December 18

Ephesus

Acts 19:1

Ephesus now became the center of Paul’s missionary labors, and the chief seat of Christianity in Asia Minor. To this important church, in and for which he had long labored, Paul afterwards addressed an invaluable epistle, during his imprisonment at Rome. Ephesus was also in later years the scene of John the apostle’s labors and last residence, and the chief of the “seven churches in Asia,” to which the apocalyptic messages were sent. On these various grounds of Christian interest the city is entitled to particular attention.

Ephesus was the capital of the province of Asia, and as such the residence of the proconsul. And it was more than this, being, in fact, the most important city of Asia Minor, and the principal emporium for trade with the East. It was called “the Eye of Asia,” or rather one of the eyes, Smyrna being the other; for Ephesus and Smyrna, both of them on the sea coast, and both great commercial marts, at the distance of about forty miles from each other, looked forth like eyes from the projecting forehead of this peninsula. Though Greek in its origin, it was half Oriental in the prevalent worship and the character of its inhabitants; and being constantly visited by ships from all parts of the Mediterranean, and united by great roads with the markets of the interior, it was the common meeting place of the various characters and classes of men.

The city stood at the bottom of the Gulf of Samos, upon a plain about five miles long from east to west, and three miles broad from north to south. On all sides except on the west, which lay open to the sea, this plain was shut in, like a stadium or race-course, by the precipices of enclosing mountains. About half way along the southern side of the plain stood a little forward the hill of Prion, famous for the quarries of beautiful marble, which supplied materials for the public buildings of the city; and opposite to it, but rather more to the east, arose out of the middle of the plain a little mount, the seat of the modern village of Ayasaluck—probably a Turkish name, though generally fancied to be a corruption of Greek words signifying “the holy divine,” in honor of St. John, who passed his last days at Ephesus. This, it will be observed, lies beyond the walls of ancient Ephesus, the site of which is wholly forsaken and desolate, and its ruins buried in rubbish, and overgrown with vegetation.

At its north-east corner, the plain was entered by the river Cayster, which flowed across it diagonally to the south-west corner. As one entered the broad mouth of this river from the sea, after proceeding a little distance, he came to a spacious natural basin, stretching from the river on the right hand towards the south-east. This was Panormus (All-Haven), the celebrated port, the busy scene of the commerce of all nations, to which the city was indebted for its wealth—so much so, indeed, that Ephesus owes its distinction to the gradual filling up of this port by the alluvium brought down by the river. Already, at the time of Paul’s residence, this had become a matter of great anxiety to the Ephesians; and a century later injudicious attempts to avert the impending evil rendered it more speedy and inevitable.

It would not suit this place to describe the city in detail, after the ancient accounts; nor even to indicate the principal objects of interest within its walls. It will suffice to notice a few matters which are more or less connected with the subjects before us.

The famous temple of Diana was not only the most gloriously conspicuous object in the city, but was counted as one of the seven wonders of the world. It was built at the expense of all the Greek cities in Asia, replacing another of great magnificence, which had been set on fire by the fanatic Eratostratus on the night that Alexander the Great was born. Note: Reminding one of Martin and the York Minister. It proceeded slowly, and was not completed in less than 220 years. It stood at the head, that is, at the eastern end of the port Panormus, and, being constructed of the purest marble, is said to have gleamed like a meteor in the astonished eyes of those on board any vessel entering the port. Being built upon marshy ground, the foundations were laid, with great care and at large cost, upon well-rammed charcoal and wool. Upon these foundations the first superstructure was a basement of considerable height, ascended by a grand flight of steps, which may still be traced; and upon this platform was erected the temple, 425 feet long and 220 broad, surrounded by 120 marble columns, 60 feet high, each the gift of a king, of which 36 were beautifully sculptured, one from the hands of the famous Scopas.

This area is almost double that of St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, for although the body of that church is longer (500 feet), it is not half the width (100 feet). In reality, however, there is no comparison between the ancient temples and the churches and cathedrals of Christendom. But it must not be imagined that all this vast space was covered in, or that this or other famous temples of antiquity bore any analogy to modern structures. Like the temple at Jerusalem they were colonnades, erected as subsidiary decorations around the cell which contained the idol, the greater part of the enclosed space being open to the sky—that is to say, all but the colonnades surrounding the area, and the chapel or cell containing the idol. The representations on coins, usually appealed to for the form of the temple, do not, we apprehend, represent its exterior aspect, but merely that of the chapel in which the idol was enshrined, and through the open doors of which it appeared. For proof of this, we may point to the fact that in some of these representations it is seen to be covered in with a sloping roof. The interior of the temple was no less magnificent. The roof was supported by columns of green jasper, eight of which may, at this day, be seen in the mosque (once church) of St. Sophia, at Constantinople, whither they were removed by the Emperor Justinian, after the temple had been destroyed by the Goths. The altar, richly sculptured, was the work of Praxiteles, and here and there were statues from the chisels of the most eminent sculptors. Against the walls were the finest paintings in the world, the master-pieces of Apelles and Parrhasius, both natives of the city. The sacred precincts of the temple, to the extent of a furlong from the building, offered an inviolable sanctuary to all who sought an asylum there. Indeed, so high was the sanctity of the place that, in the absence of banks and profitable investments, kings and great persons were glad to deposit their valuables within its walls, whence the treasures it contained were immense beyond conception. In short, there never was perhaps any temple which was at once the object of so much admiration, enthusiasm, and superstition.

Meanwhile, the cynosure of the temple—the ultimate object of all this splendor and veneration—was an ugly, old, black image of wood. We must not think of Diana (Artemis) of the Ephesians as the “huntress, chaste and fair,” of Grecian poetry and sculpture. There is, in fact, little analogy either in form or ascribed qualities between them, and it required all the Grecian ingenuity to identify the two. It seems to have been some ancient Asiatic divinity whose worship the Greek colonists found established in these parts, and which they adopted, calling her Artemis, from some fancied resemblance to their own goddess of that name. Note: We adhere to this opinion, notwithstanding that, in a work issued as these sheets are going through the press, we find Niebuhr declaring, “Artemis is a genuine Greek goddess, but her temple at Ephesus was specially revered by the Persians, as eastern nations often showed a partiality towards foreign religions: they altered the ceremonial of the temple, and the employment of eunuchs in its service is of Persian origin.”—Lectures on Ancient Ethnography and Geography, i. 211. Her original character as an impersonation of nature—the prolific mother of life is shown by the fact that her image represented her with many breasts. The whole figure had much resemblance, to that of a mummy. The head bore a mural crown; and the lower part of her body, which ended in a point, like a pyramid turned upside down, was covered with the figures of various animals. It is remarked, however, that the figure varies considerably in details, in the different representations of it in coins of Ephesus, whence Mr. Akerman ingeniously conjectures that “the vulgar were not allowed to approach too near this grotesque but time-honored figure, and that the artists of antiquity sometimes drew on their fancies for the representation of her.” Note: Numismatic Illustrations of the New Testament, p. 49. We know, indeed, that the small shrine in which it stood within the temple was concealed by a curtain in front. The example which we give is very interesting, for it represents the idol in her cell or shrine, upon the pediment of which we observe the representation of two figures worshipping at an altar.

Figure of Artemis, the Diana of Ephesus

It was popularly believed to have fallen from heaven, a pretension advanced in favor of divers other ancient and uncouth images. This might suggest that it was originally an aerolite: but it seems to be established that it was of wood, some say ebony, others vinewood, and it was preserved from decay by resinous gums inserted into cavities made for the purpose.

The great temple of Diana has wholly disappeared, and even its site cannot with any certainty be determined. Its materials were probably carried off for comparatively modern buildings; and the soil of the valley being raised by the alluvium of the river, commonly covers many old substructions. Mr. Hamilton, who spent several days at Ephesus, thinks that “the site of the great temple is in some massive structures near the western extremity of the town, which overlook the swamp or marsh where was the ancient harbor. The place is immediately in front of the port, raised upon a base thirty or forty feet high, and approached by a grand flight of steps, the ruins of which are still visible in the centre of the pile.” Note: Researches in Asia Minor, ii. 24. Brick arches, and other works, have been raised on various portions of the walls; but these, erroneously taken by some earlier travellers for remains of the ancient subscriptions, supply no illustration of the antiquity of the arch, being apparently the work of the Christians, who, after the destruction of the temple, and the removal of its columns, built a church upon the ruins.

The “theater” of Ephesus was the largest structure of the kind ever erected by the Greeks, and was capable of seating fifty thousand persons. It was excavated from the sloping side of Mount Prion, looking towards the west, and was faced with a portico. The exterior diameter was 660 feet. Like all other ancient theaters, it had no roof, but the spectators protected themselves from the sun by head-gear adapted for a screen, or by holding a light parasol in their hand, or sometimes a kind of tarpaulin was drawn across the theater itself. Here the scenic representations were exhibited, and here were held the assemblies of the people. This theater is still discoverable by its ruins, which are of immense grandeur. Its interest to us arises from the certainty with which it can be identified as the scene of one of Paul’s most perilous conflicts.

The theater lay a little to the south of the temple; and the road between the two was crossed by a wide street, which traversed the entire length of the city. Upon the south side of this street, about midway between the temple and the eastern wall of the city, and at the northern base of Mount Prion, was the stadium or circus. This was 685 feet long, and 200 wide. The rows of seats on the south were excavated from the hill, and those on the north towards the plain were supported on arches. The eastern end was rounded like a theater, and the entrances were at the opposite end. This was the arena in which the Ephesian population witnessed the footraces, the wrestling, and the pugilistic combats. These could hardly fail to come under the notice of the apostle, and he may be supposed to have had them in mind when he wrote from this place to the Corinthians the memorable words, which we have already had occasion to illustrate. Note: Evening Series. Forty-Fourth Week—Sunday. Here also were enacted the beast-fights, either between wild beasts and trained combatants, armed, who fought for pay; or condemned criminals, who were allowed no means of defence against the animals. To these, called “the last victims,” as usually exposed at the end of the games, Paul, writing in the neighborhood of the scene, compares himself and other champions of the Gospel—“I think that God hath set forth us, the apostles, last, as men appointed to death; for we have been made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men.” Note: 1 Corinthians 4:9. Further on in the same epistle, he says: “If after the manner of men, I have fought with beasts at Ephesus.” Note: 1 Corinthians 15:32. It has been questioned whether he here speaks figuratively of contest with men savage as wild beasts, or of some real combat with the beasts in the circus. We incline to the latter view, for as a metaphor, it is awkward, and it has all the manner of a real and not a suppositions case. We see no difficulty in so taking it. He had deliverances as extraordinary as this, and the silence of the historian proves nothing; for we know that he passes over much which Paul himself declares that he had suffered; and as the narrative of a residence of three years is comprised in a few verses, many incidents are necessarily omitted.