ΣΑΜΟΣ: Sardis

October 30 - We spent the night between Aliaga and Bergama, along what Paul called "the upper coasts" of western Turkey. We then drove down to Izmir and easterly up the Hermus River Valley to the village of Sart. (These rivers, by the way, are little more than creeks by our standards.)

Sardis was the capital of the Kingdom of Lydia from roughly 800 BC to 550 BC. This kingdom, which encompassed the entire western half of Anatolia, was a world power. Sardis to my eye is one of the greener and prettier parts of Turkey, with craggy peaks, lush farmland, and abundant water. The Pactolus River which runs through the city was, in antiquity, rich with flakes and nuggets of electrum, a gold/silver mixture. The Lydians were the first to separate electrum into pure gold and silver, and to coin money of a uniform weight. Prior to this, money had been just a weight of precious metal whose content was always in doubt. Around BC 550, the Persians swept in from the east, besieged the city, and that was the end of the Lydians.

Sardis had an ancient and very large Jewish community. It was probably established when Antiochus the Great relocated 2,000 Jewish families from Mesopotamia and Babylon to central Anatolia around BC 200. The historian Josephus wrote of a decree concerning Sardis from Lucius Antonius, the Roman procurator 49 BC: "Those Jews, who are fellow citizens of Rome, came to me, and showed that they had an assembly of their own, according to their ancestral laws. [They had this assembly] from the beginning, as also a place of their own, wherein they determined their suits and controversies with one another. Therefore, upon their petition to me, so that these might be lawful for them, I ordered that their privileges be preserved, and they be permitted to do accordingly." (Antiquities of the Jews 14:10, 17). Josephus also noted that Caius Flaccus, a Roman proconsul circa 70 BC, upheld the right of Sardis Jews to practice their religion, and to send the annual Temple tax to Jerusalem (Antiquities 16.6).

Sardis had the largest ancient synagogue that has ever been found. It was located on prime real estate right next to the gymnasium, and richly decorated with marble and mosaics. Although this synagogue has been dated to the second century AD, it does point to the presence of a large Jewish community earlier. According to John's account in Revelation, they did not seem to effect the Christians in any material way.

Revelation 3:1. "Write this letter to the angel of the church in Sardis. This is the message from the one who has the sevenfold Spirit of God and the seven stars. I know all the things you do, and that you have a reputation for being alive. But you are dead. Now wake up! Strengthen what little remains, for even what is left is at the point of death. Your deeds are far from right in the sight of God. Go back to what you heard and believed at first; hold to it firmly and turn to me again. Unless you do, I will come upon you suddenly, as unexpected as a thief...."

No heresy, no false teachings, just complacency. Perhaps they were just weighted down by the cares of life, something we can all relate to. But He held out the promise that if they would just strengthen the faith they had, fruit would yet abound. The Talmud made much the same complaint about the Jews of the region: "The wines and baths of Phrygia have separated the ten tribes from their brethren."

This was the gymnasium/bath house complex.

This was the pool where the upper crust gathered every morning to trade tips on stocks, etc.

The synagogue was located adjacent to the above gymnasium. This picture shows the open air entrance, with the main meeting hall just beyond the doors.