Philippi

(1.) Formerly Crenides, “the fountain,” the capital of the province of Macedonia. It stood near the head of the Sea, about 8 miles north-west of Kavalla. It is now a ruined village, called Philibedjik. Philip of Macedonia fortified the old Thracian town of Crenides, and called it after his own name Philippi (B.C. 359-336). In the time of the Emperor Augustus this city became a Roman colony, i.e., a military settlement of Roman soldiers, there planted for the purpose of controlling the district recently conquered. It was a “miniature Rome,” under the municipal law of Rome, and governed by military officers, called duumviri, who were appointed directly from Rome. Having been providentially guided thither, here Paul and his companion Silas preached the gospel and formed the first church in Europe. (See LYDIA.) This success stirred up the enmity of the people, and they were “shamefully entreated” (Acts 16:9-40; 1 Thess. 2:2). Paul and Silas at length left this city and proceeded to Amphipolis (q.v.). (2.) When Philip the tetrarch, the son of Herod, succeeded to the government of the northern portion of his kingdom, he enlarged the city of Paneas, and called it Caesarea, in honour of the emperor. But in order to distinguish it from the Caesarea on the sea coast, he added to it subsequently his own name, and called it Caesarea-Philippi (q.v.).

(named from Philip of Macedonia), a city of Macedonia about nine miles from the sea, to the northwest of the island of Thasos which is twelve miles distant from its port Neapolis, the modern Kavalla . It is situated in a plain between the ranges of Pangaeus and Haemus. The Philippi which St. Paul visited was a Roman colony founded by Augustus after the famous battle of Philippi, fought here between Antony and Octavius and Brutus and Cassius, B.C. 42. The remains which strew the ground near the modern Turkish village Bereketli are no doubt derived from that city. The original town, built by Philip of Macedonia, was probably not exactly on the same site. Philip, when he acquired possession of the site, found there a town named Datus or Datum, which was probably in its origin a factory of the Phoenicians, who were the first that worked the gold-mines in the mountains here, as in the neighboring Thasos. The proximity of the goldmines was of course the origin of so large a city as Philippi, but the plain in which it lies is of extraordinary fertility. The position, too, was on the main road from Rome to Asia, the Via Egnatia, which from Thessalonica to Constantinople followed the same course as the existing post-road. On St. Paul’s visits to Philippi, see the following article. At Philippi the gospel was first preached in Europe. Lydia was the first convert. Here too Paul and Silas were imprisoned. (Acts 16:23) The Philippians sent contributions to Paul to relieve his temporal wants.

same as Philip, in the plural

PHILIP'PI (see Philip), the chief city of the eastern division of Macedonia, situated near the borders of Thrace and 8 miles north-west of Neapolis, which was its seaport. It lay between two mountain-ranges, and a paved Roman road led over the steep range Symbolum from Neapolis to Philippi, over which Paul went. History. - The place was at first called Crenides, or "fountains," from its numerous springs. It also at one time bore the name of Datum. Philip, the father of Alexander the Great, took it from the Thracians, garrisoned it as a frontiertown, and gave it his name. It is made famous by the noted battle of Philippi, fought, b.c. 42, between Octavius and Antony on the one side, and Brutus and Cassius on the other. In honor of this victory Augustus made Philippi a "colony." These colonies were miniature Romes established on foreign soil. The Roman law was administered, and the Roman language was used even among natives who spoke Greek. Scripture References. - Philippi was the first place in Europe to receive the gospel. Paul and Silas preached there; Lydia became a convert; the apostles cast out the "spirit of divination" from a damsel; were thrown into prison and miraculously delivered; the jailer was converted. Acts 16. Afterward, Paul revisited Philippi, and perhaps remained for a considerable time. Acts 20:1-6. The Christians of that city on four occasions sent contributions for his support, and he wrote to them the Epistle to the Philippians. Ignatius visited the city, a.d. 107, on his way to Rome, where he suffered martyrdom, and Polycarp sent the church at Philippi all the letters of Ignatius which Sardis had received, thus keeping up their sympathy with the suffering Christians. Present appearance. - The ruins of the citadel are still seen on the summit of a…

PHILIP'PI (see Philip), the chief city of the eastern division of Macedonia, situated near the borders of Thrace and 8 miles north-west of Neapolis, which was its seaport. It lay between two mountain-ranges, and a paved Roman road led over the steep range Symbolum from Neapolis to Philippi, over which Paul went. History. - The place was at first called Crenides, or "fountains," from its numerous springs. It also at one time bore the name of Datum. Philip, the father of Alexander the Great, took it from the Thracians, garrisoned it as a frontiertown, and gave it his name. It is made famous by the noted battle of Philippi, fought, b.c. 42, between Octavius and Antony on the one side, and Brutus and Cassius on the other. In honor of this victory Augustus made Philippi a "colony." These colonies were miniature Romes established on foreign soil. The Roman law was administered, and the Roman language was used even among natives who spoke Greek. Scripture References. - Philippi was the first place in Europe to receive the gospel. Paul and Silas preached there; Lydia became a convert; the apostles cast out the "spirit of divination" from a damsel; were thrown into prison and miraculously delivered; the jailer was converted. Acts 16. Afterward, Paul revisited Philippi, and perhaps remained for a considerable time. Acts 20:1-6. The Christians of that city on four occasions sent contributions for his support, and he wrote to them the Epistle to the Philippians. Ignatius visited the city, a.d. 107, on his way to Rome, where he suffered martyrdom, and Polycarp sent the church at Philippi all the letters of Ignatius which Sardis had received, thus keeping up their sympathy with the suffering Christians. Present appearance. - The ruins of the citadel are still seen on the summit of a…