Smotherman, Jesse S., a minister of the Meth- odist Episcopal Church, South, was admitted into the Memphis Conference in 1854. He labored in the reg- ular work of the ministry (with the exception of one year's service in the army during the rebellion) until his death, in 1863. See Minutes of Annual Conferences of the M. E. Church, South, 1863, p. 435.
Smyrna, in Grecian mythology, was (1) the moth- I er of Adonis, commonly called Myrrha ; (2) one of the j Amazons from whom the town in Asia Minor derived its name.
Smyr'na CSfivpra, myrrh), a city which derived its Biblical importance from its prominent mention as the seat of one of the Apocalyptic churches of Asia IMinor (Rev. ii, 8-11). (In the following account we freely use the matter in the Classical and Biblical dictionaries on the subject.)
I. History. — This celebrated commercial city of Ionia (Ptol. v, 2) is situated near the bottom of that gulf of the ^Egean Sea which receives its name from it (!Mela, i, 17, 3), at the mouth of the small river Meles, and 320 stadia north of Ephesus (Strabo, xv, 632). It is in N. lat. 38^ 26', E, long. 27° 7'. Smyrna is said to have been a very ancient town founded by an Amazon of the name of Smyrna, who had previously conquered Ephesus. In consequence of this, Smyrna was regarded as a colony of Ephesus. The Ephesian colonists are said afterwards to have been expelled by ^Eolians, who then occupied the place, until, aided by the Colophonians, the Ephesian col- onists were enabled to re-establish themselves at Smyrna (ibid, xiv, 633; Steph. B. s. v. ; Pliny, v, 31). Herodo- tus, on the other hand (i, 150), states that Smyrna origi- nally belonged to the ^Eolians, who admitted into their city some Colophonian exiles ; and that these Colopho- nians afterwards, during a festival which was celebrated outside the town, made themselves masters of the place. From that time Smyrna ceased to be an iEolian city, and was received into the Ionian confederacy (comp. Pans, vii, 5, 1). So far, then, as we are guided by au- thentic history, Smyrna belonged to the /Eolian con- federacy until the year B.C. 688, when, by an act of treachery on the part of the Colophonians, it fell into the hands of the lonians and became the thirteenth city in the Ionian League (Herod, loc. cit. ; Paus. loc. cit.). The city was attacked by the Lydian king Gyges, but suc- cessfully resisted the aggressor (Herod, i, 14 ; Paus. ix, 29, 2). Alyattes, however, about B.C. 627, was more suc- cessful; he took and destroyed the city, and henceforth, for a period of 400 years, it was (leserted and in ruins (Herod, i, 16; Strabo. xiv, 646), thougli some inhabitants lingered in the place, living Kojnt]iu')i', as is stated by Strabo, and as we must infer from the fact that Scylax (p. 37) speaks of Smyrna as still existing. Alexander the Great is said to have formed the design of rebuild- ing the city (Paus. vii, 5, 1) soon after the battle of the Granicns. in consequence of a dream when he had lain down to sleep after the fatigue of hunting. A tem- ple in which two goddesses were worshipped under the name of Nemeses stood on the hill, on the sides of which
SMYRNA
83:
SJiIYRNA
the new town was built under the auspices of Antifjonus aiul l.vsimailiiis. who carrit'il tuit the (iesijiii of the con- quen>r after liis death. Tlie new city was not built on the site of ilie ancient one, but at a distance of twenty stadia to the south of it. on the southern coast of the bav. and parily on the side of a bill which I'liny calls Mastusia. liui principally in the plain at the foot of it extendiiij; to the sea. After its extension anil embel- lishment by Lysiinachus, new Smyrna became one of the most niai;niticent cities, and certainly the finest in all Asia Minor. The streets were handsome, well paved, and drawn at richt aujxles. and the city contained sev- eral sipiarcs, porticos, a public library, and numerous temples and othi-r public buildiufis; but one threat draw- back was that it had no drains (^.Strabo, /oc. 02'. ; Mann. Oron. No. h). It also possessed an excellent harbor which eoidd be closed, and continued to be one of the wealthiest and most tlourishing commercial cities of Asia. It afterwards became the seat of a rmirentnn jn- n'(/iVu.< which end)raced the j^reater part of .Eolis as far as Matine.-ia. at the foot of Mount Sipylus (Cic. J'ni Flurc. p. ;j<); I'liny, v, ol). During the war between the Ko- mans and Mithridates, Smyrna remained faithful to the former, for which it was rewarded with various f;rants and privili'<;es( Liv. xxxv, 42; xxxvii, 16, .54; xxxviii, 39). Hut it afterwards sutYered much when Trebonius, one of Oesar's murderers, was besieged there by Dola- bella, wlio in the end took the city, and put Trebonius to death (Strabo, Inc. cit.; Cic. I'ltil. xi, 2; Liv. Kpit. 119; Dion Cass, xlvii, 29). In the reign of Tiberius, Smyrna h.td coid'erred upon it the equivocal honor of being allowed, in preference to several other Asiatic cities, to erect a temple to the emperor (Tac. Aim. iii, 03; iv. 5(j >. Uuring the years 178 and ISO Smyrna suffered much from eartlupiakes. but the emperor M. Aurelius did much to alleviate its sufferings (Dion Cass. I.xxi, 32), It is well known that Smyrna was one of the places claiming to be the birthplace of Homer, and the Smyriiieans themselves were so strongly convinced of their right to claim this honor that they erected a tem- ple to the great bard, or a 'Ofiiifjitov, a splendid edifice containing a statue of Homer (Strabo, Inc. cit. , Cic. Pro .Xrrli.H) : they even showeil a cave in the neighborhood of their city, on the little river Meles, where the poet was said to have composed his works. Smyrna was at all times not only a great commercial place, but its schools of rhetoric and |)hilosophy also were in great repute. The Christian Church aUi) flourished through the zeal ami care of its first bishop, Tolycar]), who is said to have been put to death in the stadium of Smyr- na in .\.D. Uiti (Iren. iii, 17r>). Liider the Uyzaniine emperors tbu city experienced great vicissitudes. Hav- ing been occu|>ied by Tzachas, a Turkish chief, about the close of the 11th century, it wiis nearly destroj'ed by a (ireek fieet, commanded by .J(dni Ducas. It was restored, however, by the em|)eror Comneiuis, but again subjected to severe sull'criiigs during tlie siege of Tam- erlane. Not long after, it fell into the hands of the Turks, who have retained possession of it ever since.