February 17

Today was one of the longest days we have had so far. We left the hotel, as usual, at 8:30, but the ancient city of Ephesus is only 15 minutes away. We spent about 4 hours there this morning. It is a fascinating place. The city here is actually the third Ephesus, dating back to the 6th century BCE, and resides in the valley. It used to be a harbor city, but the Aegean is not 7 km away. The Maeander River has silted up the region in the past 2500 years.
This city gained importance under the Roman Empire, and much of the structures were rebuilt during their rule; little remains of the Hellenistic times. One prime example of this transition to Roman styles is the theater. Greek theaters are typically constructed on the slope of a hill, have a more than semi-circular stage on the ground floor, and no scenery. The Romans typically construct their theaters without a hill, have a perfectly semi-circular ground stage, a raised stage, and a building for background scenery. The theater at Ephesus has the Greek features (hill and more than semi-circle), but also has the raised stage as an addition and the building for scenery. We are getting very good at distinguishing the differences. I think Krentz is pleased.
So far archaeologists have only excavated 15 percent of the city, but they have found very significant features such as: the agora, the theater, the odeon (a small theater for council meetings), several fountains, monuments dedicated to emperors, a latrine, 7 very nice homes, a structure that some believe was a brothel, public baths, colonnaded streets, and marble roads. It’s incredible here. The housed are amazing as well. There was a terrible earthquake in the last quarter of the 3rd century CE, and many of the homes were not restored. They have been preserved very well since then, however, and many of the mosaic floors are largely intact, as are the frescoes. Some of these homes were quite elaborate. Very cold, though. I don’t know how easily they would have stayed warm back then. No rugs, obviously, when you have tiled floors. I was cold all day today.
While taking in the view from the theater we briefly discussed our readings lately. Krentz had assigned us to read the Book of Acts and try to figure out exactly why Christianity spread. It was harder to discuss this in an academic setting, especially when trying to dissect the book for concrete clues. But it was a good discussion, though I feel like the discussion isn’t completely over. It’s hard to talk objectively about the spread of Christianity when the power of the Holy Spirit doesn’t seem to factor very heavily as a cause. Or, this power isn’t realized fully by all participants in the discussion. Perhaps the conversation will come up again.
After Ephesus we went to lunch at a cute little restaurant that was expecting us. Gulin set the meal up for us, and Krentz paid for a third of our meal since it cost a bit more than any of us normally pays for a meal. The food was pretty good, but when we go to buffet style places (this was our second), the food isn’t all that warm. And when the temperature outside is cold, and the interior temperature is cold, all you want is something warm to eat.
After lunch, we headed to the Ephesus Museum, which displayed the finds fairly well, actually. I was a bit surprised. Krentz had picked out 8 different items that he wanted us to focus on, and assigned each piece to a group of 2 students. Trent and I got two very nice wall frescoes that came from one of the houses. Here is what we discussed: We don’t know that these two frescoes originally met at a corner as the exhibit presents them. One fresco is of Socrates reclined on a bench, and the other is of the Muse of history. We think these walls either emphasized the owner’s pursuit of knowledge and his status as an elite member of society, or simply reflect the function of the room as some sort of study. Perhaps both. Trent had taken a Roman art class and noticed that the style of these frescoes (which fall sometime between the 1st and 5th cen CE) matches the early Pompeii fresco style of a few hundred years before. These simpler, cruder frescoes perhaps reflect the slow progression of artistic styles out from the center of Italy.
After the museum we stopped for about 20 minutes at the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus. This temple was one of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World (as was the Colossus of Rhodes), but sadly little remains. On the one column that they have been able to reconstruct, there is a huge stork’s nest. After its destruction in 262 CE by an earthquake, it was never rebuilt. Its stones and marble were used in other constructions, such as the Church of St. John, which we visited next. This temple has a cool history. The archaic temple, built in the 6th century BCE, was destroyed by fire in 356 BCE. Alexander the Great offered to help fund the reconstruction, but they politely refused. I don’t think they wanted very strong ties or to be indebted to him in any way. The second temple became the largest temple in the ancient world.
Next, we went to the Basilica of St. John. In Roman times, basilica was just a general term for a meeting place, and somewhere to hear speeches. Because temples only housed the gods, the worship, processions, and sacrifices all took place out in front of the temple. Because early Christian communities gathered to worship indoors, and to hear someone speak, they adopted the term “basilica.” Tradition maintains that St. John is buried here, but it hasn’t been confirmed.
We finally got back to the hotel at 4:30 and I have just been taking it easy since then. I was walking all day today! Tomorrow we go to Aphrodisias. That should be an interesting trip.