sardis Summary and Overview

the metropolis of Lydia in Asia Minor. It stood on the river Pactolus, at the foot of mount Tmolus. Here was one of the seven Asiatic churches (Rev. 3:1-6). It is now a ruin called Sert-Kalessi.

a city of Asia Minor and capital of Lydia, situated about two miles to the south of the river Hermus, just below the range of Tmolus, on a spur of which its acropolis was built. It was 60 miles northeast of Smyrna. It was the ancient residence of the kings of Lydia, among them Croesus, proverbial for his immense wealth. Cyrus is said to have taken $600,000,000 worth of treasure form the city when he captured it, B.C. 548. Sardis was in very early times, both from the extremely fertile character of the neighboring region and from its convenient position, a commercial mart of importance. The art of dyeing wool is said to have been invented there. In the year 214 B.C. it was taken and sacked by the army of Antiochus the Great. Afterward it passed under the dominion of the kings of Pergamos. Its productive soil must always have continued a source of wealth; but its importance as a central mart appears to have diminished from the time of the invasion of Asia by Alexander. The massive temple of Cybele still bears witness in its fragmentary remains to the wealth and architectural skill of the people that raised it. On the north side of the acropolis, overlooking the valley of the Hermus, is a theatre near 400 feet in diameter, attached to a stadium of about 1000. There are still considerable remains of the ancient city at Sert-Kalessi. Travellers describe the appearance of the locality as that of complete solitude. The only passage in which it is mentioned in the Bible is #Re 3:1-6|

SAR'DIS , a city in Asia Minor, and the capital of Lydia. Sardis was situated at the foot of Mount Tmolus, about 50 miles north-east of Smyrna and 30 miles south-east of Thyatira. It was on the river Pactolus, celebrated for its "golden sands," and some 2 miles from the river Hermes. The site was one of great beauty. History. - Sardis had great celebrity as the residence of the famous Croesus, whose name is the synonym for riches. When Cyrus conquered him, b.c. 548, he is said to have taken treasure of the value of $600,000,000. The Persians kept a garrison in the citadel. Alexander gained possession of the city after the battle of Granieus, and garrisoned it. Antiochus the Great sacked the city, b.c. 214; afterward it was subject to the kings of Pergamos. An earthquake destroyed it in the reign of Tiberius, a.d. 17, but it was rebuilt, the emperor remitting the tribute for five years and granting the money to assist in reconstructing the city. The prosperity of Sardis arose from its convenience as a commercial mart and prosperous manufactures. The art of dyeing wool was discovered there. Sardis was the seat of one of the seven churches of Asia, and the Christians seem to have been so corrupted by the prevailing worldliness that they received a severe rebuke. Rev 3:1-5. Present Condition. - The ruins of Sardis are now called Sert-Kalessi. Among the remains are two massive columns over 6 feet in diameter, standing upright, and supposed to have belonged to the massive temple of Cybele; the senate-house, called the house of Croesus, having one hall 156 feet long by 43 broad, with walls 10 feet thick. A Roman sarcophagus has lately been discovered, a famous tomb of Alyattes - one of the wonders of the world - a gigantic mound, several tumuli, and Roman walls in ruins. The place was also famed in classic story for the "golden sands" of Pactolus. The site is now very unhealthy, and few, if any, people inhabit it.

Capital of Lydia, in Asia Minor; on the Pactolus, at the root of Mount Tmolus. Northward is a view up the Hermus valley. Southward stand two beautiful Ionic columns of the temple of Cybele, six feet and one third in diameter, 35 ft. below the capital; the soil is 25 ft. above the pavement. The citadel is on a steep, high hill. So steep was its S. wall that Croesus the last king omitted to guard it; and one of Cyrus' Persian soldiers, seeing a Lydian descend by cut steps to regain his helmet, thereby led a body of Persians into the acropolis. Now an unhealthy desert; not a human being dwelt in the once populous Sardis in 1850. The senate house (gerusia), called Croesus' house, lies W. of the acropolis. One hall is 156 ft. long by 43 broad, with walls 10 ft. thick. There are remains of a theater, 400 ft. in diameter, and a stadium, 1,000; and of two churches, the latter constructed of fragments of Cybele's temple. Now Sart. Famed for the golden sands of Pactolus, and as a commercial entrepot. In Sardis and Laodicea alone of the seven addressed in Revelation 2; 3; there was no conflict with foes within or without. Not that either had renounced apparent opposition to the world, but neither so faithfully witnessed by word and example as to "torment them that dwell on the earth" (Revelation 11:10). Smyrna and Philadelphia, the most afflicted, alone receive unmixed praise. Sardis and Laodicea, the most wealthy, receive little besides censure. Sardis "had a name that she lived and was dead" (Revelation 3:1; 1 Timothy 5:6; 2 Timothy 3:5; Titus 1:16; Ephesians 2:1; Ephesians 2:5; Ephesians 5:14). "Become (Greek) watchful" or "waking" (Greek), what thou art not now. "Strengthen the things which remain," i.e. the few graces which in thy spiritual slumber are not yet extinct, but "ready to die"; so that Sardis was not altogether "dead." Her works were not "filled up in full complement (pepleromena) in the sight of My God" (so the Siniaticus, Alexandrinus, and Vaticanus manuscripts). Christ's God is therefore our God; His judgment is the Father's judgment (John 20:17; John 5:22). He threatens Sardis if she will not watch or wake up, "He will come on her as a thief"; as the Greek proverb, "the feet of the avenging deities are shod with wool," expressing the noiseless nearness of God's judgments when supposed far off. Sardis had nevertheless "a few names" in the book of life, known by the Lord as His (John 10:3). The gracious Lord does not overlook exceptional saints among masses of professors. Their reward and their character accord. "They have not defiled their garments," so "they shall walk (the best attitude for showing grace to advantage) with Me in white, for they are worthy," namely, with Christ's worthiness "put on them" (Revelation 7:14; Ezekiel 16:14). The state of grace now, and that of glory hereafter, harmonize. Christ's rebuke was not in vain. Melito, bishop of Sardis in the second century, was eminent for piety; he visited Israel to investigate concerning the Old Testament canon, and wrote an epistle on it (Eusebius 4:26; Jerome Catal. Script. Ecclesiastes 24). In A.D. 17, under the emperor Tiberius, an earthquake desolated Sardis and 11 other cities of Asia; Rome remitted its taxes for five years, and the emperor gave a benefaction from the privy purse.