Philadelphia, Sardis, and Thyatira

Philadelphia Church Pillars

Sardis walls

We drove quite a distance to reach our destinations today. Both Philadelphia and Thyatira are very small sites because they are in the midst of modern cities that have been built on top of them. Philadelphia consisted only of a small area in the city of Alasehir, with three (out of six original) outsize columns that are almost all that remain of the Byzantine church of St. John. It’s hard to imagine what the church was like. Its area couldn’t have been very big, yet the columns are massive. I’m just guessing here—perhaps they were inspired by John’s message to the church at Philadelphia: “If you conquer, I will make you a pillar in the temple of my God” (Rev 3:12).

Marble Court of Sardis Gymnasium

Sardis was a prominent city associated with the Phrygian king Midas and the Lydian kingdom. Aesop, who was a Phrygian, was supposed to have spent time here as well. That was all up on a well-defended mountain--though sometimes not well-defended enough, especially when Cyrus of Persia showed up. From the Persians Sardis passed, like everything else, to Alexander the Great, then the Seleucids, and finally Rome. From Greek times there was a large Jewish population in Sardis, who had been transferred in from Babylon, and later Christianity flourished there as well. Sardis was home to the second-century bishop Melito, whose relationship to Judaism was evidently complex—on the one hand he is remembered as having been the first to call the killing of Jesus deicide, a malicious charge against Jews that became increasingly popular among Christians. On the other hand he insisted on celebrating Easter on the Jewish Passover rather than on Sunday. I imagine church historians have more context for sorting that out.

Synagogue Courtyard

Wall in Thyatira

The ruins we visited were down below the mountain. Sardis is quite a large site, though not a whole town. There is an enormous structure, the remains of a second-century Roman gymnasium—a boys’ school—and bath. The scale of this structure is not like anything else I have seen on this trip--the small arched door in the right hand wall is taller than any human. I admired the exposed stone and brick, but according to the guidebook this was all covered with marble. Beside it was the largest ancient (3rd century) synagogue ever found outside of Palestine, with a mosaic floor. I can’t think of one larger than this one even in Palestine, though there are more elaborate and well-preserved mosaic floors there. This synagogue was originally part of the gymnasium and served as either classrooms or dressing rooms, but it was later converted into a synagogue.

Thyatira city street

Last today we visited Thyatira, which is only a square in the midst of the prosperous modern town of Ahiskar. Thyatira was the home of Lydia in the book of Acts, and is also addressed in the book of Revelation. The ruins that we saw were of a fifth or sixth century public building. When I was done with that I walked across the street into a cooking store in search of a pepper grinder for Claire. With much pointing, hand motion, and noise that I hoped resembled the grinding of pepper I established what I wanted and was told, "Yok," which the tour guide said means something like "doesn't exist." Communication established with the natives. 

In the late afternoon we drove to Kusadasi on the Aegean Sea. I can hear the waves crashing below my window. I caught a glimpse of them before night fell.