The Gods at Thessalonica

Thessalonica was filled with images of gods, altars, and temples (Acts 17:1–9). The Thessalonians worshiped Athena, Demeter, Persephone, Poseidon, Pan, Hades and many other deities. The first converts in the city had “turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God” (1 Thess 1:9). When they became believers, they abandoned their family and community gods, committing what the rest of society regarded as an antisocial act.

The gods served as the community’s patrons and supposed protectors, and citizens practiced religion to maintain the pax deorum (“peace with the gods”). Pietas (“duty”) included the responsibility of giving honor to the gods. Not performing the proper religious rites (the cultus deorum or “cultivation of the gods”) could provoke, in the common opinion, ira deorum (“the anger of the gods”). Thessalonian believers were persecuted because of their abandonment of the cultus deorum (1 Thess 1:6; 2:14; 3:4; 2 Thess 1:3–8; compare Acts 19:23–41).

Several examples of religious devotion appear in texts written by Antipater and Philip of Thessalonica (late-first century bc and early-first century ad). In one, Philip prays to Artemis for the emperor’s health, petitioning the goddess to remove sickness in light of his offerings. Antipater records the desire of a woman named Cythera, who dedicated a marble statue to the goddess Artemis, requesting that for the gift, Artemis would in return grant her the love of her husband.

Worshipers also gave thanks to the deities for the blessings they received. An inscription dedicated to Zeus from Thessalonica gives thanks for rescue from the sea. However, the gods could also harm people: Antipater records that Cyllenē was traveling at night from Pisa when lightening fell from Zeus and killed him.

The gods of Thessalonica were not viewed as moral guides who demanded good works. Some even promoted immorality. One of Philip’s epigrams celebrates the construction of a boat paid for by the proceeds from a brothel, noting that he has built a ship from the Cyprian’s trade—a reference to Aphrodite, the patroness of prostitutes—and has come to the sea that gave Aphrodite birth. Clay figurines of Aphrodite were extremely popular in the households of Thessalonica. The phallus was used as a cult object among the city’s worshipers of Priapus, Dionysius, Aphrodite, and the Egyptian god Osiris. Such practices provide the context in which Paul exhorted the believers in Thessalonica against sexual immorality (1 Thess 4:1–8).

The gods of Thessalonica held a central place in the social life of the city. An association of Dionysus’ worshipers organized funeral rites and celebrated the mysteries of the god. Worshipers of Zeus gathered for common meals. Devotees of the Egyptian deities called themselves “the companions at table.” The gathering of Christians around the table of the Lord Jesus served as a counterpoint to these social practices (1 Cor 10:14–22).

Thessalonian officials minted coins and erected numerous inscriptions which honored the gods of the city. The chief magistrates of this Macedonian city (Acts 17:6, 8) honored the Egyptian deities Serapis, Osiris, and Isis in an inscription. The city council also honored Apollo and Dionysius in this way. The state cult included the worship of the Cabirus—one of the two Cabiri in the sanctuary on the island of Samothrace (Acts 16:11). Cabirus appears on numerous coins minted in Thessalonica. The images of Heracles, Nike, Dionysius, and Apollo also appear on the city’s coinage, and the government sponsored festivals and games dedicated to the gods, complete with prayers and sacrifices.

The city honored the Romans by building a temple of Caesar which was dedicated to the divinized Julius Caesar and his heir, Augustus, whom they called “son of god.” The imperial cult had its own priesthood, including a priestess, and the city also honored the goddess “Roma and the Roman benefactors.” The emperor and the Romans were the supreme benefactors of the city, and the Thessalonians responded to their generosity with the establishment of these religious institutions.

Many in Thessalonica regarded Paul’s proclamation of “another king, one called Jesus” as a challenge to Roman imperial power—one that generated hostilities against him and the Thessalonian believers (Acts 17:6–9). The letters to the Thessalonians present a counterpoint to imperial claims. Jesus, not the emperor, was the one whom believers awaited in His parousia (“coming”), and whose euangelion (“gospel”) Paul proclaimed (1 Thess 1:5; 2:2, 4, 8, 9; 3:2; 4:13–18; 2 Thess 1:8; 2:14). These terms were associated with the imperial cult, but Paul employed them to speak about the real Son of God, Jesus Christ (1 Thess 1:10).

Gene L. Green

Further Reading

Emperor Worship CLBD

Gods CLBD