Cenchrea
CENCHREA
A port of Corinth, now called Kikries, whence Paul sailed for Ephesus, Mal 18:18 . It was a place of some commercial note, and the seat of an early church, 1Ch 16:1 . It was situated on the eastern side of the isthmus, eight or nine miles east of the city. The other port, on the western side of the isthmus, was Lechaeum.
Fuente: American Tract Society Bible Dictionary
Cenchrea
(rather Cenchreae ), the eastern port () of Corinth (i.e. its harbor on the Saronic Gulf) and the emporium of its trade with the Asiatic shores of the Mediterranean, as Lechaeum (now Lutki) on the Corinthian Gulf connected it with Italy and the west (Philo, Opp. 2:539; Theodoret, in Romans 16). A line of walls extended from the citadel of Corinth to Lechaeum, and thus the Pass of Cenchrene was of peculiar military importance in reference to the approach along the isthmus from Northern Greece to the Morea. SEE CORINTH. The apostle Paul sailed from Cenchreae (Act 18:18) on his return to Syria from his second missionary journey; and when he wrote his epistle to the Romans, in the course of the third journey, an organized church seems to have been formed here (Rom 16:1), probably a branch of that in Corinth (see Pauli, in the Miscell. Duisb. 1:51 sq.). SEE PHOEBE. The first bishop of this church is said (Apost. Const. 7:46) to have been named Lucius, and to have been appointed by Paul. The distance of Cenchreae from Corinth was seventy stadia, or about nine miles (Strabo, 8:380; Liv. 32:17; Pliny, 4:4; Apulej. Metam. 10, p. 255, Bip. ed.). Pausanias (2:3) describes the road as having tombs and a grove of cypresses by the wayside. The modern village of Kikries retains the ancient name, which is conjectured by Dr. Sibthorpe to be derived from the millet () which still grows there (Walpole’s Travels, p. 41). The site is now occupied by a single farm-house. Close to the sea, and in parts even covered by its waters, are the foundations of a variety of buildings, the plans of which may yet be traced, as the walls still remain to the height of from two feet to three feet and a half. Some traces of the moles of the port are also still visible (Leake’s Morea, 3:233-235). The following coin exhibits the port exactly as, it was described by Pausanias, with a temple at the extremity of each mole, and a statue of Neptune on a rock between them (sec Conybeare and Howson, St. Paul, 2:195).
Cenchrea (ADDENDUM):
The following description of this once important port of Corinth is taken from Lewin’s St. Paul, 1, 289 sq.
Cenchrea, at that time, was a thriving town, situate at the south-western corner of the Saronic bay, in a little cove which formed the harbor. Here, as at Corinth, Venus was the presiding deity, and her temple was all conspicuous object to the mariner on the north of the port; while at the southern end of it were the temples of Esculapins and Isis: and by the side of the stream which ran (and still runs) along the border of the sea from north to south, before discharging its waters, was, according to Pausanius, a bronze statue (Corinth. 2, 2).
1. Temple of Diana which lay on the road from the Isthmus to Cenchrea, but the exact site is uncertain.
2. Site of the Temple of Venus at the northern end of the port.
3. Probable site of the bronze statue of Neptune holding a trident in one hand and a dolphin in the other.
4. Site of the Temples of Eseulapius and Isis at the southern extremity of the port.
5. Blocks of granite traceable for a length of one hundred paces, and forming anciently the quay of the port for the embarkation and debarkation of goods and passengers. Here Paul must have stepped on board for Ephesus.
6. Site of the city of Cenchrea, which spread itself from the port up the rising ground on the west. The foundations are still traceable over an extensive tract. The name of Cenchrea appears to be derived from the , or millet, then, as now, grown in the vicinity. So Schcenus, the next port, was so called from its , or rushes, and Crommyon, near it, from the , or onions, which abounded there.
7. A circular pool, collecting from one of the numerous springs with which this low ground abounds.
8. A clear running stream flowing from north to south parallel, to the sea, and discharging itself at the southern end of the bay.
9. A natural salt-water spring which issues from the rock several feet from the ground. This is the Bath of Helen described by Pausanias, 1, 19.
10. A mill.
11. Reservoirs for feeding the mill. In 1851, when I was at Kalamaki, on the north-western corner of the Saronic bay, I inquired of the natives if they knew Cenchrea. After some confusion, arising from the pronunciation of the word, they recognized the name, and described it as a creek, where there was a corn-mill and a stream of water flowing from the rock. I crossed in an open boat, and as I approached the spot, the bay appeared to lie between two mountains confronting each other in the dusk, like crouching lions. The elevation on the left was precipitous, and, standing forward into the sea, served as a barrier against the waves from the east; that on the right was approached from the sea by a gentle slope. The pine and olive grew luxuriantly in this direction, the brilliant green of the former and the gray foliage of the latter showing a most striking contrast. The boat was run ashore (for the water was deep to the edge), and we landed on a beach of fine pebbles.
Beyond the beach was a row of shrubs covered with red berries, resembling the arbutus. Having passed this, we found ourselves in a triangular plot of ground shut in by the mountains, the sea forming the base of the triangle, and its apex ending in a valley which swept away to the left. A clear and swift stream flowed from north to south, parallel to the sea, as mentioned by Pausanius, on the stream alongside of the sea. Having crossed it, we found about the middle of the area a circular pool resembling a bath, for the purpose of which it was admirably adapted by its size, and the depth and clearness of its waters. A stream was running rapidly from it, betokening the power of the spring by which it was fed. Beyond was another rivulet running towards the sea, and, thinking it must come down the valley, I traced it for a little distance; but all the spring was in the springs in the fairy around we stood upon, and the channel was dry long before we reached the valley.
We then turned to the left and traversed the southern side, and here were two small millponds, or reservoirs, enclosed in stone walls, and connected together, with springs in them So abundant, that while a stream flowed from them at one end to supply the mill below, the water poured from the other end into the rivulet which was finding its way to the sea by the side of the mill. At the south- eastern corner of the triangular plot, and near the sea, a stream leaped out of the rock at the height of several feet from the ground. The pool formed by this spring is Pausanius’s Bath of Helen (Corinth. 2, 1, 2, 3). It had excavated a channel for itself, and ran into the millstream below the mill. All the waters discharged themselves into the sea at the north-eastern corner of the bay, and all were salt as the sea itself. There was no building in sight but the mill and a small storehouse near it. I had not time to examine the ground to the north, where was the site of the ancient city of Cenchrea. The cove which I had examined was that of Galataki, which was the open port or roadstead of Cenchrea, as opposed to the close or proper port of Cenchrea, which adjoined on the north. (See cut on p. 864.)
Fuente: Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature
Cenchrea
millet, the eastern harbour of Corinth, from which it was distant about 9 miles east, and the outlet for its trade with the Asiatic shores of the Mediterranean. When Paul returned from his second missionary journey to Syria, he sailed from this port (Acts 18:18). In Rom. 16:1 he speaks as if there were at the time of his writing that epistle an organized church there. The western harbour of Corinth was Lechaeum, about a mile and a half from the city. It was the channel of its trade with Italy and the west.
Fuente: Easton’s Bible Dictionary
Cenchrea
Cenchrea or Cenchreae. Now Kikries; from Greek Kenchri, “the millet,” a grain abounding there. The harbor of Corinth on the Saronic gulf, and its channel of trade with Asia Minor, as Lechaeum, on the Corinthian gulf, was with Italy and the W. Corinth was joined by walls to Lechaeum; so that the pass between Corinth and Cenchrea (nine miles apart from one another) was the only one into the Morea from Greece. Paul sailed from Cenchrea, returning to Syria from his second missionary journey (Act 18:18), after having shorn his head there in fulfillment of a vow. He wrote to the Romans in his third journey, and alludes to the church at Cenchrea, of which Phoebe was “deaconess” (Greek Rom 16:1).
Fuente: Fausset’s Bible Dictionary
Cenchrea
Cenchrea, one of the ports of Corinth, whence Paul sailed for Ephesus (Act 18:18). It was situated on the eastern side of the isthmus, about seventy stadia from the city: the other port on the western side of the isthmus was called Lechaeum. [CORINTH].
Fuente: Popular Cyclopedia Biblical Literature
Cenchrea
[Cen’chrea]
Eastern sea-port of Corinth, from which it was distant 9 miles. Paul once sailed from thence, and a church was formed there. Act 18:18; Rom 16:1. The modern village has a similar name, Kekhries.
Fuente: Concise Bible Dictionary
Cenchrea
A city of Corinth.
Act 18:18; Rom 16:1
Fuente: Nave’s Topical Bible
Cenchrea
Cenchrea (sn’kre-ah, accurately Cenchre, as it is spelt in the R. V.). The eastern harbor of Corinth, on the Saronic Gulf, and the emporium of its trade with the Asiatic shores of the Mediterranean, about nine miles east of that city; the western harbor was Lechum. A church was formed at Cenchrea, of which Phebe was a deaconess. Rom 16:1. Paul sailed from, thence to Ephesus. Act 18:18. The town was full of idolatrous monuments and shrines. It is now called Kikries.
Fuente: People’s Dictionary of the Bible
Cenchrea
Cen’chrea or Cenchre’a. (Accurately Cenchre’ae). (millet). The eastern harbor of Corinth, (that is, its harbor on the Saronic Gulf), and the emporium of its trade with the Asiatic shores of the Mediterranean, as Lechaeum on the Crointhian Gulf connected it with Italy and the west. St. Paul sailed from Cenchrae, Act 18:18, on his return to Syria from his second missionary journey. An organized church seems to have been formed here. Rom 16:1.