a city of Upper Syria, on the river Orontes, about twenty miles
from the place where it discharges itself into the Mediterranean. It was
built by Seleucus Nicanor, about three hundred years before Christ; and
became the seat of empire of the Syrian kings of the Macedonian race,
and afterward of the Roman governors of the eastern provinces; being
very centrally and commodiously situated midway between Constantinople
and Alexandria, about seven hundred miles from each, in 37° 17´ north
latitude, and 36° 45´ east longitude. No city perhaps, Jerusalem
excepted, has experienced more frequent revolutions, or suffered more
numerous and dire calamities, than Antioch; as, besides the common
plagues of eastern cities, pestilence, famine, fire, and sword, it has
several times been entirely overthrown by earthquakes.
In 362, the emperor Julian spent some months at Antioch; which were
chiefly occupied in his favourite object of reviving the mythology of
Paganism. The grove at Daphne, planted by Seleucus, which, with its
temple and oracle, presented, during the reigns of the Macedonian kings
of Syria, the most splendid and fashionable place of resort for Pagan
worship in the east, had sunk into neglect since the establishment of
Christianity. The altar of the god was deserted, the oracle was
silenced, and the sacred grove itself defiled by the interment of
Christians. Julian undertook to restore the ancient honours and usages
of the place; but it was first necessary to take away the pollution
occasioned by the dead bodies of the Christians, which were disinterred
and removed! Among these was that of Babylas, a bishop of Antioch, who
died in prison in the persecution of Decius, and after resting near a
century in his grave within the walls of Antioch, had been removed by
order of Gallus into the midst of the grove of Daphne, where a church
was built over him; the remains of the Christian saint effectually
supplanting the former divinity of the place, whose temple and statue,
however, though neglected, remained uninjured. The Christians of
Antioch, undaunted by the conspiracy against their religion, or the
presence of the emperor himself, conveyed the relics of their former
bishop in triumph back to their ancient repository within the city. The
immense multitude who joined in the procession, chanted forth their
execrations against idols and idolaters; and on the same night the image
and the temple of the Heathen god were consumed by the flames. A
dreadful vengeance might be expected to have followed these scenes; but
the real or affected clemency of Julian contented itself with shutting
up the cathedral, and confiscating its wealth. Many Christians, indeed,
suffered from the zeal of the Pagans; but, as it would appear, without
the sanction of the emperor.
In 1268, Antioch was taken by Bibars, or Bondocdar, sultan of Egypt. The
slaughter of seventeen thousand, and the captivity of one hundred
thousand of its inhabitants, mark the final siege and fall of Antioch;
which, while they close the long catalogue of its public woes, attest
its extent and population. From this time it remained in a ruinous and
nearly deserted condition, till, with the rest of Syria, it passed into
the hands of the Ottoman Turks, with whose empire it has ever since been
incorporated.
To distinguish it from other cities of the same name, the capital of
Syria was called _Antiochia apud Daphnem_, or Antioch near Daphne, a
village in the neighbourhood, where was a temple dedicated to the
goddess of that name; though, in truth, the chief deity of the place was
Apollo, under the fable of his amorous pursuit of the nymph Daphne; and
the worship was worthy of its object. The temple stood in the midst of a
grove of laurels and cypresses, where every thing was assembled which
could minister to the senses; and in whose recesses the juvenile devotee
wanted not the countenance of a libertine god to abandon himself to
voluptuousness. Even those of riper years and graver morals could not
with safety breathe the atmosphere of a place where pleasure, assuming
the character of religion, roused the dormant passions, and subdued the
firmness of virtuous resolution. Such being the source, the stream could
scarcely be expected to be more pure; in fact, the citizens of Antioch
were distinguished only for their luxury in life and licentiousness in
manners. This was an unpromising soil for Christianity to take root in.
But here, nevertheless, it was planted at an early period, and
flourished vigorously. It should be observed, that the inhabitants of
Antioch were partly Syrians, and partly Greeks; chiefly, perhaps, the
latter, who were invited to the new city by Seleucus. To these Greeks,
in particular, certain Cypriot and Cyrenian converts, who had fled from
the persecution which followed the death of Stephen, addressed
themselves; “and a great number believed, and turned unto the Lord.”
When the heads of the church at Jerusalem were informed of this success,
they sent Barnabas to Antioch, who encouraged the new disciples, and
added many to their number; and finding how great were both the field
and the harvest, went to Tarsus to solicit the assistance of Paul. Both
this Apostle and Barnabas then taught conjointly at Antioch; and great
numbers were, by their labours during a whole year, added to the rising
church, Acts xi, 19–26; xv, 22–35. Here they were also joined by Peter,
who was reproved by Paul for his dissimulation, and his concession to
the Jews respecting the observance of the law, Gal. ii, 11–14.
Antioch was the birthplace of St. Luke and Theophilus, and the see of
the martyr Ignatius. In this city the followers of Christ had first the
name of Christians given them. We have the testimony of Chrysostom, both
of the vast increase of this illustrious church in the fourth century,
and of the spirit of charity which continued to actuate it. It consisted
at this time of not less than a hundred thousand persons, three thousand
of whom were supported out of the public donations. It is painful to
trace the progress of declension in such a church as this. But the
period now referred to, namely, the age of Chrysostom, toward the close
of the fourth century, may be considered as the brightest of its history
subsequent to the Apostolic age, and that from which the church at
Antioch may date its fall. It continued, indeed, outwardly prosperous;
but superstition, secular ambition, the pride of life; pomp and
formality in the service of God, in place of humility and sincere
devotion; the growth of faction, and the decay of charity; showed that
real religion was fast disappearing, and that the foundations were laid
of that great apostasy which, in two centuries from this time,
overspread the whole Christian world, led to the entire extinction of
the church in the east, and still holds dominion over the fairest
portions of the west.
Antioch, under its modern name of Antakia, is now but little known to
the western nations. It occupies, or rather did till lately occupy, a
remote corner of the ancient enclosure of its walls. Its splendid
buildings were reduced to hovels; and its population of half a million,
to ten thousand wretched beings, living in the usual debasement and
insecurity of Turkish subjects. Such was nearly its condition when
visited by Pocock about the year 1738, and again by Kinneir in 1813. But
its ancient subterranean enemy, which, since its destruction in 587,
never long together withheld its assaults, has again triumphed over it:
the earthquake of the 13th of August, 1822, laid it once more in ruins;
and every thing relating to Antioch is past.
from the place where it discharges itself into the Mediterranean. It was
built by Seleucus Nicanor, about three hundred years before Christ; and
became the seat of empire of the Syrian kings of the Macedonian race,
and afterward of the Roman governors of the eastern provinces; being
very centrally and commodiously situated midway between Constantinople
and Alexandria, about seven hundred miles from each, in 37° 17´ north
latitude, and 36° 45´ east longitude. No city perhaps, Jerusalem
excepted, has experienced more frequent revolutions, or suffered more
numerous and dire calamities, than Antioch; as, besides the common
plagues of eastern cities, pestilence, famine, fire, and sword, it has
several times been entirely overthrown by earthquakes.
In 362, the emperor Julian spent some months at Antioch; which were
chiefly occupied in his favourite object of reviving the mythology of
Paganism. The grove at Daphne, planted by Seleucus, which, with its
temple and oracle, presented, during the reigns of the Macedonian kings
of Syria, the most splendid and fashionable place of resort for Pagan
worship in the east, had sunk into neglect since the establishment of
Christianity. The altar of the god was deserted, the oracle was
silenced, and the sacred grove itself defiled by the interment of
Christians. Julian undertook to restore the ancient honours and usages
of the place; but it was first necessary to take away the pollution
occasioned by the dead bodies of the Christians, which were disinterred
and removed! Among these was that of Babylas, a bishop of Antioch, who
died in prison in the persecution of Decius, and after resting near a
century in his grave within the walls of Antioch, had been removed by
order of Gallus into the midst of the grove of Daphne, where a church
was built over him; the remains of the Christian saint effectually
supplanting the former divinity of the place, whose temple and statue,
however, though neglected, remained uninjured. The Christians of
Antioch, undaunted by the conspiracy against their religion, or the
presence of the emperor himself, conveyed the relics of their former
bishop in triumph back to their ancient repository within the city. The
immense multitude who joined in the procession, chanted forth their
execrations against idols and idolaters; and on the same night the image
and the temple of the Heathen god were consumed by the flames. A
dreadful vengeance might be expected to have followed these scenes; but
the real or affected clemency of Julian contented itself with shutting
up the cathedral, and confiscating its wealth. Many Christians, indeed,
suffered from the zeal of the Pagans; but, as it would appear, without
the sanction of the emperor.
In 1268, Antioch was taken by Bibars, or Bondocdar, sultan of Egypt. The
slaughter of seventeen thousand, and the captivity of one hundred
thousand of its inhabitants, mark the final siege and fall of Antioch;
which, while they close the long catalogue of its public woes, attest
its extent and population. From this time it remained in a ruinous and
nearly deserted condition, till, with the rest of Syria, it passed into
the hands of the Ottoman Turks, with whose empire it has ever since been
incorporated.
To distinguish it from other cities of the same name, the capital of
Syria was called _Antiochia apud Daphnem_, or Antioch near Daphne, a
village in the neighbourhood, where was a temple dedicated to the
goddess of that name; though, in truth, the chief deity of the place was
Apollo, under the fable of his amorous pursuit of the nymph Daphne; and
the worship was worthy of its object. The temple stood in the midst of a
grove of laurels and cypresses, where every thing was assembled which
could minister to the senses; and in whose recesses the juvenile devotee
wanted not the countenance of a libertine god to abandon himself to
voluptuousness. Even those of riper years and graver morals could not
with safety breathe the atmosphere of a place where pleasure, assuming
the character of religion, roused the dormant passions, and subdued the
firmness of virtuous resolution. Such being the source, the stream could
scarcely be expected to be more pure; in fact, the citizens of Antioch
were distinguished only for their luxury in life and licentiousness in
manners. This was an unpromising soil for Christianity to take root in.
But here, nevertheless, it was planted at an early period, and
flourished vigorously. It should be observed, that the inhabitants of
Antioch were partly Syrians, and partly Greeks; chiefly, perhaps, the
latter, who were invited to the new city by Seleucus. To these Greeks,
in particular, certain Cypriot and Cyrenian converts, who had fled from
the persecution which followed the death of Stephen, addressed
themselves; “and a great number believed, and turned unto the Lord.”
When the heads of the church at Jerusalem were informed of this success,
they sent Barnabas to Antioch, who encouraged the new disciples, and
added many to their number; and finding how great were both the field
and the harvest, went to Tarsus to solicit the assistance of Paul. Both
this Apostle and Barnabas then taught conjointly at Antioch; and great
numbers were, by their labours during a whole year, added to the rising
church, Acts xi, 19–26; xv, 22–35. Here they were also joined by Peter,
who was reproved by Paul for his dissimulation, and his concession to
the Jews respecting the observance of the law, Gal. ii, 11–14.
Antioch was the birthplace of St. Luke and Theophilus, and the see of
the martyr Ignatius. In this city the followers of Christ had first the
name of Christians given them. We have the testimony of Chrysostom, both
of the vast increase of this illustrious church in the fourth century,
and of the spirit of charity which continued to actuate it. It consisted
at this time of not less than a hundred thousand persons, three thousand
of whom were supported out of the public donations. It is painful to
trace the progress of declension in such a church as this. But the
period now referred to, namely, the age of Chrysostom, toward the close
of the fourth century, may be considered as the brightest of its history
subsequent to the Apostolic age, and that from which the church at
Antioch may date its fall. It continued, indeed, outwardly prosperous;
but superstition, secular ambition, the pride of life; pomp and
formality in the service of God, in place of humility and sincere
devotion; the growth of faction, and the decay of charity; showed that
real religion was fast disappearing, and that the foundations were laid
of that great apostasy which, in two centuries from this time,
overspread the whole Christian world, led to the entire extinction of
the church in the east, and still holds dominion over the fairest
portions of the west.
Antioch, under its modern name of Antakia, is now but little known to
the western nations. It occupies, or rather did till lately occupy, a
remote corner of the ancient enclosure of its walls. Its splendid
buildings were reduced to hovels; and its population of half a million,
to ten thousand wretched beings, living in the usual debasement and
insecurity of Turkish subjects. Such was nearly its condition when
visited by Pocock about the year 1738, and again by Kinneir in 1813. But
its ancient subterranean enemy, which, since its destruction in 587,
never long together withheld its assaults, has again triumphed over it:
the earthquake of the 13th of August, 1822, laid it once more in ruins;
and every thing relating to Antioch is past.