ANATOLIA (Greek: "East" or "Sunrise"; also "Asia Minor"; modern "Turkish") is a geographical and historical term denoting the Westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey. The Region is bounded by the Black Sea to the North, Georgia to the North East, the Armenian Highland to the East, Mesopotamia to the South East, the Mediterranean Sea to the South and the Aegean Sea to the West.
ANATOLIA has been home to many civilizations throughout history, such as the Hittites, Phrygians, Lydians, Persians, Greeks, Assyrians, Armenians, Romans, Byzantines, Anatolia Seljuks, Ottomans.
The cultic life of Anatolia reflects diverse cultural influences over the course of several thousand years. From as early as 7th BC, bull's heads and a mother goddess featured prominently in domestic shrines found in different regions. Worship of the mother of gods (Meter Theon) was a consistent feature of Anatolian cultic practice. Her later Hellenized portrayal, seated between 2 lions. In modern sources she is called Cybele, and one of her earlier names was Kubaba. In the Greco-Roman era, she was known as Agdistis or by a local place name, usually a mountain overlooking her Temple state at Passimus. During the Hittite era, a huge image of the goddess was carved into Mount Sipylus. Similar huge rock-cut figures survive from the Phrygians.
The mother of the gods was served by self castrated functionaries called 'gulli.' Her male companion, also castrated, was Attis, and the priest-king of her temple state was called 'the Attis.' In Cappadocia, she gave way to the goddees Ma (Bellona).
Several features characterize the distinctive cult ethics of Anatolia, including Temple-states ruled by priest-kings and inhabited by sacred slaves.
Many Anatolians perceived their deities as powerful monarchical figures who administered 'justice' at all levels of community life. Confession inscriptions from Phrygia and Lydia recount the experience of punishment of the 'offender' by these 'enforcer' deities. Having been punished by the deity, they inscribed a stela to 'confess' and to 'commemorate' the deity's power as a form of recompense. Abundant curses invoke divine punishment upon potential offenders, especially as protection for graves and tombstones. Victims also placed written curses in temples to plead their case and to invoke 'divine' action against 'culprits.'
Angels and scepters also played a role in this supernatural judicial system. This 'judicial' ethos is seen in the names of its distinctive Anatolian deities as the 'divine' pair Holy and Just (Hosios and Dikaios), portrayed with scales and scepter, and the goddess Dikaiosyne.
Anatolian worship cults included spirit possession and treated as a divine possession. The castrated functionaries (gulli) were known for their frenzied possession by her in their act of self-castration and subsequent bloody performances of self-punishment.
Tablets from 3rd BC begin the historical record and interactions between Old Assyrian trading colonies and local Anatolian rulers. The Hittite civilization dominated most of the peninsula in 2nd BC. They left huge rock sculptures of their deities, including a gallery of 63 deities in the natural rock shrine at Yazilikaya, their national sanctuary near their capital, Hattusa, East of Ankara. The short-lived Phrygian Empire rose in the West, succeeded by the Lydian Empire centered at Sardis. Persian domination left its legacy in the worship of deities such as the moon-god Men and the goddess Anaietis (Anahita) and in religious cults which persisted well into the Christian era. Persians held the priesthood of Artemis at Ephesus until 4th BC. In addition, Lycians, Pisidians, Pamphylians, Carians, Lycaonians, Cilicians, and Cappadocians each represented distinct cultures in their respective languages in their ethnic territories. In the Hellenistic era Greek and Anatolia cults should be seen as overlapping entities which mutually influenced one another. Jewish settlements were known as early as 3rd BC when Antiochus III resettled 2,000 Jewish families from Babylonia into Lydia and Phrygia. The Galatians crossed from Europe into Anatolia as a mass migration of hundreds of thousands of marauding Celts. They maintained their tribal organization and were a dominant presence in the interior even after they were contained by Attalus I of Pergamum. Galatians adopted many cult practices of the territories they occupied and found their way into major positions in the Temple state at Pessinus. Roman imperial cult became another major feature of Anatolia cultic life. The emperors were incorporated into the Anatolian pattern of monarchical deities. Emperor worship added impressive sanctuaries to Anatolian cities, and a Roman style of public religious activity, including games, banquets, and food distributions.
In the Scripture, the term "Asia Minor" is used as referring to the Roman Province occupying the Western Part of Asia Minor. It included the older countries of Mysia, Lydia, Caria, and, at times, part of Phrygia, as well as the adjacent islands. It was thus bounded by the Aegean Sea and the Provinces of Bithynia, Galatia (which embraced part of Phyrgia), and Lycia. The precise borders, however, are difficult to define because of repeated shifting.
Initially, the capital was at Pergamon in Mysia, but during the reign of Augustus it was transferred to Ephesus, farther to the South. In the year 27BC, the Province was made senatorial and was thereafter governed by a proconsul. (Acts 19:38) It was also divided into 9 judicial districts and subdivided into 44 city districts.
Luke, in describing the regions from which the Jews had come to Jerusalem at the Time of Pentecost in the year 33 CE, lists Asia Minor along with the Provinces of Cappadocia, Pontus, and Pamphylia.
ACTS 2 says,"When the Day of Pentecost came, all the Believers were gathered together in 'one place.'
Suddenly there was 'a noise' from the sky which sounded like a strong Wind blowing and 'it filled the whole house' where they were sitting. Then they saw what looked like 'tongues of fire' which spread out and touched each person there. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to talk in other languages, as the Spirit enabled them to speak. "(1-4) "There were Jews living in Jerusalem, religious people who had come from every country in the World. When they heard 'this noise', a large crowd gathered. They were all excited, because all of them heard the Believers talking in their own languages.
In amazement and wonder they exclaimed, 'These people who are talking like this are Galileans! How is it, then, that all of us hear them speaking in our 'own native languages?' We are from Parthia, Media, and Elam; from Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia; from Pontus and Asia; from Phyrgia and Pamphilia, from Egypt and the regions of Libya near Cyrene. Some of us are from Rome, both Jews and Gentiles converted to Judaism, and some of us are from Crete and Arabia -yet all of us hear them speaking in our own languages about the great things that GOD has done!' Amazed and confused, they kept asking each other, 'What does this mean?'"
Paul there lists Phyrgia apart from Asia, as he does again at Acts 16: "Paul traveled on to Derbe and Lystra, where a Christian named Timothy lived. His mother, who was also a Christian, was Jewish, but his father was a Greek. All the Believers in Lystra and Iconium spoke well of Timothy. Paul wanted to take Timothy along with him, so Paul circumcised Timothy. He did so because all the Jews who lived in those places knew that Timothy's father was Greek. As they went through the Towns, Paul and Timothy delivered to the Believers the Rules decided upon by the apostles and the elders in Jerusalem, and Paul and Timothy told the Believers to 'Obey those Rules.' So the churches were made stronger in the Faith and grew in numbers every day. Paul and Timothy traveled through the Region of Phrygia and Galatia because the Holy Spirit did not let them 'preach the Message' in the Province of Asia. When they reached the 'border of Mysia,' Paul and Timothy tried to go into the Province of Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them." (1-7)
1 Peter 1 says, "From Peter, apostle of Jesus Christ, to GOD's chosen people who live as refugees scattered throughout the Provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. You were chosen according to the Purpose of God the Father and were made a Holy People by His Spirit, 'to Obey Jesus Christ and Be Purified By His Blood.'"(1-2) "Be glad about this, even though it may now be necessary for you to be sad for a while because of the many kinds of trials you suffer. Their purpose is 'to prove that your Faith is genuine.' Even gold, which can be destroyed, is tested by Fire; and so your Faith, which is much more precious than gold, must also be tested, so that it may endure."(6-7)
The Anatolian context is very significant in the writings of the New Testament, including Acts, Galatians, Colossians, 1 Peter, and Revelation.
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