Antioch near Pisidia - Temple of Augustus

“For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth - as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords” - yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ through whom are all things and through whom we exist.”  1 Corinthians 8:5-6

The Apostle Paul was continually confronted with paganism and a multitude of related religious practices.  In the Roman society of Asia Minor, if the city had an Imperial temple, everyone was to participate in emperor worship.  During the 1st century, Jews were given an exception, and initially by extension Christians.  But quickly, even as early as the time of Paul’s later missionary journeys,  Christians were expected to go along with empirical cult practices.  Rome expected participation even if people also held other religious beliefs.  Of course Christians couldn’t do this without compromising their faith,  resulting in eras of great persecution and a difficult life until Christianity was legalized by Emperor Constantine in 313 AD.

At Pisidian Antioch there are ruins of a Temple to Augustus.  The Tiberius plateau and the grand propylon leading up to the temple were constructed in 25 AD by Emperor Tiberius in honor of Augustus.  The temple sits at a high point from which the rest of ancient city can be viewed.  A portico was carved into the hill around the temple two stories high.  The regularly placed holes in the stone wall held wooden beams that supported the second story. There were well over 100 columns. Even today, knowing that the ruins of the temple are here, walking up the steps from the plateau and suddenly seeing the temple ruins is a bit gob-stopping.  It must have been incredibly imposing in Paul’s day. There were two giant sculpted heads of Caesar Augustus and a copy of the Res Gestate (Augustus life story) engraved into pillars of the propylon.  This was likely a place of not just worship but commerce as well and probably a difficult place to avoid during daily life in this city.

Temple of Augustus, Psidian Antioch (Yalvac, Turkey)