City
Philippi
fih-LIP-eye · Modern Filippoi, Greece
Philippi is a city of the biblical world, known today as Filippoi, Greece.
What is known
History
- Founded
- Founded 356 BC by Philip II of Macedon; refounded as a Roman colony after the Battle of Philippi in 42 BC
- Population
- Estimated 10,000–15,000 residents at the time of Paul's visits in the 1st century AD
- Industry
- Agriculture, historical gold mining in the surrounding region, and trade along the Via Egnatia (the major Roman road through Macedonia)
- Coordinates
- 41.0138° N, 24.2864° E
Rulers and powers
- Roman colonia, governed by local magistrates (duumviri) — 42 BC onward
Archaeology
The archaeological site of Philippi (a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2016) preserves an extensive Roman forum built in stages, matching Luke's account of Philippi as "a Roman colony" with its own civic magistrates (Acts 16:12, 20-21). The well-preserved ancient theater, originally built by Philip II in the 4th century BC and substantially reconstructed by the Romans, illustrates the Hellenistic-Roman character of the city Paul and Silas encountered. A vaulted chamber near the forum is traditionally identified by pilgrims as the "Prison of Paul," though archaeologists generally regard it as a Roman-era cistern later converted into a Byzantine chapel, not a securely identified 1st-century jail.
Scripture references
- Acts 16:12
- Acts 16:14-15 — Lydia's conversion
- Acts 16:22-24
- Acts 16:33 — The jailer's conversion
- Philippians 1:1
- Philippians 4:15
On a modern map
Further reading
Reflect
Where do you need to sing in a hard circumstance, like Paul and Silas at midnight?
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