LYCAONIA. - An inland region of Asia Minor, consisting of a vast plateau (1,000 m above sea level), bounded to the east by the mountains of Phrygia and Isauria, to the south by the Taurus, and to the north-east by Cappadocia. The territory, strewn with salt lakes, steppe-like and arid, was always sparsely populated. At first the region had no political autonomy, but was wholly or partly attached to neighbouring provinces. Paul and Barnabas, on their first missionary journey, took refuge there after being driven out of Antioch of Pisidia (Act. 13, 51-52), and evangelized its principal centres: Iconium (Act. 14, 1-6), Lystra and Derbe (ibid. 14, 6). The population, uncultivated and polytheistic, although acquainted with the Greek language, continued to speak Lycaonian (ibid. 14, 8-12), an ancient Anatolian language, of which some fragments of inscriptions remain.
Ancient legends concerning indigenous divinities, whom the Greeks assimilated to Zeus and Hermes and the Romans to Jupiter and Mercury, and concerning their relations with men, were widespread in L. The Phrygian legend of the two spouses Philemon and Baucis, who, for having received into their hut Zeus and Hermes appearing in human form, were changed as a reward into immortal and divine trees (Ovid, Metam., VIII, 621-725), explains the state of mind of the inhabitants in their treatment of Paul and Barnabas (Act. 14, 8-12). On his second missionary journey Paul, accompanied by Silas, visited the Churches he had founded, finding them firm in faith and continually increasing (Act. 16, 1-4).
V. LISTRA.
Donato Baldi