Bible Locations

Lystra was a town in Lycaonia, in south-central Asia Minor, made a Roman colony by Augustus around 6 BC. Its site is a mound near the village of Hatunsaray, south of Konya,. On the first journey, Paul healed a man lame from birth, and the crowd shouted that the gods had come down. They called Barnabas Zeus and Paul Hermes, and the priest of Zeus brought bulls to sacrifice until the apostles tore their clothes and stopped them (Acts 14:8-18). A local legend, told by the Roman poet Ovid, said Zeus and Hermes had once visited the region in disguise, which may explain the reaction. Soon after, Jews from Antioch and Iconium stirred up the crowd, and Paul was stoned and left for dead, but he got up. Timothy was from Lystra. Paul recalled these sufferings in 2 Timothy 3:11.