Emmaus. Emmaus is a town mentioned in the Gospel of Luke of the New Testament. Luke reports that Jesus appeared, after his death and resurrection, before two of his disciples while they were walking on the road to Emmaus. Its geographical identification is not clear; several locations having been suggested throughout history. We know only that it was connected by a road to Jerusalem; the distance given by Luke varies in different manuscripts and the figure given has been made even more ambiguous by interpretations. The place name Emmaus is relatively common in classical sources about the Levant and is usually derived through Greek and Latin from the Semitic word for warm spring, the Hebrew form of which is hamma or hammat. In the ancient and present-day Middle East, many sites are named Hama Hamath and variations thereof. In the case of one possible candidate for Luke's Emmaus, namely modern Motza, another evolution of the name has been suggested. Luke 24:13-35 declares that Jesus appears after his resurrection to two disciples who are walking from Jerusalem to Emmaus, which is described as being 60 stadia from Jerusalem. One of the disciples is named Cleopas, while his companion remains unnamed. According to the gospel, the story takes place in the evening of the day of Jesus's resurrection. The two disciples hear that the tomb of Jesus was found empty earlier that day. They are discussing the events of the past few days when a stranger asks them what they are discussing. Their eyes were kept from recognizing him. He rebukes them for their unbelief and explains prophecies about the Messiah to them. On reaching Emmaus, they ask the stranger to join them for the evening meal. When he breaks the bread, their eyes opened and they recognize him as the resurrected Christ. Jesus immediately vanishes. Cleopas and his friend then hasten back to Jerusalem to carry the news to the other disciples. A similar event is mentioned in the Gospel of Mark, although the disciples' destination is not stated. This passage is believed by some to be a late addition, derived from the Gospel of Luke. The incident is not mentioned in the gospel of Matthew or John. Several places in Judea and Galilee are called Emmaus in the Bible, the works of Josephus Flavius,w and other sources from the relevant period. The one most often mentioned is a town of some importance situated in the Valley of Ajalon, later called Emmaus Nicopolis. Another Emmaus, mentioned by Josephus, is a village, placed closer to Jerusalem, at what is today the town of Motza. Many sites have been suggested for the biblical Emmaus, among them Emmaus Nicopolis, Kiryat Anavim, Coloniya, el-Kubeibeh, Artas and Khurbet al-Khamasa. The oldest identification that is currently known is Emmaus Nicopolis. Main articles: Emmaus Nicopolis and Imwas The first modern site identification of Emmaus was by the explorer Edward Robinson, who equated it with the Palestinian Arab village of Imwas, near the Latrun monastery. Before its destruction in 1967, the village of Imwas was located at the end of the Ayalon Valley, on the border of the hill country of Judah, at 153 stadia from Jerusalem via the Kiryat Yearim Ridge Route, 161 stadia via the Beth-Horon Ridge Route and 1,600 feet lower by elevation. Eusebius was probably the first to mention Nicopolis as biblical Emmaus in his Onomasticon. Jerome, who translated Eusebius' book, implied in his letter 108 that there was a church in Nicopolis built in the house of Cleopas where Jesus broke bread on that late journey. From the 4th century on, the site was commonly identified as the biblical Emmaus. Archaeologically, many remains have been excavated at the site of the former Palestinian village, now located inside Canada Park, which support historical and traditional claims. Five structures were found and dated, including a Christian basilica from the 6th century and a 12th-century Crusader church. Emmaus Nicopolis is a titular see of the Roman Catholic Church. There are several sources giving information about this town's ancient history, among them the First Book of Maccabees, the works of Josephus, and chronicles from the Late Roman, Byzantine and Early Muslim periods. According to 1 Maccabees 3:55-4:22, around 166 BC Judas Maccabeus fought against the Seleucids in the region of this particular Emmaus, and was victorious at the Battle of Emmaus; later, this town was fortified by Bacchides, a Seleucid general. When Rome took over the land it became the capital of a district or toparchy, and was burnt by order of Varus after the death of Herod in 4 BC.