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  • Hiking up to Antioch Pisidia from Perga

    Hiking up to Antioch Pisidia from Perga

    Ἀντιόχεια τῆς Πισιδίας) – Antioch of Pisidia

    hiking to Antioch of Pisidia with ruins of St. Paul's church

    (Paul and Barnabas hike north into the mountains)

    Pictured here: Ruins of the St. Paul Church in Antioch of Pisidia
built ~6th century A.D.

    Additional information also from source: Turkish Archeology News

    Allow me to be your guide along the unfamiliar road now part of modern Turkey to travel with Barnabas and Paul to first century destinations unfamiliar not only geographically, but most unfamiliar to our experience.

    Brief Recap from ACTS of the Apostles 13:

    • The Church at Antioch of Syria: Christians communicate with the Church in Jerusalem through Barnabas and Saul
    • The Holy Spirit then sends out Barnabas and Saul to Cypress
    • Barnabas, a Cyprian and Saul of Tarsus preach the Gospel in the towns of Cypress.
    • Saul, filled with the Holy Spirit, confronts a false prophet, Bar-Jesus
    • The Roman proconsul, Sergius Paulus, believed the Gospel and becomes a Christian.
    A Parting of Mission in Perga

    A long journey covered in a short verse:

    Now after Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia, but John left them and returned to Jerusalem. But going on from Perga, they arrived at Pisidian Antioch. – ACTS 13:13-14a

    view of the mountains north toward Pisidian Antioch
    The town in the distant mountains above Egirdir Lake is Antioch Pisidia

    Hiking from Antioch to Antioch

    Of course Barnabas and Paul could not begin their first missionary journey with a point to point hike between all the towns where they would proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ as they had just done on Cypress. As they sailed to Pamphylia the two Apostles could have looked back to mountains they had skirted along the coast.

    In the Troodos Mountains of Cyprus. Mount Olympus reaches an evaluation just over a mile (6404 ft.) above sea level. As the missionaries arrive in Perga they look toward the towering Taurus mountains so familiar to Saul (and perhaps somewhat intimidating to Joseph of Cypress island and John his cousin from the city on the hill of Jerusalem.

    Jerusalem is situated on a plateau of the Judean mountains less than a half-mile (~2500 ft.) above sea level which can seem somewhat higher when ascending the hill of Jerusalem from the Dead Sea below the Jordan with its surface 1300 ft. below sea level.

    The highest peaks of the Tarsus mountains familiar to Saul from Tarsus rise to about two miles above sea level.

    anthias river

    Barnabas and Saul must plan a journey ahead of over one-hundred miles just to their first stop ascending into Antioch on Roman roads along the Anthias River.

    But as we just read in Acts 13:13 Barnabas’ young cousin John Mark chooses not to join him and Saul.

    Their journey could be fraught with dangers including robbers along the road (much like those in Jesus’ parable set in the mountains of Samaria).

    At the summit of their hike ahead Antioch in Pisidia sits on a large plateau in a beautiful lakes region about four thousand feet above the Mediterranean port of Antalya near Perga.

    Antioch in (which province)? ? ?

    Politically and historically Saul of Tarsus and Barnabas would have known some things about Antioch which typically confuse 21st century Christians like you and me. Some local and Roman history should help us to understand their preaching of the Gospel in ‘Pisidian’ Antioch.

    entrance gateway to Antioch Pisidia

    Facing the valley in the west, the Western Gate is most probably the main entrance to the city as a number of ancient roads meet here. It is supported by the city walls on both sides. – source

    Antioch Pisidia – a Roman resort

    Christians should picture the cities of Paul’s three missionary journeys between A.D. 47-57 as ROMAN, not Jewish (or even Greek).

    Roger@talkofJESUS.com

    Pisidian Antioch (‘Antioch in Pisidia’) was the Roman capital city of Galatia Province.

    Galatia map with its capitol Pisidian Antioch
    Antioch, ROMAN capitol of Galatia
    • So why don’t we call it Galatian Antioch?

    Politically, it is Roman, a city built for retired Roman Legions. Administratively it is the capitol of Galatia. And similar to Paphos Cypress, from where Saul and Barnabas have just departed, Pisidian Antioch is governed by Galatia’s Proconsul.

    By the middle of the 1st century AD, the city and surrounding villages had a population of nearly 100,000 people, including Galatians, Phrygians, Greeks, Jews, and Roman army veterans. Pisidian Antioch enjoyed the highest category of status among cities in the Roman Empire and many residents of the city were given Roman citizenship. – source

    • Pisidian Antioch (Greek: Ἀντιόχεια τῆς Πισιδίας)
    • and in Roman Empire, Latin: Antiochia Caesareia or Antiochia Colonia Caesarea
    • formerly on the border of Pisidia and Phrygia, .. Antiochia in Phrygia
    • The province of Galatia was established in 25 BC, and Antioch became a part of it.
      • (This would have been just a generation before Paul and Barnabas)

    Hellenisation became Latinization during the Roman period, and it was succeeded best in Antioch.

    source of article: Wikipedia
    • Its location is better reflected by its Latin name
    • – “Antioch ad Pisidiam” meaning Antioch [located] in the direction of Pisidia.

    From Paphos to Antioch Pamphylia

    Galatian Antioch [located] in the direction of Pisidia.

    Setting aside for a moment their brief stop in Perga, Randall Niles and the researchers of DRIVETHRU HISTORY may have provided us with a clue why Saul of Tarsus and Joseph of Cypress moved on directly to this capitol of Galatia:

    One motivation for Paul coming to Pisidian Antioch may have been to visit the family of Sergius Paulus, who had a large estate northeast of the city. The family was prominent in the region, and one Latin inscription found at Pisidian Antioch even mentions L. Sergius Paulus, who could have been the same proconsul that Paul and Barnabas met on the island of Cyprus. Since this important Roman leader became a Christian, it would make sense for Paul and Barnabas to seek out his family for a visit.

    Source: DRIVETHRUHISTORY

    NEXT: We will continue this first missionary journey with Paul preaching in Antioch (in the direction of Pisidia) …

  • Opposed to the Gospel at the Gate: Bar-Jesus

    Opposed to the Gospel at the Gate: Bar-Jesus

    Bar-Jesus is another name for a Jewish influencer on Cypress: Elymas the magician.

    Acts 13:

    • Luke chronicles THIS history of the first mission of the Church at Antioch published sometime around A.D. 60-62.
    • Many Christians may already have read John Mark’s Gospel written during the A.D. 50’s just a few years after this first missionary journey of Paul and Barnabas.
    • Luke’s account records events of A.D. 47.

    When they arrived at Cypress

    Cypress is Greek, NOT Roman

    (And certainly not Jewish)

    What the tourist visiting Cypress should know:

    Cyprus was allowed a large amount of autonomy remaining mainly Greek in culture while adopting and adapting Roman customs. No Roman colonies were settled on the island. 

    • The island is prone to earthquakes, several in the centuries prior to this missionary journey
      • including one as recently as A.D. 16.
    • Cypress had been an Egyptian (King Ptolemy) part of Roman Cilicia
      • a gift of Julius Caesar to Cleopatra
    • After Caesar Augustus defeated Marc Antony and Cleopatra, Rome made it a senatorial province
      • separate from Cilicia with Nea Paphos as its capitol

    5. And when they reached Salamis, they began to proclaim the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews, and they also had John as their helper.

    NOTE TWO POINTS HERE:

    1. .. they began to proclaim the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews
    2. Luke introduces John Mark as a helper to Barnabas and Saul.

    As you can see from the map of cities on Cypress at the time, this mission team would have traveled on land several times to preach the Gospel in synagogues of these Greco-Roman cities on Cypress. Not only was distance a factor in their travel but also mountains which rose to steep heights above the island. This took some time and not just a few days.

    In addition to noting last time that Cypress was mostly Greek and Phoenician with a few Jews, previously I pointed out that their ‘additional passenger,’ John, is the same John with earlier connections to Peter’s preaching and miracles.

    Luke notes that his fellow Gospel writer [John Mark] also begins this mission trip in A.D. 47.

    Paphos consisted of the Roman cites of Nea Pafos and Palaipafos on the southwestern coast of the island of Cypress

    6 And when they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they found a magician, a Jewish false prophet whose name was Bar-Jesus…

    We'll introduce ourselves to this new character Bar-Jesus who they encounter on this mission shortly, but first let's take a quick look at Paphos.
    Aerial view of Paphos Cypress

    Paphos

    • Traveling roads across the whole island would have been a journey of 110 miles along the coast OR perhaps further if they traveled additional routes familiar to Joseph [Barnabas] and others through the mountains to other cities.
    • New Paphos (Nea Paphos), NW of old Paphos by 7.5 miles has a natural harbor and was built by Augustus of Rome for commerce and governing its Provence of Cypress.
    • Old Paphos was a centre for Aphrodite’s cult. Aphrodite’s mythical birthplace was on the island.
    • .. the grove and altar of Aphrodite at Paphos are mentioned in the Odyssey (700 BC).
    • Archaeology established that Cypriots venerated a fertility goddess in a cult that combined Aegean and eastern mainland aspects before the arrival of the mainland Greeks.

    Aphrodite of Cyprus

    • Every spring a festival was held here in honor of the goddess Aphrodite – source
    • Phoenician merchants from Kition [Cyprus] who gained permission to found at Athens [Greece] a shrine of Aphrodite, whom they presumably looked upon as their ancestral deity Astarte – Aphrodite. READ MORE BELOW:
    (more…)
  • Acts 13.4 Sailing to Salamis Cypress

    Acts 13.4 Sailing to Salamis Cypress

    Sailing from Antioch to Cypress

    Acts of the Apostles 13:

    4 So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia and from there they sailed to Cyprus.

    A.D. 47

    A Roman merchant ship sails from Seleucia

    Photo source

    Sailing Journeys in the Roman Empire

    I don’t know about you, but I didn’t really know very much about sailing around in the Mediterranean in the first century A.D. And when I read later in Acts about wintering in some ort or about ship wrecks I had no idea what that was all about.

    So here is a little I’ve learned about Paul’s journeys by ship in the first century Mediterranean Sea.

    How did the ancient Romans travel?

    [Like Paul and Barnabas]

    • There were no passenger ships per say in first century Rome. No luxury cruise lines or anything similar.
    • People willing to travel by ship had to board a merchant ship.
    • They would first have to find a ship, it could be almost any kind of ship and then they would have to get the captain’s approval. The price would also be negotiated with the captain.
    • Most of the times passengers would bring their own food supplies, covers, mattresses, even a tent and sleep on deck!
    • Sometimes there would be hundreds of people on the deck.
    • There were no restaurants or any of the luxuries of today’s ships but passengers could use the ship’s facilities to cook their meals. People would often play games, gamble, read or just drink wine.

    OR perhaps a fellow passenger might ask two men like Paul and Barnabas,

    “What brings you to Cypress?”

    VITA ROMAE

    .. Romans were not traditionally seafaring people. They were mostly land-based people who learned to build military and merchant ships from the people that they conquered. Sailing the seas was often considered un-Roman.

    Romans had very few warships [BUT]

    Rome managed to defeat the world’s most powerful navy to become the dominant naval power in the Mediterranean or as the Romans called it Mare Nostrum (“our sea”).

    Sailing the Roman Sea

    Another function of Roman military ships was to patrol the Mediterranean sea and to sometimes escort merchant ships.

    • Most ships had a cargo capacity of 100 to 150 tons
    • The largest ships, with a capacity of 600 tons, were 150 ft (46m) long.
    • Merchant ships mainly used mainly wind power. They had from one to three masts with large square sails and a small triangular sail called the supparum at the bow.
    • They also had oarsmen (usually slaves). [Roman military ships used free Roman soldiers on the oars.]

    The time of travel along the many shipping lanes could vary widely. Roman ships would usually ply the waters of the Mediterranean at average speeds of 4 or 5 knots.

    VITAE ROME

    Salamis, Cypress

    Seleucia Syria (1st c) to Salamis Cypress

    IF we do the math, allowing for the additional time in Seleucia while the cargo is loaded on their ship.. waiting in the boarding line where the captain’s representative makes certain all passengers have paid their fare.. boarding time… casting off WHEN the tide and winds seem right…

    once weighing anchor, navigating the ship with new weight in the hold carefully out of the harbor…

    AT 4-5 knots per hour (eventually) & depending on prevailing winds..

    for perhaps 20-25 hours.. at least overnight (for this short voyage_) and timing of the tides and navigating Salamis…

    [Don't you just love all that waiting before departure and docking even on a short journey?]

    IF you would like to catch up to the LATEST post from our SERIES from ACTS of the Apostles CLICK HERE

    So Joseph, you say you were born here? 

    See Acts 4:36

    A Levite.

    And you brought Saul here from Tarsus? (I’ve been there.)

    What’s this ‘Good News’ you are bringing here?

    One additional passenger

    DO YOU RECALL:

    Five years earlier in Jerusalem [~AD 42}: Peter amazingly appears at the gate of John Mark’s home after being freed from Herod’s prison by an angel.

    His Angel at the gate
    Peter goes to the home of Mary mother of Mark

    AFTER Herod Agrippa died [A.D. 44]:

    Barnabas and Saul returned to Jerusalem, fulfilling their ministry, taking along with them John, who was also called Mark. – Acts of the Apostles 12:25

    NOW, nearly three years later [~A.D.47]:

    Seleucia Syria (1st c) to Salamis Cypress

    FIRST PORT of the FIRST Missionary Journey – Salamis

    • It possessed a good harbor and was the most populous and flourishing town of Cyprus
    • in the Hellenic and Roman periods, carrying on a vigorous trade with the ports of Cilicia and Syria.
    • Its population was mixed, consisting of Greek and Phoenician elements.
      • The former, however, gave its tone and color to the city, and the chief cult and temple were those of Salaminian Zeus.
    • There they preached the gospel in the “synagogues of the Jews” (Acts 13:5);
      • the phrase is worth noting as pointing to the existence of several synagogues and thus of a large Jewish community in Salamis.
      • Of work among the Gentiles we hear nothing,
      • nor is any indication given either of the duration of the apostles’ visit or of the success of their mission;
      • but it would seem that after a short stay they proceeded “through the whole island”

    And when they reached Salamis, they began to proclaim the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews, and they also had John as their helper.

    Acts of the Apostles Paul & Barnabas 13:5 on Cypress

    WE see here just a brief first stop of Apostles sent out by the Holy Spirit with the Gospel, which Paul and Joseph of Cypress proclaim in the synagogue of Salamis to fellow Jews who have not yet heard the Good News of Jesus, the Christ promised by the Lord God.

    With them, a servant helper, John Mark, who observingly will record his first Gospel published about ten years later [in the A.D. 50’s].

    ACTS of the Apostles 13 on Cypress

TO BE CONTINUED...
    Seleucia Syria (1st c) to Salamis Cypress

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