Paphos

Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament

(Πάφος, the modern Baffo)

Paphos was a seaport near the western extremity of Cyprus, the last place visited by Paul and Barnabas in their missionary progress through the island (διελθόντες ὅλην τὴν νῆσον,  Acts 13:6). There they were near one of the most famous shrines of paganism, the home of Aphrodite, the foam-born ‘Paphian Queen,’ Old Paphos being the centre of her worship for the whole earth. The city in which the apostles stayed, however, was New Paphos, the seat of the proconsul (ἀνθύπατος), the administrative centre of the island since its annexation by the Romans in 58 b.c. Originally no more than the port of Old Paphos, it possessed a good harbour, from which the apostles sailed for Pamphylia ( Acts 13:13). Like the more ancient and famous city, it was devoted to the cult of Aphrodite, to whom it had erected ‘fine buildings’ (Strabo, XIV. vi. 3). It was about 10 miles N.E. of Old Paphos (Παλαιὰ Πάφος or Παλαίπαφος, the modern Kuklia), which stood on an eminence over a mile from the sea-the ‘celsa Paphos’ of Vergil (aen. x. 51). ‘Along the road’ between the two cities, says Strabo (loc. cit.), ‘the annual processions are conducted, when a great concourse both of men and women resort thither,’ not only from New Paphos, but ‘from other cities.’ In describing a pilgrimage which Titus made to this shrine on his way to the siege of Jerusalem, Tacitus expresses surprise at ‘the form under which the image is adored, a form found in no other place’ (Hist. ii. 2). What Titus saw was not the graceful, smiling Aphrodite of Greece, but the rude cultus-image of Phcenicia.

Cyprus was the meeting-place of two ancient faiths and civilizations-Hellenic and Syrian-each of which deeply influenced the other. Herodotus was not ill-informed when he heard ‘on inquiry’ that the temple at Paphos was built in imitation of a Syrian temple in Escalon (i. 105). Excavations have proved that the Paphian shrine had the character of a Phcenician temple, with large open courts and several small chambers, and the same type of building is represented on many coins. Fragments of marble cones and of an altar have also been found, and the idea that the conical stone was anointed in the Semitic fashion is confirmed by an inscription which mentions a festival of the temple called ἐλαιοχρίστιον.

Had St. Paul remained longer at Paphos, he would inevitably have come into conflict with this worship-which Athanasius branded as the deification of lust (τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν θεοποιήσαντες προσκυνοῦσιν [Contra Gentes, 9])-as he did later with that of Artemis at Ephesus. How long the Paphian cult maintained itself against Christianity can only be conjectured. St. Paul’s dispute with Elymas (q.v._) was purely personal.

Literature.-D. G. Hogarth, Devia Cypria, 1889; D. G. Hogarth and M. R. James, in JHS_ ix. [1888] 158f.; art._ ‘Aphrodite’ in Roscher_’s Lexicon.

James Strahan.

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

PAPHOS was the name of two cities in the W. of Cyprus, Old Paphos about a mile from the sea, New Paphos (now Baffo) about seven miles N.W. of this. The PhÅ“nician origin of the former need not be doubted; the latter was by tradition a Greek settlement, but in both the chief object of worship was the ‘Papbian goddess,’ undoubtedly of Syrian origin, and worshipped under the form of a conical stone, though identified by the Greeks with Aphrodite. Old Paphos was desolate in the time of Jerome. New Paphos was the centre of the Roman administration in Cyprus. It was here that St. Paul encountered the Roman proconsul Sergius Paulus in his first missionary journey the first presentation of Christianity before Roman authorities (  Acts 13:6-12 ).

A. B. Hillard.

Smith's Bible Dictionary

Pa'phos. (Boiling or Hot). A town at the west end of Cyprus, connected by a tract with Salamis at the east end. It was founded B.C. 1184, (during the period of the judges in Israel). Paul and Barnabas travelled, on their first missionary expedition, "through the isle," from the latter place to the former.  Acts 13:6.

The great characteristic of Paphos was the worship of Aphrodite or Venus, who was fabled to have here risen from the sea. Her temple, however, was at "Old Paphos" now called Kuklia . The harbor and the chief town were at "New Paphos," ten miles to the northwest. The place is still called Baffa .

Fausset's Bible Dictionary

A town in the western end of Cyprus, as Salamis was in the E. Paul passed through the isle from Salamis to Paphos ( Acts 13:6-13.) Here Barnabas and Saul were instrumental in converting Sergius Paulus the proconsul, in spite of Elymas' opposition. (See Elymas .) Saul is here called Paul when "filled with the Holy Spirit" he inflicted blindness from "the hand of the Lord" upon the sorcerer, and thenceforth became more prominent than Barnabas. Here Aphrodite or Venus was said to have risen from the foam of the sea. The harbor and town were at new Paphos, her temple at old Paphos.

People's Dictionary of the Bible

Paphos ( Pâ'Fos ), Boiling, or Hot.  Acts 13:6. A town at the west end of the island of Cyprus. It was founded b.c. 1184. Paul and Barnabas travelled, on their first missionary tour, "through the isle," from Paphos to Salamis.  Acts 13:6. Paphos was given to the worship of Aphrodite or Venus, who was fabled to have here risen from the sea.

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

A maritime city on the western extremity of the isle of Cyprus. It had a tolerable harbor, and was the station of a Roman proconsul.

About sixty furlongs from the city was the celebrated temple of Venus, who was hence often called the "Paphian goddess." The infamous rites in honor of this goddess continued to be practiced hundreds of years after Paul and Barnabas introduced the gospel here, though their labors were blessed with some fruits,  Acts 13:6-13 . See ELYMAS.

Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary

a celebrated city of Cyprus, lying on the western coast of the island, where Venus (who from thence took the name of Paphia) had her most ancient and most famous temple; and here the Roman proconsul, Sergius Paulus, resided, whom St. Paul converted to Christianity,  Acts 13:6 .

Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary

A city in the island of Cyprus, where the apostle Paul struck Elymas the sorcerer with blindness. ( Acts 13:6-12)

Morrish Bible Dictionary

City at the west end of the Isle of Cyprus, visited by Paul.  Acts 13:6,13 . It is now called Bafo.

Holman Bible Dictionary

 Acts 13:6-12Cyprus

Easton's Bible Dictionary

 Acts 13:6

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

Copyright StatementThese files are public domain. Bibliography InformationMcClintock, John. Strong, James. Entry for 'Paphos'. Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature. https://www.studylight.org/encyclopedias/eng/tce/p/paphos.html. Harper & Brothers. New York. 1870.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

pā´fos  :

1. Site:

The name of two towns, Old ( Παλαιὰ Πάφος , Palaiá Páphos , or Παλαίπαφος , Palaı́paphos ) and New Paphos Νέα Πάφος , Néa Páphos ), situated at the southwestern extremity of Cyprus. Considerable confusion is caused by the use of the single name Paphos in ancient writers to denote now one, now the other, of these cities. That referred to in   Acts 13:6 ,  Acts 13:13 is strictly called New Paphos (modern Baffa ), and lay on the coast about a mile South of the modern Ktima and some 10 miles Northwest of the old city. The latter (modern Kouklia ) is situated on an eminence more than a mile from the sea, on the left bank of the Diárrizo , probably the ancient Bocarus.

2. History of Old Paphos:

It was founded by Cinyras, the father of Adonis, or, according to another legend, by Aerias, and formed the capital of the most important kingdom in Cyprus except that of Salamis. Its territory embraced a considerable portion of Western Cyprus, extending northward to that of Soli, southward to that of Curium and eastward to the range of Troodus. Among its last kings was Nicocles, who ruled shortly after the death of Alexander the Great. In 310 Bc N icocreon of Salamis, who had been set over the whole of Cyprus by Ptolemy I of Egypt, was forced to put an end to his life at Paphos for plotting with Antigonus (Diodorus xx. 21, who wrongly gives the name as Nicocles; see Athenische Mitteilungen , Xxii , 203 ff), and from that time Paphos remained under Egyptian rule until the Roman annexation of Cyprus in 58 BC. The growth of New Paphos brought with it the decline of the old city, which was also ruined by successive earthquakes. Yet its temple still retained much of its old fame, and in 69 Ad T itus, the future emperor of Rome, turned aside on his journey to Jerusalem, which he was to capture in the following year, to visit the sacred shrine and to inquire of the priests into the fortune which awaited him (Tacitus History ii. 2-4; Suetonius Titus 5).

3. History of New Paphos:

New Paphos, originally the seaport of the old town, was founded, according to tradition, by Agapenor of Arcadia (Iliad ii. 609; Pausan. viii. 5,2). Its possession of a good harbor secured its prosperity, and it had several rich temples. According to Dio Cassius (liv. 23) it was restored by Augustus in 15 Bc after a destructive earthquake and received the name Augusta (Greek Sebaste). Under the Roman Empire it was the administrative capital of the island and the seat of the governor. The extant remains all date from this period and include those of public buildings, private houses, city walls and the moles of the harbor.

4. The Temple and Cult:

But the chief glory of Paphos and the source of its fame was the local cult, of which the kings and their descendants remained hereditary priests down to the Roman seizure of Cyprus. The goddess, identified with the Greek Aphrodite, who was said to have risen from the sea at Paphos, was in reality a Nature-goddess, closely resembling the Babylonian Ishtar and the Phoenician Astarte, a native deity of Asia Minor and the Aegean Islands. Her cult can be traced back at Paphos to Homeric times ( Odyssey viii. 362) and was repeatedly celebrated by Greek and Latin poets (Aeschylus Suppl . 555; Aristoph. Lys . 833; Virgil Aen . i. 415; Horace Odes i. 19,30; iii. 26; Statius Silvae i. 2,101, etc.). The goddess was represented, not by a statue in human form, but by a white conical stone (Max. Tyr. viii. 8; Tacitus History ii. 3; Servius Ad Aen . i. 724), of which models were on sale for the benefit of pilgrims (Athenaeus xv. 18); her worship was sensuous in character and she is referred to by Athanasius as the deification of lust ( Contra Genres 9). Excavation has brought to light at Old Paphos a complex of buildings belonging to Roman times and consisting of an open court with chambers or colonnades on three sides and an entrance on the East only, the whole forming a quadrilateral enclosure with sides about 210 ft. long. In this court may have stood the altar, or altars, of incense (Homer speaks of a single altar, Virgil of "a hundred altars warm with Sabean frankincense"); no blood might be shed thereon, and although it stood in the open it was "wet by no rain" (Tacitus, loc. cit.; Pliny, Nh , ii. 210). On the south side are the ruins of another building, possibly an earlier temple, now almost destroyed save for the western wall ( Journal of Hellenic Studies , IX, 193-224). But the fact that no remains or inscriptions have been found here earlier than the Roman occupation of Cyprus militates against the view that the sanctuary stood at this spot from prehistoric times. Its site may be sought at Xylino , a short distance to the North of Kouklia (D.G. Hogarth, Times , August 5,1910), or possibly on the plateau of Rhantidi , some 3 miles Southeast of the village, where numerous inscriptions in the old Cyprian syllabic script were found in the summer of 1910 (M. Ohnefalsch-Richter, Times , July 29,1910).

5. The Apostles' Visit:

After visiting Salamis and passing through the whole island, about 100 miles in length, Barnabas, Paul and Mark reached Paphos, the residence of the Roman proconsul, Sergius Paulus (for the title see Cyprus ). Here too they would doubtless begin by preaching in the synagogue, but the governor - who is probably the same Paulus whose name appears as proconsul in an inscription of Soli (D.G. Hogarth, Devia Cypria , 114) - hearing of their mission, sent for them and questioned them on the subject of their preaching. A J ew named Bar-Jesus or Elymas, who, as a Magian or soothsayer, "was with the proconsul," presumably as a member of his suite, used all his powers of persuasion to prevent his patron from giving his adherence to the new faith, and was met by Paul (it is at this point that the name is first introduced) with a scathing denunciation and a sentence of temporary loss of sight. The blindness which at once fell on him produced a deep impression on the mind of the proconsul, who professed his faith in the apostolic teaching. From Paphos, Paul and his companions sailed in a northwesterly direction to Perga in Pamphylia ( Acts 13:6-13 ).

Paul did not revisit Paphos, but we may feel confident that Barnabas and Mark would return there on their 2nd missionary journey ( Acts 15:39 ). Of the later history of the Paphian church we know little. Tychicus, Paul's companion, is said to have been marryred there, and Jerome tells us that Hilarion sought in the neighborhood of the decayed and almost deserted town the quiet and retirement which he craved ( Vita Hilar . 42). The Acta Barnabae speak of a certain Rhodon, who was attached to the temple service at Old Paphos , as having accepted the Christian faith.

Literature.

Besides the works already referred to, see Journal of Hellenic Studies , IX, 175-92 (citation of passages from ancient authors relating to Old Paphos, together with a list of medieval and modern authorities), 225-271 (inscriptions and tombs), and the bibliography appended to article Cyprus .

Kitto's Popular Cyclopedia of Biblial Literature

Pa´phos, a city of Cyprus, at the western extremity of the island, and the seat of the Roman governor. That officer, when Paul visited the place, was named Sergius Paulus, who was converted through the preaching of the apostle and the miracle performed on Elymas . Paphos was celebrated for a temple of Venus, whose infamous rites were still practiced here 400 years afterwards, notwithstanding the success of Paul, Barnabas, and others, in preaching the Gospel. Paphos is now a poor and inconsiderable place, but gives its name to a Greek bishopric.

The Nuttall Encyclopedia

The name of two ancient cities in the SW. of Cyprus; the older (now Kyklia) was a Phoenician settlement, in which afterwards stood a temple of Venus, who was fabled to have sprung from the sea-foam close by; the other, 8 m. westward, was the scene of Paul's interview with Sergius Paulus and encounter with Elymas.