Neapolis

Abstract

Neapolis, modern Kavala, still shows clearly why it was an obvious place for a port in ancient Greece. Nestled snugly about a half-moon bay, the city looks down upon a natural harbor that became the principal location in northern Macedonia for travel to and from Asia Minor. Kavala is the site of ancient Neapolis, the principal port of Philippi. Founded in the 7th century B.C.E. as a colony of Thasos, it was significant both for its port and for its commanding location along the coastal route from Thessalonica to Asia Minor. The fleet of Brutus was stationed at Neapolis at the time of the battle of Philippi. The Apostle Paul first set foot in Europe at Neapolis on his first missionary voyage. In later centuries the town was renamed Christoupolis, and it was burned by the Normans on their way to Constantinople in 1185. The city was under Ottoman rule until 1912, and on three separate occasions it has been under Bulgarian occupation, including more than two years during World War II. Virtually nothing remains of the ancient city. The impressive aqueduct on the hills above the city dates from the 16th century, when it was built by Sulëyman the Magnificent. In 1769 Mehmet Ali, pasha of Egypt, was born in Kavala. In Troas Paul had a vision in which he saw a man of Macedonia asking him to come to his country: “During the night Paul had a vision: there stood a man of Macedonia pleading with him and saying, ‘Come over to Macedonia and help us.’ When he had seen the vision, we immediately tried to cross over to Macedonia, being convinced that God had called us to proclaim the good news to them” (Acts 16:9–10). The rapid expansion of Christianity to the west largely was due to Paul’s decision to follow the prompting of this vision. This biblical statement is significant also because it is the first use of the first-person plural, we, in the Acts narrative, possibly indicating that the writer of Acts, traditionally regarded as Luke, now accompanies Paul on this portion of his travels.