The Isles of Greece and the Seven Churches

1. Ephesus (Rev. 2:1) was the most important city of the district, its church was the largest, and it was the first addressed. (A description and plan of this city may be found on page 125.)

2. Smyrna (Rev. 2:8) is north of Ephesus, about 40 miles in a direct line, though longer by the route of travel. It is on the Ægean Sea, at the head of the Hermæan Gulf, at the foot of Mount Pagus. The earliest city was built B.C. 1500, by the Greeks, and destroyed and rebuilt several times. From the time of Alexander the Great, who was one of its builders, it became an important city. Its earliest mention in Christian history is in the Revelation. Polycarp, a pupil of John, was martyred here A.D. 155. His grave is still shown on a hill near the city. Despite fires, earthquakes and wars, it has retained its importance, and is now the largest city on the Asiatic side of the Ægean Sea, having a population of nearly 200,000 people. The modern city is about two miles from the ancient site.

3. Pergamos (Rev. 2:12), more properly Pergamum,[134] was 60 miles northeast of Smyrna, in the district of Mysia, 3 miles north of the little river Caicus, and 20 miles from the Ægean Sea. It was the capital of a small but wealthy kingdom, which arose in the breaking up of Alexander's empire. It was celebrated for its large library, which at one time contained 200,000 manuscripts, but was by Mark Antony presented to Cleopatra, and removed to Alexandria. The city was devoted to the worship of Æsculapius, the patron divinity of medicine; and was, like most idolatrous places, corrupt in its morals. It is now a city of 25,000 inhabitants, called Pergama.

map: ISLE OF PATMOS.
4. Thyatira (Rev. 2:18) was a city in the province of Lydia, on the road from Pergamos to Sardis. It was founded by Alexander the Great, who planted it with people from Macedonia, which may account for the fact that "Lydia of Thyatira" was found by Paul at Philippi, in Macedonia. It was a prosperous manufacturing town, but never a great city, and its scarlet cloth still has a reputation throughout the Orient. It is now a place with a population of from 17,000 to 20,000, and is called ak Hissar, "white castle."

5. Sardis (Rev. 3:1) lay 30 miles south of Thyatira, between the river Hermus and Mount Tmolus. It was the capital of Crœsus, the wealthy king of Lydia, whose empire was overthrown by Cyrus the Great. After the time of Alexander it belonged to the kingdom of Pergamos, until its absorption into the Roman empire. It was a place of extensive commerce, which led to prosperity, and the worldliness of the Christian church, rebuked in the message of the Revelation. It is now a miasmatic region, with scarcely an inhabitant, and bears the name Sert Kalessi.

6. Philadelphia (Rev. 3:7) was about 25 miles southeast of Sardis, on the river Cogamus, a branch of the Hermus. It was built and named by Attalus Philadelphus, king of Pergamos, and was the centre of a rich farming region, which has kept it inhabited through all the vicissitudes of the centuries. It was destroyed by an earthquake A.D. 17, but rebuilt. Its population is now about 10,000, and its modern name is Allah Shehr, "city of God."

7. Laodicea (Rev. 3:14) was the capital of Phrygia, and was 50 or 60 miles from Philadelphia, according to route. It was on the bank of the Lycus, near Hierapolis and Colosse. Its ancient name was Diospolis, but was changed by the Syrian king, Seleucus II., in honor of his wife, Laodice. In A.D. 62 it was destroyed by an earthquake; but its people were sufficiently rich to decline the aid of the Romans in rebuilding their city. Its worldly prosperity was reflected in its church, which received the sharpest rebukes of the Revelator. The Mohammedans destroyed the city, which is now a mass of ruins, surrounding a village called Eski-hissar.

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