Ephesus history paper

8/7/2019 Ephesus history paper

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The town called Ephesus

The United States of America is considered to some the great melting pot of the

world. That might be true in todays society, however, in the ancient world cities were taken

over again and again with different culture and religious ideals forced on them. One place in

particular is the city of Ephesus. Throughout its years of existents, it flourished with all types

of beliefs and ideals from across the world.

Ephesus was situated near the Cayster River, in the middle of the western coast of what

was called Asia Minor. It provided a perfect place for a port and a trade metropolis for

merchants and seamen. Around 1000 or 900 B.C., the Phoenician armies took charge and

occupied a lot of Asia Minor. The Phoenicians were a sailing people, having seven ports,

which traveled and took all types of things to trade with. They sailed all over the

Mediterranean and brought back gold, spices, furs, metals, and all types of other materials.

They even established one of the first extensive alphabets which were spread all over the

world and used in their import and export. After the decline of the Phoenicians, the

Persians, under the control of Xerxes, around 600 500 BC came and took the land right

from them. They had developed a speech that is considered one of the oldest still in use

today. Not so much of the mariners as the Phoenicians, the Persians brought a lot of the

Asian influences to the west as well as Ephesus.


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The Persians rule over Ephesus was short lived, thanks to a man called Alexander the

Great. Alexander the Great was born to Philip II and Olympias, who would later become his

fourth wife, in Pella the capital of Macedon. He was educated by the best scholars and even

taught by Aristotle as an adolescent. When he was old enough, Alexander would accompany

his father on military battles throughout Macedon. After the death of his father, Alexander

would take the battles to a new level. He spread his forces east into Asia and captured all the

land once occupied by the Persians. He brought to the region a Greek influence and a

military way of life. During his reign there was a time called the Hellenistic period in which

Greek style and influence took hold of the entire region. Because of its massive size,

powerful local rulers exerted significant influence. This is the time between the Classical Era

and the Roman Empire. This influence would last even after Alexander the Great died. After

the death of Alexander the Great, there was a huge take over by one of the greatest

civilizations ever, the Roman Empire in the first and second century BC. They pushed and

fought their civilization across the world. The Roman Gods had taken over religion in the

area and temples were built in their honor. Throughout the years of Ephesus existence has

been filled with all types of influence and forced upon its people.

During the time when Paul visited and planted a church there it was the second largest

town in the world and the capital of the Roman Empire in Asia Minor. It was a port into

Asia from Rome; its ships traded with ports of Greece, Egypt, Spain and all other parts of

the world. It was a large commercial center, extravagant similar to New York during

fashions week. Gold, silver, jewels and all types of sparkle flowed throughout the city. It was

a center for banking, commerce, provisional government, and religious practice. Being half

Greek, half Asiatic it was a compound of East and West. It was materialistic, idealistic and

political. It was an ancient day New York or Los Angeles with the different cultures meshing

and twisting together to draw faded lines in what is traditional and what is convenient. This


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is why it was such an important place for Paul and the other apostles to visit and teach and

try to make right.

In conclusion, the great town of Ephesus was in fact a great melting pot of the

ancient world. The different cultures of merchant trading, Asian influence, Roman Gods and

Greek teachings, really shaped a great town. Ancient towns or provinces seem to be different

than places today; however, if you do your research you will see that they are not that

different at all.

Documents

Ephesus history paper