The Oregon daily journal., November 21, 1920, Page 58, Image 58

THE OREGON SUNDAY JOURNAL, PORTLAND, SUNDAY MORNING, NOVEMBER 21, 1920.
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Statue of theGreek
.Goddess of Good Luck
Found in Ascalon.
Palestine Exploration Society Excavating the Wicked
Old Bible City to Find Out What Were the Wanton
Iniquities That Made the Lord Warn, Threaten
and Finally Punish Those Ancient Voluptuaries
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Ascalon in the Scriptures,
Tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of t
Ascalon; lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest
the daughters of the uncircumclsed triumphs If, Samuel,
U 30. :-: ' V.- '.... '"'.
Then took I the cup at the Lord's hand, and made all
the nations to drink, unto whom the Lord had sent me: And
all the mingled people, and all the kings of the land of the
Philistines, and Jiscalon. ere mi ah, iw tj-ao. r
Baldness Is come upon Gaza;-Ascalon Is cut off with
the remnant of their valley Jeremiah, xlvii., $. !
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How can it be quiet, seeing the Lord hath given it a
charge against Ascalon, and against the sea shore?-Jet,
tniab, xivii.', 7.
And I will eat off the inhabitant from Ashbod, and him
that holdeth the sceptre from Ascalon, and the remnant of
the Philistines shall perish, saitbf the Lord. it moa, ., 8. .
For Gaza shall be forsaken, and Ascalon a desolation.
Zephaniah, ., 4.
Ascalon shall see it, and fear; Gaza also shall see It and
be very sorrowfal, and Ekron; for her expectation shall be
ashamed; and the king shall perish from Gaza, and Ascalon
shall not be inhabited. Zechatiih, ix., 5.
And when Delilah saw that he had told her all his
heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines,
saying, come up this once, for he bath shewed me all his
heart. Then the lords of the Philistines came up unto her,
and brought money in their hand. j
And she made him sleep upon her knees; and she called
for a man, and she caused him to shave Off the seven locks
of his head; and she began to afflict him, and his strength
went rrom ninw ytuxges, xru, 18-19.
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THE long lost city of As
calon, burled fov een
turies oq the shore ot
the Mediterranean, is rapidly
being restored- to thV world.
When the last of the tons of
dirt and debris which cover
Its ruins have been removed
we shall have the most In
teresting possible evidence
of the luxury, the splendor
and the wild gayety which
lured the mighty Samson, the
beautiful Delilah, and so
many other people of Old
Testament days to the streets
of Ascalon, and which made
the city, in the eyea of the,
pious leaders of Israel, the
symbol of all that was
wickedest
Ot all the ancient cities
whose " memory has eome
down to us from1 Biblical
times, the name of none is J
more familiar than that of Ascalon. It was,
we now, one of the chief cities of Phil
Jstia, and it is frequently mentioned in the
' etory of the long struggle between Israel
and the Philistines, which fills the pages
of the Old Testament. One of the best
known of the references to It is that whicn
King David made In his memorable lamen
tation over the death of Saul and Jona
than: "Tell it not in Gath," sing the
King, "publish It not In the streets of As
calon; lest the daughters ot the Philistines
rejoice. j
Since King ' David's flay many other
poets have sung to ns about Ascalon. The
city's fame has formed a theme for Robert
W. Chambers and other well known novel
ists. And yet, although for nearly thirty
centuries the name has been almost a
household word, we have known surpris
ingly little of what Ascalon was really
like, and why it was that God threatened
and finally punished it,
What manner of city was Ascalon?
What were the streets like through which
David feared to have the news of Israel's
sorrow spread f What sort of temples and
theatres, stores, -palaces and humble
homes lined its stately avenues? Just
what was it that made Ascalon a place so
remarkable that its' fame has lasted for
more than thirty centuries? Did it de
serve its reputation for wickedness jr
were Israel's leaders tempted by their
Jealousy pf Philislla's power to spread
false reports about the city's lack of
morals, and about the disgraceful orgies
that were said to mark its worship of the
. fish goddess, Derceto? i
V Very soon now we shall doubtless be
able to answer these questions and many
others which have arisen in the minds of
. every Bible student -concerning this his
toric place. The ruins of Ascalon ate
being uncovered and the work of exploring,
them has been begun by the Palestine
Exploration Fund, under the leadership Of
Professor John Garstang, director ot exca
vation. Already the pillars of the famous
Temple of Fortune have been revealed, to
gether with many othefMteresting relics
ot the high development of Grecian art to
which the people of Ascalon had attained
As the patient eicavatofs dtg deepef
and deeper into th ruins it is expected
that they, will lay bare the real secret of
the wonderful Philistine civilization and
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'.Off-: ' t X 'X
Samson, Betrayed Into the Handa of the
Phillistinea by- Hia Leering: Sweetheart Delilah,
From the Painting by Solomon In the Valker
v Gallery, Liverpool.
Remains' of the Crusaders
Church at Ascalon.
show us why thia
strange people
were a b 1 a to
struggle so suc
cessfully with
Israel for su
premacy. Within
a few months now
we shall know
more than we
ever did before
concerning the
city J of Ascalon
and as to why it
was j so interest
ing, to Samson,
Delilah and the
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many other Old Testament characters Who
so frequently trod its streets.
. Samson seems to have been especially
fond of Philistine women and It may very
probably have been In the pleaSuna-loving
city of Ascalon thatxhe met somaf those
who I charmed him. In spite of his first
unfortunate experience with a Philistine
wife, he soon married another native of
the same country, the alluring Delilah. She
proved even more attdly lacking in the
Qualities a good wife should have than his
first partner and, as the Bible tellsf us, she
lost no time in betraying him to the Phil
, istines.
The Old Testament states that Delilah
.was from the "Valley of Sorek. It was in
Qata that she stole away Samson's strength
after learning that the secret of-it lay in
his hair, and it was, there that Samson
was j placed in prison. Gaza was only
twelve miles south 1 of 'Ascalon what
would be called in our day "easy commut
ing distanced In Samson's time means of
communication between the two cities was
far ; from difficult, and their inhabitants
wereconstantly visiting back and forth.
- It is probable that Samson was a familiar
figure on the streets of Ascalon and that
Delilah also went there with him to Join
in the great festivals for which the Philis
tines were famous.
This Is why students of Old Testament
history are watching with such keen in
terest the excavation tf the win of Asca-.
lonJ The excavators are hot upon the trail
of Samson and with any etrolre of their
spades they may bring to light new tacts
concerning thia extraordinary man facts'
perhaps even more surprising than his
pulling down of the temple pillars on the
heads of his tormentors.
Pillars of th
Temple of
Fortune. These
Are Similar to
the Very Granite
, Columns of the
Temple Which
Samson Tore
Down in His
Rage.
"Great White Way,1 so the youths of Israel
were continually urged to avoid the allur
ing creatures wljo made the "streets of
Ascalon" gay.
3 One of the things most -hoped for from
the excavation of the ruins of Ascalon Is
the finding of evidence fhat will show Just
how well founded was this belief of the
leaders of Israel in the city's corrupting
Influence.
A chief reason for tha hatred which
Israel had for the Philistines lay in their
worship of strange gods. The Philistines
were closely related to the Phoenicians
like them they were a seafaring people and
chose fish gods and goddesses as being
the sort of deities most liker to protect
them from the perils of the sea.
Nothing that will be brought to light In
tha ruins ot Ascalon will be more inter-,
estlng than he temple and sacred lake of
Derceto, the fish goddess, which are known
to have existed there. The worship of
Derceto was attended, by the most lasciv
ious practices, much like those of the
Greeks in the temples and groves of Aphro
dite and of the Romans in their homage
, . to Venus. (&
Philistia was long a
kreat power in the
ancient world. The
Philistines gave battle
not only to Israel, but
to mighty Egypt, as the
Tel Amarna tablets and
other records' testify.
The name Palestine,
still given to the coun
try where .they lived.
Is only a derivation .
from their own name.
From the time when
the Israelites took pos
session of the Promises
JLand under Joshua they
vera in constant dread
A thalr neighbors
the Philistines. The
Ancient Roman Bastion Excavated in Ascalon. The Old Mortar SUH ?Zu'Jm '
r Retains Its Immense Strength.
Cr4 s
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It was to Asca
lon that Samson
went after he had
propounded" ls
famous ridJle and
allowed his bride
to wheedle out of
him the answer
to It . "Out of thV
1 eater came forth
meat, and out of
the strong came
forth 1 sweetness."
'that, aa every
Sunday school
pupil should re
call, was the rid
dle. Sam son's
wife promptly
confided f the an
swer to her Phil- .
IstMe friends, and thus enabled them to
win the bet which he made that his con
undrum could not be answered. :
Samson was angry, and when he reached
X.3calon the great fighter promptly killed
thirty men and took their clothing to com
pensate him for tha loss of his bet This
is the only case on record where the ex
pense of a wager fell on Its winners.
The cities ot Gath and Ascalon, men
tioned by King David in his lamentation,
were the chief centres of Philistine civili
sation He spoke ot them as be did be-' .
cause he knew that their inhabitants would
be filled with rejoicing if they heard of
the misfortune that had befallen Israel in
the death of Saul and his eon Jonathan.
The Philistines would think that now they
would be able to overrun Israel and reduce
. (C) 1820. faUrasUontireshire Service, fae.
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the inhabitants to subjection, as they had
been able to do under Goliath.
This cruel domination" ot Israel by the
Philistines had been brought to ah end
when a brave shepherd faced ; Goliath
single-handed and killed him with a blow
from his sling. The shepherd lad who laid
the "redoubtable giant low was the. same
David who later -cried a warning against
the wicked "streets of Ascalon."
Philistia was, for many generations a
serious thorn in the side of Israel. And
-what the people of Israel dreaded most of
all from this constant threat' of domina
tion by their neighbors was the degrading
influence of Philistine women upon their
men. Just as the young men of to-day are
warned to , beware tha vampires of tha
Gret Brilata RihU BeMrveA,
. '
Nike: Bas-Relief of Victory WitU
Her Feet Resting on the Earth,
.Which Is Supported by Atlas t
1 Fourteen Feet High.
aw' -w - v . . . j
It was, as tha prophetsof Israel claimed1
abominably wicked. A great statue ot Vic
tory, splendid Corinthian columns andj
other relics which have already been founl
in tha ruins, ot Ascalon show that before
its downfall the city had attained a degree
of artistic nagniflcencs almost rivalling
that of Athens and'Rome
Tie excavators have brought to light a
splendid architectural. statue of Fortuae
which, like the imposing figure of Victory
standing on the Earth, already mentioned.
Is known to have existed in Turkish times.
In digging out these two- works of art they
alsej found a small statue in white marble
of a kneeling girl whose existence was not
suspected. , This is a piece of sculpture of
such high quality that It has exceed gen
eral admiration and given extraordinary
enthusiasm to further search of these his
toric ruins. ,
The great wealth which the Philistines
gathered through their commerce end their!
.wars, and the fact that Ascalon was a sea
port, where were gathered men and women
of all nations, combined to make its streets
a byword for all . that was wicked and
worldly and wanton. Undoubtedly dissi
pation ran r lot there and furnished abun
dant opportunity for the young men ot
Israel to sow their wild oats. y '
The city tt Ascalon Is believed to be
more than 3.000 years 0I4. Already tha
preliminary explorations of Its ruins have
disclosed both Christian and Jewish em
blems, as well as some early Mohemmedan
remains. Under the Arab rule in the tenth
century Its opulence Increased, and it waa
famous all over the world for the splendor
Of its mosqo.es and great markets. During
tne crusaaes it was a place of great
strategic importance, and it was thia fact
that led to its final rain. Rather than let
the city fall into the hands of Richard tha
Lion Hearted, Saladht hastened to Ascalon
and himself supervised 'the work of de
stroying tha city. It is doubtful if much
if any of it waa aver rebuilt.
A few months after the arrival of ths
English army a treaty was made with
Saladin and the fortifications of the city
were once more, by mutual consent and
even co-operation, destroyed. In the year
1Z40 Ricnara 01 Cornwall tried once again
to wall this important base, but Ascalon
to Zechariah, were al
ways inveighing against
the corrupting in
fluence of Ascalon and urging their people
to have nothing to. do with its beautl
ful sirens or with the heathen gods whom
tstr wnrohtnnod in Mich fthockinc manner.
It was freely prophesied that the Lord . was dying and thirty years later the Sultan
would punish the Philistines tor their Bibars issued tha last decree of fate upoi
sins by desolating their cities and that tha town. Since that day the city has re-
these prophecies finally did eome true the named to the stienctand desolation from
ruins now being excavated are a pathetio which the spades of the excavators are
Witness. . "u w wring u reciaira 11
It is not certain lust where the rmus- inus, ny me nana or a
tines came from to Palestine. Soma schol
ars claim they came from the Island of,
Crete; others believe that they emigrated
from the region around tha ancient city of
Troy. Wherever tha place of their origin,
it is certain that they established in Asca
lon and the other cities which they built
on -the Mediterranean coast a civilization
that was rich and wonderful, even though
Mohammedan
warrior was fulfilled the prophecy madej
oy zepnanian centarlea before, when -he
akX, -For Oaaa shall tm forsaken and As
calon a desolation." Tha excavations nowl
in progress are expected to reveal some!
of the facts which may have justified thai
Israelite prophets in praying so earnestly
to their God to wreak a terrible vengeance
on Ascaioa aua lis people.