Alexandria Troas site

                The city of Alexandria Troas was originally called Antigoneia in honor of Antigonus Monophthalmos (310 BC). A year after the battle of Ipsus in 300 BC, Lysimachus decided to rename the city Alexandria Troas after Alexander the Great, which is now one of eighteen cities named in his honor. The city was geographically located at a strategic area since if guarded the western entrance to the Hellespont, and was commercially important since it possessed the only harbor on the Western Coast of Troad and saw many visitors on their way to Macedonia. Troas became free and autonomous in 188 BC after the Romans defeated Antiochus III. Julius Caesar considered moving his capital from Rome to Troas, which was denounced by Horace. Constantine reconsidered doing the same in the fourth century AD, before deciding to make Byzantium his capital. The cities role in the empire declined in importance after Constantine founded Constantinople (modern day Istanbul) in AD 330.

The Remains of Alexandria Troas. Here you can see ancient walls from the city buildings.

              Luke writes about the city of Troas in the book of Acts, since Paul and other apostles visited the city briefly after being prevented by the Holy Spirit from entering Bithynia or Asia. He arrived there with Timothy and Silas after traveling about 1000 miles from Antioch. It was here where Paul had his vision of a Macedonian man inviting him to visit Macedonia, where he could preach the Gospel.  Scholars have suggested that Troas is the location where Paul first me Luke since the use of ““we” begins in Acts Chapter 16. Luke may have been working as a physician in Troas before deciding to join Paul in his missionary work. The city also has biblical significance since Ignatius wrote letters from Troas while imprisoned, which he sent to two of the seven cities of Revelation, Smyrna (modern day Izmir) and Philadelphia.

Paul would have sailed from the harbor at Troas. Here you can see the granite columns, remains of the ancient harbor.

                On what was likely his second visit, Paul only spent a short period of time in Troas even though he had an "open door for the gospel" there since he was desperate to hear news from Titus as to how the Corinthians were doing and how they had received his letter (2 Corinthians 2:12-13). Paul wanted to help teach them how to live in a Christ-like manner since many members of the Church in Corinth struggled to achieve the Christian lifestyle. Not finding Titus in Troas, he went on to Greece to look for him there. 
                 Troas may be most well-known among Christians as the city where during Paul's third visit Eutychus was reportedly raised from the dead.  Here Luke mentions that Paul and others had sailed from Philippi after the Festival of Unleavened Bread and stayed in the city for seven days.  On the first Sunday there, Paul led the sacrament of Holy Communion, and afterwards began a sermon which lasted until at least midnight.  The sermon ran until this time in part because Paul wanted to leave the city the following day, but also because Paul was incredibly passionate about spreading the Gospel, which is apparent throughout his letters.  The meeting was held in the third story of a Roman apartment (called an insula) which was designed with open windows. Eutychus (whose name means “good fortune”) fell asleep during Paul’s sermon and fell out of a third story window. Paul ran downstairs to help him and reported to the others present that Eutychus was alive, a miracle others attributed to Paul’s prayers.  After the startling event, Paul again served Communion to the Christians gathered there before leaving for Assos.

The bricks that were laid in the walls at Troas are in a different style than you can find in this area. If you look closely, you can see the diagonal arrangement of the bricks.

                The current archaeological site has a few ruins left surrounded by oak trees. Due to the city’s proximity to Constantinople/Istanbul, Emperor Justinian and Sultan Mehmet IV were able to travel their and pillage stones. The podium temple is in the center of the Roman forum, and towards the eastern end is an odeion with a columnar hall which was built in the Hellenistic period and remodeled in the Roman period.  The buildings and walls present were made of marble revetment and opus reticulatum. Archaeologists have found a Doric temple and theater south of here, and to the east they located a gymnasium/bath complex dedicated in AD 135 by Tiberius Claudius Herodes Atticus, an Athenian benefactor and philosopher. The Eastern Gate Complex is well preserved from the Hellenistic period. 

                When visiting the archaeological site, it was impressive to see the high quality marble, especially in the form of tall pillars. One person on the trip commented on how difficult it must have been to find and then transport marble large enough to build the pillars, and speculated that even the 24 students on the trip would not be able to pick up one of the pillars. The excavation of the area is not completely finished, but from the extent of what we were able to see, the city of Troas had impressive architecture. The site was special to many of us since Paul and Luke, as well as other apostles walked in part of the same city in the first century.
- Alison Williams

Very large Granite columns from the quarry nearby Troas.