Alexandria, Or Alexandria
(from Alexander), 3 Ma 3:1 ; ( Acts 18:24 ; 6:9 ) the Hellenic, Roman and Christian capital of Egypt. Situation .— (Alexandria was situated on the Mediterranean Sea directly opposite the island of Pharos, 12 miles west of the Canopic branch of the Nile and 120 miles from the present city of Cairo.) It was founded by Alexander the Great, B.C. 332, who himself traced the ground plan of the city. The work thus begun was continued after the death of Alexander by the Ptolemies. Description .— Under the despotism of the later Ptolemies the trade of Alexandria declined, but its population and wealth were enormous. Its importance as one of the chief corn-ports of Rome secured for it the general favor of the first emperors. Its population was mixed from the first. According to Josephus Alexander himself assigned to the Jews a place in his new city. Philo estimated the number of the Alexandrine Jews in his time at a little less than 1,000,000 and adds that two of the five districts of Alexandria were called “Jewish districts,” and that many Jews lived scattered in the remaining three. “For a long period Alexandria was the greatest of known cities.” After Rome became the chief city of the world, Alexandria ranked second to Rome in wealth and importance, and second to Athens only in literature and science. Its collection of books grew to be the greatest library of ancient times, and contained at one time 700,000 rolls or volumes. Here was made the Septuagint translation of the Old Testament into Greek, begun about B.C. 285, especially in grain, was very great. According to the common legend, St. Mark first “preached the gospel in Egypt, and founded the first church in Alexandria.” At the beginning of the second century the number of Christians at Alexandria must have been very large, and the great leaders of Gnosticism who arose there (Basilides, Valentinus) exhibit an exaggeration of the tendency of the Church. PRESENT CONDITION. The city still bears the same name and is a thriving metropolis, with inhabitants from nearly every European and Oriental nation. Cleopatra’s needle, set up by Thotmes in 1500 B.C., was found in Alexandria.
Altar
The first altar of which we have any account is that built by Noah when he left the ark. ( Genesis 8:20 ) In the early times altars were usually built in certain spots hallowed by religious associations, e.g., where God appeared. ( Genesis 12:7 ; 13:18 ; 26:25 ; 35:1 ) Though generally erected for the offering of sacrifice, in some instances they appear to have been only memorials. ( Genesis 12:7 ; Exodus 17:15 , 16 ) Altars were most probably originally made of earth. The law of Moses allowed them to be made of either earth or unhewn stones. ( Exodus 20:24 , 25 ) I. The Altar of Burnt Offering . It differed in construction at different times. (1) In the tabernacle, ( Exodus 27:1 ) ff.; Exod 38:1 ff., it was comparatively small and portable. In shape it was square. It as five cubits in length, the same in breadth, and three cubits high. It was made of planks of shittim (or acacia) wood overlaid with brass. The interior was hollow. ( Exodus 27:8 ) At the four corners were four projections called horns made, like the altar itself, of shittim wood overlaid with brass, ( Exodus 27:2 ) and to them the victim was bound when about to be sacrificed. ( Psalms 118:27 ) Round the altar, midway between the top and bottom, ran a projecting ledge, on which perhaps the priest stood when officiating. To the outer edge of this, again, a grating or network of brass was affixed, and reached to the bottom of the altar. At the four corners of the network were four brazen rings, into which were inserted the staves by which the altar was carried. These staves were of the same material as the altar itself. As the priests were forbidden to ascend the altar by steps, ( Exodus 20:26 ) it has been conjectured that a slope of earth led gradually up to the ledge from which they officiated. The place of the altar was at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.)” ( Exodus 40:29 ) (2) In Solomon’s temple the altar was considerably larger in its dimensions. It differed too in the material of which it was made, being entirely of brass. ( 1 Kings 8:64 ; 2 Chronicles 7:7 ) It had no grating, and instead of a single gradual slope, the ascent to it was probably made by three successive platforms, to each of which it has been supposed that steps led. The altar erected by Herod in front of the temple was 15 cubits in height and 50 cubits in length and breadth. According to ( Leviticus 6:12 , 13 ) a perpetual fire was to be kept burning on the altar. II. The Altar of Incense, called also the golden altar to distinguish it from the altar of burnt offering which was called the brazen altar. ( Exodus 38:30 ) (a) That in the tabernacle was made of acacia wood, overlaid with pure gold. In shape it was square, being a cubit in length and breadth and two cubits in height. Like the altar of burnt offering it had horns at the four corners, which were of one piece with the rest of the altar. This altar stood in the holy place, “before the vail that is by the ark of the testimony.” ( Exodus 30:6 ; 40:5 ) (b) The altar of Solomon’s temple was similar, ( 1 Kings 7:48 ; 1 Chronicles 28:18 ) but was made of cedar overlaid with gold. III. Other Altars . In ( Acts 17:23 ) reference is made to an alter to an unknown God. There were several altars in Athens with this inscription, erected during the time of a plague. Since they knew not what god was offended and required to be propitiated.
Aquila
(an eagle), a Jew whom St. Paul found at Corinth on his arrival from Athens. ( Acts 18:2 ) (A.D, 52,) He was a native of Pontus, but had fled with his wife Priscilla, from Rome, in consequence of an order of Claudius commanding all Jews to leave the city. He became acquainted with St. Paul, and they abode together, and wrought at their common trade of making the Cilician tent or hair-cloth. On the departure of the apostle from Corinth, a year and eight months after, Priscilla and Aquila accompanied him to Ephesus. There they remained and there they taught Apollos. At what time they became Christians is uncertain.
Athenians
natives of Athens ( Acts 17:21 )
Athens
(city of Athene), the capital of Attica, and the chief seat of Grecian learning and civilization during the golden period of the history of Greece. Description—Athens is situated about three miles from the seacoast, in the central plain of Attica. In this plain rise several eminences Of these the most prominent is a lofty insulated mountain with a conical peaked Summit, now called the Hill of St. George, and which bore in ancient times the name of Lycabettus . This mountain, which was not included within the ancient walls, lies to the northeast of Athens, and forms the most striking feature in the environs of the city. It is to Athens what Vesuvius is to Naples, or Arthur’s Seat to Edinburgh Southwest of Lycabettua there are four hills of moderate height, all of which formed part of the city. Of these the nearest to Lycabettus and at the distance of a mile from the latter, was the Aeropolis, or citadel of Athens, a square craggy rock rising abruptly about 150 feet, with a flat summit of about 1000 feet long from east to west, by 500 feet broad from north to south. Immediately west of the Aeropolis is a second hill of irregular form, the Areopagus (Mars’ Hill). To the southwest there rises a third hill, the Pnyx, on which the assemblies of the citizens were held. South of the city was seen the Saronic Gulf, with the harbors of Athens. History.—Athens is said to have derived its name from the prominence given to the worship of the goddess Athena (Minerva) by its king, Erechtheus. The inhabitants were previously called Cecropidae, from Cecrops, who, according to tradition, was the original founder of the city. This at first occupied only the hill or rock which afterwards became the Acropolis; but gradually the buildings spread over the ground at the southern foot of this hill. It was not till the time of Pisistratus and his sons (B.C. 560-514) that the city began to assume any degree of splendor. The most remarkable building of these despots was the gigantic temple of the Olympian Zeus or Jupiter. Under Themistocles the Acropolis began to form the centre of the city, round which the new walls described an irregular circle of about 60 stadia or 7 1/4 miles in circumference. Themistocles transferred the naval station of the Athenians to the peninsula of Piraeus, which is distant about 4 1/2 miles from Athens, and contains three natural harbors. It was not till the administration of Pericles that the walls were built which connected Athens with her ports. Buildings.—Under the administration of Pericles, Athens was adorned with numerous public buildings, which existed in all their glory when St. Paul visited the city. The Acropolis was the centre of the architectural splendor of Athens. It was covered with the temples of gods and heroes; and thus its platform presented not only a sanctuary, but a museum containing the finest productions of the architect and the sculptor, in which the whiteness of the marble was relieved by brilliant colors, and rendered still more dazzling by the transparent clearness of the Athenian atmosphere. The chief building was the Parthenon (i.e. House of the Virgin), the most perfect production of Grecian architecture. It derived its name from its being the temple of Athena Parthenos, or Athena the Virgin, the invincible goddess of war. It stood on the highest part of the Acropolis, near its centre. It was entirely of Pentelic marble, on a rustic basement of ordinary limestone, and its architecture, which was of the Doric order, was of the purest kind. It was adorned with the most exquisite sculptures, executed by various artists under the direction of Phidias. But the chief wonder of the Parthenon was the colossal statue of the virgin goddess executed by Phidias himself: The Acropolis was adorned with another colossal figure of Athena, in bronze, also the work of Phidias. It stood in the open air, nearly opposite the Propylaea. With its pedestal it must have been about 70 feet high, and consequently towered above the roof of the Parthenon, so that the point of its spear and the crest of its helmet were visible off the promontory of Sunium to ships approaching Athens. The Areopagus, or Hill of Ares (Mars), is described elsewhere. [ Mars Hill ’ HILL] The Pnyx, or place for holding the public assemblies of the Athenians, stood on the side of a low rocky hill, at the distance of about a quarter of a mile from the Areopagus. Between the Pnyx on the west) the Areopagus on the north and the Acropolis on the east, and closely adjoining the base of these hills, stood the Agora or “Market,” where St. Paul disputed daily. Through it ran the road to the gymnasium and gardens of the Academy, which were situated about a mile from the walls. The Academy was the place where Plato and his disciples taught. East of the city, and outside the walls was the Lyceum, a gymnasium dedicated to Apollo Lyceus, and celebrated as the place in which Aristotle taught. Character.—The remark of the sacred historian respecting the inquisitive character of the Athenians ( Acts 17:21 ) is attested by the unanimous voice of antiquity. Their natural liveliness was partly owing to the purity and clearness of the atmosphere of Attica, which also allowed them to pass much of their time in the open air. The Athenian carefulness in religion is confirmed by the ancient writers. Of the Christian church, founded by St. Paul at Athens, according to ecclesiastical tradition, Dionysius the Areopagite was the first bishop. [ Dionysius ] Present condition.— (The population of Athens in 1871 was 48,000. Its university has 52 professors and 1200 students. Educational institutions are very numerous. A railway connects the Pirzeus or port with the city and its terminus stands in the midst of what was once the Agora.—ED.)