The article below on St. Paul was originally published in 1922.
What is most fascinating about early 20th century newspapers is that they could publish articles about a crossdressing Hercules, ancient goddesses, and Christian archaeology all in the same week and no one appeared to become upset over the diversity like they do today.
The Heathen Temple Where St. Paul Worked Miracles
New information concerning the life of the great Apostle St. Paul is likely to result from very interesting recent archaeological discoveries on the island of Malta.
Professor Themistocles Zammit has discovered a vast prehistoric temple at Hal Tarxien, near the coast of Malta, and other remains scattered about the island. These must be the very stones which were trodden by the feet of the great Apostle, which witnessed his defiance of the heathen priests, the many miracles performed by him on the island and many other important events of sacred history, concerning which Biblical scholars are looking for more complete information.
Malta is the Mediterranean island on which St. Paul, the great Apostle to the gentiles, was shipwrecked at a critical period of his career. It was here that he lived for three months. It was here that he performed many miracles and made many Christian converts. His stay on this island played a very important part in St. Paul’s life, which in turn was of the first importance in establishing Christianity throughout Europe.
St. Paul’s sojourn of three months on the island must have been filled with very interesting events about which we know little. The mention of these events in the Acts of the Apostles, the principal source from which we can obtain information about them, is very brief, perhaps because of the more important occurrences that were about to happen.
But we do learn from the Bible that the island was inhabited by wild “barbarians,” that St. Paul was stung there by a deadly viper and that the barbarians seeing that he did not die suddenly looked upon him as a god.
It might have been supposed that Malta, being so near to Italy, was entirely inhabited by Romans of the civilized type, but the use of the word “barbarians” suggests that some strange, wild people were living here in St. Paul’s time.
It is true that the great temple found in Malta by Professor Themistocles Zammit is said to date back to 4,000 years ago, or 2,178 years before St. Paul’s time. There are evidences, however, that the temple was in use ages later by men of the bronze age, who might have been the barbarians of St. Paul’s time. This would be parallel to the case of Stonehenge, which was built by prehistoric men, but is believed to have been in use by the Druids when the Romans invaded Britain.
In the ancient Maltese temple there is a secret chamber behind the oldest altar from which a hidden priest produced mysterious sounds to terrify the superstitious worshippers. Elsewhere there is another chamber, hidden by a stone, where bones were found, the relics of human sacrifice.
It appears that St. Paul, with his fiery zeal, must have denounced these heathen exploiters of cruelty and superstition. Just how the temple appeared in St. Paul’s time cannot be determined yet, but it is today in such an astonishingly good state of preservation that it appears probable it was in actual use and well cared for in the Apostle’s day.
The great temple at Hal Tarxien consists of three structures of successive periods, linked together and opening into one another. The enormous blocks of stone of which it is built measure from twenty feet to eight feet in height and are of equal width. The existence of such remains as this gave rise in ancient times to the belief that a race of giants had built them, but the natural explanation is that a race with surprising mechanical powers existed before our recorded history began.
The entire temple measures 210 feet in length. A distinguished archaeologist describing its arrangement writes:
“Passing through the portal in the facade, we reach the main room of the third and latest period, and we find here a series of carvings in low relief which for beauty and variety it would be hard to parallel at this period, executed, as they were, entirely with stone tools. The low stone bases of the right and left are decorated with spirals, in which the same pattern is never quite repeated, and the delicacy of the work is most remarkable. Some of the blocks are decorated with a low frieze of wild goats in relief.
“In one place we see the lower portion of a colossal seated female statue, which must originally have been draped; the lower part of the pleated skirt is still preserved, and the extremely short fat legs, while the feet are by no means excessively large and the insteps are arched. Not far off is a niche made of carefully cut slabs, with a characteristic window-like opening, and an altar of stone in front of it which is decorated with spirals. The semicircular plug which may be seen was originally so closely fitted that the line of junction was hardly discernible. It was found to contain bones from the sacrifices and a number of flint implements.
“Returning to the central passage, we see facing us a similar niche, which contained bones. It stands at the back of a semi-circular shrine, in which low stone seats are arranged, while in front is an elaborately ornamented block with two rows of spirals, which once served at the base of the facade of this shrine.
“From here we pass into the building of the second period, which consists of no less than three elliptical areas (instead of two) laid side by side. Their construction is very massive, of upright slabs seven or eight feet in height; and the floor is either of slabs over two feet thick or (more frequently) of beaten earth and stones. The latter mixture becomes extremely hard, is of a white-yellow color and is locally known as torba. In almost every case there was a lower floor or torba below, testifying to the fact that the building was in use for a considerable period. Under each of these floors numerous fragments of pottery and the bones of animals were discovered; but the best specimens – including a number of very finely decorated pieces and several entire vases – were naturally found at the upper level.
“In one of the small chambers opening out of one of the main rooms there was found, under the later floor, a ring of stones surrounding a circular hole in the natural rock, about 1 foot 4 inches in diameter; the round cover slab was still in position, and when it was raised a cavity 5 feet deep and 3-1/2 to 4 inches diameter, of the shape of a Benedictine bottle, and almost entirely empty, was revealed. It was probably a granary, as no traces of any device for the introduction of water could be seen. On one of the slabs which form the wall of this room there is a relief of two bulls and a cow; but the few other decorated slabs that are found in this part of the building are probably later additions.
“The remains of the earliest sanctuary of all present similar characteristics to those of the second period. We see the same massive construction and an entire absence of decoration.”
Very singular are the types of figures shown in statues of gods, goddesses, and other persons in the temples. This type is particularly well displayed in a group of five figures at Hagier Kim. These figures have enormously fat and rounded busts, bodies and hips, while their extremities taper away to almost nothing. This evidently was an ideal type of “beauty” at this remote period of human history. these primitive men had no use for the skinny “flapper” type, which is so much admired at the present moment, and it seems that their views must have prevailed for thousands of years, compared to which the present epoch is a passing phase.
Many small relics of great interest have been found in Malta, giving an insight into various ages from the time of the building of the great temple down to the days of the enterprising Phoenicians. There are human bones, teeth and a sling such as David used so skillfully in slaying the Philistine giant Goliath.
The island of Malta is called “Melita,” its old Latin name, in the Acts of the Apostles. We are told in that book that St. Paul was accused of sedition by the Pharisees at Jerusalem and brought before King Agrippa. St. Paul, as a Roman citizen, appealed to the Roman Emperor and after a long examination was sent by ship to Rome.
The ship ran into terrible storms and reached a place in Crete where St. Paul advised they should spend the winter, but his advice was disregarded and after drifting aimlessly for fourteen days they were wrecked on the coast of Malta. Concerning this even the Bible says:
“And when they escaped then they knew that the island was called Melita.
“And the barbarous people showed us no little kindness; for they kindled a fire, and received us every one, because of the present rain, and because of the cold.
“And when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks, and laid them on the fire, there came a viper out of the heat, and fastened on his hand.
“And when the barbarians saw the venomous beast hang on his hand, they said among themselves, No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he hath escaped the sea, yet vengeance sufferers not to live
“And he shook off the beast into the fire, and felt no harm.
“Howbeit they looked when he should have swollen, or fallen down dead suddenly; but after they had looked a great while, and saw no harm come to him, they changes their minds, and said that he was a god.”
Of course, St. Paul would not allow the barbarians to worship him as a god, and he must have seized this favorable opportunity to convert the islanders to the new religion of which he was the apostle. This would have brought him in conflict with the heathen priests of Hal Tarxien, with their bogus oracle. They were perhaps losing their prestige at this comparatively late date.
St. Paul followed up this event by performing many miracles and winning the confidence of the barbarians. The chief man of the island was one Publius, whose father happened to be suffering from a deadly fever. St. Paul cured the father by praying and laying on of hands. After this miracle the book of the Acts tells us:
“So when this was done, others also, which had diseases in the island, came, and were healed.”
St. Paul remained three months on the island, and, the winter being over, the Roman officer in charge of the party secured another ship and conveyed the Apostle and his fellow prisoners to Rome. At the end of his stay St. Paul, as appears from the Acts, had won the confidence of most of those on the island, and perhaps converted many of them, for it is stated he was loaded with honors and received “such things as were necessary.”
Source: The Washington times. (Washington [D.C.]), 09 April 1922.
