Following Paul's footsteps in Greece
Spring Break Trip
The following is a site by site diary account and reflections written during
Spring Break trip in the footsteps of St. Paul
through Greece.
Of course it is not the same as being there, but taking this "virtual
tour" is sure cheaper than actually going along, and it will help you
prepare for and essay question on Paul's ministry in Greece. Next time come
along in person!
1. Neapolis.
Since my journey was primarily about tracing St. Paul's steps through Greece I
drove from Athens in two days to Kavala, the Biblical site of Neapolis (Acts
16:11) where Paul first set foot on Europe (though he wouldn't have thought of
it that way.) A delightful coastal town with a deep semi-circular indentation
from the sea, no wonder it has been used for thousands of years as a harbor.
The impressive aqueduct is worth seeing, but is not Roman but
"recent" being only a half-millennia old. Most likely Paul, Silas and
Timothy rested here overnight after the several day journey from Troas across
the Aegean sea where he passed Samonthrace, which is basically a 5000' mountain
rising directly out of the sea.
2. Philippi.
My favorite archeological site in all of Greece.
Heading about ten miles North over a steep mountain
trail, Paul would then have dropped down to a fertile valley, mostly swamps
at his time then rising out of the valley to the North he'd seen Philippi's acropolis protruding from a distance -- well,
Silas, Luke and Timothy probably saw it from a distance, Paul may not have had
that sharp eyesight. The city walls at Paul's time encompassed this entire
hill-mountain and sprawled all around it on the Western slopes. After this ten
mile walk Paul would have entered the Southern or "Neapolis Gate"
which still guards the (now paved) road North bisecting the ruins. Philippi
was the chief city of Macedonia
(Northern Greece) founded by Philip II, the father of
Alexander the Great, as a gold producing city in the 4th century BC.
Philippi was the largest city in Macedonia
when Paul visited here. The two of us had the site to ourselves for a half day,
being the only guests around. There are no ropes and few signs... you just
wander over the (perhaps) 80 acres of excavations and walk where Paul met the
God-fearer Lydia at the river (the river Gangites, down the road to the North,
then left about a quarter mile, which is just outside the original walls). It
was here Paul cast the demon out of the servant girl, and was himself tossed in
prison with Silas and as a result the jailer was converted. (There is an old
cistern that is shown to tour-bus-types who insist seeing the actual prison,
but don't believe it too quickly, though there are some carvings in the wall of
the and a church was built over the site if you want to believe it.) There is
some evidence from the reading of the "we passages" in the rest of
Acts that Luke was a resident of Philippi as well, but
that is not certain.
The theater is also pre-Roman and was built by Philip
II. We counted 22 rows still existing, about 330' around the top narrowing to
130' at the "stage." Figured the way church pew makers figure seating
it would seat at least 3500. Probably more in ancient times.
The Agora or combination marketplace/seat of
government/shopping mall/downtown square is well preserved and the paving
stones are mostly still intact, as are many columns. And the Roman public toilets are well rpeserved. (No kidding.)
The old Roman trans-Greece
interstate highway, the "Ignatian way," or
"Via Ignatia" is uncovered and despite repeated earthquakes is still
walkable. The grooves from ancient carts are still evident. Philippi
was so large that the Via Ignatia had a business route which detoured around
the back side of the Agora which the archeologists dubbed the "Commercial
way." The Ignatian way crossed the entire Greek peninsula from the Aegean
to the Adriatic.
As for temples to various God's there were plenty including Artimis, Cybele, a
collection of Egyptian gods, Zeus, Athena, Dionysis, the Hero-Horseman cult, and
Silvanus (Silvanus' temple, still displays in the open weather the
carved-on-marble list of names of contributors to
the construction, the equivalent of today's stained glass window dedications or
colleges naming buildings after generous donors.) The Philippians weren't in
need of more gods when Paul arrived, they had plenty thank you. However, it was
here that the first beach head of Christianity in Europe
took hold.
There are also several ruins of Christian Basilicas here dating to the 4th-6th
century AD, ingloriously named Basilica A, Basilica B and so forth. Also the
Bishop's residence has been unearthed from this time. Apparently once
Christianity triumphed, they built their own temples towering over the former
Roman gods, sometimes utilizing stones and portions of the old gods of stone or
particularly impressive parts of their temples. The setting forces the visitor
to ask how Christianity triumphed here, given the dominance of other gods when
Paul visited about half way through the first century.
It was also here at Philippi that Paul's first European
convert, Lydia
was made and baptized in the river outside Philippi's
city walls.
One more thing. From the top of the acropolis (or, if you are a sissy from part
way up the hill) a vast fertile plain sprawls out to the West punctuated by two
small hills. This was the "marsh of Philippi"
which have now been drained to make fertile farm land. It was here, two years
after the assassination of Julius Caesar, that Octavian and Antony
whipped the forces of Cassius and Brutus on October 23, 42 BC. Octavian and Antony's
13,000 troops out maneuvered Cassius and Brutus, who both committed suicide. Of
course, Octavian dispatched his ally Antony
ten years later when he conquered the kingdom
of Cleopatra, but you saw that in
the movie, right?
3. Amphipolis
From Philippi Paul headed for Thessalonica, a hundred mile trip. We followed in
Paul's footsteps in a semicircular route northwest,
then finally South to Amphipolis on the river Strimonas attempting to follow
the ancient route of the Via Ignatia. Here there are thousands of prosperous
fertile fields. To an Indiana
resident it seems strange to see no farm houses though. Greek farmers live in
town and go out to their fields to work, as they have from ancient times. After
about 50 miles we crossed a tiny rickety bridge over the Strimonas river to
confront a towering Roman lion (maybe 30') guarding
the crossing. Paul would have crossed the river here on his way to
Thessalonica. Nearby was the ancient city of Amphilopis
which Luke mentions in Acts (17:1) merely as a way point showing Paul's route.
4. Apollonia.
From the crossing of the river Strimonas Paul and company would have headed
South West around the shore of the sea until reaching the outlet of a river
draining a wonderfully beautiful broad valley through which he next headed. The
valley surrounds two lakes lined up in a row behind each other and Apollonia is
located on the South shore of the first one, in Tiberias style on the Galilee.
A dusty tourist-free city today the traveler is tempted to follow Luke's lead
and simply check it off while heading Easterly toward Thessalonica.
5. Thessalonica.
Thessalonica is located on the neck of the Halkidiki peninsula, which we
quickly nicknamed "The Udder" for its strange shape on the map. Here
Paul preached in the first Jewish synagogue, which was his usual church
planting/church splitting strategy. After three weeks of preaching a riot
ensued (as usual for Paul) and got Jason his host and friends dragged before
the council and had to post bail before being released. Paul had ducked
capture, and now "the Brethren" (apparently converts from his
three-week revival in Thessalonica) hustled Paul off to by night to Berea.
From a careful reading of Paul's letter to this church one can deduce that he
probably stayed here several months beyond the two weeks intimated in Acts..
Modern Thessalonica is a smoggy industrial town with
noisy horn-blaring trucks everywhere. The smog can make a grown man cry.
Today's Thessalonica is more like yesterday's Philippi
-- a busy dirty city where the souls live. While travelers like myself prefer
the quiet countryside of a now-deserted Philippi, Paul
preferred the bustling dirty noisy cities like Thessalonica is, and Philippi
was. Though the traffic was less than riot-level, we too hurried on to Berea
and found the city more noble.
6. Berea.
Heading west again, still on the Ignatian way, traversing yet another fertile
valley, Paul arrived in about 50 miles at Berea
(modern spelling Veria). Here Paul found a different audience: open minded Jews
who read and studied the Scriptures to see if his preaching was accurate
(basically that the messiah must suffer). Many Jews believed plus Greeks and
even some prominent women and men of the city. However the word traveled back
the 50 mile stretch to the Jews at Thessalonica and some self-appointed
"Riot missionaries" from Thessalonica followed Paul to Berea
and stirred up the crowds. Silas and Timothy stayed while the new Christians in
Berea hustled Paul the 50 miles
back to the sea, presumably to hop a boat bound for Athens.
Silas and Timothy may have remained behind both to provide cover for Paul's
escape, and to build up the new Christians at Berea.
They were to link up with Paul again in Athens,
some 200 miles to the south. Paul (probably) sailed to Athens
in a few days.
7. Athens.
The primary stop for Mediterranean tourists. No wonder. Jammed with
archeological finds and very much like driving in the chariot races of Ben Hur.
Paul arrived here and was provoked at the shallow polytheism of Athens.
He preached in the Jewish synagogue, and in the Agora-Marketplace.
The Agora is easily accessed and one can walk