It was proliably towards the end of the reign of Domitian (A.D. 81-96) that Pergamus was described as tlie place ' where Satan's throne is,' ' where Satan dwelleth ' (Rev 2'^). The words express a prophetic horror of some malignant enemy of Christ and His Church. Who is thus regarded
OS sittinc in visible might and majesty on Satan's throne, ny merit raised to that bad eminence ? Christianity in Pergamus was confronted by three distinct tyjjes of pagan religion — the popular Asiatic, the cultured Greek, and the official Roman. The lirst was the worshi]) of Dionysus and Ascleji- ius, which may be traced hack to the primitive Anatolian cult of the bull and the serpent. Asclejiius ' the Saviour' had a great vogue at Per- gamus under the Empire ; his priests were sup- posed to be in possession of precious medical secrets, and his temple and curative establishment were tlironged with invalids who came from far and near with expectations of miraculous healing. His symbol, the serpent, which may bo seen beautifully engraved on many Pergamenian coins, was naturally a repulsive object to .lews ami Christians, who associated it with the legend of Eden, and some interpreters have imagined that his temple outside the city was viewed by St. John as Satan's throne. But the sight of a multitude of sick folk — reproducing liethesda and anticipat- ing Lourdes — was more likely to excite feelings of pity than of w rath. The second type was the Hellenic worshijj of Zeus and Athene, assiduously fostered by all the Pergamenian kings, who wished to have their kingdom regarded as the bulwark of civilization against the hordes of barbarians. On a broad ledge of the city-hill, 800 ft. above the plain, in front of the temple of Athene, stood the great altar of Zeus, 40 ft. high, on a base adorned with reliefs of the gods in conflict with the giants ; and some have supi)osed that as the Christians gazed at the smoke of sacrihce ascending from this altar, they exclaimed in horror, 'This is Satan's seat.' But the worship of the Olympic gods had, for all intelligent minds, long been a bankrupt concern, on which tlie prophet would not waste his invective. At any rate, neither of these types of paganism would arouse his s(Bva indignatio like the third. This was the worship of Rome and the Emperor, of which Pergamus, as the capital of the province, was the recognized centre. As early as 29 B.C. (Tac. Ann. iv. 37), Pergamus possessed a temple dedicated to Divus Augustus by the Provincial Synod known as the Coniinuno of Asia (KOivbv'Aolai). The city thus became the first Neokoros or Tem])le- Warden of the Emperor in the province. It was not till A.D. 26 (Ann. iv. 56) that Smyrna also gained the coveted honour of the Neokorate. In the reign of Trajan Pergamus became ' twice Neokoros,' and Caracalla (A.D. 198-217) made her 'thrice Neokoros,' which meant that she had now three temples consecrated to the worship of the Emperor, each with its numerous priesthood and ])ompous ritual. Now this cultus, which was the proud distinction of the city, became, by a refinement of ingenuity which might well be characterized as Satanic, an insidious temptation and a cruel dilemma to the Church. Emperor- worship, so hateful to every nionotbeist, ^^■as in the time of Domitian made a test of loyalty to the Slate. The refusal to utter the formula iciJpios Kolaap, or to oiler a pinch of incense to the Emiicror's image, rendeied the luost peaceful and law-abiding citizen liable to be regarded as a traitor or rebel worthy of death. But to the Christian, the apotheosis and worship of Ca-sar meant disloyalty to Christ and forfeiture of His eternal Kingdom. The issue was too clear to he evaded, and the Cliristians of Pergamus came through the ordeal in triumph. Antipas, Christ's faithful 'witness' (Rev '2") — already the word /idprvs begins to have the deeper tragic meaning — is probably named not as the only victim (as A. C. McGillurt suggests [Apostolic Age, 1897, p. 635]), but rather as the lirst of many brave confessors, both in the city and in other parts of the province,
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whoprove.1 the strength and senumeness of their faifh bv nreferrin'' death to dishonour.
There were, however, so-called Christian, in Per 'am.13 as in Ephesus, who tliou-ht that a .eionable eompronlise n.i^-ht be etVeeted. Their inTof ar 'un.ent, though nowhere clearly stated, 3 no diffi ult to imagine. Nobody needed to take the idea of a divine Emperor too seriously 'Tor myself,' said Tiberius, when it --M'roposed to erect a temple to him and his mother, I sol- emn y assure you tliat I am a mortal man, and t It lam conhned to the functions of hun.an „a ure and I would have posterity remember rf (Tao^4nn. iv. 38). May not loyal citizens, then eel themselves absolved-even in the reign of Domitian, who takes his deity very seriously- from too gr^at literalism in the interpretation of rfl>sar-woSliil.' It is a political far more than a rel"'io IS ai a ir, being ind'eed a mereglorification oflmpeHalism. One may oiler the grain of_„>c.ense. or utter the prescribed ' Ca-sar is Lord with a de^^ee of menLl reserve ; and i the C!'>^'^«h. ^J/^^ Tng a stiff nonconformity, will ''l^ei^lize herself so fa? as to demonstrate her lovaltv, she ^y" «f;'^"^«