7 Churches of Revelation
5. Sardis
Historical Background
Seven hundred years before this letter was written, Sardis was one of the greatest cities in the world. It is reputed to be one of the oldest cities of Asia. Aeschylus, Thucydides, and other Greek writers mention it as a city of renown. It probably dates back to before 2000 B.C. Sardis was the ancient Capital of the Lydian empire (1200 B.C.) and residence of the royal dynasty of the Mermnades.
A strategic travel location between Pergamos, Smyrna, Ephesus, Phila- delphia and Phrygia, Sardis favored commerce and it became a very wealthy city. Gold and silver “Lydian Staters” were the first coins in the world—in about the sixth century B.C.
At its zenith, Croesus, its king, (and also its river, Pactolus) became proverbial for riches. Its patron deity was the goddess Cybele, (known as Diana in Ephesus) whose son, Midas, was the wealthy but effeminate king of Phrygia.
Midas Mythology
In Greek mythology, Midas was king of Phrygia in Asia Minor. For his hospitality to the satyr, Silenus, Dionysus, god of wine, offered to grant Midas anything he wished. The king requested that everything he touched be turned to gold, but he soon regretted his choice because even his food and water were changed to gold. To free himself from the enchantment, Midas was instructed by Dionysus to bathe in the Pactolus River. It was said that afterward the sands of the river contained gold.
Thought to be Impregnable
Sardis was situated on a hill 1000 feet above the broad valley of the Hermus at the foot of Mt. Tmolus. It appeared to be impregnable. However, the sheer precipitous cliff was clay, which suffered continual erosion and the untrustworthy mud left occasional cracks which could be exploited.
This false confidence was reflected in the character of the inhabitants: false confidence, appearance without reality, promise without perfor- mance, outward appearance of strength betrayed by want of watchful- ness and diligence. An example: When besieged by the Persians in 549 B.C., Croesus, then king of Lydia, left unguarded the precipitous cliffs on three sides of the city. After a 14-day siege, Cyrus offered a reward to any man who could find a way of scaling the apparently unscalable cliffs.
One of his soldiers, Hyeroeades, noticed a Lydian soldier accidentally drop his helmet over the battlements and noted his path to retrieve it, thus revealing an unguarded oversight.
In the darkness of the following night, Hyeroeades and a Persian party climbed the cliff and clambered over the unguarded battlements to take the city. But the Sardians did not learn their lesson: in 214 B.C. the formidable cliffs again proved susceptible to a hazardous climb when Lagoras repeated the exploit of Hyeroeades and the city was similarly taken by Antiochus. Hegel said “History teaches that man learns nothing from history.” The Sardians were not watchful.
Sardis’ Dismal History
- 549 B.C. Fell to the Persians.
- 501 B.C. Burned by the Ionians.
- 334 B.C. Surrendered to Alexander the Great.
- 322 B.C. Taken by Antigonus
- 214 B.C. Fell to the Seleucids
A City of Failure
The name Sardis became synonymous with: pretensions unjustified; promise without performance; appearance without reality; and, false confidence that heralded ruin. They betrayed themselves by lack of watchfulness and diligence; Cf. W. M. Ramsay, Letters to Seven Churches.
By the New Testament time, most of Sardis’ earlier dignity and splendor had disappeared. A severe earthquake in 17 A.D. caused major damage. The town was destroyed by the Turkic conqueror Tamerlane in 1402. Archaeological excavations were begun at the site in 1910, but the city itself was not uncovered until 1958. Today the little town of Sart has only fragments of its proud history.
