Difference between revisions of "Rhegium"

<p> [[Rhegium]] (''Rç'Ji-Ŭm'' ), ''Breach.'' A city on the coast near the southwestern end of Italy, Paul was detained at this place for a day when on his voyage to Rome. &nbsp;Acts 28:13. It is now called Rheggio, the capital of Calabria, having about 10,000 inhabitants. </p>

<p> ( ῾Ρήγιον '','' prob. from ῥήγνυμι, alluding to the ''Abrupt'' character of the coast). The mention of this Italian town (which was situated on the Bruttian coast, just at the southern entrance of the Strait of Messina) occurs quite incidentally (&nbsp;Acts 28:13) in the account of Paul's voyage from Syracuse to Puteoli, after the shipwreck at Malta. But, for two reasons, it is worthy of careful attention. By a curious coincidence the figures on its coins are the very "twin-brothers" which gave the name to Paul's ship. (See [[Castor And Pollux]]). Again, the notice of the intermediate position of Rhegium; the waiting there for a southerly wind to carry the ship through the strait; the run to Puteoli with such a wind within the twenty-four hours, are all points of geographical accuracy which help us to realize the narrative. As to the history of the place, it was originally a Greek colony: it was miserably destroyed by Dionysius of Syracuse; from Augustus it received advantages which combined with its geographical position in making it important throughout the duration of the Roman empire. It was prominently associated, in the Middle Ages, with the varied fortunes of the Greek emperors, the Saracens, and the Romans; and still the modern Reggio is a town of 10,000 inhabitants. Its distance across the strait from Messina is only about six miles, and it is well seen from the telegraph station above that Sicilian town. See Conybeare and Howson, St. Paul, 2, 349; Lewin, St. Paul, 2, 217; Smith, Dict. of Class. Geog. s.v. </p>