In my last post, I described the upper section of the long street that cuts through the heart of the ruins of ancient Ephesus. It’s an incredible experience to walk down this street or to study pictures of it, knowing that Paul and Timothy and John hiked up and down this same street 2000 years ago. Paul established the church in Ephesus, staying there two to three years. Timothy stayed behind to oversee its ministries. And John the Apostle spent 25 or so years here as bishop of the church until his death at the end of the first century. The picture below is midway down the long avenue, which is lined with fountains and statutes. It’s also paved with marble.
To the left are the remains of fabulous villas, homes or condominiums, we we would say today. It’s likely that some of the house-churches met here. The sidewalk in front of this exclusive section is composed of beautiful mosaics.
At the lower end sits the ruins of the great library of Ephesus, one of the greatest libraries in antiquity. This structure wasn’t here in Paul’s time; it was built shortly afterward. Nevertheless it was present for the early Christians in the era just after Paul.
At the library at the bottom of the hill the street bears to the right and heads to the harbor, the agora, and the great theater. We’ll explore that part in the next post.
Thanks so much for visiting Ephesus with me today!