Greco-Roman cities refer to those geographical regions that historically were directly, long-term and intimately influenced by the language, culture, government and religion of the ancient Greeks and Romans. Philippi is one of the Greco-Roman City. Historically, Philippi located on the major Roman road known as Via Egnatia, was a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. Philippi became a strategic location for trade because of its strategic geographical position.
As a Roman Colony, Philippi was intended to be a miniature version of Rome. Nevertheless, the Roman character of the city did not erase the previously existing Greek Hellenistic culture, as the Lingua Franca empire still dominated and Greek language was widely spoken. Many of the Greeks and Thracians in the area who were displaced by newly settled Romans remained in the area (Witherlington, 2014) .
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The vast majority of the Philippi population would have been considered of slaves, service providers and peasant farmers. Most of them would have lived either at or below subsistence level. Yet as a percentage of the population they would have been quite small, perhaps as low as three percent according to one estimate. Although estimates such as these are necessarily speculative, argues that about 40 percent of the population were Roman citizens, while the remaining percent which is 60, were largely Greek speakers (Oakes, 2010) .
Religiously, Philippi was a typical first-century city in that there were a large number of gods worshiped. One particular area that deserves mention is the possible presence of the imperial cult, in which the emperor was worshiped as god. There is no doubt that the ideology of Caesar’s claim to the Lord and Savior who brings salvation and peace to the world would have been widely known throughout the Roman Empire and particularly in the Roman colony of Philippi.
References
Oakes, P. (2010). Philippi historology. From People to Letter , 44-50.
Witherlington, M. M. (2014). The city of Philipi in the Bible. Philippi: Adventure Works Press.
