Lycia

Country located in the southwest part of the Roman province of Asia (commonly known as Asia Minor), bounded on the northwest by Caria, on the north by Phrygia and Pisidia, on the northeast by Pamphylia, and on the west, south, and east by the Mediterranean Sea. The geography of the region combines rugged mountainous terrain with fertile valleys formed by the descent of several small rivers to the sea. The mountainous regions produce olives, grapes, and timber, while the valleys are responsible for the production of the area’s cultivated grains. At the mouths of the rivers are located the major seaports of the country. Two of these, Patara and Myra, are of interest to students of the NT.

Patara, located in southwest Lycia in the valley of the Xanthus River, was the seat of the oracle of Apollo. Acts 21:1 mentions it as the port where Paul, at the conclusion of his third missionary journey, boarded a ship sailing for Phoenicia (some manuscripts include here an additional stop at Myra). Myra, located in southeast Lycia, is mentioned in Acts 27:5–7 as the port where Paul and Julius, a Roman centurion, boarded an Alexandrian ship bound for Rome. When winds were from the west, it was the practice of Alexandrian grain ships headed for Italy to work north along the shore of Palestine and Syria and west along the southern coast of Asia Minor. This would make the ports of Lycia natural places for ships to harbor in preparation for the final leg of the trip to Italy.