Patara
Acts 21:1-2
On the southern edge of Turkey in the Xanthus Valley, the ancient
Mediterranean harbor of Patara was marked by a prominent hill that
may have held a lighthouse. The port area is now silted and marshy,
but the Patara of old was a famous city.
The winter setting for the Oracle of Apollo each year, the city
eventually rose to prominen
ce
and became the judicial seat of the Roman governor. The city was an
outfitting and launching place for longer journeys, like a journey
to Alexandria or Phoenician cities.
The remains of the city today include two Roman bathhouses,
including one known as the Baths of Vespasian (69-79 CE). In
addition, a theatre that is fairly well
preserved (though partly filled with sand) and a Temple of the
Corinthian order are discernible.
Alexandrian texts of Acts 21:1 state that St. Paul made his way to
Tyre by means of Patara, but the Western text adds the and Myra that
many scholars believe was a scribal error influenced by Acts 27:5-6.
It is likely that the Alexandrian text reflects the original event,
as the prevailing winds made Patara a better launch site for this
long
journey. Emperor Hadrian and his wife Sabina visited here (circa
130s CE), and a granary of Hadrian can still be seen west of the
harbor marsh.
Biblical Sites in Turkey List