Sojourn in Turkey, Day 7: Artemision, Serapaion, Cave of Paul and Thecla [Ephesus]
Today had our first master's level student presentations (the rest were doctoral level) on the Artemision and the Serapaion of Ephesus. The Artemision was the most important sacred site in this area for centuries. At its height, it was one of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World, larger even than the temples of Apollo and Hera. Now, not much is left of it because its building materials (mostly marble) were mined for later Christian churches and mosques. The site itself was immense- I can see how such an imposing and large building was an economic and power center through the ages. Interesting to me is how the temple got rebuilt ~5 times, and the location didn't change... but the gods did. First it was an indigenous fertility god. Then it was Apollo, then it was Artemis... then in the Byzentine age, parts of it were made into a small sanctuary for the Christian God. In Western culture, we tend to associate the sacred with the person of a diety, but in this culture, it was more about the place than who was worshipped.
After just a brief time at that site, we went to the Serapaion. It was dubbed so by my professor, Dr. Walters, who studied it and wrote a paper on it. Now he wants to take that back and call it simply a "temple of the Egyptian gods." At any rate, it was a huge structure that climbed up the hill from the market area near the harbor. It's a great example of ancient mystery cults because of the secret passages and staircases probably used for initiation. Another interesting thing is the use of water, which would flow from niches containing statues of Egyptian gods into a main pool in the apse. It would have been a loud sanctuary! The Egyptian priesthood had very complicated jobs, taking care of the statues and opening/ closing the temple daily in elaborate rituals. We talked about multiple religious belongings in the Roman Empire, and how people's civic identity would be associated with the patron god of the city, but their individual identity would be associated with their cult or social club.
Then we took a hike up the mountainside to the cave of Paul and Thecla. It was a wonderful break from the rigorous academics we've been doing, because I had a religious experience when I was in the cave. The story and explanation is in the LJ cut under this one. After coming down from the mountain, we had some individual time with our sites to observe and take notes. Once I was done in Ephesus I came back to Selcuk, grabbed a snack, and headed to the Ephesus Museum to take notes on the statues that were moved from my site. Armed with my notes and a full tummy, I returned to the Crisler Library to work on my presentation. I stayed all evening, opting to let my friends go to dinner without me and bring me back an "Everything Sandwich." It may have been a lot less funny than some of their stories, but at least I got a first draft of my presentation done- 2 pages single-spaced, whew! I hope I can cram it all into a 10-15 presentation!
Just minutes ago I was inside the cave of Paul and Thecla. It was mind-blowing to see with my own eyes the earliest depiction of St. Paul. The paintings on that layer of plaster date c. 500-600 CE. For once, I was able to switch modes from academic to spiritual: it really was a religious experience for me to see those apinting, and the ones of the apostles. Cjengis (our guide) said that Christians hid there throughout the centuries, which we know from 500 dated inscriptions from the era of the paintings up until 1973.
It was incredible to stand in the place where so many Christians through the ages of stood. Seeing matriarchs of the faith, Thecla and Theocleia, was a wonderful thing: women have been leaders and teachers of the faith since the beginning! And to see Paul making the sign that Pastor Jim makes at every benediction really made the connection for me between the time of early Christianity and my time.
Amazing. It occurred to me that this is why I'm a Christian. Despite Christian imperialism, torture, forced conversion, and extortion through the ages, my faith is rooted deep in history... and those roots can't be erased. We may have abundant evidence of Greco-Roman paganism, but it didn't survive (as a religion) to the present day. Christianity did. My tradition has evolved and thrived through 2 millennia. It's still here, evolving and thriving today- and with good reason. This tradition speaks to the human experience- need, abundance, joy, pain- from the time we're born to the time we die and beyond. Discovering that heritage for the first time on-site brings a vibrancy to my faith, like those paintings I saw today. It awakens my faith, like the fresh, crisp breeze blowing between the mountains in the valley where I am now.
After so many decades in the recent past spent experiencing guilt and sorrow over what the Church has done wrong since 400 CE, it's a wonderful revelation that in Christianity, life springs anew. Connecting with ikons from the 500's reminds me of a time when the tradition was brand-new, not marred by systematic oppression (quite as much). Christians are not fundamentally oppressors. We are fundamentally inventors, risk-takers, truth-tellers, path-finders. We're creative and resourceful. No matter what, we will find a way to be the Church for another millennium, and another, and another. This is who we are and who we always will be.
I feel proud of my Christian identity and proud of my faith tradition. I'm not proud of myself- not proud of my trunk, leaves, or twigs- but I'm proud of the soil in which I'm rooted. I stand on solid ground.
After just a brief time at that site, we went to the Serapaion. It was dubbed so by my professor, Dr. Walters, who studied it and wrote a paper on it. Now he wants to take that back and call it simply a "temple of the Egyptian gods." At any rate, it was a huge structure that climbed up the hill from the market area near the harbor. It's a great example of ancient mystery cults because of the secret passages and staircases probably used for initiation. Another interesting thing is the use of water, which would flow from niches containing statues of Egyptian gods into a main pool in the apse. It would have been a loud sanctuary! The Egyptian priesthood had very complicated jobs, taking care of the statues and opening/ closing the temple daily in elaborate rituals. We talked about multiple religious belongings in the Roman Empire, and how people's civic identity would be associated with the patron god of the city, but their individual identity would be associated with their cult or social club.
Then we took a hike up the mountainside to the cave of Paul and Thecla. It was a wonderful break from the rigorous academics we've been doing, because I had a religious experience when I was in the cave. The story and explanation is in the LJ cut under this one. After coming down from the mountain, we had some individual time with our sites to observe and take notes. Once I was done in Ephesus I came back to Selcuk, grabbed a snack, and headed to the Ephesus Museum to take notes on the statues that were moved from my site. Armed with my notes and a full tummy, I returned to the Crisler Library to work on my presentation. I stayed all evening, opting to let my friends go to dinner without me and bring me back an "Everything Sandwich." It may have been a lot less funny than some of their stories, but at least I got a first draft of my presentation done- 2 pages single-spaced, whew! I hope I can cram it all into a 10-15 presentation!
Just minutes ago I was inside the cave of Paul and Thecla. It was mind-blowing to see with my own eyes the earliest depiction of St. Paul. The paintings on that layer of plaster date c. 500-600 CE. For once, I was able to switch modes from academic to spiritual: it really was a religious experience for me to see those apinting, and the ones of the apostles. Cjengis (our guide) said that Christians hid there throughout the centuries, which we know from 500 dated inscriptions from the era of the paintings up until 1973.
It was incredible to stand in the place where so many Christians through the ages of stood. Seeing matriarchs of the faith, Thecla and Theocleia, was a wonderful thing: women have been leaders and teachers of the faith since the beginning! And to see Paul making the sign that Pastor Jim makes at every benediction really made the connection for me between the time of early Christianity and my time.
Amazing. It occurred to me that this is why I'm a Christian. Despite Christian imperialism, torture, forced conversion, and extortion through the ages, my faith is rooted deep in history... and those roots can't be erased. We may have abundant evidence of Greco-Roman paganism, but it didn't survive (as a religion) to the present day. Christianity did. My tradition has evolved and thrived through 2 millennia. It's still here, evolving and thriving today- and with good reason. This tradition speaks to the human experience- need, abundance, joy, pain- from the time we're born to the time we die and beyond. Discovering that heritage for the first time on-site brings a vibrancy to my faith, like those paintings I saw today. It awakens my faith, like the fresh, crisp breeze blowing between the mountains in the valley where I am now.
After so many decades in the recent past spent experiencing guilt and sorrow over what the Church has done wrong since 400 CE, it's a wonderful revelation that in Christianity, life springs anew. Connecting with ikons from the 500's reminds me of a time when the tradition was brand-new, not marred by systematic oppression (quite as much). Christians are not fundamentally oppressors. We are fundamentally inventors, risk-takers, truth-tellers, path-finders. We're creative and resourceful. No matter what, we will find a way to be the Church for another millennium, and another, and another. This is who we are and who we always will be.
I feel proud of my Christian identity and proud of my faith tradition. I'm not proud of myself- not proud of my trunk, leaves, or twigs- but I'm proud of the soil in which I'm rooted. I stand on solid ground.