What is…
Patara

also known as: Patar and Arsinoë (Arisone)

This is an ancient pagan city named after Patarus (aka Patareus), a son of the false god Apollo. A temple and oracle priestess of Apollo was located here.

With a large natural harbor, the city was Lycia’s primary seaport, located on its southwest coast, and for a time it was the capital of Lycia.

Here the Apostle Paul and his companion Luke landed on returning from Paul’s third missionary journey (Acts 21:1-2). At this time the city was controlled by the Romans.

Here Paul 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.

History

The Hittites mentioned that “King Tudhaliya IV (1236-1210 BC), after the Lukka expedition, came to this city with his army and made offerings.”

In 333 BC, the city was taken by Alexander the Great. Ptolemy Philadelphus of Egypt enlarged the city and gave it the name of Arsinoë (Arsinoe) after his wife and sister Arsinoe II of Egypt. Antiochus III the Great conquered it in 196 BC for the Seleucid Empire. In about 88 BC the city was captured by the Romans Marcus Junius BRUTUS and Gaius CASSIUS Longinus. The Roman Empire officially annexed the city in 43 AD. By 1340 the city deserted reportedly deserted.

The substantial ruins of ancient Patara are near the village of Gelemiş (Gelemis), Turkey. Archaeologists continue to unearth the remains of ancient Patara, including the triumphal Arch of Medustus at the city’s north gate, the main street, a lighthouse, a Roman theater and concert hall (odeon), an aqueduct with a rare pressurized marble pipeline (inverted siphon), a large granary, several baths, various other buildings, statues, an altar, city walls, many marble columns, tombs, and a monumental Roman pillar dedicated to Claudius with place names and distances.

Today, the harbor that Paul experienced is silted in and overgrown.

Ruins of ancient Patara on the coast of modern Turkey—satellite view

More information

Article Version: January 6, 2025