Excavations
Smyrna was the
second city to
receive a letter
from the apostle
John in the book of
Revelation. Acts
19:10 suggests that
the church there was
founded during
Paul’s third
missionary journey.
Due to the fact that
the port city of
Izmir houses the
second largest
population in
Turkey today,
the site of ancient
Smyrna has been
little excavated.
Excepting the agora,
theater, and
sections of the
Roman aqueduct,
little remains of
the ancient city.
Fortifications
Smyrna sat 35 miles
north of
Ephesus, built
near the ruins of an
ancient Greek colony
destroyed in the 7th
century B.C.
Lysimachus, one of
Alexander the Great’s
generals, rebuilt
Smyrna as a new
Hellenistic city in
the 3rd century
B.C. The city was
later established as
a Roman commercial
center with a port
on the Aegean Sea.
Scholars believe the
city grew to about
100,000 by the time
of the apostles Paul
and John.
The Agora
This 2nd century
A.D. agora, midway
between the
acropolis and the
harbor, was
partially excavated
by German and
Turkish
archaeologists from
1932-1941.
Porticoes lined the
north and west sides
of the agora, and an
altar to Zeus sat in
the center.
Agora First Level
Arches
The letter in
Revelation 2:8-11 is
filled with the
affection and joy
that comes from
triumph over
hardship and
persecution. The
church faced strong
Jewish opposition in
Smyrna. There was a
considerable number
of Jews in the city
from pre-NT times
through the
Ottoman period.
Even today various
synagogues are
located throughout
the modern city.
Agora Lion Statue
When John said that
some will be thrown
into prison he knew
that Roman
imprisonment was
frequently a prelude
to execution. He
encouraged the
believers to be
faithful even unto
death. In this
persecution, John’s
own apprentice,
Polycarp, was
martyred here in 155
A.D. An example of
John’s warning and
exhortation, he
refused to blaspheme
the Lord’s name and
was subsequently
burned alive.
