Is this a theater or an amphitheater? “Amphi” means both sides, as in amphibian or ambidextrous. An amphibian is an animal that lives in both water and the ground. Ambidextrous is a person who uses both sides equally, both right and left. So, an amphitheater is a round, fully round […]

We see, in front of us now, the lower part of the façade of the theater in Philippi, Greece. In front of the façade was a marble paved square upon which, at the Byzantine time, were workshops. The walls of the workshops were built upon the marble pavement of the […]

People of the eighth century thought they found the Prison of Saint Paul! When the basilica, built on top of a chamber, collapsed, they assumed the basilica had been built there because it was the site of the Prison of the Apostle Paul. They developed the tradition that this chamber […]

The early church gathered in a simple space, in the shape of a round. The church people sat facing one another. This makes sense because the emphasis in the early church was the equality of the body of Christ. In 345 A.D, the church building was demolished but the marble […]

Under this blue, square foundation is a burial chamber! A small pagan temple was erected over this underground grave in the second century B.C. where somebody was worshiped. The pagan temple was erected, exceptionally, right over the grave of somebody, a real person. This is the location of an underground […]

Here is a monument set up to honor a patron. Possibly, this person was a former slave who was set free by a certain man and then to honor this man, the former slave erected a monument here. We read his titles and read the name with the ancient inscription, […]

What is the design on this rock? It is a shield and a spear! Everybody who saw this symbol, whether Greek or Latin speaking, or illiterate, knew they were standing at the Office of the Generals. The tools and the equipment that the Athenians had, 600 years prior to this […]

Acts 16:12 refers to the little village of Philippi, Greece, a city of the first portion of the district of Macedonia. New Testament translators sometimes use the terms “living city” or “leading city” in Acts 16.12. However, Philippi was not a living city, or a leading city. It was small […]

From the entrance at the main gate, the Gate of Neopolis, Via Ignatia passed through the village and exited through the Gate of Thrace. The ancient road, Via Ignatia, connected Neopolis and Philippi, Greece. Via Ignatia traversed right through the middle of the little village of Philippi, dividing it into […]