Patara was a coastal city in Lycia (modern-day Turkey) where Paul changed ships during his journey to Jerusalem.
Patara was a significant port city in the province of Lycia, located on the southwestern coast of modern-day Turkey. It is mentioned in the New Testament in Act.21.1, which records that Paul, during his third missionary journey, changed ships at Patara while traveling from Rhodes to Tyre on his way to Jerusalem. Patara was known for its temple and oracle of Apollo, as well as its harbor and maritime trade. The city was also famous for its lighthouse, which was one of the most renowned in the ancient world. Although the biblical reference to Patara is brief, it provides insight into the trade routes and transportation methods used by early Christians in the Mediterranean region.
Approximate location: 36.275, 29.319 · view on a map · on the Bible atlas
A city on the south-west coast of Lycia at which Paul landed on his return from his third missionary journey (Acts 21:1, 2). Here he found a larger vessel, which was about to sail across the open sea to the coast of Phoenicia. In this vessel he set forth, and reached the city of Tyre in perhaps two or three days.
(city of Patarus), a Lycian city situated on the southwestern shore of Lycia, not far from the left bank of the river Xanthus. The coast here is very mountainous and bold. Immediately opposite is the island of Rhodes. Patara was practically the seaport of the city of Xanthus, which was ten miles distant. These notices of its position and maritime importance introduce us to the single mention of the place in the Bible— (Acts 21:1,2)
PAT'ARA, a seaport-town on the south-west shore of Lycia, near the left bank of Xanthus, and opposite Rhodes. Acts 21:1-2. It was about 7 miles east of the mouth of the river, had a convenient harbor, and was visited by ships of all nations. The gospel was early preached there, and it became the seat of a bishopric and was represented in the Council of Nice. The city was given up to the worship of Apollo, its founder, Patarus, being reputed to be a son of that god. Patara is now in ruins, but retains its ancient name. The remains prove it to have been a city of considerable importance. Among them are a theatre, some massive walls and arches, a gate of the city with three arches nearly perfect, and numerous sarcophagi. Near the theatre is a deep circular pit, and a square pillar rising above it, which Lewin thinks was the seat of the oracle of Patareus Apollo. The port is completely filled with sand, and is a malarious swamp; all communication with the sea is cut off by a sand-beach, and the sand is also gradually encroaching upon the ruins.
PAT'ARA, a seaport-town on the south-west shore of Lycia, near the left bank of Xanthus, and opposite Rhodes. Acts 21:1-2. It was about 7 miles east of the mouth of the river, had a convenient harbor, and was visited by ships of all nations. The gospel was early preached there, and it became the seat of a bishopric and was represented in the Council of Nice. The city was given up to the worship of Apollo, its founder, Patarus, being reputed to be a son of that god. Patara is now in ruins, but retains its ancient name. The remains prove it to have been a city of considerable importance. Among them are a theatre, some massive walls and arches, a gate of the city with three arches nearly perfect, and numerous sarcophagi. Near the theatre is a deep circular pit, and a square pillar rising above it, which Lewin thinks was the seat of the oracle of Patareus Apollo. The port is completely filled with sand, and is a malarious swamp; all communication with the sea is cut off by a sand-beach, and the sand is also gradually encroaching upon the ruins.
Easton (1897), Smith (1863), Hitchcock (1869), Hastings (1898) and Schaff are in the public domain. Parsed text: neuu-org/bible-dictionary-dataset (CC BY 4.0). Headwords and whitespace normalised for this site.
1 verse in 1 book · English text: BSB (change it from the menu at the top) · Strong’s G3959
After we had torn ourselves away from them, we sailed directly to Cos, and the next day on to Rhodes, and from there to Patara.
Names, family links and references: STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). Short descriptions were drafted with AI assistance by STEPBible. Family links follow STEPBible’s scholarly decisions where genealogies are ambiguous.