SELUCCIA. — A maritime city of Syria, named twice in the Bible (1 Macc. 11, 8; Acts 13, 4); the most important of the various cities bearing this name. From the nearby mountain it was also called S. Pieria. Founded by Seleucus Nicator on the site of the earlier Antigonia, at the mouth of the Orontes, it was occupied by Ptolemy III but retaken by Antiochus III. Given the need for maritime communications for Antioch, the capital of Syria, the efficiency of S.’s port was maintained through important dredging and canalization works, despite the numerous deposits left by the Orontes.
SEITZ, Ludovico — Adoration of the Magi. Detail of the decoration of the German chapel — Loreto.
According to Pausanias (VIII, 29), a Roman emperor (perhaps Trajan) made the Orontes navigable as far as Antioch. Even in later periods, such as during the reigns of Diocletian and Constantius II, the execution of port works is documented. The various invasions and other factors that brought about the decline of Antioch also acted more rapidly on the ancient maritime center.
It is mentioned only incidentally in Acts 13, 4. It is reasonable to suppose that from the first evangelization of Antioch (ibid. 11, 1 ff.) Christianity was also successfully preached in S.