The City of Nicopolis

Highlighted on the map is the Roman city of Nicopolis in the Epirus region of what is today northwestern Greece. Several ancient cities were named Nicopolis, which means “City of Conquest [Victory].” However, this is probably the Nicopolis that the Bible mentions in connection with Paul’s travels sometime after his first imprisonment in Rome. (Tit 3:12; see map “Paul’s Journeys After c. 61 C.E.”) Octavian (later known as Caesar Augustus) founded Nicopolis after 31 B.C.E. Many people from other areas were resettled here, and this new city became a trading center. Paul may have thought that this city would provide ample opportunity for witnessing during the winter that he was planning to spend there. Some think that while Paul was living in Nicopolis, he was arrested and sent back to Rome for his second and final imprisonment. (See study note on Ac 28:30.) The photos show different scenes from the site of ancient Nicopolis.

1. Roman aqueduct; construction may have started during Caesar Nero’s reign (54-68 C.E.)

2. View toward one of the harbors of Nicopolis with the Odeum (small theater) in the foreground, probably built during the first half of the second century C.E.