ABC Wednesday, P for Philippi

With thanks to Denise Nesbitt,  who created ABC, and Roger, who took over from her. For more interesting ABC posts click on the logo in the sidebar. This week we are looking for words beginning with P.

This is supposed to be the place where Lydia was baptized

Paul in Philippi
Philippi apparently had only a small number of Jewish inhabitants and no synagogue. Consequently Shabbat worship was held outside the city on the Gangitis River.  Here Paul met a group of women to whom he preached the gospel.  Lydia, a merchant trading purple cloth, believed Paul's message and was baptized with members of her household.  Subsequently Paul went and lived at her home.

Philippi is a mixure of many cultures : The Greek and the  Roman cultures are the most important Founded in the 4th c. B.C. and renamed after King Philip of Macedon, Philippi was an important outpost on the Egnation Way.

Excavations Archaeological work  has revealed a large  and well-preserved  forum, a theater,  the alleged jail  of Paul and several  Byzantine churches,  including one of the  earliest churches  known in Greece.   The number of  churches  in the city in the  Byzantine period  indicate Philippi's  importance to   Christians at this  time.  A series of  earthquakes  apparently destroyed  many of the  buildings  and probably  contributed to  the city's decline.

Egnatian Way The Via Egnatia was built beginning in 145 BC and at its greatest extent connected Byzantium with the Adriatic ports.  This route was Rome's primary artery to the east and Philippi was an important outpost along the road.  The Egnatian Way made it easier for Rome to move troops throughout the empire and it was the route that Paul traveled on from Neapolis to Philippi, Amphipolis, Apollonia and Thessalonica.

Philippian Jail This traditional place of Paul and Silas's  imprisonment is of  dubious authenticity,  but it remembers the  attack on these men  and their subsequent  flogging and  imprisonment.  In the  course of the night,  a violent earthquake  shook the prison and  the jailer feared that  all might have escaped.   After learning that  none had fled,  the Philippian jailer put  his faith in Christ and  was baptized with his  family.

Latrines Public bathrooms were not uncommon in ancient Roman cities, but this one is a good illustration for Paul's reference to scubalon, or human waste.

Roman latrines

Related Websites

Philippi (Hellenic Ministry of Culture) Highlights the site's history, excavations, and important monuments. Hosted by the government of Greece. Mission in Philippi (The Unbound Bible) Briefly recounts the history of Philippi  and the biblical events that happened there in Acts 16. Philippi (Christian Travel Study Programs) Summarizes the city's history,  biblical significance, and excavations. The Battle of Philippi: The Battle that Changed the Course of Western Civilization  (Life and Land Seminars) Gordon Franz details the battle in which Mark Antony  and Octavian defeated Brutus and Cassius.