Cenchreä

Cen´chreä

(rather Cenchreae Κεγχρεαί), the eastern port (ἐπίνειον) of Corinth (i.e. its harbor on the Saronic Gulf) and the emporium of its trade with the Asiatic shores of the Mediterranean, as Lechaeum (now Lutáki) on the Corinthian Gulf connected it with Italy and the west (Philo, Opp. 2:539; Theodoret, in Romans 16). A line of walls extended from the citadel of Corinth to Lechaeum, and thus the Pass of Cenchrene was of peculiar military importance in reference to the approach along the isthmus from Northern Greece to the Morea. SEE CORINTH. The apostle Paul sailed from Cenchreae (Ac 18:18) on his return to Syria from his second missionary journey; and when he wrote his epistle to the Romans, in the course of the third journey, an organized church seems to have been formed here (Ro 16:1), probably a branch of that in Corinth (see Pauli, in the Miscell. Duisb. 1:51 sq.). SEE PHOEBE. The first bishop of this church is said (Apost. Const. 7:46) to have been named Lucius, and to have been appointed by Paul. The distance of Cenchreae from Corinth was seventy stadia, or about nine miles (Strabo, 8:380; Liv. 32:17; Pliny, 4:4; Apulej. Metam. 10, p. 255, Bip. ed.). Pausanias (2:3) describes the road as having tombs and a grove of cypresses by the wayside. The modern village of Kikries retains the ancient name, which is conjectured by Dr. Sibthorpe to be derived from the millet (κέγκρι) which still grows there (Walpole's Travels, p. 41). The site is now occupied by a single farm-house. Close to the sea, and in parts even covered by its waters, are the foundations of a variety of buildings, the plans of which may yet be traced, as the walls still remain to the height of from two feet to three feet and a half. Some traces of the moles of the port are also still visible (Leake's Morea, 3:233-235). The following coin exhibits the port exactly as, it was described by Pausanias, with a temple at the extremity of each mole, and a statue of Neptune on a rock between them (sec Conybeare and Howson, St. Paul, 2:195).

Bible concordance for CENCHREA.

 
Topical Outlines Nave's Bible Topics International Standard Bible Encyclopedia Online King James Bible King James Dictionary
 

Verse reference tagging and popups powered by VerseClick™.