In NT times the major seaport of Mysia, Troas is located on the north-west coast of Asia Minor and represented the unconscious boundary between the 'east' and 'west' of the ancient world. Part of its importance and fame derived from the fact that it was named after the ancient city of Troy, located about seven kilometers to its north.
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Paul visited Troas during his Second Missionary Journey, where "during the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, 'Come over to Macedonia and help us.' . . . concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. From Troas we put out to sea and sailed straight for Samothrace, and the next day on to Neapolis. From there we traveled to Philippi, a Roman colony and the leading city of that district of Macedonia. And we stayed there several days" (Acts 16:9-12).
When Paul decided to return to Jerusalem at the end of the journey, he passed through Troas again, where he ans his team stayed for a poignant and rather dramatic week, encouraging the congregation and bringing Eutychus back to life: "On the first day of the week we came together to break bread. Paul spoke to the people and, because he intended to leave the next day, kept on talking until midnight. There were many lamps in the upstairs room where we were meeting. Seated in a window was a young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul talked on and on. When he was sound asleep, he fell to the ground from the third story and was picked up dead. Paul went down, threw himself on the young man and put his arms around him. "Don't be alarmed," he said. "He's alive!" Then he went upstairs again and broke bread and ate. After talking until daylight, he left. The people took the young man home alive and were greatly comforted" (Acts 20:7-12).
While we know of only two recorded visits by Paul to the city, it is almost certain that Paul was there more often than that. This is suggested by the fact that, when he was in prison (whether in Rome or Caesarea is uncertain), Paul wrote to Timothy asking the latter to come to him in haste but also to drop by Troas to pick up his "cloak . . . and my scrolls, especially the parchments" that he had left with a disciple called Carpus in that city (2 Tim 4:13).
The ruins of ancient Troas—a tourist attraction called Eski Stamboul in modern Turkey—is sprawled over several kilometers.
©ALBERITH