Patara
PATARA
A maritime city of Lycia in Asia Minor, at the mouth of the river Xanthus, celebrated for an oracle of Apollo, who was supposed to reside here during the six winter months, and the rest of the year at Delos. Paul, in passing from Philippi to Jerusalem, found here a ship for Phoenicia, in which he embarked, Mal 21:1 .
Fuente: American Tract Society Bible Dictionary
Patara
(, neut. pl_.)
Patara was a maritime city in the S.W. of Lycia, about 6 miles S.E. of the mouth of the Xanthus. For classical writers it had a romantic interest as a home of Apollo (Herodotus, i. 182), whose temple and oracle there were only less famous than those at Delphi: Pataraean Apollo who haunts the thickets of Lycia (Hor. Od. III. iv. 64). Its more practical importance was two-fold; it served as a seaport for the fertile Xanthus valley, including the splendid city of that name; and it lay on the highway of ships trading between the aegean and the Levant or Egypt. St. Paul did an ordinary thing when he changed ships at Patara (Act 21:2). The coaster in which he had sailed from Troas had either reached her destination or else was about to continue her course along the south coast, whereas larger vessels bound from Lycia for Syria struck right across the high sea, passing Cyprus on the left (Act 21:3). Ships coming in the opposite direction usually found the straight course too difficult on account of the prevailing westerly wind, and had to keep closer to shore, passing Cyprus on the left, and making not for Patara but for Myra, about 30 miles to eastward (Act 27:5). Patara derived an ample revenue from the vast traffic between the aegean coast and Alexandria. Ptolemy Philadelphus enlarged and improved the city, calling it the Lycian Arsince in honour of his wife, but the old name prevailed (Strabo, XIV. iii. 6). Patara was the reputed birthplace of St. Nicholas. The harbour is now an inland marsh generating poisonous malaria (T. A. B. Spratt and E. Forbes, Travels in Lycia, Milyas, and the Cibyratis, 2 vols., 1847, i. 32). There are extensive and well-preserved ruins, including a triumphal arch with the inscription, Patara, the metropolis of the Lycian nation.
Literature.-F. Beaufort, Karamania, 1817; C. Fellows, Account of Discoveries in Lycia, 1841; O. Benndorf and G. Niemann, Reisen in sdwestlichen Kleinasien, vol. i.: Reisen in Lykien und Karien, 1884; Murrays Handbook of Asia Minor, 1895.
James Strahan.
Fuente: Dictionary of the Apostolic Church
Patara
Titular see of Lycia, suffragan of Myra, formerly a large cornmercial town, opposite Rhodes. Founded perhaps by the Phoenicians, it received later a Dorian colony from Crete; a legend traces its foundation to Patarus, son of Apollo. Renowned for its wealth, it was more so for its temple of Apollo where the oracles of the god were rendered during the winter.
Ptolemy Philadelphus extended it, naming it Arsinoe. On his third missionary journey St. Paul embarked from here for Tyre (Acts 21:1-3). The “Notitiæ Episcopatuum” mention it among the suffragans of Myra as late as the thirteenth century. Le Quien (Oriens christianus, I, 977) names seven bishops: St. Methodius, more probably Bishop of Olympus; Eudemus, at Nicæa, 325; Eutychianus, at Seleucia, 359; Eudemus, at Constantinople, 381; Cyrinus, at Chalcedon, 451, signed the letter of the bishops of Lycia to Emperor Leo, 458; Licinius, at Constantinople, 536; Theodulus, at the Photian Council of Constantinople, 879. Its ruins are still visible near Djelemish, vilayet of Koniah; they consist of the remains of a theatre built by Antoninus Pius, public baths of the time of Vespasian, temples, and tombs. The port is choked with sand.
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SMITH Dict. of Greek and Roman Geog., s.v.; BEAUFORT, Karamania, II, 6; FELLOWS, An account of Discoveries in Lycia (London, 1841), 222; SPRATT AND FORBES, Travels in Lycia (London, 1847), I, 30, II, 189; BENNDORF and NIEMANN, Reisen in Lykien und Karien (Vienna, 1884), I, 114 sq., II, 118; HILL, Catalogue of the Greek Coins of Lycia, 25027.
S. PÉTRIDÈS Transcribed by Wm Stuart French, Jr. Dedicated to C.P. French
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume XICopyright © 1911 by Robert Appleton CompanyOnline Edition Copyright © 2003 by K. KnightNihil Obstat, February 1, 1911. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., CensorImprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York
Fuente: Catholic Encyclopedia
Patara
(, neut. plur.), a considerable town of Lycia, in Asia Minor, opposite the island of Rhodes. Patara was a very ancient city, and is said to have been founded by Patarus (Strabo, 14:3, p. 665), a son of Apollo (Steph. Byz. s.v.). It was already celebrated in the time of Herodotus for a temple and oracle of this deity (1:182), who is called by Horace on this account Patareus (lib. 3, ode 4:1. 64), and the coins of Patara bear the representation of his temple. In fact, the worship of this divinity prevailed in Lycia to an extent nearly equal to that of Diana in the neighboring province of Lydia. It appears to have been colonized by the Dorians. Strabo tells us that Ptolemy Philadelphus repaired it, and called it the Lycian Arsinoi, but its old name was retained (l.c.). Patara was situated on the south-western shore of Lycia, not far from the left bank of the river Xanthus. The coast here is very mountainous and bold. Patara was practically the seaport of the city of Xanthus, which was ten miles distant (Appian, B.C. 4:81). Its inhabitants availed themselves. of the great commercial advantages of their situation, and carried on an extensive trade with Egypt, Syria, and Cyprus. The river Xanthus was navigable beyond the city of that name for vessels of large tonnage, and the whole valley was thickly peopled by a cultivated and luxurious race. The beauty of the scenery, the fertility of the soil, and the healthiness of the climate, all tended to make the valley of the Xanthus a favorite residence, and the magnificent ideas and taste of its inhabitants are proved by the extensive remains of antiquity found along the whole course of the river. Patara derived great benefit from the independence of the country of which it was the chief seaport, and it was not reduced to the ordinary condition of a Roman province till the reign of the emperor Claudius. The coast of Lycia about this city is rocky and picturesque, and the rugged spurs of the Taurian chain terminate here in the abrupt promontories of Cragus and Anticragus, the one on the east and the other on the west of the river Xanthus. Patara preserved its importance as a seaport through all the revolutions which affected Lycia. It furnished a considerable fleet in that memorable war waged against the Greeks by Persia, of which empire Lycia formed a part. In later and more anarchical times its inhabitants addicted themselves to piracy, and acquired an unenviable reputation by their depredations. These notices of its position and maritime importance introduce us to the single mention of the place in the Bible (Act 21:1-2). Paul was on his way to Jerusalem at the close of his third missionary journey. He had just come from Rhodes (Act 21:1); and at Patara hefound a ship, Which was on the point of going to Phoenicia (Act 21:2), and in which he completed his voyage (Act 21:3). This illustrates the mercantile connection of Patara with both the eastern and western parts of the Levant. A good parallel to the apostle’s voyage is to be found in Livy (Livy 37:16). The commercial dealings of Lycia and Phaenicia made it extremely probable that Patara would be the place from whence such a passage could be made with the most certainty, and from hence the apostle sailed to Tyre. At the time of Paul’s visit it must have been a splendid as well as an influential and populous city. Some of its ruins are of great extent and beauty; and Livy, speaking of Lycia, calls Patara caput gentis (37:15; comp. Pomp. Mela, 1:15; Polyb. 22:26). In sailing from Rhodes to Patara, Paul had before him some of the grandest scenery in the East. Crossing the channel from the little harbor of Rhodes, the vessel would skirt for a time the bold coast, and then, passing a noble headland, it would open up the rich valley of the Xanthus, and the little plain at its mouth, which extends some eight miles along the shore, and six or seven inland. Near the eastern extremity of this plain stood Patara, close upon the beach, separated from the river Xanthus by a broad belt of loose sand, which the wind and waves have drifted up into bare mounds and hills. The site of the city is now a desert; many of its principal buildings are almost covered with sand; and its harbor, into which Paul sailed, is now a dismal, pestilential marsh. The walls of Patara can still be traced. The triple arch of one of its gates is standing; so also are the remains of a theater scooped out in the side of a hill (Leake, Asia Minor, p. 320); of baths near the sea; of an old castle commanding the harbor; and. of temples, altars, columns, and houses, now ruined and mutilated. A Greek inscription over the great city gateway mentions, Patara the metropolis of the Lycians (Fellows, Lycia, p. 222 sq.; Beaufort, Karmania, p. 2 sq.; Spratt and Forbes, Travels in Lycia, i, p. 30 sq.; 2:189). The desolate ruins now bear the same name. Paul did not remain long at Patara; he probably left a few hours after his arrival; yet Christianity obtained a footing in the city, and it subsequently became the seat of a bishop, and was represented in the Council of Nice (Hierocl. p. 684). See in addition to the works above cited, Conybeare and Howson, St. Paul, 2:226; Lewin, St. Paul, 2:99; Smith, Dict. of Class. Geog. s.v. SEE LYCIA.
Fuente: Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature
Patara (2)
SEE ALMS-BOWL.
Fuente: Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature
Patara
a city on the south-west coast of Lycia at which Paul landed on his return from his third missionary journey (Acts 21:1, 2). Here he found a larger vessel, which was about to sail across the open sea to the coast of Phoenicia. In this vessel he set forth, and reached the city of Tyre in perhaps two or three days.
Fuente: Easton’s Bible Dictionary
Patara
A city on the S.W. shore of Lycia, near the left bank of the Xanthus and opposite Rhodes (Act 21:1-2). Paul coming from Rhodes at the end of his third missionary journey here found a ship going to Phoenicia, and in it completed his voyage. The seat of a bishopric subsequently. The river and harbor are now becoming choked with sand.
Fuente: Fausset’s Bible Dictionary
Patara
PATARA.A great seaport on the coast of Lycia, a few miles E. of the mouth of the Xanthus. The valley of this river is the best part of Lycia, and doubtless from early times Patara had a local trade, but its importance depended on its convenient position for the trade between the West and the Levant. The prevailing winds in this part of the Mediterranean are from the west (especially in the autumn), and ships sailing from the gean or from Italy to Phnicia or Egypt would often risk the voyage straight across the sea from Patara. Thus we find St. Paul on his last journey to Jerusalem (Act 21:2), after coasting in a slow vessel along the gan, taking a vessel that was sailing straight from Patara to Tyre. Cf. Myra.
Lycia was never definitely colonized by Greeks, and the Lycians spoke a non-Aryan language. But Patara had an early culture,its coins date from b.c. 440, and the chief Lycian god was identified with Apollo, whose celebrated oracle at Patara gave him the title Patareus (Hor. Od. iii. lv., 64).
A. E. Hillard.
Fuente: Hastings’ Dictionary of the Bible
Patara
A sea-port of Lycia. It was here Paul the apostle found a ship bound for Phnicia, into which he entered. (Act 21:1)
Fuente: The Poor Mans Concordance and Dictionary to the Sacred Scriptures
Patara
pata-ra ( , ta Patara): A coast city of ancient Lycia, from which, according to Act 21:1, Paul took a ship for Phoenicia. Because of its excellent harbor, many of the coast trading ships stopped at Patara, which therefore became an important and wealthy port of entry to the towns of the interior. As early as 440 BC autonomous coins were struck there; during the 4th and the 3rd centuries the coinage was interrupted, but was again resumed in 168 BC when Patara joined the Lycian league. Ptolemy Philadelphus enlarged the city, and changed its name to Arsinoe in honor of his wife. The city was celebrated not only as a trading center, but especially for its celebrated oracle of Apollo which is said to have spoken only during the six winter months of the year. Among the ruins there is still to be seen a deep pit with circular steps leading to a seat at the bottom; it is supposed that the pit is the place of the oracle. In the history of early Christianity, Patara took but little part, but it was the home of a bishop, and the birthplace of Nicholas, the patron saint of the sailors of the East. Though born at Patara, Nicholas was a bishop and saint of Myra, a neighboring Lycian city, and there he is said to have been buried. Gelemish is the modern name of the ruin. The walls of the ancient city may still be traced, and the foundations of the temple and castle and other public buildings are visible. The most imposing of the ruins is a triumphal arch bearing the inscription: Patara the Metropolis of the Lycian Nation. Outside the city walls many sarcophagi may be seen, but the harbor, long ago choked by sand, has been converted into a useless swamp. See also MYRA.
Fuente: International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Patara
Patara, a port of Lycia in Asia Minor, where Paul, on his voyage to Jerusalem, changed his ship for one bound to Phoenicia (Act 21:1-2). Patara was at the mouth of the river Xanthus, and had a famous temple and oracle of Apollo.
Fuente: Popular Cyclopedia Biblical Literature
Patara
City on the coast of Lycia in Asia Minor. Act 21:1. The same name is still retained, but the ruins are being covered and the harbour blocked up with sand.
Fuente: Concise Bible Dictionary
Patara
G3959
A Lycian city in Asia Minor, visited by Paul.
Act 21:1-2
Fuente: Nave’s Topical Bible
Patara
Patara (pt’a-rah), a seaport town on the southwest shore of Lycia, near the left bank of Xanthus, and opposite Rhodes. Act 21:1-2. It was about seven miles east of the mouth of the river, had a convenient harbor, and was visited by ships of all nations. The gospel was early preached there. The city was given up to the worship of Apollo, its founder, Patarus, being reputed to be a son of that god. Patara is now in ruins, but retains its ancient name.
Fuente: People’s Dictionary of the Bible
Patara
Pat’ara. (city of Patarus). A Lycian city, situated on the southwestern shore of Lycia, not far from the left bank of the river Xanthus. The coast, here, is very mountainous and bold. Immediately opposite is the island of Rhodes. Patara was, practically, the seaport of the city of Xanthus, which was ten miles distant. These notices of its position and maritime importance introduce us to the single mention of the place in the Bible — Act 21:1-2.