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Day 12
Wednesday, October 19th— PERGAMUM AUSCULAPION - PINE NUT FOREST- AYVALIK
Thursday, October 19th - submitted by Sue Humble
On Thursday the 19th we were off to Izmir, named after an Amazon queen. Here we visited Meli’s beautiful home and met her mom and several of her friends. It was a real treat. Her mother joined us for the rest of the trip. We actually took a ferry across the inlet to get to the other side of Izmir.
The asclepion would only take those they felt
they could heal. Once the patient made a sacrifice they could enter into
the tunnel.
After the patient entered the sleeping area, they would lay on the beds and be given a sedative by the priest or doctor to help them sleep, and the priest or doctor would whisper into the ear of the patient. It was thought that Asclepius would appear to them in their sleep. Healing was very holistic: some would be told to partake of gymnasium activities, some were told to listen to music or enjoy the play at the theatre, some were told to read, so there was a large library on site. There was also a pool or bath of sacred water where people would wash and bath. This Asclepion in Pergamum was one of the largest found; it was very cool!
Meli talked to us about the letter to the church of the Ephesians—they had abandoned their first love. It was thought that the Nicolotians were people who ate the flesh of sacrificed animals.
The letter to Smyrna referred to the giving of those who would be given a crown and we saw a woman wearing a crown of a walled city. This represented political power.
In Thyatira there is a reference to those whose legs look like brass. As one would walk through the town they would hear sounds of copper and brass works, because there was a copper mine nearby.
Pergamum had a double sword. Sardis is said to be alive but dead. This town held the largest synagogue in the ancient world. They were Christians only in name. The river Pictalos was full of gold, so the town was very wealthy and they often dressed in white.
Philadelphia- the city of brotherly love.
Messages to the churches in Revelation: Ephesus expanded to 1st century-confusion among followers of Christianity. Smyrna - make your own crown, symbolizing political power. Made Christians hide from the Romans. Pergamum- seat of Satan eliminated. Christianity, as promised, established as a state religion. Teachings of Baal, gotten from the pagan ways. The word is the double-edged sword in the Christian church. Thyatira: By 1058 CE Christianity stared into the dark ages, which is represented in Thyatira. They would not accept Jezebel - false works. Break into pieces of pottery. Sardis: asks for reawakening, reconciliation. Have to wake up (renaissance). Dress in white - baptism, representing purity and acceptance into God’s kingdom. Philadelphia - new humanity through brotherly love Laodicea- neither hot nor cold - they lacked spirituality
We then headed to the Acropolis, built in 400 BCE by Telesporus. There were two major attractions. First was the large temple of Trajan, built of white marble. We also saw the temple of Athena and the altar of Zeus. There was a large Theatre built on the side of the hill that had 80 rows of seats and an estimated capacity of 10,000 people. The second interesting thing was that the hill was quite a slope that the acropolis was built on, so they had to build arches with platforms on top to extend the earth. It was fascinating. We also saw a 2400 yr old cistern, built as a perfect circle. They were amazing architects.
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