Places in Acts
—Page 12, Syracuse to Tyre
This page contains information about places mentioned in the book of Acts. Syracuse, Syrtis, Tarsus, Thessalonica, Three Taverns, Thyatira, Troas, Trogyllium, Tyre.
Syracuse
- Pronounced Sire-ruh-kyooze'
- City on Sicily’s coast where Paul stayed on his journey to Rome (Acts 28:12).
Syria
- Large territory on northeast coast of Great Sea opposite Cyprus and extending south to Galilee.
- Paul passed through there on his way to his home town Tarsus (Acts 1:21, Galatians 1:21).
- Mentioned in connection with the letter from the council of the apostles in Jerusalem (Acts 15:23).
- Paul’s 2nd missionary journey, started and ended there (Acts 15:41, Acts 18:18-22).
- Mentioned in connection with Paul’s 3rd missionary journey (Acts 20:3, Acts 21:3).
Syrtis (sandbars)
- The name of dangerous shallows and sandy shoals near the African coast southwest of Crete and Clauda (Acts 27:17).
- Syrtis on the planet Mars was named after it.
- Translated “quicksands” in the King James Version.
- Most likely Syrtis Minor, not Syrtis Major.
- The wind Euraquilo (Acts 27:14) was a northeaster, driving the ship more in the direction of Syrtis Minor.
Tarsus
- A city in Cilicia.
- Paul’s home town (Acts 9:11, Acts 21:39, Acts 22:3, ).
- Paul lived there for a while after his conversion (Acts 9:30, Acts 11:20-26).
Thessalonica
- Pronounced Thess-luh-nike'-uh
- Chief city of Macedonia about 160km southwest of Philippi.
- Probably had the only Jewish synagogue in Macedonia (Acts 17:1).
- Here Paul ran into trouble with the Jews (Acts 17:1-9).
- The Philippians supported Paul while he was in Thessalonica (Philippians 4:16).
- Aristarchus, one of Paul’s companions, came from Thessalonica (Acts 27:2).
Three Taverns
- Paul passed through this town toward the end of his journey to Rome (Acts 28:15).
- Three Taverns is only about 55km south of Rome.
Thyatira
- Pronounced Thigh-tie'-ruh
- A city of Asia between Pergamum and Sardis.
- Location of one of "the seven churches of Asia" (Revelation 1:4,11).
- Lydia came from Thyatira (Acts 16:14-15).
Troas
- Pronounced Troe'-az
- City on the northwest coast of Asia.
- There Paul had a vision calling him to Macedonia (Acts 16:8-11).
- That was on Paul’s 2nd missionary journey.
- On his 3rd missionary journey, Paul spent a week there (Acts 20:6).
- At one time in Troas, Paul was unable to take full advantage of an opportunity to win converts (2Corinthians 2:12-13).
- Paul left some belongings with a friend at Troas (2Timothy 4:13).
Trogyllium
- Pronounced Trodge-ill'-ee-um
- A peninsula between Ephesus and Miletus.
- Mentioned in connection with Paul’s 3rd missionary journey (Acts 20:15).
Tyre
- A major city in Phonecia along the southern coast of Syria.
- A rival seaport to Sidon to the north.
- Toward the end of his 3rd missionary journey, Paul stayed in Tyre for a few days with a warm welcome (Acts 21:3-7).
Maps by Ron Graham
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