|
   
“Philadelphia
was the only Pergamenian foundation among the Seven Cities. It derived
its name from Attalus II, 159-138 BC, whose truth and loyalty to his
brother Eumenes won him the epithet Philadelphus. The district where
it was situated, the valley of the Cogamis, a tributary of the Hermus,
came into the possession of the Pergamenian King Eumenes at the treaty
of 189. From that time onward the district was in the heart of the
Pergamenian realm; and therefore the new city could not have been
founded as a military colony to guard a frontier, like Thyatira.
Military strength was, of course, never entirely neglected in those
foundations of the Greek kings; and especially a city founded, like
Philadelphia, on an important road, was charged with the duty of
guarding the road. But military strength and defence against invasion
were required chiefly near the eastern frontier, far away on the other
side of Phrygia, where an enemy should be prevented from entering the
realm. Philadelphia was founded more for consolidating and regulating
and educating the central regions subject to the Pergamenian kings.
The intention of its founder was to make it a centre of the Graeco-Asiatic
civilisation and a means of spreading the Greek language and manners
in the eastern parts of Lydia and in Phrygia. It was a missionary city
from the beginning, founded to promote a certain unity of spirit,
customs, and loyalty within the realm, the apostle of Hellenism in an
Oriental land. It was a successful teacher. Before AD 19 the Lydian
tongue had ceased to be spoken in Lydia, and Greek was the only
language of the country” (Ramsay, The Letters to the Seven
Churches of Asia, Chapter 27).
On
our Holy Days 2000 Page,
by following the Pentecost 2000 links, you may
access both audio
and transcripts
relating the significance of Philadelphia
to church history. This series by Fred R. Coulter is entitled The
Seven Church Harvest.
Ephesus: The
City of Change
Smyrna: The
City of Life
Pergamum: The
Royal City: The City of Authority
Thyatira: Weakness
Made Strong
Sardis: The
City of Death
Laodicea: The
City of Compromise
|
