DID YOU KNOW?

Did you know that “Metropolis” is the name of a real city?

It reached its peak of importance during the Hellenistic and Roman eras in Anato9lia that portion of Eastern Turkey bordering on the Aegean Sea. It lies about 28 mil3es northeast of the more famous Ephesus and although there is evidence of occupation in the immediate area during all the bronze ages including as the capital of a Hittite kingdom, the site seems to have been occupied about 725BC.

The city known as Metropolis was founded in the 3^rd Century BC reaching its height during the Pergamum kingdom and by the 1^st Century, the Roman Empire due to its olive oil and famous wine productions. Rebuilt after an AD 17 earthquake it survived well into the Byzantium times and is known to have survived well into the 13^th century AD. However it ruins were lost to history until recent discovery and its restoration will make it a superb Tourist attraction at the level of Ephesus and Croesus’s Sardis.

The name Metropolis means “City of the Mother Goddess” since in the nearby Gallesian Mountains religious activities had taken place from the Neolithic period up to its founding, ultimately temples to the Greek God of war Ares and then the Roman Gods prior to the Byzantine conversion when it became a Bishopric.

Did you know that recent archeological excavations at Migdal the site of Magdala the ancient fishing village on the Sea of Galilee and the home of Mary Magdalene have uncovered a synagogue dating from that time and believed to be one in which Jesus preached.

Although in ancient Israel the temple in Jerusalem was supposed to be the only site for worship, houses of worship sprung up in places too far for the pilgrimage to the Temple especially during the Hellenic and Roman era when Judaism had split into many different sects.

This seems also to be true in the recent excavations at Bethsaida   the home of at least five apostles which lies on the Golan side of the Sea of Galilee and also has ruins of a Roman Temple.