Thessalonica, today known as Thessaloniki, received two letters from the Apostle Paul. Unlike many ancient cities, Thessalonica survived the centuries, and has become the second largest city in modern Greece.

When the Apostle came to the city, he befriended a Jew named Jason (Jesus in Hebrew) and worked at his trade of tent-cloth making. Paul’s strategy of spending time in the important trade centers of his day was once again demonstrated in Thessalonica. The city was a bustling hub of mercantilism, with the important Via Egnatia trade road running through the city and a busy harbor shipping goods all over the Mediterranean.

Unlike nearby Philippi, there was a large Jewish population in the city (which continues to this day), which may have necessitated the three consecutive Sabbath visits Paul made to the synagogue when he came to Thessalonica.

Because the city has been continuously inhabited for almost 2500 years, and is to this day built on the same site it has occupied for its whole history, archaeological investigation in Thessalonica has been sparse. However, archaeological finds at Thessalonica have exonerated Luke’s accuracy. At one time scholars disparaged Luke’s use of the word “πολιτάρχης” (“politarches,” - ruler or chief magistrate) because the word was not found in Greek literature. However, archaeological finds in Thessalonica have found nearly twenty inscriptions with the word in them,including inscribed on a still extant arch over a street, known as the Vartar Gate.