This tendency, at a break between voyages, as at Corinth, or at a change from land to sea, travel or vice versd, to make a halt which might last for days, is illustrated in St. Paul’s journey from Philippi to Jerusalem (Ac 20. 21). Philippi was so near Neapolis that no detention at the harbour need be expected. But at Troas there seems to have been a change of ship with detention of seven days ; and at Ceesarea the change to land travelling was accompanied by a detention of some days and the preparation for a journey by road (see below, p. 398). On the other hand, the transhipments at Patara and at Myra (Ac 211 27°) seem to have entailed no delay, as in each case the change of ship appears to have been unpremeditated, and due to the opportunity that presented itself of a larger and more convenient sea-going ship. The change at Troas from land to seafaring made it a good centre and starting-point for mission-work, ‘a door opened’ (2 Co 2"),
This discontinuous character of travel on the Central Route to the East shows very clearly— what has been already stated, p. 382, on other grounds—that there was no serious need for a ship canal at Corinth under the Roman Empire, and little prospect of such a canal being any more remunerative than the modern canal is. It would have been disadvantageous to Corinth under the conditions of the Roman Empire that there should be continuous unbroken navigation past its gates. The scheme of Nero and of Herodes Atticus was an archaistic fancy, and not a sound practical scheme resting on a solid commercial basis:
Again, owing to the character of this route, the cities on it grew steadily in importance. Travel- lers did not pass through them as mere hostelries and stations for a night: they were visitors who stayed for a time, taught and learned, transacted business or performed political and social duties. Corinth, in particular, is mentioned as profiting by these opportunities. It was the half-way house between Italy and Asia. Hence Gaius of Corinth was ‘the host of the whole Church’ (Ro 16”), and Corinthian hospitality is mentioned several times by Clement of Rome in his letter.*
We have described this route only as an Im- perial highway, neglecting its local character and noticing only the great stages. It will be described more fully among the inter-provincial routes in the following section.
xi. INTER-PROVINCIAL ROUTES IN THE EAST.— These were, as has been said in § i., only of sub- ordinate consequence in the Imperial time. But, of all inter-provincial routes in the Roman Empire, those in the East were the most frequented and important. The older Greek trade between the Levant and Agean harbours had not been en- tirely destroyed ; and many hundreds, doubtless, of small vessels were constantly plying along all those coasts from Egypt or even Cyrene round to Corinth. Travellers were always able to find readily a ship to carry them in either direction along the coast. They might not always find one to do exactly what they desired: the first ship
* Under Corinth, vol. i. p. 480, the Corinthiaca of Dion Chry- sostom, Or. 37, is erroneously referred to : the passage intended is in his Isthmiaca, Or. 8, pp. 188-139, which speaks of the Greek period, but is true also of the Roman.
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390 ROADS AND TRAVEL (IN NT)
ROADS AND TRAVEL (IN NT)
might not be going as far as the harbour which they aimed at, and they might have to tranship (Ac 21°): their ship might omit to visit a harbour where they would have liked to stop, or it might stay several days in a harbour where they had no wish to remain (Ac 20").* They would have to accommodate themselves to the course of the ship, and remain close to it even when it was lying at anchor, except when it went into harbour to load or unload, or when it was laid up for the winter ($ vi.).
There were also ships plying between the Euxine harbours and those of the Aigean and the Levant. Diodorus gives the time for vessels between the Sea of Azoff and Alexandria (see § iv.): such a vessel would run down to Amastris or Sinope, then coast to Rhodes, and thence run direct to Alex- andria, if Egypt were its destination ; or to Myra, and thence west of Akamas to the Syrian coast, if such were its aim. +
The land roads connecting the provinces of Asia Minor were fairly developed, because in many cases the same roads that led to Rome also con- nected the different provinces with one another : Asia Minor is a bridge stretching from east to west, from Asia to Europe; and the roads that passed across it westward, besides leading to Rome, traversed several provinces and connected their most important cities.
1. The great Trade Route by which the products of Cappadocia were carried to Ephesus was also the direct path from Cappadocia to Rome, and those products were carried to Ephesus as the har- bour for the trade with the West: the Trade Route had been developed under the Greek kings, and became even more important under the Roman Empire. It is not to be supposed that all Cappa- docian trade with Rome passed through Ephesus. All heavy merchandise would inevitably follow the natural law of seeking the nearest harbour, viz. Tarsus for southern Cappadocia and Amisus for northern Cappadocia. It is noteworthy that the single Cappadocian product which is expressly mentioned as carried to Ephesus by land—red earth used for colouring—would be in small bulk and of light weight (Strabo, p. 623). The Trade Route, which went from Ephesus by Laodicea, Apamea, Julia, Laodicea Katakekaumene to Czesarea, is fully described in the Historical Geography of Asia Minor, chs. iii. iv.