.

If you look carefully at the center of the picture, you can see the single pillar that remains of the Temple of Artemis. Ironically, you can see much more of this Temple in the British Museum or in the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul.) Tomorrow, we’ll begin our online photo tour of Ephesus. Touring Ancient Ephesus Ancient Ephesus lies in a valley between two hills. This valley slopes toward the sea. Therefore, tours of the city tend to start at the eastern end and work toward the west, which means tourists can walk downhill rather than up. This is helpful in the summer especially, when the temperatures can be quite steamy. When we were in Ephesus in 2007, the thermometer was well over 100 degrees Fahrenheit, and there is almost no shade available among the ruins. It was cooler in 2011, with temperatures in the low 90s. In the photo to the right, you can see Ephesus nestled between the hills. To the left, you can see the seats of the theatre. The white buildings are the place where many ancient houses are currently being excavated. The tour begins in the middle of the saddle.

Near the eastern entrance to ancient Ephesus you’ll find plenty of vendors, some of them literally sticking their wares into your face, only a couple of inches from your nose. You can buy clothing, hats (recommended for the tour if it’s hot and sunny), soft drinks, and various souvenirs. Don’t bother with the supposedly authentic old coins. They’re neither authentic nor old. In this location you’ll see one of my favorite signs in the world: Genuine Fake Watches. You’ve got to commend the vendors for their honesty. But this sign raises a question: What would fake fake watches be? The beginning of the tour of Ephesus is relatively unimpressive. For the most part, you see dozens of stones, obviously part of ancient buildings. But you won’t see any restored ruins, except in the distance. Almost all of what makes Ephesus so special lies out of view, down the slope of the valley. Near the beginning of the tour there was a stack of what looked like pieces of terra cotta pipe. Indeed, these sections of pipe were once part of the elaborate fresh water system for Ephesus. The Romans, who were masters of moving water around, had built aqueducts that brought water to the city.

Then large pipes, pieces of which you can see in the photo to the right, moved the water around to key locations of the city (the baths, fountains, men’s toilet, etc.). Tomorrow the tour continues. Touring Ancient Ephesus, Part 2 A tour of Ephesus usually begins, as I explained yesterday, at the eastern end of the city because from there you walk downhill rather than uphill. In the map to the right, the tour would begin just to the right of the civic agora. On this map, you can see several of the major features of the ancient Ephesus, including the two agoras (public gathering places), the theatre, and the Library of Celsus. When you’re walking through Ephesus today, it seems small, like a town that might have had 5,000 residents. In fact, ancient Ephesus had perhaps as many as 200,000 residents. Many of their homes have not been excavated or refurbished. But even with all the original structures intact, a person today would be impressed by the extent to which people were crowded together in this city, as in others throughout the Roman Empire.

The Library of Celsus is the most beautiful of the restored buildings in Ephesus, and is often the place of evening concerts and other festivities. This library, which was once one of the largest in the ancient world, was not built during the first century AD, the time of greatest interest for New Testament scholars. It was constructed in AD 135 by a man who built it in honor of his father, Celsus, who had been a governor of Asia Minor (the location of Ephesus in the Roman Empire). Today, the library consists of a rebuilt façade, without the rooms that once contained thousands of scrolls. For students of the New Testament and early Christianity, the Library of Celsus contains an easily overlooked treasure. It was, in fact, overlooked by many of the archeologists who painstakingly rebuilt the facade of the library. On the steps leading up to the entrance of the library, there is an easily missed carving, perhaps a piece of ancient graffiti. You can see it in the photo to the right. It is a menorah, a Jewish symbol. It was carved into the steps by some unknown Jewish resident of Ephesus sometime after the building of the library. Why is this unimpressive carving so important?

Because it is the only archeological evidence we have for the existence of a Jewish community in Ephesus. The book of Acts testifies to such a community and their synagogue. But, as of this time, evidence of the synagogue has not been found. If your tour begins in the eastern end of Ephesus, you first walk into one of the two agoras (or public squares) of the ancient city. There’s not much left of this civic agora, the place where the official business of Ephesus was once conducted. One of the buildings alongside the civic agora was the Prytaneion. This building was the center of city business. It was dedicated to the goddess Hestia, and contained the city’s sacred flame that was never allowed to go out. There is not much left of the Prytaneion, apart from a couple of rebuilt pillars. It was in this location that two statues of the goddess Artemis were discovered. They are now found in the Ephesus museum. I’ll have more to say about them later. One of the highlights of the Ephesus tour is the men’s toilet, found along Curetes Street. This bathroom, as we’d say in the USA, once contained about twenty places for men to do their business.

It had a running water sewage system in its day. Perhaps the most surprising part of this bathroom is that the seats were placed very few inches apart, without any barriers. So a man might find himself sitting next to another man, almost touching as they used the facilities. Apparently, men used this as a place to socialize. There certainly wasn’t much privacy, that’s for sure. In 2007, you could sit on the ancient toilets. Today, they are now off limits so as to preserve them. Rather than continue this blog “tour” of Ephesus, I’m going to change gears in my next post and begin to make connections between the New Testament and the ancient city. Ephesus in the New Testament Early Christianity was significantly an urban movement. This might sound surprising if you’re used to thinking of Christians continuing the mode of Jesus, whose ministry happened largely (but not only) in rural Galilee. Yet, when we pay close attention to the facts of Christianity in the first-century A.D., we see the prominence of cities, including Jerusalem, Antioch (in Syria), Corinth, Rome, and Ephesus.

Curetes Street, the "main drag" of ancient Ephesus Arguably, Ephesus was the most important city for Christians at the end of the first century. Jerusalem had pride of place at first. Rome was growing in influence in the early second century. Yet, not only was Ephesus situated rather in the center of an area in which Christianity was thriving, but also it was an important city in its own right. Moreover, it was associated with several prominent Christians, including Paul, Timothy, John, and perhaps even the Virgin Mary. (People who live near Ephesus today, along with many Roman Catholics throughout the world, believe that Mary lived just outside of Ephesus during her last days on earth. The photo to the right shows the center of Ephesus today, Curetes Street with the Library of Celsus in the distance.) The fact that Christianity was primarily an urban movement helps to explain its rapid spread throughout the Roman world. Cities were the hubs of travel, trade, and culture. If one influenced a major city in a region, then one would also be able to influence the whole region.

Thus, for example, if Paul were to establish a vital Christian presence in Ephesus, then this would spill over to other cities throughout Asia Minor. Papyrus 46, showing portions of Galatians and Philippians When we think of Ephesus and the New Testament, most of us would at first remember the letter of Paul called “The Letter to the Ephesians” or, simply, “Ephesians.” But it turns out that the connection between this letter and Ephesus is rather tenuous. Some of the earliest manuscripts of the letter do not contain the words “in Ephesus” (en Epheso in Greek). For example, Papyrus 46, one of the oldest and most reliable manuscripts of Paul’s letters, does not mention Ephesus. (The picture to the right shows part of this manuscript.) Many scholars believe that the so-called Letter to the Ephesians was originally a circular letter intended for several churches, including the church in Ephesus. This many also explain why the letter has so little in it that is uniquely Ephesian (no mention of the Temple of Artemis, for example). The oldest references to Ephesus in the New Testament are found in Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians.

There, he writes: If with merely human hopes I fought with wild animals at Ephesus, what would I have gained by it? (1 Cor 15:32) I do not want to see you now just in passing, for I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord permits. But I will stay in Ephesus until Pentecost, for a wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many adversaries. (1 Cor 16:7-9) Unfortunately, we don’t know exactly what Paul means by fighting wild animals at Ephesus. The Ephesians were enthusiastic for games in which African animals fought against animals or people. But it seems most likely that Paul is speaking metaphorically, referring to some conflict that he had in Ephesus. Nevertheless, it does seem obvious that Paul was writing the letter we know as 1 Corinthians from Ephesus, where he was engaged in missionary work for an extended period of time. It was during this time that he must have “fought with wild animals.” Perhaps Paul was referring to the conflict we read about in Acts 19. I’ll turn to this in my next post in this series.

The Apostle Paul in Ephesus In my last post, I quoted a passage from Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians in which he wrote, “But I will stay in Ephesus until Pentecost, for a wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many adversaries” (1 Cor 16:8-9). This fits perfectly with the picture painted of Paul’s Ephesian ministry in Acts of the Apostles. In Acts 18, Paul visited Ephesus briefly on his trip from Corinth back to Jerusalem (18:18-22). Verse 24 introduces a Jewish teacher named Apollos, who taught in the synagogue in Ephesus. This synagogue hasn’t been located by archeologists. Apollos accurately passed on some truths about Jesus, but didn’t know the whole story. So a leading Christian couple, Priscilla and Aquila, taught Apollos the what he had been missing. More fully informed, Apollos journeyed on to Corinth. The Odeum in Ephesus Acts 19 begins with Paul’s appearance at Ephesus. First, he laid hands on some disciples who received the Holy Spirit with power (19:1-7).

Next, he presented the message of the kingdom of God in the Jewish synagogue, arguing persuasively. But when most of the Jews were closed to Paul’s message, he moved to the lecture hall of Tyrannus, where he continued preaching for two years. Today, we do not know exactly the location of this lecture hall. In all likelihood, it was a place where the men of Ephesus gathered for lectures on various subjects, including philosophy and religion. Ephesus was well known in the ancient world as a place of learning, and Paul would have been seen as one more philosopher with a tempting message offering transformation and immortality. (The photo to the right shows the Odeum in Ephesus, a theatre that could seat more than 1,000 people. Public lectures were given here. This was also the place where the city business was done.) Paul’s ministry flourished, in part because of the power of God that brought healing and deliverance from demonic oppression. Many Ephesians who had been enamored with magical practices (what we’d call dark magic, not stage magic) renounced these practices and publicly burned their books of magic.

This sounds innocuous enough to us, but it doesn’t take too much imagination to see how the success of Paul’s ministry led to trouble. Magic and superstition permeated Ephesian culture, so that the burning of magic books would have seemed antisocial. It would be rather like if a whole bunch of people in my city got together and burned their their Christian books. Moreover, the people who wrote, bought, and sold books of magic would rightly have perceived an economic threat from Paul and those influenced by him. This latter issue, the economic danger posed by Paul, in fact led to a major brouhaha in Ephesus. I’ll examine this more closely in my next post. Artemis and Her Temple All that's left of the temple of Artemis near ancient Ephesus In my last post, I summarized the beginning of Paul’s ministry in Ephesus as it’s described in Acts 19. We saw that, after first being stymied in his effort to reach out to Ephesian Jews through the synagogue, Paul switched to a lecture hall, where he experienced a more positive response to his preaching. In fact, the success of Paul’s ministry led to a major disturbance in the city.

In order to grasp the nature of this uproar, we must understand one of the most important facts about ancient Ephesus: it was home to the temple of Artemis. In 2007, a survey of 100 million voters resulted in a new list of the Seven Wonders of the World. In its current state, the Temple of Artemis would never make such a list. But in its heyday, which includes the first century A.D., this temple was considered one of the Seven Wonders of the World. It was one of the largest temples in the world and drew visitors from far and wide. Statue of Artemis of Ephesus The goddess Artemis was a combination of the Greek goddess named Artemis, the virginal goddess of the hunt, and a local goddess with a very different job identity. In Asia Minor, the region of Ephesus, this Greek goddess was combined with elements associated with the Anatolian goddess Cybele, who was associated with the earth and with fertility, and was sometimes known as the Great Mother. (Yes, the Ephesian Artemis somehow combined the virginal Artemis with Cybele, the fertile mother.

The photo to the right shows a statue of Artemis that was found at Ephesus and is now prominently displayed in the Ephesian museum. The “crown” on her head is a representation of the temple. The “eggs” surrounding her midsection are perhaps some fertility symbol, though scholars don’t agree on their denotation.) Model of temple of Artemis of Ephesus For Ephesus, having the temple of Artemis nearby (about a mile from the main city) was a great boon. On the one hand, the presence of such a temple demonstrated the importance of Ephesus and was thought to bring special blessing upon the city. On the other hand, worshipers came from all around to visit the temple, and in so doing spent lots of money on lodging, offerings, souvenirs, and so forth. Today, little is left of the temple of Artemis. You must use your imagination to picture its former glory. There is, however, a model of the temple in the museum which can help to fill in the blanks. Columns in the Hagia Sophia claimed to be from the temple of Artemis Ironically, you can see more of the temple of Artemis into two distant locations.

The British Museum in London displays portions of the pillars represented in the model to the right. A couple of large pillars, purportedly from the temple of Artemis, are integral to the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul. Therefore, anything that threatened the prominence of Artemis and her temple would have been seen as a major threat to Ephesus itself. In my next post we’ll see how this played out in Acts 19. Paul and the Silversmiths Now that we know something about the goddess Artemis and her importance for Ephesus, we’re ready to get back to the story of Paul’s ministry in this city. As Paul’s ministry began to thrive in Ephesus, a certain Demetrius became concerned. He was a silversmith who made little pieces of jewelry in the image of the goddess Artemis or, as most scholars think, of her temple. These were not souvenirs that worshipers took home with them, but rather small offerings given to the goddess when devotees visited her temple. Demetrius, noting the growing impact of Paul’s ministry, gathered the other silversmiths together and presented his case: “Men, you know that we get our wealth from this business.

You also see and hear that not only in Ephesus but in almost the whole of Asia this Paul has persuaded and drawn away a considerable number of people by saying that gods made with hands are not gods. And there is danger not only that this trade of ours may come into disrepute but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be scorned, and she will be deprived of her majesty that brought all Asia and the world to worship her.” (Acts 19:25-27) Notice that Demetrius was worried, first of all, about the potential loss of income if too many people were to become Christians. Second, he was worried about the loss of glory for Artemis. Tommaso Laureti, "Triumph of Christianity," late 16th century. Demetrius understood something essential about Christianity, something that reflected accurate insight. He knew that when people become Christians, they stop worshiping pagan gods. While we might assume this to be true, nobody in Ephesus would have done so (besides the Jews, who were vigorous monotheists). It was very common in the ancient world for people to add new gods to their personal pantheon.

It was uncommon for them to insist that there was only one true God. If Paul had offered up Jesus, not as the only Savior of the world, but simply as one more savior among many, then the Ephesians would probably have built a temple to Jesus and included him in their pagan celebrations. But Christianity was distinctive, unsettling so, from an Ephesian point of view, in that it claimed the total allegiance of followers. Thus Demetrius rightly concluded that the success of Christianity would lead to the demise of Artemis worship. (That this very thing ultimately happened in the Roman Empire is celebrated on one of the ceiling frescoes in the Vatican. Tommaso Laureti, painting in the late 16th century, represented the “Triumph of Christianity” with a shattered statue of a god before the cross of Christ.) Commercial agora in Ephesus Though Acts doesn’t tell us exactly where Demetrius made his speech, it most likely happened within the commercial agora (or marketplace), that is adjacent to the Library of Celsus. This large space is quite open today, but once would have been surrounded by colonnades, under which merchants and craftsmen sold their goods.

It was a central gathering place in Ephesus, one that would be filled with people. Plus, it was near the theater, which figures prominently in the story of Paul and Ephesus. The theater in Ephesus Demetrius’s effort was successful. The enraged silversmiths began shouting praises to Artemis. They grabbed some of Paul’s companions and dragged them to the theater. This theater, much of which is still intact, is an impressive structure even today. It could contain up to 25,000 people. Folks sitting in the “cheap seats” would have had an impressive view of the harbor (now just a marshy area). According to Acts, Paul wanted to go to the theater, no doubt to defend his friends. But some Christians and even some of the city officials convinced Paul that this would not be wise. I’ll finish up the story of Paul and the silversmiths in my next post in this series. Paul and the Silversmiths, Part 2 When we last left our series on Ancient Ephesus and the New Testament, the city was in an uproar.

A gang of silversmiths, at the instigation of a certain Demetrius, was rioting, dragging several of Paul’s colleagues to the theater. When Paul tried to go to the theater, he was dissuaded by some of other Christians and even some civic officials. It simply wasn’t safe for Paul to show up in such a chaotic and dangerous environment. Vendors in Ephesus, not far from the theatre The description in Acts 19 of the mob in the theater is ironic, though in a way not immediately recognizable in English. It reads: “Meanwhile, some were shouting one thing, some another; for the assembly was in confusion, and most of them did not know why they had come together” (v. 32). Even in English, one can see the humor in that most in the mob didn’t even know why they were there. But the word translated here as “assembly” is, in Greek, ekklesia. As you may know, this word is usually translated as “church” in the New Testament. In secular Greek, ekklesia meant “assembly of people,” but usually stood for the orderly gathering of citizens of a given city.

So ekklesia in Acts 19:32 is doubly ironic, in that the mob surely isn’t a church, and it surely isn’t orderly. At some point during the fracas a Jew named Alexander tried to speak. Though we don’t know why he did this, it’s most likely he was going to put some distance between the Jews of Ephesus and Paul. But Alexander was shouted down while the mob chanted: “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” for a couple of hours. Finally, the town clerk (more like the mayor than the office manager), got the people quiet. He made a diplomatic speech, reassuring the crowd that Paul and company were “neither temple robbers nor blasphemers of our goddess” (v. 37). If Demetrius had a complaint, he should bring that up in an orderly way, through the courts or the proconsuls. The clerk closed by saying, “If there is anything further you want to know, it must be settled in the regular assembly” (v. 39). Here, once again, we find the use of ekklesia, now in the Greek expression en tei ennomoi ekklesiai (“in the lawful assembly”).

Why would the clerk have spoken in Paul’s defense, especially since it seems likely that he was a worshiper of Artemis? The answer comes in verse 40: “For we are in danger of being charged with rioting today, since there is no cause that we can give to justify this commotion.” Who would charge the Ephesians with rioting? The Romans. And the Romans didn’t ignore civic unrest because they knew it could easily turn against them. If the Ephesians were to allow a riot, Rome might very well clamp down on Ephesian freedoms and authority. No matter what the clerk actually thought of Paul and the Christians, he was eager to keep the peace. And, according to Acts 19, in this he was ultimately successful. Part of a pillar from the temple of Artemis, found today in the British Museum, London What Demetrius feared ultimately came to pass, though not only because of the growth of Christianity. In time, the worship of Artemis began to fade and her famed temple lost its glory. Today, you can see more interesting remnants of the Ephesian Artemision in the British Museum in London than in Ephesus itself.

But this is not to say that Christianity is dominant in Ephesus and environs. Turkey is predominantly a Muslim country today, though most Turks are secular in their orientation (this may be changing, however). And the most prominent church in the area, very near the Artemision, is itself in ruins. Christian activity around Ephesus is mostly centered in a small house that is supposedly the place from which the Virgin Mary was taken to heaven. I’ll say a bit more about this next time. The House of the Virgin Mary? For most of my life, I never gave much thought to what happened to Mary, the mother of Jesus, after his death. I figured that she went to Jerusalem, where James, one of her other sons (or stepsons, if you prefer), was a prominent early Christian leader. A good bit of ancient tradition supports this hunch, as it turns out. (See, for example, the online Catholic Encyclopedia article on “The Blessed Virgin Mary .” ) It’s curious that Mary received little special attention among the early Christians. In fact, her life after Jesus’ death remains largely a mystery.

But, when I took my first trip to Ephesus in 2007, I learned that many people believe that Mary spent her last days near this city, and that’s where she died (or was taken up to heaven). The so-called House of the Virgin Mary near Ephesus Many tours of ancient Ephesus include a side trip to the so-called House of the Virgin Mary. This sacred site lies several miles south of Ephesus, up on the top of a mountain. Unlike barren Ephesus, Mary’s house is hidden in a forest, where the temperatures are several degrees cooler and shade is ample. If you’re visiting Ephesus in the summer, you’ll appreciate the literal atmosphere at Mary’s house. The evidence for Mary having spent her last days here is circumstantial and supernatural. The circumstantial evidence is this: • Shortly before his death, Jesus entrusted his mother to the care of the Beloved Disciple (John 19:26-27). • Christian tradition holds that the Beloved Disciple was John. The ruins of the Basilica of St. John, near Ephesus • Christian tradition also associates John with Ephesus, where he supposedly spent the latter part of his life.

It is believed that he was buried there, and that his body used to lie under the Basilica of St. John (now in ruins, as you can see in the photo to the right). • It is possible that John took Mary with him to Ephesus, perhaps because Jerusalem in the late first century A.D. was not hospitable for the mother of the controversial Messiah. Or perhaps she moved to Ephesus after the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in A.D. 70. The supernatural evidence is this: • Early in the 19th century, a German nun named Anne Catherine Emmerich claimed to have visions. Among these, she “saw” the house of the Virgin Mary, and described it in great detail. Her visions were ultimately published, and near the end of the 19th century a Catholic research team found the site described by Emmerich, though she had never seen it in person. (Emmerich’s writings on the death of Jesus had a profound influence on Mel Gibson and his The Passion of the Christ.) Catholic tradition is divided on the final residence of Mary, though several popes have endorsed Mary’s House as a religious shrine.

A few years ago, Pope Benedict XVI visited the site, honoring it with his presence and words, though not definitively declaring it to be Mary’s house. The buildings on the site are not old enough to have been the actual dwellings of Mary. But it’s certainly possible that they were built in the place and design of the original buildings. A Turkish website has several Quicktime videos that allow you to take a virtual tour of the site and its buildings. Prayer wall at the House of Mary near Ephesus One of the more interesting features of Mary’s House is a prayer wall near the dwelling. Pilgrims come from all over the world to this place, and many offer special prayers. These prayers are written on small pieces of paper that are attached to the wall. As it turns out, Christians are not the only ones who make pilgrimages to Mary’s House. Many Muslims come as well, since they honor Mary as the mother of the prophet Jesus.

For this reason, when Pope Benedict XVI visited Mary’s House, he said, “From here in Ephesus, a city blessed by the presence of Mary Most Holy — who we know is loved and venerated also by Muslims – let us lift up to the Lord a special prayer for peace between peoples.” Did Mary actually live near Ephesus? Was this her final dwelling? I don’t believe we have adequate historical grounds for deciding the question either way. But if you’re ever in Ephesus, it’s worth a trip up to Mary’s House, especially if it’s a hot day and you’d like some moments of relief. How the Wealthy Lived in Ancient Ephesus During my last visit to Ephesus, I had the opportunity to tour the so-called “Terrace Houses,” which are stacked in three terraces on Bulbul Mountain in the center of Ephesus. Centuries ago, they were buried by landslides that were likely caused by earthquakes. The Terrace Houses are currently being excavated, with the promise of many more similar excavations yet to come. Here are some pictures I took of the Terrace Houses (except for the first photo, which I found on WikiCommons).

View of the location of the Terrace Houses (under those white protective roofs). Side view of the Terraces Houses from Curetes Street Some elements of the Terraces Houses have been well preserved. But many of the mosaics that covered the walls and floors have to be reassembled. The German headline refers to this as "The Biggest Puzzle in the World." Another view of the a small part of the puzzle, with results pictured on the wall A view showing at least two of the houses being excavated This close-up gives you a sense of the elaborate and beautiful frescoes that once covered the walls of these houses. Using terra cotta pipes, the houses had indoor running hot and cold water, as well as heat. A mosaic of a lion on one of the floors of the Terraces houses. If you visit Ephesus, I recommend a tour of the Terrace Houses. This requires, I believe, reservations made in advance. Katt D. Thank you so much for the walk though Ephesus, it has been very intresting and enlighting and when reading of the Scriptures now I will be able to see clear the intent of the word Love, Blessings and Prayers Ephesus ancient city.

Artemis temple, virgin mary house, saint john basilica. Ephesus Turkey Ephesuson Ephesus which was established as a port, was used to be the most important commercial centre. It played a great role in the ancient times with its strategic location. Ephesus is located on a very fertile valley. Ephesus, once, the trade centre of the ancient world, a religious centre of the early Christianity and today, Ephesus is an important tourism centre in Turkey. The ancient city Ephesus is located in Selcuk, a small town 30km away from Kusadasi. Ancient Troy - Troy Ruins Ancient Troy Vacations Share Henrich Schliemann found ancient Troy in what is present day Hisarlik a little south of the city of Canakkale, located on the western shores of the Aegean Sea and on the western end of the Bosphorus Strait. Many ocean liners will offer Istanbul shore excursions that include tours of Troy in Turkey during their port stops. Often these shore excursions will also include the nearby World War I battle site of Gallipoli.

There are also Bosphorus river cruises that travel through the Sea of Marmara and do make stops at the Troy Ruins during the cruise. The Sea of Marmara is the body of water that separates the continents of Europe and Asia. It is bordered on the east by Istanbul and on the west by Canakkale. It is possible to visit the national park where ancient Troy is located on a day trip from Izmir or Istanbul . But it is conveniently reached by ferry if you are spending a night in Canakkale. While the ruins are not as impressive as those at Pergamum or Ephesus , they are quite worthwhile due to the history revealed by sites dating back as far as 3,000 years before the Christian era. Some think the massive wooden reconstruction of the fabled Trojan Horse is a bit "touristy." While this is true, it provides a great deal of fun for children as well as idea of the scope of its original construction. The ruins of what is perhaps the most famous ancient city in the world are extensive and set in a beautiful location. There are nine different strata, and you take a virtual walk back in time as you explore them, beginning with the impressive former entrance.

Columns mark the ruins of former palaces, and there is a well-preserved amphitheater (also called a concert hall). At the entrance are some souvenir shops, the wooden horse reconstruction, and a small archeological museum with excellent models of the city once looked like. Ancient Troy was the center of the civilization described in Homer's epic, the Iliad. Called Truva in Turkish, the ruins at this once great city are quite amazing, and the Troy ruins are designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Some of the ruins are Roman, as the Roman city of Ilium was built on top of ancient Truva. Work is still going on to repair the damage of early excavations and to reconstruct some of the structures so they can be viewed as they originally were built. While there are a few hotels in modern Truva and Canakkale, most people visit ancient Troy as a stop on a longer itinerary, and will be staying in accommodations in Bursa or Izmir. Turkey Map For millennia it was thought that the ancient city of Troy was only the stuff of legend, an interesting fable from the mythology of Greece .

Most everyone knows the story of the Trojan Horse and the epic related by Virgil of how the Greeks sneaked into the city during the Trojan War more than 2,000 years before the Christian Era. But few believed it was more than a myth until the persistent businessman and archeologist Heinrich Schliemann uncovered the actual Troy ruins in 1876. This discovery occurred before archeology was established as a legitimate science and profession. His excavations of the ancient city of Troy actually caused some harm to the integrity of the site. He and his wife Sophia collaborated to smuggle a great deal of treasure from the site out of Turkey; some of his scholarship was questionable, later even proving to be deliberate falsehoods. This kind of behavior was not unusual among the explorers of the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century. Thomas Bruce, Earl of Elgin, removed virtually all of what are referred to as the Elgin Marbles from the Parthenon in Athens in 1812. They are now in the British Museum and the source of a great deal of controversy between England and Greece.

Two of the first archeologists to practice more ethical and scholarly excavations were Sir Arthur Evans, who was responsible for much of the early work at Knossos on the island of Crete during the late 1800s, and Howard Carter who discover the tomb of King Tutankhamun in the Valley of Kings in Egypt. Compare Travel Sites and Save! Ancient Turkey Map, Anatolia Map, Historical Biblical Anatolia Map, Biblical tour guide, biblical tours, biblical turkey tour, religious tours turkey, religious tour, biblical tour organization, turkey greece biblical ours, seven churches of revelation turkey, religious turkey, turkey religious tour, biblical tours in tur Missionary Journeys of St. Paul During one of his missionary journeys St. Paul visited Ephesus in Turkey. He stays in the city about three years (Acts 19:1-20). In Ephesus Paul discovers twelve believers who were baptized but who did'nt as yet have God's spirit. Paul baptizes them in His name and they receive God's Holy Spirit (Acts 19:1-7).

Seven Churches of Revelation In looking at the letters to the 7 Churches, we see the Lord speaking directly to the 7 Churches that existed in the Holy land at the time John lived. We also see the Lord's opinion of those Churches, and what they were doing at the time: Ephesus, Pergamon, Laodicea, Sardis, Thyatira, Smyrna, Philadelphia churches. Biblical sites in Turkey Turkey is called the Other Holy Land as it has more biblical sites than any other country in the Middle East. Antioch - the place where the followers of Jesus were first called Christians; Tarsus - where Apostle Paul was born and many others.. Turkey in Asia and Arabia - 1747 Phrygia Phrygia was a region of Anatolia whose people spoke Phrygian. Its main cities included Ancyra and Gordium. Phrygia included the Troad, whose main city was Troy. The Phrygians are believed to have been "Sea People." Phrygia probably gained prominence only after the 8th century B.C. During the Hellenistic period, the area was settled by Gallic Galatians and renamed Galatia.

Galatia Celtic tribes reached and plundered Asia Minor in the3rd Century B.C. 3 Celtic tribes settled in Tolistobogii, Tectosages, and Trocmi. Attalus I of Pergamum beat them c. 230 B.C., and then in 190, the Romans defeated them under Cn. Manlius Vulso. Turkey in Asia - 1794 Mysia Mysia was a region on the northwest coast of Asia Minor, whose main cities were Cyzicus and Teuthrania (Pergamon), located on the river Caicus and founded by Teuthras. There is a Mt. Olympus in Mysia. In the Trojan War, the Greek fleet landed at Mysia, mistaking it for Troy. Lydia Lydia was a region of Asia Minor between Mysia and Caria named for Lydus, the son of Attis. Sardis, on the river of Patroclus, was the main Lydian city. It was King Croesus' capital city. Lydia dominated western Anatolia from 690 to 546 B.C.

There were three Lydian dynasties: Atyads, Heraclids (descendants of Hercules), and the Mermnads. Their language was of I-E origins and may have created coins. Ancient Turkey Map - 1731 Caria Caria, a mountainous coastal area of southwest Asia Minor, was bordered by Lydia and Lycia. Its most famous city, Miletus, (originally Anactoria), was an important Ionian city until it became Persian. Miletus was a son of Apollo. Caria became part of the Lydian kingdom in the 6th century B.C. Carian kings, including Mausolus, whose widow, Artemisia, built the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, one of 7 wonders of the ancient world, continued to rule Caria after it became subject to Persia. Many Carians supported the Ionian Greeks against Darius, in the Persian Wars, although an earlier Queen Artemisia supported Xerxes. Ancient Turkey Map - 1895 Lycia Lycia was in southern Asia Minor and was inhabited by the Milyans and Solymi.

Cretans lived in Lycia and were called Termilae. Sarpedon co-ruled with Lycus of Athens, brother of Aegeus. Lycia was named after him. Lycia and Cilicia alone of the Asia Minor countries, were not conquered by Croesus, but Lycia was conquered by the Persians under Cyrus the Great. Cilicia Cilicia, in southeastern Asia Minor, with Syria to the east, was named for Cilix, son of Agenor of Sidon, and brother of Cadmus and Europa. The main cities of Cilicia were Tarsus, Seleucia, and Issus. During the Persian period (6-4th C. B.C)Cilicia remained independent, paying tribute to Persia. Most of Cilicia became part of the Seleucid Empire after Alexander the Great. Ephesus Location, Ephesus Turkey Ultimate Eco Lodge Experience in Ephesus, hotel near Ephesus Over the centuries, in fact, the rubble brought on to the plain of the "Kucuk Menderes" has enlarged the alluvial plain surrounding the archaeological zone, leaving behind in actual fact the shores of the Aegean.

In Roman times it was situated on the northern slopes of the hills Coressus and Pion and south of the Cayster (Kucuk Menderes) River, the silt from which has since formed a fertile plain but has caused the coastline to move ever farther west. In Roman times a sea channel was maintained with difficulty to a harbor well west of Pion. By late Byzantine times this channel had become useless, and the coast by the mid-20th century was three miles farther west. Ephesus (Efes) is close to the town of Selcuk about an hour drive south of Izmir. Kusadasi is the nearest larger town, about 20km from Ephesus. Location: Ephesus was constructed on a river bend, that was eventually dredged into a full harbor near the mount of the Cayster River, on the western coast of Asia Minor (modern Turkey). Along the coastal plain between Smyrna to the north and Miletus to the south, the site is now about six miles from the Aegean Sea. The city shifted in five distinct locations over time, each within a small area.

The Apostles Paul and John were familiar with the city that scholars have dubbed "Ephesus III" the largest (in area) of the five. The areas where Ephesus located on as follows: Ephesus I: Aya Suluk (St. John Area); Ephesus II: Artemission area; Ephesus III: Port of St. Paul: base of Mount Koressos; Ephesus IV: north of Aya Suluk; Ephesus V: Selcuk area. Because of the man-made harbor structure and the flow of the river, a backwash flow caused the harbor to frequently silt up (by 449 BCE we already read of problems documented about the silting. Later, Eusebius records that Ephesus honoured Emperor Hadrian for dredging and making navigable the harbor). When cleared, Ephesus was in a location that justified a great seaport. The city sat at the convergence of three land routes with a shipping lane from the north via the channel created by the Island of Chios and an opening facing the cities of Macedonia.

The land routes that converged on Ephesus included: 1) The Colossae / Laodicea road (traveling east), 2) The road to Sardis and Galatia (northeast), and 3) The Smyrna (north) main road. Population: Some scholars estimate the number of people living at Ephesus to have exceeded 250,000 inhabitants during Ephesus III, which would make it perhaps the fourth largest of its day behind: 1) Rome; 2) Alexandria; and 3)An Antioch. This large a city was an economic stronghold in Asia Minor, and justified the title supreme metropolis of Asia though there is an evidence that its overall economic standing may have been slowly declining. Do you need Private Tour to Ephesus?

Question: The ancient cities of Troy and Ephesus can be found in which modern-day country?
Answer: Turkey