Ephesus and the Challenge to Early Christianity: Domitian, Celsus, and Hadrian

In the ancient Ephesian site, three historic characters dominate the ruins, who historically persecuted and hated Christians. Domitian, the emperor of Rome, saw Christians as anti-Roman and sought to establish himself as the ultimate king and lord. While many think that Celsus and Hadrian spoke out against the church’s influence. However, today, a visit to Ephesus promotes these characters, whom most people do not know, and their history with Christians. Let’s take a closer look.

The Domitian Square and Temple

The current situation in the ruins at the Domitian Square does not provide clear insight into what was there previously. Domitian ruled Rome from 81 to 96 AD. Many centuries later, Eusebius accused him in his Church History of being a great persecutor of Christians. He exiled John to the island of Patmos, which is well known for this punishment associated with the book of Revelation.

The temple of Domitian was a 50-meter-by-100-meter platform on which the temple stood. This emperor built this temple while still alive, setting a precedent that many later rulers followed. However, this location in ancient Ephesus often deceives visitors in the ancient city. Its appearance fails to convey what people are actually seeing. Below is my take on the location.

As shown above, the statue of Domitian stood over the city of Ephesus on an elevated site. Most likely from the theater area, the agora to the state agora in the upper area, one could view the statue. He dominated the city.

Here is a view of the current situation in the ancient Ephesus:

Domitian’s Persecution of Christians

However, how much did Domitian persecute Christians? This question has been asked by scholars, about which Mark Wilson has written well.^[1]https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-topics/post-biblical-period/domitian-persecution-of-christians The Christian link to this emperor connects to a man named Titus Flavius Clemens, cousin of Emperor Domitian and one of Rome’s most powerful men. He faced sudden execution in AD 95 for “atheism” and adopting practices linked to Judaism.

As a former consul and member of the imperial family, Clemens held the highest ranks of Roman society, making his case significant. Ancient sources do not call him a Christian, but later Christian writers described him as a convert or martyr. His wife, Flavia Domitilla, also gained recognition in Christian tradition. Historians debate whether Clemens was Christian, Jewish, or simply sympathetic to monotheistic beliefs. However, his prosecution indicates that people tied to the emerging Christian movement had already reached the emperor’s household by the end of the first century, showing how far the faith had spread beyond its origins.

When I heard about this man, I immediately thought of the Basilica di San Clemente in Rome, a church dedicated to Pope Clement I, not Titus Flavius Clemens. Historians often connect the site to the Flavian family. First-century Roman buildings lie beneath the church, and some scholars argue that the imperial household owned them. This evidence prompts scholars to link Clemens, the consul Domitian executed in AD 95, to early Christianity. In the Middle Ages, tradition sometimes conflated Pope Clement and Titus Flavius Clemens into a single figure, but modern scholars treat them as distinct individuals. Archaeological remains and ongoing debate keep the question open, preserving the possibility of a connection between one of Rome’s earliest Christian churches and a member of the imperial family who may have supported or embraced Christianity as it spread through Roman society.</span></div></p>

The Facade of Celsus Library

The Celsus Library is the centerpiece of the ancient ruins, but over 60 years ago, there were minimal remains of the building. The reconstruction of the remaining materials sits before us today, and even the main statues of the library lie in a Museum in Vienna.^[2]https://arkeogezi.com/2020/09/12/library-of-celsus/

When I think of a library, I think of books. The claim that the Goths destroyed the Library of Celsus’s books relies on circumstantial evidence, not direct proof. Ancient sources confirm that the Goths attacked ancient Ephesus in 262 CE, and archaeological evidence shows that the library burned around the same time, prompting historians to link the two events. However, no ancient text directly states that the Goths entered the library and burned its scrolls.

The Goths, originally from north of the Black Sea, later became influential in the Roman Empire. While their raids were destructive, they did not systematically oppose books or classical culture. In fact, later Gothic rulers like Theodoric the Great preserved Roman institutions and supported classical learning. Thus, it remains unproven that the Goths deliberately targeted the library; the fire may have been part of the broader sack of the city rather than a focused attack on its literary treasures, or, as some have proposed, the earthquake that took place during the 3rd century.

Christians’ love of Books

Islam calls believers in Jesus the People of the Book because they love the Word of God and quote from it. So a library in Ephesus offers insight into how the church became the custodian of manuscripts in the following centuries. The library was rebuilt and restored in some capacity, only to be later destroyed by armies.

However, the church has saved, copied, and preserved manuscripts of the Scriptures, and even the earliest copies of Paul’s letter to Ephesus have been found in Egypt, Sinai, and the Vatican. Papyrus 46 (P46), which contains the book of Ephesians, is dated to approximately AD 175–225 and was discovered in Egypt; it is the earliest manuscript of this letter. Although the original letter was written more than a century earlier, P46 provides the oldest extant textual witness to Ephesians and preserves much of the letter that we have today.^[3]https://www.bible-researcher.com/papy46.html This shows the influence of this city in circulating the letter to other churches even before the burning of the Library. Most likely, the early believers preserved the letter and made copies for these other places.

Celsus the Persecutor or the Senator?

Many people, like myself, assume that the Library of Celsus in Ephesus honors the famous pagan philosopher who attacked Christianity. Because the name “Celsus” links to one of the earliest and most influential critics of the Christian faith, some visitors may mistakenly believe the library honors an opponent of the Church. In reality, two entirely different men lived in different periods and played different roles in Roman society.

The Library of Celsus was named after Tiberius Julius Celsus Polemaeanus, a respected Roman senator, military commander, and former governor of the Roman province of Asia. After his death around AD 114, his son Tiberius Julius Aquila Polemaeanus commissioned the magnificent library as both a memorial and a tomb for his father. The building served as a repository for thousands of scrolls and housed Celsus’ sarcophagus beneath it (still below the flooring), making it one of the most remarkable funerary monuments in the Roman world.

The anti-Christian philosopher commonly known as Celsus lived later in the second century and wrote The True Word (Alethes Logos), a work that criticized Christian beliefs and challenged the claims of Jesus and the apostles. His writings survive largely because the Christian scholar Origen quoted and answered them extensively in his work Contra Celsum. While this philosopher became one of Christianity’s most notable intellectual opponents, there is no evidence that he had any connection to the Library of Celsus or to the family of Tiberius Julius Celsus Polemaeanus.

Did Celsus in Ephesus Know Christians?

There is no surviving evidence that Tiberius Julius Celsus Polemaeanus was a persecutor of Christians, wrote against the faith, or had any direct involvement with the Christian movement in ancient Ephesus. His son commissioned the library to honor his service to the Roman Empire and the city, not to commemorate opposition to Christianity. For Christian visitors, it is important to recognize that the Library of Celsus is a monument to a prominent Roman statesman who happened to share a name with a later critic of the faith, rather than a memorial to Christianity’s opponents.

Although Ephesus was already home to a growing Christian community when Aquila built the Library of Celsus, no surviving evidence links him directly to the church. Unlike later officials who appear in Christian writings or in accounts of persecution, Aquila remains known primarily as a Roman statesman and as the devoted son who erected one of the ancient world’s most impressive libraries in honor of his father. His relationship to the Christians of Ephesus, if any existed, has been lost to history.

Christian Crosses near the Celsus Library

If Celsus maintained a residence in the city, it would likely have been among the elite homes near Curetes Street and the Terrace Houses. However, no inscription or excavation has linked any specific Terrace House to Celsus or Aquila, so that remains speculation rather than evidence. Given this, the slow turn of the population toward Christianity would have been within their knowledge. Yet, these men seemed more like benevolently educated politicians rather than hostile debaters or philosophers.

However, in the courtyard, a Jewish menorah and some crosses are etched into the nearby marble. Most likely appearing sometime after.

Hadrian and Christians

Hadrian neither supported nor persecuted Christians. He kept Trajan’s policy but opposed mob violence and baseless accusations. His rescript required formal charges and evidence, and punished false accusers.

This policy gave Christians in Asia Minor some protection from arbitrary persecution. It did not legalize Christianity, but it forced authorities to follow legal procedures. Christians still faced prosecution for breaking Roman law or refusing civic duties.

Christians saw Hadrian as a pagan emperor. He promoted Roman religion and rebuilt Jerusalem as Aelia Capitolina, adding pagan shrines to sacred sites.

As proconsul of Asia, Gaius Minicius Fundanus was based in Ephesus, the provincial capital, although he would have traveled throughout western Asia Minor while administering the province. Hadrian addressed his famous rescript concerning accusations against Christians to Fundanus, who governed Asia, and to the provincial government in ancient Ephesus, which administered it.

However, after Hadrian’s time, the Christians in Ephesus repurposed his political temple as a church. Take a look below to see the evidence of this today.

The story of Ephesus reminds us that opposition to Christian beliefs did not end with the Roman Empire. From the imperial cult of Domitian to the legal pressures faced by believers under later Roman authorities, Christians in Ephesus were often called to explain and defend their faith in difficult circumstances. While the challenges facing believers today are different, the need for thoughtful and courageous conversations remains. In The Absurdity of God’s Oneness, I explore discussions with Muslim friends about the nature of God, the identity of Christ, and the claims of the gospel. Just as the early Christians in Ephesus engaged a culture shaped by competing religious worldviews, modern believers are often called to engage respectfully with those who hold different convictions while remaining faithful to the message they have received.