PAPHOS (Pafos). - City of Cyprus, at present Baffa, a small port on the western coast of the island, which, together with the nearby center of Ktinia, has about 5,000 inhabitants.

The old P. (πολανά) of Homeric times, famous for its temple of Astarte, identified by the Greeks with Aphrodite (Venus), stood about 15 km to the west-southwest of the new P. (Baffa). In the latter, destroyed by an earthquake in 18-17 B.C. and rebuilt in 15 B.C. by Augustus (with the surname Sebaste), the Roman proconsul resided. One of these, named Sergius Paulus (v.), remembered in an inscription found at Soli (ἐνὶ Παύλου [ἀνθ]-υπάτου), was converted by St. Paul, despite the opposition of the magician Bar-Jesus (v.), surnamed Elymas, punished for this by St. Paul with temporary blindness.

In the account of the episode St. Luke (Acts 13:12-13) changes the name of the Apostle: "Saul, who is also Paul."

At P. Paul, Barnabas and John Mark embarked for Perge (v.). In a bilingual inscription of the 3rd century A.D. the city is called "Sebaste, Claudia, Flavia, Paphos, sacred metropolis civitatum Cypr".

Bibliography2 works

BIBL.: Cl. Merlo-P. Romanelli, s. v. in Enc. Ital., XXV, p. 920; E. Beutler, Paphos, in DB, IV, col. 2077 ff.

Pietro De Ambroggi

@incollection{ec9_pafo_paphos_paphos, author = {De, Ambroggi Pietro}, title = {Pafo (ΠΆΦΟΣ, paphos)}, booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica}, volume = {IX}, pages = {553}, note = {Cited by column}, publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico}, address = {Città del Vaticano}, year = {1952}, url = {https://azioneromana.com/article/pafo-paphos-paphos} }

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Paphos (Pafos)

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