Tuesday, May 27, 2014

From Izmir to Smyrna

For the last few days we have been in Izmir, Turkey’s third most populous city. As interesting as modern Izmir is today, its former name—Smyrna—is just as interesting. My post will focus on the ancient city of Smyrna, its famous Agora, and the city’s biblical significance.
The ancient agora next to the modern Izmir.
Although much of it is now literally under the current city of Izmir, Smyrna boasted a grand market, a crucial seaport, temples to Roma, Nemesis, and Athena, and even one of the first Christian Martyrs. Thought to be the hometown of Greek poet Homer, Smyrna was originally established in the 11C BC. It was later destroyed in 600 BC but rebuilt by Alexander the Great in the fourth century BC (although there are multiple theories regarding its re-founding). Similar to Izmir today, Smyrna was home to a marvelous agora—a public space for markets and civic activities. The agora in Izmir is one of the best preserved and most excavated in the Anatolia peninsula.  Because Smyrna was a major seaport in the ancient world, the market, or bazaar, was very large, hectic, and most likely contained a wide variety of goods. The one we see today was built somewhere around 178 AD after previous agoras had been destroyed by earthquakes. And because it would have been a popular destination, it had to be big; this one was likely three levels and contained a considerably large courtyard. Mark Wilson measures it to be approximately 120x80 meters (or 394x263 feet). And while there is no doubt there would have been plenty of merchants present in the agora, Wilson suggests that it was home to important political activities as well.

A fun discovery made by archaeologists was Christian graffiti etched in the walls. Some inscriptions reference “the Messiah” or reference Jesus as Lord. Some are even simple markers to let others know they were there—“Claudius was here.” There are even inscriptions that resemble the modern love-letter graffiti we see today (“Claudius loves Faustus”). This just goes to show that even though we have changed so much over the last 2000 years, we really haven’t changed at all.
  
Soon this new Graffiti Salon will be open for everyone to see the new discoveries, but right now it's still being prepared.
A sneak peak into the salon

The seaport and its massive agora helped form an important economic influence that made it the significant city it was. Smyrna was the fist city to establish a cult of Rome, evidenced by the temple of the goddess Roma built at the end of the second century AD. This city was in a constant race with Ephesus and Pergamum to be known as “the first of Asia in beauty and size.” In terms of power and wealth, Smyrna was quite a formidable city  that demanded respect both from other nations and from Caesar.  
As you can see, the marketplace/public square was quite large even by today's standards.

In the ancient world, there would have been a connection between the name Smyrna and death. Myrrh, an incense commonly used to mask the odor of the dead, is a Greek word very similar to Smyrna. So, when one thought of the city of Smyrna, one must have also made some mental connection to death.[1] This is quite a coincidence because the Christian community in Smyrna was supposedly heavily persecuted. As I mentioned before, this city was home to one famous execution of the Christian martyr, Polycarp. Rather than offering a pinch of incense to Caesar and muttering his lordship, Polycarp responded to the threat of death by fire, “You threaten with fire that burns for a time, and is quickly quenched, for you do not know the fire that awaits the wicked…Come, do what you will.”[2] It is believed that his death helped fuel and inspire the Church in Asia Minor. Unfortunately and undoubtedly, Polycarp was not the only Christian to die for his faith. In Revelation we read that Jesus said to the church in Smyrna, “I know your afflictions and your poverty….Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer…you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death…”[3]
Catholic Church in Izmir dedicated to Polycarp
 Persecution was not only coming from Rome, though. It is likely that even the Jewish community had a hand in oppressing Christians. John Yeatts suggests this is because Christians were winning converts from Judaism. More importantly though, at least for the Jews, “they were afraid of losing [exemption from Caesar worship] if other groups wanted similar exclusion.”[4] Even though the city was wealthy and prosperous, life as a Christian was not. 

AJ expertly deciphering Greek inscriptions
Like Izmir is today, Smyrna was a thriving community with a peak population nearing 100,000. [5] Its economy was fueled in part by its strategic placement near the sea and its expansive marketplace. It was a prominent city in the ancient world and it was quite the prize of the Roman Empire. It was also home to one of the most profound and inspirational deaths in the early Christian Church. 

--Chris Williamson 


[1] Mark Wilson, Biblical Turkey: A Guide to the Jewish and Christian Sites of Asia Minor, 390.
[2] John Yeatts, “Worship and Witness: The Devotional Revelation”, pg. 4
[3] Revelation 2:9-10
[4] Yeatts, “Worship and Witness”, pg. 4
[5] Mark Wilson, Biblical Turkey, 391.

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