Bible Locations

Paphos was the Roman capital of Cyprus, on the island's southwestern coast. On the first journey, Paul and Barnabas crossed the island "until they came to Paphos. There they met a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet named Bar-Jesus," also called Elymas, who was an attendant of the proconsul Sergius Paulus (Acts 13:6). The proconsul wanted to hear the word of God, but Elymas tried to turn him away. Paul, "filled with the Holy Spirit," looked at him and said he would be blind for a time, and immediately darkness came over him. The proconsul believed. From this point, Luke calls Saul "Paul." Paphos was famous for the worship of Aphrodite, whose legendary birthplace was nearby. Excavations have found Roman villas with beautiful mosaics, a theater and "St. Paul's Pillar," where tradition says Paul was whipped. Paphos is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.