Smyrna

Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament

(Σμύρνα)

Smyrna has been an important city for at least 3000 years. Occupying one of the most beautiful and commanding positions in the eastern aegean coastland, at the head of a deep and sheltered gulf, it has had a very chequered but honourable history, and it is to-day by far the most prosperous city in Asia Minor having a quarter of a million inhabitants. ‘Old Smyrna’-ἡ παλαιὰ Σμύρνα (Strabo, XIV. i. 37)-was colonized by the aeolians, captured from them by the Ionians, and almost destroyed (in the 7th cent. b.c.) by the Lydians. It lay under Mt. Sipylos, 2 or 3 miles N. of ‘New Smyrna,’ which was founded by Lysimachus (circa, about290 b.c.), and built along the southern shore of the Gulf and up the slopes of Mt. Pagos, the westernmost spur of the Tmolus range.

Smyrna was the emporium for the trade of the fertile Hermus valley, and the terminus of one of the great roads from the interior of Asia Minor. It was noted for its carefully-planned streets-one of them called ‘Golden Street’-and splendid public buildings. Its citizens owed much to their sagacious friendship with Rome. As early as 195 b.c. they dedicated a shrine to Roma, and in all the struggles of the next two centuries Smyrna was invariably on the Roman-that is, the winning-side. She was rewarded for her fidelity by being constituted a civitas libera et immunis, and under Tiberius she was chosen from among twelve keen rivals, of whom Sardis was the most powerful, to have the honour of building a temple to the Emperor (Tacitus, Ann. iv. 55f.).

The message to Smyrna in Rev. (Revelation 2:8-11) is at once the briefest and the most eulogistic of all the Seven Letters. Like the others, it unquestionably contains a number of pointed local allusions. Words which may now seem pale and neutral were deeply significant to the first readers. St. John knew each of his churches almost as a living personality, and no touch is superfluous or irrelevant in his clearly-conceived and carefully-etched portraits. The title which he chooses for the Sender of the letters is in every instance apposite. The message to Smyrna comes from ‘the First and the Last’ (Revelation 2:8). Smyrna was the most ambitious of all the cities of Asia, and her municipal self-consciousness was inordinately developed. She could brook no rivals; she coveted all the honours and prizes; she appropriated the title πρώτη Ἀσίας. Her claim to be first in beauty was scarcely disputed, Strabo (XIV. i. 37) calling her καλλίστη πασῶν. She counted the greatest of poets one of her sons-though many other cities questioned the claim-and built a Homereion in his honour. She convinced the Roman Senate that she ‘first reared a temple to the city of Rome’ (Tacitus, Ann. iv. 56), and she wished to be first, as a νεωκόρος or temple-warden, to pay divine honours to the Emperor. She was like the Homeric hero whom nothing would Satisfy but αἰὲν ἀριστεύειν, καὶ ὑπείροχον ἔμμεναι ἄλλων (Il. vi. 208). To this ‘First City’ comes a letter from the First and the Last. Let her but once recognize His primacy, and she is likely to revise all her civic ideals, to renounce all her self-centred ambitions. Her first and most illustrious citizens will be her martyrs. Her standard of comparison will no longer be Ephesus or Sardis or Pergamos or even Rome, but the City of God, in which the last is first.

The Smyrniote Church, for which St. John has not a single word of blame, is thus led to welcome Christian paradoxes. She is in poverty, but she is rich (v. 9); she is reviled by a powerful synagogue of Jews, but they are only ‘a synagogue of Satan’ (v. 9). Just because she is so faithful, she is chosen for the most difficult tasks; because she is so brave, she is exposed to the greatest dangers. She has to face suffering, imprisonment, trial; but it is only a ten days’ tribulation. Death by violence comes within her horizon, but it is transfigured: the martyr is not to be pitied but emulated, for fidelity unto death wins the crown which is life (v. 10). When man has done his worst to the body, there is no more that he can do; no second death shall hurt the spirit that overcomes (v. 11).

‘The crown of life’ (ὁ στέφανος τῆς ζωῆς) may have been suggested by one of the most familiar elements in the life of Smyrna, the athletic contests and the presentation of the garlands of victory; or it may be an allusion to the fact that the lovely city itself, on its mountain slope, was commonly likened to a garland, as some of its coins prove (B. V. Head, Historia Nummorum, 1887, p. 509). It was not for intellectual errors that the name of ‘Jews’ was denied to the synagogue of Smyrna, while that of ‘synagogue of Satan’ was attached to it (Revelation 2:9). An honest scepticism regarding the claims of the Nazarene to be the Messiah could have been understood and forgiven. It was because the Jews of Smyrna were morally wrong-hating instead of loving-that they forfeited their traditional titles and privileges (cf. Romans 2:28-29). That they were often fanatically hostile to the Christians is shown by the narrative of the martyrdom of Polycarp. When he was sentenced to death ‘the whole multitude both of the heathen and Jews, who dwelt in Smyrna, cried out with uncontrollable fury and in a loud voice,’ and the sentence ‘was carried into effect with greater speed than it was spoken, the multitudes immediately gathering together wood and faggots out of the shops and baths, the Jews especially, according to custom, eagerly assisting them in it’ (προθύμως, ὡς ἤθος αὐτοῖς). It was ‘at the suggestion and urgent persuasion of the Jews’ that the body of the martyr was refused to the Christians, ‘lest, forsaking Him that was crucified, they should begin to worship this one’ (Mart. Polyc. xii. f., xvii.). Modern Smyrna, being predominantly Greek Christian, is called by the Turks Giaour Ismir.

Literature.-C. Wilson, in Murray’s Handbook to Asia Minor, 1895. p. 70 f.; W. M. Ramsay, The Letters to the Seven Churches of Asia, 1904, p. 251 f.

James Strahan.

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

SMYRNA (also and more strictly Zmyrna ) was founded as a colony from Greece earlier than b.c. 1000, but the early foundation, which had been Æolian, was captured by its southern neighbours the Ionian Greeks and made an Ionian colony. This second foundation became a powerful State, possessing territory far to the E., and as late as the 7th cent. b.c. fought on equal terms against the great Lydian power (see Sardis). It gradually gave way, however, and was captured and destroyed about b.c. 600 by Alyattes, king of Lydia. It now ceased to be a Greek city, and it was not till the 3rd cent. b.c. that it became so again. There was a State called Smyrna between 600 and 290, but it was mainly a loose congeries of villages scattered about the plain and the surrounding hills, and not in the Greek sense a polis (city-State). Alexander the Great intended to re-found the city, but did not carry out his plan. It was left for one of his successors, Lysimachus, who accomplished it in b.c. 290. The old city had been on a steep high hill on the N. side of the extreme eastern recess of the gulf; the new was planted on the S.E. shore of the gulf, about 2 miles away. The object of the change was to obtain a good harbour and a suitable point for the starting of a land trade-route to the E. There were in reality two ports a small inner one with a narrow entrance, and a mooring ground; the former has gradually filled up through neglect. Its maritime connexion brought it into contact with the Romans, who made an alliance with Smyrna against the Seleucid power. In b.c. 195 Smyrna built a temple to Rome, and ever afterwards remained faithful to that State through good fortune and bad. Rome showed a thorough appreciation of this friendship and loyalty, and in a.d. 26 this city was preferred before all others in Asia as the seat of the new temple to be dedicated by the confederacy of that province to Tiberius.

The city was of remarkable beauty. Its claim to be the chief city of Asia was contested by Ephesus and Pergamum, but in beauty it was easily first. In addition to its picturesque situation it was commended by its handsome and excellently paved streets, which were fringed by the groves in the suburbs. The city was well wailed, and in the pagos above possessed an ideal acropolis, which, with its splendid buildings in orderly arrangement, was known as the crown or garland of Smyrna. The protecting divinity of the city was a local variety of Cybele, known as the Sipylene Mother, and the towers and battlements of her head-dress bore an obvious resemblance to the appearance of the city. (The Greeks identified her with Nemesis, who here alone in the Greek world was worshipped, and not as one but as a pair of goddesses.) There was one street known as the Street of Gold. It went from W. to E., curving round the sloping hill, and had a temple on a hill at each end. For its length and fine buildings it was compared to a necklace of jewels round the neck of a statue. The life of the city was and is much benefited in the hottest period of the day by a west wind which blows on it with great regularity, dying down at sunset. This was counterbalanced by a disadvantage, the difficulty of draining the lowest parts of the city, a difficulty accentuated by this very wind. Smyrna boasted that it was the birthplace of Homer, who had been born and brought up beside the river Meles. This stream is identified by local patriotism with the Caravan Bridge River, which flows northwards till it comes below the pagos , then flows round its eastern base and enters the sea to the N.E. of it. But this is a mistaken view. The Meles is undoubtedly to be identified with the stream coming from the Baths of Diana and called Chalka-bounar, as it alone satisfies the minute description of the Smyrnæan orator Aristides (flourished 2nd cent. a.d.) and other ancient writers. It rises in the very suburbs of the city, and is fed by a large number of springs, which rise close to one another. Its course is shaped-shaped at first, and afterwards it flows gently to the sea like a canal. Its temperature is equable all the year round, and it never either overflows or dries up. The city has suffered from frequent earthquakes (for instance, in a.d. 180), but has always risen superior to its misfortunes. It did not become a Turkish city till Tamerlane captured it in a.d. 1402. Even now the Christian element is three times as large as the Mohammedan, and the Turks call the city Infidel Smyrna. It has always been an important place ecclesiastically.

The letter to the Church at Smyrna ( Revelation 2:8-11 ) is the most favourable of all. The writer puts its members on a higher plane than any of the others. They have endured persecution and poverty, but they are rich in real wealth. They are the victims of calumny, but are not to be afraid. Some are even to be sent to prison as a prelude to execution, and to have suffering for a time. If they are faithful they shall receive real life. The church was dead and yet lived, like the city in former days. The Jews in Smyrna had been specially hostile to the Christians, and had informed against them before the Roman officials. Most of them were probably citizens of Smyrna, but became merged in the general population and were not confined to a certain tribe, since the Romans ceased to recognize the Jews as a nation after a.d. 70. The hatred of the Jews there can be explained only by the supposition that many of the Christians were converted Jews. Similarly they helped in the martyrdom of Polycarp (a.d. 155). The city and its Christianity have survived all attacks.

A. Souter.

Fausset's Bible Dictionary

A city on the coast of Ionia, at the head of the gulf, having a well sheltered harbour; N. of Ephesus; beautified by Alexander the Great and Antigonus, and designated "the beautiful." Still flourishing, and under the same name, after various vicissitudes, and called "the Paris of the Levant," with large commerce and a population of 200,000. The church here was one of the seven addressed by the Lord (Revelation 2:8-11). Polycarp, martyred in A.D. 168, 86 years after conversion, was its bishop, probably "the angel of the church in Smyrna." The Lord's allusions to persecutions accord with this identification. The attributes of Him "which was dead and is alive" would comfort Smyrna under persecution. The idol Dionysus at Smyrna was believed to have been killed and come to life; in contrast to this lying fable is Christ's title, "the First and the Last, which was dead and is alive" (Revelation 2:8).

As death was to Him the gate of life, so it is to His people. Good "works," "tribulation," "poverty" owing to "spoiling of goods," while she was "rich" in grace (contrast Laodicea, "rich" in her own eyes and the world's, poor before God), were her marks. The Jews in name, really "the synagogue of Satan," blasphemed Christ as "the Hanged One." At Polycarp's martyrdom they clamoured with the pagan for his being cast to the lions; the proconsul opposed it, but, impotent to restrain the fanaticism of the mob, let them He him to the stake; the Jews with their own hands carried logs for the pile which burned him. The theater where he was burned was on a hill facing the N. It was one of the largest in Asia. Traces of it may be seen in descending from the northern gateway of the castle. A circular letter from the church of Smyrna describes his martyrdom.

When urged to recant he said, "four-score years and six I have served the Lord, and He never wronged me; how then can I blaspheme my King and Saviour?" The accuser, the devil, cast some of the Smyrna church into prison, and "it had tribulation ten days," a short term (Genesis 24:55; Numbers 11:19), whereas the consequent joy is eternal (many Christians perished by wild beasts or at the stake because they refused to throw incense into the fire to sacrifice to the genius of the emperor): a sweet consolation in trial. Ten is the number of the world powers hostile to the church (Revelation 13:1). Christ promises Smyrna "a crown of life" (compare James 1:12; 2 Timothy 4:8 "of righteousness," 1 Peter 5:4 "of glory") in reward for "faithfulness unto death."

The allusion is to the "crown-wearing" (stefanofori ), leading priests at Smyrna It was usual to present the superintending priest with a crown at the end of his year of office; several persons of both sexes are called "crown bearers" in inscriptions. The ferocity of the populace against the aged Polycarp is accounted for by their zealous interest in the Olympian games celebrated here, in respect to which Christianity bore an antisocial aspect. Smyrna ("myrrh") yielded its perfume in being bruised to death. Smyrna's faithfulness is rewarded by its candlestick not having been wholly removed; from whence the Turks call it "infidel Smyrna." Persecuted Smyrna and Philadelphia are the only churches which the Lord does not reprove. (See PHILADELPHIA.)

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

A celebrated Ionian city situated at the head of a deep gulf on the western coast of Asia Minor, forty miles north by west of Ephesus. It was one of the richest and most powerful cities of that region, and was frequented by great numbers of Jews. A Christian church was established there at an early day, and was one of the seven churches addressed by Christ in the Revelation of John 1:11 2:8-11 . It is still a prosperous commercial city, being visited by many foreign ships and by numerous caravans of camels from the interior.

It's population is nearly 150,000; of whom one-half are Turks, one-forth Greeks, and the remainder chiefly Armenians, Jews, and Franks. So many of its inhabitants are not Mohammedan, that it is called by the Turks Giaour Izmir, or Infidel Smyrna. It has a deep and capacious harbor, well protected except towards the west by the hills, which rise to a great height in the rear of the city, inclosing it on three sides. On these hills lie the scanty remains of the ancient city; among which is the ground-plot of the stadium, where is said to have occurred the martyrdom of Polycarp-the pupil of the apostle John, and very probably "the angel of the church in Ephesus," Revelation 2:8 . Smyrna has been often devastated by earthquakes and conflagrations; multitudes perished there of the cholera in 1831, and 60,000 died of the plague in 1824; yet its fine situation secures a prompt recovery from every disaster. It is now the seat of important missionary efforts, and enjoys the ordinances of a Protestant church.

Smith's Bible Dictionary

Smyr'na. (myrrh). A city of Asia Minor, situated on the Aegean Sea, 40 miles north of Ephesus. Allusion is made to it in Revelation 2:8-11. It was founded by Alexander the Great, and was situated twenty shadesm (2 1/2 miles)m from the city of the same name, which, after a long series of wars with the Lydians, had been finally taken and sacked by Halyattes. The ancient city was built by some piratical Greeks 1500 years before Christ. It seems not impossible that the message to the church in Smyrna contains allusions to the ritual of the pagan mysteries which prevailed in that city.

In the time of Strabo, the ruins of the old Smyrna still existed, and were partially inhabited, but the new city was one of the most beautiful in all Asia. The streets were laid out as near as might be at right angles. There was a large public library there, and also a handsome building surrounded with porticos, which served as a museum. It was consecrated as a heroum to Homer, whom the Smyrnaeans claimed as a countryman. Olympian games were celebrated here, and excited great interest. (Smyrna is still a large city of 180,000 to 200,000 inhabitants, of which a larger proportion are Franks than in any other town in Turkey; 20,000 are Greeks, 9000 Jews, 8000 Armenians, 1000 Europeans, and the rest are Moslems. - Editor).

Bridgeway Bible Dictionary

The port of Smyrna was in the Roman province of Asia, not far north of Ephesus. (For map see ASIA.) The church there was probably formed during Paul’s three-year stay in Ephesus, when the Ephesian converts took the gospel to the surrounding area (Acts 19:8-10; Revelation 2:8).

John’s letter to the church in Smyrna shows that the Christians were very poor. Spiritually, however, they were rich (Revelation 2:9). They were also persecuted, mainly by the Jews, who throughout Asia were bitterly anti-Christian (Revelation 2:9; cf. Acts 21:27). God encouraged them with the promise that, no matter how much they might suffer in the present world, he would preserve the faithful for his heavenly kingdom (Revelation 2:10-11).

Morrish Bible Dictionary

Ancient city in the west of Asia Minor, about forty miles north of Ephesus. No mention is made of Paul having visited the city; but we know an assembly was gathered there by its being one of the seven churches in Asia, to which addresses were sent through the apostle John. See Revelation 2 . History calls Polycarp the first bishop of Smyrna, and it was there he suffered martyrdom. Christian writers have often pointed out in connection with the allusion to "the synagogue of Satan" in Revelation 2:9 , the eagerness with which the Jews sought to aid in the martyrdom of Polycarp. It was of old an important city, and modern Smyrna is a large town. Revelation 1:11; Revelation 2:8 . The name means 'myrrh.'

Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary

a city of Asia Minor, and one of the finest in all the Levant. It contended for the honour of giving birth to Homer, and its title is by many thought to be the best founded. The Christian church in Smyrna was one of the seven churches of Asia to which the Apostle John was commanded to address an epistle, Revelation 2:8-10 . The present Smyrna, which the Turks call Esmir, is about four miles in circumference, and contains a population of about a hundred thousand souls. It, is less remarkable for the elegance of its buildings than for the beauty of its situation, the extent of its commerce, and the riches of its inhabitants.

People's Dictionary of the Bible

Smyrna (smir'nah), myrrh. An ancient Ionian city on the western coast of Asia Minor. Revelation 1:11; Revelation 2:8. Smyrna has been repeatedly overthrown by earthquakes. Some few of the ruins of ancient Smyrna are still visible to the south of the modern city. The first cotton-seeds were conveyed to the United States from Smyrna, and planted in 1621.

Holman Bible Dictionary

Revelation 2:8-11

Easton's Bible Dictionary

Revelation 2:8-11

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

Copyright StatementThese files are public domain.

Bibliography InformationMcClintock, John. Strong, James. Entry for 'Smyrna'. Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature. https://www.studylight.org/encyclopedias/eng/tce/s/smyrna.html. Harper & Brothers. New York. 1870.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

smûr´na ( Σμύρνα , Smúrna ):

1. Ancient:

Smyrna, a large ancient city on the western coast of Asia Minor, at the head of a gulf which reaches 30 miles inland, was originally peopled by the Asiatics known as the Lelages. The city seems to have been taken from the Lelages by the Aeolian Greeks about 1100 BC; there still remain traces of the cyclopean masonry of that early time. In 688 Bc it passed into the possession of the Ionian Greeks and was made one of the cities of the Ionian confederacy, but in 627 Bc it was taken by the Lydians. During the years 301 to 281 BC, Lysimachus entirely rebuilt it on a new site to the Southwest of the earlier cities, and surrounded it by a wall. Standing, as it did, upon a good harbor, at the head of one of the chief highways to the interior, it early became a great trading-center and the chief port for the export trade. In Roman times, Smyrna was considered the most brilliant city of Asia Minor, successfully rivaling Pergamos and Ephesus. Its streets were wide and paved. Its system of coinage was old, and now about the city coins of every period are found. It was celebrated for its schools of science and medicine, and for its handsome buildings. Among them was the Homerium, for Smyrna was one of several places which claimed to be the birthplace of the poet. On the slope of Mt. Pagus was a theater which seated 20,000 spectators. In the 23 Ad year a temple was built in honor of Tiberius and his mother Julia, and the Golden Street, connecting the temples of Zeus and Cybele, is said to have been the best in any ancient city. Smyrna early became a Christian city, for there was one of the Seven Churches of the Book of Revelation (Revelation 2:8-11 ). There Polycarp, the bishop of Smyrna, was martyred, though without the sanction of the Roman government. It seems that the Jews of Smyrna were more antagonistic than were the Romans to the spread of Christianity, for it is said that even on Saturday, their sacred day, they brought wood for the fire in which Polycarp was burned. His grave is still shown in a cemetery there. Like many other cities of Asia Minor, Smyrna suffered frequently, especially during the years 178-80 AD, from earthquakes, but it always escaped entire destruction. During the Middle Ages the city was the scene of many struggles, the most fierce of which was directed by Timur against the Christians. Tradition relates that there he built a tower, using as stones the heads of a thousand captives which he put to death, yet Smyrna was the last of the Christian cities to hold out against the Mohammedans; in 1424 it fell into the hands of the Turks. It was the discovery of America and the resulting discovery of a sea route to India which ruined the Smyrna trade.

2. Modern:

Modern Smyrna is still the largest city in Asia Minor, with a population of about 250,000, of whom half are Greek and less than one-fourth are Mohammedans. Its modern name, Ismir , is but a Turkish corruption of the ancient name. Even under the Turkish government the city is progressive, and is the capital of the Aidin vilayet, and therefore the home of a governor. Several railroads follow the courses of the ancient routes into the distant interior. In its harbor ships from all parts of the world may be seen. The ancient harbor of Paul's time has been filled in, and there the modern bazaars stand. The old stadium has been destroyed to make room for modern buildings, and a large part of the ancient city lies buried beneath the modern houses and the 40 mosques of which the city boasts. The better of the modern buildings, belonging to the government and occupied by the foreign consuls, stand along the modern quay. Traces of the ancient walls are still to be found. West of Mt. Pagus is the Ephesian gate, and the Black-gate, as the Turks call it, is near the railroad station. The castle upon Mt. Pagus, 460 ft. above the sea, dates from Byzantine times. The prosperity of Smyrna is due, not only to the harbor and the port of entry to the interior, but partly to the perfect climate of spring and autumn - the winters are cold and the summers are hot; and also to the fertility of the surrounding country. Figs, grapes, valonia, opium, sponges, cotton and liquorice root are among the chief articles of trade. See also Churches , Seven .

Kitto's Popular Cyclopedia of Biblial Literature

Smyr´na, a celebrated commercial city of Ionia, situated near the bottom of that gulf of the Aegean Sea which received its name from it, at the mouth of the small River Meles, and 320 stades north of Ephesus. It is in N. lat. 38° 26′, E. long. 27° 7′. Smyrna was a very ancient city, but having been destroyed by the Lydians it lay waste 400 years, to the time of Alexander the Great. It was rebuilt at the distance of twenty stades from the ancient city, and we soon find it flourishing greatly; and in the time of the first Roman emperors it was one of the finest cities of Asia. It was at this period that it became the seat of a Christian church, which is noticed in the Apocalypse, as one of the seven churches of Asia' . It was destroyed by an earthquake in A.D. 177; but the emperor Marcus Aurelius caused it to be rebuilt with even more than its former splendor. It afterwards, however, suffered greatly from earthquakes and conflagrations, and must be regarded as having declined much from its ancient importance, although from the convenience of its situation it has still maintained its rank as a great city and the central emporium of the Levantine trade. The Turks call it Izmir. It is a better built town than Constantinople, and in proportion to its size there are few places in the Turkish dominions which have so large a population. It is computed at 130,000, of which the Franks compose a far greater proportion than in any other town of Turkey; and they are generally in good circumstances. Next to the Turks the Greeks form the most numerous class of inhabitants, and they have a bishop and two churches. The unusually large proportion of Christians in the town renders it peculiarly unclean in the eyes of strict Muslims, whence it has acquired among them the name of Giaour Izmir, or Infidel Smyrna. There are in it 20,000 Greeks, 8000 Armenians, 1000 Europeans, and 9000 Jews: the rest are Muslims.

The prosperity of Smyrna is now rather on the increase than the decline.

It stands at the foot of a range of mountains, which enclose it on three sides. The only ancient ruins are upon the mountains behind the town, and to the south. But nearly the whole of the relics of antiquity have been carried away. The stadium, of which the ground-plot only remains, is supposed to be the place where Polycarp, the disciple of St. John, and probably 'the angel of the church of Smyrna' , to whom the Apocalyptic message was addressed, suffered martyrdom. The Christians of Smyrna hold the memory of this venerable person in high honor, and go annually in procession to his supposed tomb, which is at a short distance from the place of martyrdom.

The Nuttall Encyclopedia

A town of great antiquity, since ancient times the chief port of Asia Minor; is situated amid surrounding hills at the head of the Gulf of Smyrna, an arm of the Ægean Sea; has no imposing structures, and is, especially in the Turkish quarter, ill-drained and crowded; is the seat of the Turkish Governor-General of the province, of archbishops, Roman Catholic, Greek, and Armenian; manufactures embrace carpets, pottery, cottons and woollens; a splendid harbour favours a large import and export trade; for long a possession of Greece and then of Rome, it finally fell into the hands of the Turks in 1424.