THE CLASSICAL JOURNAL. NO. XXXVIII. JUNE, 1819. DISSERTATION ON ST. PAUL'S VOYAGE ON THE WIND EUROCLYDON AND ON THE APOSTLE'S SHIPWRECK ON THE ISLAND MELITE. (With a Plate.) ST. Paul having been accused before Festus, the Roman governor of Judæa, by the Jews, of divers crimes, availed himself of his privilege, as a Roman citizen, of appealing to the Emperor in person, or of claiming to have his cause heard and adjudged before the imperial tribunal at Rome. In consequence of this claim being admitted, it became necessary that he should be sent to that city; and he was accordingly, together with several other prisoners, delivered in charge to Julius, a centurion of Augustus's baud, in order to be conveyed to Rome. Dr. Benson's History of the Establishment of the Christian Religion, the Unitarian Version of the New Testament, the Bible by Messrs. D'Oyley and Mant, and the second edition of Annotations on the Gospels, have each a map in which the course of St. Paul is delineated; and they all agree in making Malta the scene of his shipwreck. This opinion, it is supposed, there are strong reasons for rejecting as erroneous. The learned reader will recollect the voyage of Josephus from Palestine to Rome on a similar occasion. He also was wrecked in the Adriatic. The present article was originally designed to accompany a new edition of some of the tracts in the Geographi Minores. VOL. XIX. Cl. JI. NO. XXXVIII. Ο The centurion so entrusted put his prisoners, and accompanied them himself, on board a ship of Adramyttium,' then lying at Cæsarea, and, as we may infer, preparing to return homewards. It appears from the account, that they who conducted the ship meant to sail on their return by the coast of Asia. Accordingly, the next day after they set sail, they touched at Sidon, a noted city on the coast of Coelesyria, lying in 33° 35′ N. L. and about a degree to the North of Cæsarea, with some little deviation to the East. Here it seems they stayed some days; but how long, we are not informed. On their loosing from Sidon, they found that their intentions of continuing their voyage along the coast of Asia Minor would be frustrated by contrary winds, which obliged them to pursue their voyage under3 or on the Southern side of the island of Cyprus, instead of the Northern, as, according to their plan of sailing along the coast, they had at first proposed. 3 The word referred to, literally translated, implies that they sailed under Cyprus, the North point being accounted to be uppermost in ancient as well as in modern geography. Their course, after doubling the Western point of the Isle of Cyprus, must have been 36° to the North of the West point, crossing both the Western part of the Aulon Cilicius and the sea which bounds Pamphylia to the South. Following this course, they arrived at Myra, a sea-port on the coast of Lycia, situated in about 36° 18' N. L. and 47° 40′ E. L. from Ferro. How long they remained at Myra does not appear; probably not long, as they found an Alexandrian ship there, which was bound to Italy, and, as it seems, to Puteoli; and as the season of the year was advanced, it may be presumed that they would not wait longer than was necessary. As Myra lies nearly under the same meridian with Alexandria, it was, from the facility of reaching it, the usual 1 Adramyttium nearly retains its ancient name, being still called Adramytta. It is situate in a small gulph that bears the same appellation, opposite the island of Lesbos, in nearly 39° 30' N. L. and 44° 40 E. L. from Ferro. There is still a great trade in this neighbourhood for the building. large trading vessels and boats. Pococke's Travels, vol. ii. part 2. page 16. 2 Mr. Bryant thinks that they set out from Ptolemais; but without foundation. The xxvith chapter of Acts ends with what was transacted at Cæsarea, and no account whatever is given of their journey to Ptolemais; and they might reach Sidon in one day from Cæsarea, as well as from Ptolemais. 3 ὑπεπλεύσαμεν. Acts xxvii. 4. 4 This mode of expression was probably derived from the visible elevation of the North pole of the heavens in Northern latitudes. See what is said on this subject in the following part of this Dissertation, of their sailing under Crete, which undoubtedly means on the South side of that island. 5 Alexandria lies nearly in 48° E. L. from Ferro. place for the Egyptian corn-ships to touch at in their way to Italy, as in the state of navigation at that time it could scarcely be supposed that they would accomplish the voyage from Egypt to Puteoli, without some supplies on the way, both of necessaries, and also of information respecting their course and situation. Their course from Myra appears to have been at first nearly West, with a small deviation to the South, and probably coasting the Southern part of the island of Rhodes, until they came overagainst, or into the meridian of Cnidus, a maritime city of Caria, lying in 36° 42′ N. L. and 45° 12′ Long. East of Ferro. I 2 So far they had followed the coast as nearly as seems to have been convenient; but here they met with a contrary wind, probably. from a Northerly quarter, which drove them Southward towards Cape Samonium, or Salmone, the Eastern promontory of the Isle of Crete, and in latitude 35° N. L. and in longitude 44° 26' East from Ferro. This promontory they passed, or rather weathered, in sailing to the Southward, and perhaps not without some difficulty or danger, and arrived at the Fair Havens, situate on the Southern side of the same island. They here found that much time had been already spent or wasted during the voyage, and that the proper season for sailing had elapsed, the fast having been for some time passed, and navigation becoming dangerous, of which they were admonished by St. Paul. The master of the ship, however, though conscious that it was not prudent to proceed on his voyage at that season, was nevertheless desirous to gain a more commodious harbour to winter in, and undertook to carry the vessel as far as Phoenice, a port described by both Ptolemy and Strabo, lying on the Southern coast of the island of Crete, and opposite to the small island of Gaudos, or Clauda,3 latitude 35° 12′, I MÓλIS TE TagaλEYÓμEVOL Tv.-eam ægre prætervecti. Schleusneri Lexicon. 2 Dr. Pococke says, that there is a small bay about two leagues East of Matala, which is now called by the Greeks Aves hous, and not far from the site of the city of Lysia in the Peutingerian Tables, which must be the same with Lasea. Dr. Pococke thinks, that Prasus and Lasea were the same place. Pococke's Travels, vol. ii. p. 250. Rochette's Map has a place called Sancti Limni, nearly in the same spot with that described by Dr. Pococke. Wetstein observes, "Locus adhuc hodie in Creta nomen retinet Calos Limenas." Note on Acts xxvii. 8. 3 A place in Crete opposite to Gaudos is found in Rochette's Map of Greece and the Archipelago called Finichia, which was undoubtedly the Phoenice mentioned by St. Luke. It is not easy to determine the exact import of this passage. The words in the original are, Λιμένα βλέποντα κατὰ Aíßa xai xarà Xŵ¡ov, which implies, "open to both those quarters of the heavens from whence these winds proceed," and of course unsheltered from the force of these winds. According to Pliny's arrangement of the winds, this port was exposed to blasts from the S. W. by W. 1 W. to N. W. by W. ¿W. 4 longitude 41° 40' from Ferro, and about 52 nautical miles to the North-West of the Fair Havens. It might require some explanation, why those, who navigated the vessel in which St. Paul was a passenger, chose to pass round to the South of Cape Salmone, and that not without some difficulty and hazard, rather than to attempt to put in at some port on the Northern side, of Crete. But this question is resolved by the account of Eustathius,' who on another occasion mentions that there were no good ports on the Northern side of that island. The propriety of the caution given by St. Paul was, however, verified in the attempt of those who navigated the ship to sail from the Fair Havens to Phoenice. For in this short passage, although the weather appeared to be favorable at their setting out, they were soon assailed by a violent tempest from the South-East quarter. At what time of the year this happened, and what was the nature and direction of the wind which occasioned it, will be the next subject of inquiry. I just observed, that at their arrival at the Fair Havens they found much time had been spent, to which the slowness of their passage from Myra to the meridian of Cnidus had no doubt contributed, that the fast was already past, and sailing become dangerous. The word on, which we translate already, bears in this place, I think, a more extensive signification. It probably means that the fast had been over a considerable or at least an indefinite time, and that sailing had likewise been (as I infer from the repetition of the word on) for a considerable time dangerous. The fast alluded to was undoubtedly the Jewish fast of Expiation, which was observed on the tenth of the month Tisri, or the twenty-fifth of September, the day on which the autumnal equinox3 was then computed to fall. Stormy weather at sea was usual about this season; but I am of opinion, that the time of this voyage, and of course of the shipwreck, was considerably later in the year than the fast, and probably took place towards the end of November, or the beginning of December. It appears from Josephus, that navigation was accounted dangerous among the Jews from the time of the feast of Taberna comprehending 80 degrees, or more than seven points of the compass. If reckoned according to the arrangement of Vitruvius, it comprehends 105 degrees from S.W. to N.N.W. N. being nearly nine points of the compass. * Δυσλιμένος ἡ Κρήτη πρὸς τὴν βόῤῥαν. Eustath. ad Οdyss. τ'. Unde Lucanus: 4 Boreaque urgente carinas Creta fugit. Lib. ix. 2dne præterito significat rem paratam et peractam sine termino. Schleusneri Lexicon. 3 Colum, lib. xi. cap. 2. 4 See Wetstein's note on this passage. cles, October the first, to that of the Dedication of the Temple, December the ninth; and in this interval both the voyage and shipwreck probably took place. Vegetius assigns the third of the Ides, (November the eleventh,) for the day on which navigation was interrupted; ; and we are informed by the Calendar of Geminus, and by Theophrastus, that stormy weather at sea may be expected about that season. The day above specified had, I think, elapsed some time before they left the Fair Havens, which would nearly correspond with the cosmical setting of Orion, (November the ninth,) a time of year remarkable3 for stormy weather in those seas, which the vessel which carried St. Paul was then traversing. Some days more might pass between the time of the delivery of the caution given by St. Paul and their setting sail. Fourteen or fifteen days more were, we know, spent in the voyage; which brings the time, without any strain on the narrative, to the end of November, or the beginning of the succeeding month. I shall now speak a few words respecting the wind that caused this tempest. The Latin Vulgate translation, that of Castalio, and some others, render the word Euroclydon by Euro-aquilo,* a word found no where else, and inconsistent, as I think, in its construction with the principles on which the names of the intermediate or compound winds are' framed. Euronotus is so called, as intervening immediately between Eurus and Notus, and as partaking, as was thought, of the qualities of both. The same holds true of Libonotus, as being interposed between Libs and Notus. Both these compound winds lie in the same quarter or quadrant of the circle with the winds of which they were composed, and no other wind intervenes. But Eurus and Aquilo are at 90 degrees distance from one another; or, according to some writers, at 15 degrees more, or at 105 degrees; the former lying in the South-East quarter, and the latter in the North-East; and two winds, one of which is the East cardinal point, intervene, as Cæcias and Subsolanus. The Carbas of Vitruvius occupies the middle point between Eurus and Aquilo in his scheme of the winds; but this never had, nor could have, the appellation of Euro-aquilo, as it lies in a different quarter, and the East point is interposed, which could scarcely have been overlooked in the framing a compound appellation. The word Euroclydon is evidently composed of Eurus, or Eugos, the South 'Ex die igitur tertio Iduum Novembris, usque in diem sextum Iduum Martiarum, maria clauduntur. Veget. iv. c. 39. 2 Plin. xviii. 31. Virg. Æneid. vii. 719. See what Dr. Shaw has said concerning this wind. Travels, edit. 2. p. 331. |