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Scripture |
Acts 16:8-12
The Macedonian Vision |
8 and passing
by Mysia, they came down to Troas.
9 A vision appeared
to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing and
appealing to him, and saying, "Come over to Macedonia and
help us."
10 When he had
seen the vision, immediately we sought to go into Macedonia,
concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to
them.
11 So putting
out to sea from Troas, we ran a straight course to Samothrace,
and on the day following to Neapolis
12 and from
there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district
of Macedonia, a Roman colony; and we were staying
in this city for some days. |
On
Paul's second missionary journey, Paul and Silas were joined by
Timothy at Lystra. They preached in various cities of Phrygia,
Galatia, and Mysia (modern day Turkey), and then Troad, associated
with the Trojan war, Troad had been in the possession of the Romans
since 189 BC.
Alexandria Troas, Assos and Troy are all on the Northern Aegean
coast of Turkey between Çannakale and Izmir. It was a major sea
port in NW Asia Minor and the port to cross over to Neapolis in
Macedonia for the land route to Rome. Mentioned six times in the
Bible. It was at this spot, the meeting place between Greece
and the East, that Paul had the vision of Acts 16:9 “Cross over
to Macedonia and help us”. Luke apparently also joins the
mission team at this point. Acts 16:11 “We sailed from
Troas and made a straight run to Samothrace, the next day to Neapolis.”
We did not visit Samothrace, the ancient ruins are on the north
coast of the island. Samothrace is an exceptionally mountainous
island near the coast of Thrace. It’s highest peak, Fengari
on Mt. Saos is covered with snow all year round. In antiquity
the only port was Demetrion, which today is known as Kamariotissa
Bay.
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Kavala (Neapolis) and Dion
Kavala
Neapolis,
or new city, is the ancient Greek name, the city which Paul visited
after Samothrace, which is now known as Kavala. During the
Byzantine period the city was known as Christoupolis. Neapolis
was a colony of Thassos, built on a hilly peninsula known as Panagia.
Originally the whole town was on this little peninsula. The
city is near the Pangaion mountain known for gold bearing.
Thassos is a large neighboring island. The small town was
important strategically and commercially because it is both a port
city and is on the road that passes through connecting Thrace to
Macedonia.
In 42 BC Brutus
and Cassius used Neapolis as a base for their fleet in the battle
of Philippi.
The region’s
capital, Larissa, is an important industrial center. Mount
Olympus. home of Zeus and the immortal gods and land of the Centaurs,
is Greece’s highest mountain, standing 9570 ft.
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Macedonia
stands slightly apart from the rest of the country; its scenery
and climate have more in common with the adjoining Balkans, the
mountains being bitterly cold in winter. This is still a beautiful
part of Greece, rich in historical monuments and archaeological
sites.
East along the coast, Kavala is
a modern, commercial seaside port with hotels, beaches, museums,
and restaurants. Paul landed here coming into Macedonia and
then traveled on the Via Egnatia road about 10 miles north east
to Philippi.
Dion was a sacred city of the Macedonians.
Here the kings held games and festivals to celebrate their victories.
Alexander the Great sacrificed to Olympian Zeus here before his
campaign in Asia. Two theaters, one Greek and one Roman and
a stadium were discovered outside the city walls. The
city is named after Zeus, the genitive of Zeus being Dios.
It is not stated in Scripture that Paul passed through the city
of Dion, it is likely that he left from that port city to kavala,
since it is the nearest port to Veria. The ruins of Dion are
about 4 miles from the sea, but it believed this is the result of
the silting which occurred through the centuries. Dion lies between
Mount Olympus and the Pierian Mountains. Dion was another
city taken by the Romans in 168 BC.
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