Difference between revisions of "Adramyttium"

<p> (Ἀδραμύττιον; in the NT only the adjective Ἀδραμυττηνός [&nbsp;Acts 27:2] is found; Westcott-Hort’s Greek TestamentἈδραμυτηνός).-This flourishing seaport of [[Mysia]] was situated at the head of the Adramyttian Gulf, opposite the island of Lesbos, in the shelter of the southern side of Mt. Ida, after which the [[Gulf]] was also called the ‘Idaean.’ </p> <p> Its name and origin were probably Phœnician, but [[Strabo]] describes it as ‘a city founded by a colony of Athenians, with a harbour and roadstead’ (xiii. i. 51). [[Rising]] to importance under the Attalids, it became the metropolis of the N.W. district of the Roman province of Asia, and the head of a <i> conventus juridicus </i> . Though it passed the coast-road which connected [[Ephesus]] with [[Troy]] and the Hellespont, while an inland highway linked it with Pergamos. </p> <p> It was in ‘a ship of Adramyttium’-larger than a mere coasting vessel-probably making for her own port, that St. Paul and St. Luke sailed from [[Caesarea]] by [[Sidon]] and under the lee (to the east) of [[Cyprus]] to [[Myra]] in Lycia, where they joined a corn-ship of [[Alexandria]] bound for Italy (&nbsp;Acts 27:2-6). The modern town of <i> Edremid </i> , which inherits the name and much of the prosperity of Adramyttium, is 5 miles from the coast. </p> <p> Literature.-Conybeare-Howson, <i> St. Paul </i> , 1877, ii. 381f.; J. Smith, <i> [[Voyage]] and [[Shipwreck]] of St. Paul </i> 4, 1880, p. 62ff.; W. M. Ramsay, <i> St. Paul the [[Traveller]] and the Raman [[Citizen]] </i> , 1895, p. 316. </p> <p> James Strahan. </p>

<p> [[Adramyttium]] (''Ăd-Ra-Mit'T'' ''Ĭ-Ŭm'' ). A seaport town of Mysia: it was an [[Athenian]] colony, and is now but a village, retaining the name ''Edremid,'' with some trade. It was in a ship of Adramyttium that Paul on his voyage to Italy sailed from [[Cæsarea]] to Myra. &nbsp;Acts 27:2-5. </p>

<p> (Ἀδραμύττιον or Ἀδραμύττειον [also Ἀτραμύττιον '','' see Poppo’ s ''Thucyd.'' 2, 441 sq.; and ''Adramytteos,'' Pliny 5:32], in the N.T. only in the adj. Ἀδραμυττηνός, Adramyttene), a city of Asia Minor, on the coast of Mysia, (''A'' Eolis, according to Mela, 1, 18), and at the head of an extensive bay (Sinus Adramyttenus) facing the island of [[Lesbos]] and at the foot of Mount Ida. (See Mitylene). Strabo (13, p. 606) and [[Herodotus]] (7, 42) make it an Athenian colony (comp. Pausan. 4, 27,5; Xenoph. ''Anab.'' 7:8, 8; Livy, 37:19). Stephanus Byzantinus follows Aristotle, and mentions Adramys, the brother of Croesus, as its founder (hence the name). This last is more probably the true account, especially as an adjacent district bore the name of Lydia. According, however, to [[Eustathius]] and other commentators, the place existed before the Trojan war, and was no other than the Pedasus of [[Homer]] (Pliny 5:33). [[Thucydides]] (5:1; 8:108) also mentions a settlement made here by those inhabitants of [[Delos]] who had been expelled by the Athenians, B.C. 422. The city became a place of importance under the kings of Pergamus, and continued so in the time of the Roman power, although it suffered severely during the war with [[Mithridates]] (Strabo, 605). Under the Romans it was the seat of the Conventus Juridicus for the province of Asia (q.v.), i.e. the court-town of the district (Pliny, 5:32). It is mentioned in [[Scripture]] only (&nbsp;Acts 27:2) from the fact that the ship in which Paul embarked at Caesarea as a prisoner on his way to Italy, belonged to Adramyttium (πλο ‹ ον Ἀδραμυττηνόν v. r. Ἀτραμυτηνόν, see Wetstein in loc.). It was rare to find a vessel going direct from Palestine to Italy. The usual course, therefore, was to embark in some ship bound to one of the ports of Asia Minor, and there go on board a vessel sailing for Italy. This was the course taken by the centurion who had charge of Paul. [[Ships]] of Adramyttium must have been frequent on this coast, for it was a place of considerable traffic. It lay on the great Roman road between Assos, Troas, and the Hellespont on one side, and Pergamus, Ephesus, and [[Miletus]] on the other, and was connected by similar roads with the interior of the country. The ship of Adramyttium took them to Myra, in Lycia, and here they embarked in an Alexandrian vessel bound for Italy (see Conybeare and Howson, Life of St. Paul, 2, 310). Some commentators (Hammond, Grotius, Witsius, etc.) strangely suppose that Adrametum (see Tzchucke, ad Mel. 1, 7, 2) in Africa (Pliny 5:3; Ptolmy 4:3; Appian, Syr. 33:47; comp. Shaw, Trav. p. 96 sq.) was the port to which the ship belonged. Adramyttium is still called Edramit or Adramiti (Fellows, Asia Minor, p. 39; comp. Pococke, Trav. II, 2, 16). It is built on a hill, contains about 1000 houses, and is still a place of some commerce (Turner, Tour, 3, 265). The general appearance of the place, however, is poor, the houses being meanly built, and inhabited principally by Greek fishermen (Buisching, Erdbesch. 5, 1, 91). From medals struck in this town, it appears that it celebrated the worship of [[Castor]] and [[Pollux]] (&nbsp;Acts 28:11), as also that of [[Jupiter]] and [[Minerva]] (whose effigies appear in the preceding cut). </p>

<p> '''''ad''''' -'''''ra''''' -'''''mit´i''''' -'''''um''''' ( Ἀδραμύττιον , <i> '''''Adramúttion''''' </i> ; for other forms see Thayer's lexicon): An ancient city of Mysia in the Roman [[Province]] of Asia. The only reference in the New [[Testament]] to it is in &nbsp;Acts 27:2 which says that Paul, while being taken a prisoner from Caesarea to Rome, embarked upon a ship belonging to Adramyttium. </p> <p> The city, with a good harbor, stood at the head of the Gulf of Adramyttium facing the island of Lesbos, and at the base of Mt. Ida. Its early history is obscure. While some authors fancy that it was the Pedasus of Homer, others suppose that it was founded by Adramys, the brother of the wealthy Croesus; probably a small Athenian colony existed there long before the time of Adramys. When [[Pergamus]] became the capital of Asia, Adramyttium grew to be a city of considerable importance, and the metropolis of the Northwest part of the province. There the assizes were held. The coins which the peasants pick up in the surrounding fields, and which are frequently aids in determining the location and history of the cities of Asia Minor, were struck at Adramyttium as late as the 3rd century ad, and sometimes in connection with Ephesus. Upon them the effigies of Castor and Pollux appear, showing that Adramyttium was the seat of worship of these deities. </p> <p> The ancient city with its harbor has entirely disappeared, but on a hill, somewhat farther inland, is a village of about one thousand houses bearing the name Edremid, a corruption of the ancient name Adramys. The miserable wooden huts occupied by Greek fishermen and by Turks are surrounded by vineyards and olive trees, hence the chief trade is in olive oil, raisins and timber. In ancient times Adramyttium was noted for a special ointment which was prepared there (Pliny, <i> NH </i> , xiii.2.5). </p>