Cyrene
VIEW:58 DATA:01-04-2020
a wall; coldness; the floor
Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary
CYRENE.Capital of Libya (Tripoli) in N. Africa (Act_2:10), the home of numerous Jews who with the Libertines (freedmen from Rome?) and Alexandrians had a synagogue of their own at Jerusalem (Act_6:9). Many of these became Christians, as Simon and his sons (doubtless), Mar_15:21; Lucius, Act_13:1; and those in Act_11:20 who preached to the Greeks (v.l. Hellenists).
A. J. Maclean.
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible
Edited by James Hastings, D.D. Published in 1909
The chief city of Cyrenaica (now Tripoli), or the Libyan pentapolis (five cities) in N. Africa, between Egypt and Carthage, S., across the sea, of Crete and the Greek Peloponnese. A Dorian Greek colony, reigned over by Battus and his family 630 B.C. Afterward joined to its eastern neighbor Egypt. A table land descending by terraces to the sea. Famed for luxuriant vegetation and grandeur of its hills; for its intellectual activity in philosophy and poetry; and for its commerce. Jews in large number were settled there, and had a synagogue at Jerusalem, some of whose members took part against Stephen (Act_6:9).
Others were hearers of Peter and witnesses of the Spirit's miraculous effusion on Pentecost (Act_2:10). Being converted, and subsequently scattered at the persecution of Stephen, they preached to the Greeks at Antioch, at which time and place believers were first called Christians (Act_11:19-20). Simeon, who bore Jesus' cross, was of Cyrene (Luk_23:26). Among "the prophets and teachers" at Antioch who ministered to the Lord was Lucius of Cyrene (Act_13:1), whom some identify with Luke the evangelist and physician. Certainly, it is from Luke alone that we hear so much of Cyrene. (But (See LUKE.) Cyrene was a great center from which the gospel afterwards went forth, raising the famous N. African churches.
Fausset's Bible Dictionary
By Andrew Robert Fausset, co-Author of Jamieson, Fausset and Brown's 1888.
Cyre'ne. The principal city of that part of northern Africa which was sufficiently called Cyrenaica, lying between Carthage and Egypt, and corresponding with the modern Tripoli. Though on the African coast, it was a Greek city, and the Jews were settled there in large numbers. The Greek colonization of this part of Africa under Battus began of early as B.C. 631.
After the death of Alexander the Great, it became a dependency of Egypt, and a Roman province, B.C. 75. Simon, who bore our Saviour's cross, Mat_27:32, was a native of Cyrene.
Jewish dwellers in Cyrenaica were in Jerusalem at Pentecost, Act_2:10, and gave their name to one of the synagogues in Jerusalem. Act_6:9. Christian converts from Cyrene were among those who contributed actively to the formation of the first Gentile church at Antioch. Act_11:20.
Smith's Bible Dictionary
By Dr. William Smith.Published in 1863
was a city of Lybia in Africa, which, as it was the principal city of that province, gave to it the name of Cyrenaica. This city was once so powerful as to contend with Carthage for preeminence. In profane writers, it is mentioned as the birthplace of Eratosthenes the mathematician, and Callimachus the poet; and in holy writ, of Simon, whom the Jews compelled to bear our Saviour's cross, Mat_27:32; Luk_23:26. At Cyrene resided many Jews, a great part of whom embraced the Christian religion; but others opposed it with much obstinacy. Among the most inveterate enemies of Christianity, Luke reckons those of this province, who had a synagogue at Jerusalem, and excited the people against St. Stephen, Act_11:20.
Biblical and Theological Dictionary by Richard Watson
PRINTER 1849.
Cyrene was a Mediterranean port on the north coast of Africa. It was one of the many places in northern Africa where Jewish people settled during the centuries leading up to the New Testament era. As in other places, they built synagogues and carried on the religious traditions of their forefathers (see DISPERSION).
Many of the local people, attracted by the higher moral standards of the Jews, joined their synagogues, some as part members, others as full members (see PROSELYTE). The man named Simon who carried Jesus cross on the way to Golgotha was either one of these Gentile God-fearers or a local Cyrenian Jew (Mar_15:21).
Jews, and possibly Gentiles, from Cyrene were in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost (Act_2:10). Some of these apparently became Christians, for Cyrenian Christians were among those whom the Jews expelled from Jerusalem after they had killed Stephen. Cyrenian Christians were among the first to preach the gospel to the Gentiles, and played an important part in founding the church in Antioch in Syria (Act_11:19-20). Among the prophets and teachers who led the Antioch church was a Cyrenian named Lucius (Act_13:1).
Bridgeway Bible Dictionary by Don Fleming
PRINTER 1990.
sı̄-rē?nē (Κυρήνη, Kurḗnē ?wall?):
1. Location
Cyrene was a city of Libya in North Africa, lat. 32 degrees 40? North, long. 22 degrees 15? East. It lay West of ancient Egypt, from which it was separated by a portion of the Libyan desert, and occupied the territory now belonging to Barca and Tripoli. It was situated upon an elevated plateau about 2,000 ft. above the sea, from which it was distant some 10 miles. A high range of mountains lies to the South, about 90 miles inland. This shelters the coast land from the scorching heat of the Sahara. The range drops down toward the North in a series of terrace-like elevations, Thus giving to the region a great variety of climate and vegetation. The soil is fertile.
2. History
Cyrene was originally a Greek colony rounded by Battus in 630 bc. Because of the fertility of the soil, the great variety in climate and vegetation, together with its commercial advantages in location, the city soon rose to great wealth and importance. Greater fame, however, came to it through its distinguished citizens. It was the home of Callimachus the poet, Carneacles the founder of the New Academy at Athens, and Eratosthenes the mathematician. To these must be added, from later times, the elegant ancient Christian writer Synesius. So important did this Greek colony become that, in little more than half a century, Amasis II of Egypt formed an alliance with Cyrene, marrying a Greek lady of noble, perhaps royal, birth (Herod. ii.181). Ptolemy III (Euergetes I), 231 bc, incorporated Cyrene with Egypt. The city continued, though with much restlessness, a part of the Egyptian empire until Apion, the last of the Ptolemies, willed it to Rome. It henceforth belonged to a Roman province. In the middle of the 7th century, the conquering Saracens took possession of Cyrene, and from that time to this it has been the habitation of wandering tribes of Arabs.
3. Biblical Importance
Cyrene comes into importance in Biblical history through the dispersion of the Jews. Ptolemy I, son of Lagus, transported Jews to this and other cities of Libya (Josephus, CAp, II, 4) and from this time on Jews were very numerous there. By the return of the Jews of the Dispersion to the feasts at Jerusalem, Cyrenians came to have a conspicuous place in the New Testament history. ?A man of Cyrene, Simon by name,? was caught by the Roman soldiers and compelled to bear the cross of Jesus (Mat_27:32; compare Mar_15:21; Luk_23:26). See CYRENIAN. Jews from Cyrene were among those present on the day of Pentecost. Their city appears as one of the important points in the wide circle of the Dispersion described by Peter in his sermon on that occasion (Act_2:10). Cyrenian Jews were of sufficient importance in those days to have their name associated with a synagogue at Jerusalem (Act_6:9). And when the persecution arose about Stephen, some of these Jews of Cyrene who had been converted at Jerusalem, were scattered abroad and came with others to Antioch and preached the word ?unto the Jews only? (Act_11:19, Act_11:20 the King James Version), and one of them, Lucius, became a prophet in the early church there. In this case, as in so many others, the wise providence of God in the dispersion of the Jews in preparation for the spread of the gospel of the Messiah is seen.
4. Archaeology
In the ruins of Cyrene are to be seen the remains of some beautiful buildings, and a few sculptures have been removed. The most interesting remains of the wondrous civilization of this Greek colony are in a great system of tombs, some built, but the finest cut in the solid rock of the cliff. Doric architecture and brilliant decorative painting adorn these tombs.
Literature
Herodotus ii; Josephus, Apion; Thrige, Res Cyrenensium.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
PRINTER 1915.
Cyre?ne, a city in Upper Libya, founded about the year B.C. 632, by a colony of Greeks from Thera (Santorini), a small island in the Aegean sea. Its name is generally supposed to be derived from a fountain called Cyre, near its site. It was built on a tableland, 1800 feet above the level of the sea, in a region of extraordinary fertility and beauty. It was the capital of a district, called from it Cyrenaica (Barca), which extended from the Gulf of Platea (Bomba) to the Great Syrtis (Gulf of Sidra). With its port Apollonia (Musa Soosa), about 10 miles distant, and the cities Barca, Teuchira, and Hesperis, which at a later period were named Ptolemais, Arsinoe, and Berenice, it formed the Cyrenaic Pentapolis. For above 180 years the form of government was monarchical; it then became republican; and at last, the country became tributary to Egypt, under Ptolemy Soter. It was bequeathed to the Romans by Apion, the natural son of Ptolemy Physcon, about 97 B.C., and was then formed into a province with Crete. Strabo says, that in Cyrene there were four classes of persons, namely?citizens, husbandmen, foreigners, and Jews, and that the latter enjoyed their own customs and laws. At the commencement of the Christian era, the Jews of Cyrene were so numerous in Jerusalem that they had a synagogue of their own (Act_2:10; Act_6:9). Some of the first Christian teachers were natives of Cyrene (Act_11:20; Act_13:1). Simeon, who was compelled to assist in bearing the cross of the Savior, was a Cyrenian (Mat_27:32; Mar_15:21; Luk_23:26).
The Popular Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature
by John Kitto.
Cyrene
(Κυρήνη; Ghrenna, in modern Arabic), a city in Upper Libya, founded by a colony of Greeks from Thera (Santorini), a small island in the AEgean Sea (Thirlwall's History of Greece, vol. ii, ch. 12). Its name is generally supposed to be derived from a fountain (but according to Justin, Hist. xiii, a mountain), called Κυρή, Cyre, near its site. It was built on a table-land, 1800 feet above the level of the sea, in a region of extraordinary fertility and beauty. It was the capital of a district, called from it Cyrenaica (Barca), which extended from the Gulf of Plataea (Bomba) to the Great Syrtis (Gulf of Sidra). With its port Apollonia (Musa Soosa), about ten miles distant, and the cities Barca, Teuchira, and Hesperis, which at a later period were named Ptolemais, Arsinoe, and Berenice (Strabo, xvii; vol. 3, p. 496, ed. Tauchn.), it formed the Cyrenaic Pentapolis (Mel. 1:4, 8; Pliny, v. 5; Ptolem. 4:4, 11; Amm. Marcell. 22:16). It is observable that the expression used in Act_2:10, the parts of Libya about (κατά) Cyrene, exactly corresponds with a phrase used by Dion Cassius (Λιβύη ἡ περὶ Κυρήνην, 53:12), and also with the language of Josephus (ἡ πρὸς Κυρήνην Λιβύη; Ant. 16:6, 1). See LIBYA. Its inhabitants were very luxurious and refined, and it was, in a manner, a commercial rival of Carthage (Forbioer, Handb. der alt. Geogr. 2:380 sq.; Ritter, Erdk. 1:946 sq.). The Greek colonization of this part of Africa under Battus began as early as B.C. 631, and it became celebrated not only for its commerce, but for its physicians, philosophers, and poets (Herod. 4:155, 164). It would seem that the old Hellenic colonists cultivated friendly relations with the native Libyans, and to a much greater extent than usual became intermingled with them by marriage relationships (Herod. 4:186-189). For above 180 years the form of government was monarchical; it then became republican, and at last the country became tributary to Egypt, under Ptolemy Soter. It was bequeathed to the Romans by Apion, the natural son of Ptolemy Physcon, about B.C. 97 (Tacitus, Ann. 14:18; Cicero, De leg. Agrar. 2:19), and in B.C. 75 formed into a province (Strabo, 17:3). On the conquest of Crete (B.C. 67) the two were united in one province, and together frequently called Creta-Cyrene. See CRETE. An insurrection in the reign of Trajan led to great disasters, and to the beginning of its decay. In the 4th century it was destroyed by the natives of the Libyan desert, and its wealth and honors were transferred to the episcopal city of Ptolemais, in its neighborhood. The Saracens completed the work of destruction, and for centuries not only the city, but the once populous and fertile district of which it was the ornament, has been almost lost to civilization. During three parts of the year the place is tenanted by wild animals of the desert, and during the fourth part the wandering Bedouins pitch their tents on the low grounds in its neighborhood. Smith, Dict. of Class. Geog. s.v.; Penny Cyclopoedia, s.v. Cyrenaica, Cyrene; Rawlinson's Herodotus, 3, 108 sq.
Strabo (quoted by Josephus, Ant. 14:7) says that in Cyrene there were four classes of persons, namely, citizens, husbandmen, foreigners, and Jews, and that the latter enjoyed their own customs and laws (comp. Dio Cass. 58:32). Ptolemy, the son of Lagus, introduced them, because he thought they would contribute to the security of the place (Joseph. c. Apion. 2:4). They became a prominent and influential class of the community (Ant. 14:7, 2), and they afterwards received much consideration from the Romans (xvi. 6, 5). See 1Ma_15:23; comp. 2Ma_2:23. We learn from Josephus (Life, 76) that soon after the Jewish war they rose against the Roman power. The notices above given of the numbers and position of the Jews in Cyrene (confirmed by Philo, who speaks of the diffusion of the Jews southward to Ethiopia, adv. Flacc. p. 523) prepare us for the frequent mention of the place in the N.T. in connection with Christianity. Simon, who bore our Savior's cross (Mat_27:32; Mar_15:21; Luk_23:26), was a native of Cyrene. Jewish dwellers in Cyrenaica were in Jerusalem at Pentecost (Act_2:10). They even gave their name to one of the synagogues in Jerusalem (Act_6:9). Christian converts from Cyrene were among those who contributed actively to the formation of the first Gentile church at Antioch (Act_11:20), and among those who are specially mentioned as laboring at Antioch, when Barnabas and Saul were sent on their missionary journey, is Lucius of Cyrene (Act_13:1), traditionally said to have been the first bishop of his native district. Other traditions connect Mark with the first establishment of Christianity in this part of Africa. SEE AFRICA.
See Della Cella, Viaggio da Tripoli, etc. (Genoa, 1819); Pacho, Voyage dans la Mt-armarique, la Cyrenaique (Paris, 1827-29); Trige, Res Cyrneenses (Hafn. 1828); Beechey, Expedition to Explore the north Coast of Africa (London, 1828); Barth, Wanderungen durch das Punische u. Kyrendische Kiustenland (Berlin, 1849); Hamilton, Wanderings in North Africa (London, 1856), p. 78; Smith and Porcher, Hist. of Discoveries at Cyrene (Lond. 1865).
CYCLOPEDIA OF BIBLICAL, THEOLOGICAL AND ECCLESIASTICAL
press 1895.
Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary
CYRENE.Capital of Libya (Tripoli) in N. Africa (Act_2:10), the home of numerous Jews who with the Libertines (freedmen from Rome?) and Alexandrians had a synagogue of their own at Jerusalem (Act_6:9). Many of these became Christians, as Simon and his sons (doubtless), Mar_15:21; Lucius, Act_13:1; and those in Act_11:20 who preached to the Greeks (v.l. Hellenists).
A. J. Maclean.
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible
Edited by James Hastings, D.D. Published in 1909
The chief city of Cyrenaica (now Tripoli), or the Libyan pentapolis (five cities) in N. Africa, between Egypt and Carthage, S., across the sea, of Crete and the Greek Peloponnese. A Dorian Greek colony, reigned over by Battus and his family 630 B.C. Afterward joined to its eastern neighbor Egypt. A table land descending by terraces to the sea. Famed for luxuriant vegetation and grandeur of its hills; for its intellectual activity in philosophy and poetry; and for its commerce. Jews in large number were settled there, and had a synagogue at Jerusalem, some of whose members took part against Stephen (Act_6:9).
Others were hearers of Peter and witnesses of the Spirit's miraculous effusion on Pentecost (Act_2:10). Being converted, and subsequently scattered at the persecution of Stephen, they preached to the Greeks at Antioch, at which time and place believers were first called Christians (Act_11:19-20). Simeon, who bore Jesus' cross, was of Cyrene (Luk_23:26). Among "the prophets and teachers" at Antioch who ministered to the Lord was Lucius of Cyrene (Act_13:1), whom some identify with Luke the evangelist and physician. Certainly, it is from Luke alone that we hear so much of Cyrene. (But (See LUKE.) Cyrene was a great center from which the gospel afterwards went forth, raising the famous N. African churches.
Fausset's Bible Dictionary
By Andrew Robert Fausset, co-Author of Jamieson, Fausset and Brown's 1888.
Cyre'ne. The principal city of that part of northern Africa which was sufficiently called Cyrenaica, lying between Carthage and Egypt, and corresponding with the modern Tripoli. Though on the African coast, it was a Greek city, and the Jews were settled there in large numbers. The Greek colonization of this part of Africa under Battus began of early as B.C. 631.
After the death of Alexander the Great, it became a dependency of Egypt, and a Roman province, B.C. 75. Simon, who bore our Saviour's cross, Mat_27:32, was a native of Cyrene.
Jewish dwellers in Cyrenaica were in Jerusalem at Pentecost, Act_2:10, and gave their name to one of the synagogues in Jerusalem. Act_6:9. Christian converts from Cyrene were among those who contributed actively to the formation of the first Gentile church at Antioch. Act_11:20.
Smith's Bible Dictionary
By Dr. William Smith.Published in 1863
was a city of Lybia in Africa, which, as it was the principal city of that province, gave to it the name of Cyrenaica. This city was once so powerful as to contend with Carthage for preeminence. In profane writers, it is mentioned as the birthplace of Eratosthenes the mathematician, and Callimachus the poet; and in holy writ, of Simon, whom the Jews compelled to bear our Saviour's cross, Mat_27:32; Luk_23:26. At Cyrene resided many Jews, a great part of whom embraced the Christian religion; but others opposed it with much obstinacy. Among the most inveterate enemies of Christianity, Luke reckons those of this province, who had a synagogue at Jerusalem, and excited the people against St. Stephen, Act_11:20.
Biblical and Theological Dictionary by Richard Watson
PRINTER 1849.
Cyrene was a Mediterranean port on the north coast of Africa. It was one of the many places in northern Africa where Jewish people settled during the centuries leading up to the New Testament era. As in other places, they built synagogues and carried on the religious traditions of their forefathers (see DISPERSION).
Many of the local people, attracted by the higher moral standards of the Jews, joined their synagogues, some as part members, others as full members (see PROSELYTE). The man named Simon who carried Jesus cross on the way to Golgotha was either one of these Gentile God-fearers or a local Cyrenian Jew (Mar_15:21).
Jews, and possibly Gentiles, from Cyrene were in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost (Act_2:10). Some of these apparently became Christians, for Cyrenian Christians were among those whom the Jews expelled from Jerusalem after they had killed Stephen. Cyrenian Christians were among the first to preach the gospel to the Gentiles, and played an important part in founding the church in Antioch in Syria (Act_11:19-20). Among the prophets and teachers who led the Antioch church was a Cyrenian named Lucius (Act_13:1).
Bridgeway Bible Dictionary by Don Fleming
PRINTER 1990.
sı̄-rē?nē (Κυρήνη, Kurḗnē ?wall?):
1. Location
Cyrene was a city of Libya in North Africa, lat. 32 degrees 40? North, long. 22 degrees 15? East. It lay West of ancient Egypt, from which it was separated by a portion of the Libyan desert, and occupied the territory now belonging to Barca and Tripoli. It was situated upon an elevated plateau about 2,000 ft. above the sea, from which it was distant some 10 miles. A high range of mountains lies to the South, about 90 miles inland. This shelters the coast land from the scorching heat of the Sahara. The range drops down toward the North in a series of terrace-like elevations, Thus giving to the region a great variety of climate and vegetation. The soil is fertile.
2. History
Cyrene was originally a Greek colony rounded by Battus in 630 bc. Because of the fertility of the soil, the great variety in climate and vegetation, together with its commercial advantages in location, the city soon rose to great wealth and importance. Greater fame, however, came to it through its distinguished citizens. It was the home of Callimachus the poet, Carneacles the founder of the New Academy at Athens, and Eratosthenes the mathematician. To these must be added, from later times, the elegant ancient Christian writer Synesius. So important did this Greek colony become that, in little more than half a century, Amasis II of Egypt formed an alliance with Cyrene, marrying a Greek lady of noble, perhaps royal, birth (Herod. ii.181). Ptolemy III (Euergetes I), 231 bc, incorporated Cyrene with Egypt. The city continued, though with much restlessness, a part of the Egyptian empire until Apion, the last of the Ptolemies, willed it to Rome. It henceforth belonged to a Roman province. In the middle of the 7th century, the conquering Saracens took possession of Cyrene, and from that time to this it has been the habitation of wandering tribes of Arabs.
3. Biblical Importance
Cyrene comes into importance in Biblical history through the dispersion of the Jews. Ptolemy I, son of Lagus, transported Jews to this and other cities of Libya (Josephus, CAp, II, 4) and from this time on Jews were very numerous there. By the return of the Jews of the Dispersion to the feasts at Jerusalem, Cyrenians came to have a conspicuous place in the New Testament history. ?A man of Cyrene, Simon by name,? was caught by the Roman soldiers and compelled to bear the cross of Jesus (Mat_27:32; compare Mar_15:21; Luk_23:26). See CYRENIAN. Jews from Cyrene were among those present on the day of Pentecost. Their city appears as one of the important points in the wide circle of the Dispersion described by Peter in his sermon on that occasion (Act_2:10). Cyrenian Jews were of sufficient importance in those days to have their name associated with a synagogue at Jerusalem (Act_6:9). And when the persecution arose about Stephen, some of these Jews of Cyrene who had been converted at Jerusalem, were scattered abroad and came with others to Antioch and preached the word ?unto the Jews only? (Act_11:19, Act_11:20 the King James Version), and one of them, Lucius, became a prophet in the early church there. In this case, as in so many others, the wise providence of God in the dispersion of the Jews in preparation for the spread of the gospel of the Messiah is seen.
4. Archaeology
In the ruins of Cyrene are to be seen the remains of some beautiful buildings, and a few sculptures have been removed. The most interesting remains of the wondrous civilization of this Greek colony are in a great system of tombs, some built, but the finest cut in the solid rock of the cliff. Doric architecture and brilliant decorative painting adorn these tombs.
Literature
Herodotus ii; Josephus, Apion; Thrige, Res Cyrenensium.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
PRINTER 1915.
Cyre?ne, a city in Upper Libya, founded about the year B.C. 632, by a colony of Greeks from Thera (Santorini), a small island in the Aegean sea. Its name is generally supposed to be derived from a fountain called Cyre, near its site. It was built on a tableland, 1800 feet above the level of the sea, in a region of extraordinary fertility and beauty. It was the capital of a district, called from it Cyrenaica (Barca), which extended from the Gulf of Platea (Bomba) to the Great Syrtis (Gulf of Sidra). With its port Apollonia (Musa Soosa), about 10 miles distant, and the cities Barca, Teuchira, and Hesperis, which at a later period were named Ptolemais, Arsinoe, and Berenice, it formed the Cyrenaic Pentapolis. For above 180 years the form of government was monarchical; it then became republican; and at last, the country became tributary to Egypt, under Ptolemy Soter. It was bequeathed to the Romans by Apion, the natural son of Ptolemy Physcon, about 97 B.C., and was then formed into a province with Crete. Strabo says, that in Cyrene there were four classes of persons, namely?citizens, husbandmen, foreigners, and Jews, and that the latter enjoyed their own customs and laws. At the commencement of the Christian era, the Jews of Cyrene were so numerous in Jerusalem that they had a synagogue of their own (Act_2:10; Act_6:9). Some of the first Christian teachers were natives of Cyrene (Act_11:20; Act_13:1). Simeon, who was compelled to assist in bearing the cross of the Savior, was a Cyrenian (Mat_27:32; Mar_15:21; Luk_23:26).
The Popular Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature
by John Kitto.
Cyrene
(Κυρήνη; Ghrenna, in modern Arabic), a city in Upper Libya, founded by a colony of Greeks from Thera (Santorini), a small island in the AEgean Sea (Thirlwall's History of Greece, vol. ii, ch. 12). Its name is generally supposed to be derived from a fountain (but according to Justin, Hist. xiii, a mountain), called Κυρή, Cyre, near its site. It was built on a table-land, 1800 feet above the level of the sea, in a region of extraordinary fertility and beauty. It was the capital of a district, called from it Cyrenaica (Barca), which extended from the Gulf of Plataea (Bomba) to the Great Syrtis (Gulf of Sidra). With its port Apollonia (Musa Soosa), about ten miles distant, and the cities Barca, Teuchira, and Hesperis, which at a later period were named Ptolemais, Arsinoe, and Berenice (Strabo, xvii; vol. 3, p. 496, ed. Tauchn.), it formed the Cyrenaic Pentapolis (Mel. 1:4, 8; Pliny, v. 5; Ptolem. 4:4, 11; Amm. Marcell. 22:16). It is observable that the expression used in Act_2:10, the parts of Libya about (κατά) Cyrene, exactly corresponds with a phrase used by Dion Cassius (Λιβύη ἡ περὶ Κυρήνην, 53:12), and also with the language of Josephus (ἡ πρὸς Κυρήνην Λιβύη; Ant. 16:6, 1). See LIBYA. Its inhabitants were very luxurious and refined, and it was, in a manner, a commercial rival of Carthage (Forbioer, Handb. der alt. Geogr. 2:380 sq.; Ritter, Erdk. 1:946 sq.). The Greek colonization of this part of Africa under Battus began as early as B.C. 631, and it became celebrated not only for its commerce, but for its physicians, philosophers, and poets (Herod. 4:155, 164). It would seem that the old Hellenic colonists cultivated friendly relations with the native Libyans, and to a much greater extent than usual became intermingled with them by marriage relationships (Herod. 4:186-189). For above 180 years the form of government was monarchical; it then became republican, and at last the country became tributary to Egypt, under Ptolemy Soter. It was bequeathed to the Romans by Apion, the natural son of Ptolemy Physcon, about B.C. 97 (Tacitus, Ann. 14:18; Cicero, De leg. Agrar. 2:19), and in B.C. 75 formed into a province (Strabo, 17:3). On the conquest of Crete (B.C. 67) the two were united in one province, and together frequently called Creta-Cyrene. See CRETE. An insurrection in the reign of Trajan led to great disasters, and to the beginning of its decay. In the 4th century it was destroyed by the natives of the Libyan desert, and its wealth and honors were transferred to the episcopal city of Ptolemais, in its neighborhood. The Saracens completed the work of destruction, and for centuries not only the city, but the once populous and fertile district of which it was the ornament, has been almost lost to civilization. During three parts of the year the place is tenanted by wild animals of the desert, and during the fourth part the wandering Bedouins pitch their tents on the low grounds in its neighborhood. Smith, Dict. of Class. Geog. s.v.; Penny Cyclopoedia, s.v. Cyrenaica, Cyrene; Rawlinson's Herodotus, 3, 108 sq.
Strabo (quoted by Josephus, Ant. 14:7) says that in Cyrene there were four classes of persons, namely, citizens, husbandmen, foreigners, and Jews, and that the latter enjoyed their own customs and laws (comp. Dio Cass. 58:32). Ptolemy, the son of Lagus, introduced them, because he thought they would contribute to the security of the place (Joseph. c. Apion. 2:4). They became a prominent and influential class of the community (Ant. 14:7, 2), and they afterwards received much consideration from the Romans (xvi. 6, 5). See 1Ma_15:23; comp. 2Ma_2:23. We learn from Josephus (Life, 76) that soon after the Jewish war they rose against the Roman power. The notices above given of the numbers and position of the Jews in Cyrene (confirmed by Philo, who speaks of the diffusion of the Jews southward to Ethiopia, adv. Flacc. p. 523) prepare us for the frequent mention of the place in the N.T. in connection with Christianity. Simon, who bore our Savior's cross (Mat_27:32; Mar_15:21; Luk_23:26), was a native of Cyrene. Jewish dwellers in Cyrenaica were in Jerusalem at Pentecost (Act_2:10). They even gave their name to one of the synagogues in Jerusalem (Act_6:9). Christian converts from Cyrene were among those who contributed actively to the formation of the first Gentile church at Antioch (Act_11:20), and among those who are specially mentioned as laboring at Antioch, when Barnabas and Saul were sent on their missionary journey, is Lucius of Cyrene (Act_13:1), traditionally said to have been the first bishop of his native district. Other traditions connect Mark with the first establishment of Christianity in this part of Africa. SEE AFRICA.
See Della Cella, Viaggio da Tripoli, etc. (Genoa, 1819); Pacho, Voyage dans la Mt-armarique, la Cyrenaique (Paris, 1827-29); Trige, Res Cyrneenses (Hafn. 1828); Beechey, Expedition to Explore the north Coast of Africa (London, 1828); Barth, Wanderungen durch das Punische u. Kyrendische Kiustenland (Berlin, 1849); Hamilton, Wanderings in North Africa (London, 1856), p. 78; Smith and Porcher, Hist. of Discoveries at Cyrene (Lond. 1865).
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