Smyrna claimed to be the birthplace of Homer. Ælius Aristides (born 117 A. D.), who lived at Smyrna, several times likens the city to a crown, and apparently the crown was in some way associated with Smyrna; (see Fig. 287). The goddess of the place, who was a kind of Cybele, is pictured as wearing a crown.[352] This is, no doubt, the reason why in Rev. 2:10 a crown of life is promised to the church of Smyrna if she is faithful. No excavations have been made at Smyrna, but above the city the tomb of Polycarp,[353] said in tradition to have been a disciple of the Apostle John, is shown. Polycarp was martyred in 155 A. D. in one of those times of tribulation predicted in Rev. 2:10.
(7) _Laodicea_ is situated a hundred miles east of Ephesus, in the valley of the Lycus, where the Lycus empties into the Mæander. It was founded by Antiochus II of Syria, 261-246 B. C.,[354] and named for his wife. Like Philadelphia, it was designed to be a missionary of Hellenism to the country of the region. Like the other Hellenic cities it was beautified with temples, theaters, and colonnaded streets. Later Laodicea passed under the control of Pergamum, and with that kingdom fell to Rome in 133 B. C. An influential element in its population was Jewish, and before Paul's imprisonment in Rome a Christian church had been founded there (Col. 4:13). The city of Laodicea appears to have been devoted to commerce and to material things. In Rev. 3:15 its church is said to have been lukewarm. Except that its lukewarmness may have come from its commercial spirit, there is nothing in the history or archæology of the city that illustrates the letter[355] to it in Rev. 3:14-22.
The site of Laodicea is now almost deserted. Only the wretched Turkish village of Eski Hissar represents habitation, but hundreds of acres are covered with the ruins of the once splendid city. For hundreds of years the villagers of neighboring hamlets have used the place as a quarry, but nevertheless its ruins are impressive. Two theaters are in a fairly good state of preservation; the seats are still in place.[356] The stadium is in a similar condition of preservation. Its aqueduct and its gates are still imposing in their dilapidation, but the desolation of Laodicea recalls the words: "I will spew thee out of my mouth" (Rev. 3:16); (see Fig. 288).