1/9/08

Images of Antiquity: Amphipolis, Berea and Matera, Pt. 10




Exactly one year ago today, I set out for a study trip to Turkey and Greece. At present, I am finishing up a video commentary of that trip (I've been sifting through about 8 hours of very raw footage) which I will post soon. For now, though, I am just going to share a few more pictures for my Images of Antiquity series.

In the first photo of the slideshow, we see a statue of the famed Amphipolis lion. There isn't much significance to this photo other than the fact that it marks the ancient territory of Amphipolis ("around the city"). Of course, Amphipolis is one the cities that Paul traveled through after leaving Philippi. It is mentioned in brief at Acts 17.1. Amphipolis was a fortified city located about 3 miles from the Aegean, a body of water which Paul was no stranger to.

The second photo is a picture I took while walking through the Jewish Quarter in Berea (pronounced with a "V" as in: very-uh). The building seen here is the present-day synagogue located there. Many locals and many scholars think that the ancient synagogue where Paul preached has been built on top of. Thus, it is suspected that where this synagogue now stands, Paul preached many years ago. This supposition is quite likely!

The third picture is of one of the mosaics dedicated to Paul, which stands in the middle of the modern city. This particular mosaic (which is covered up by some of the video controls) depicts Paul's Damascus Road encounter. Berea is mentioned at four junctures in Acts: 17.10, 13, 14 and 20.4. Like everywhere else Paul went, he faced opposition (because of his preaching and teaching) in Berea. However, Paul also had his allies. Luke tells us that Paul had a ministerial associate named Sopater from this town.

The fourth photo is of the mountain range in Matera (or Meteora). I've written a bit more in-depth about Matera and also included more pictures--you may like the "shelves of skulls" photo!--of the site here. Matera has nothing to do with Paul but instead, it's claim to fame is it's odd looking mountains and the fact that monks and nuns have long inhabited them. Again, read my previous post on this site for more information.

Feel free to copy and use the pictures at leisure as long as you do not manipulate or change them and as long as you give credit where credit is due.

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