LYCAONIA

(Lyc·a·oʹni·a).

A region in Asia Minor where the Lycaonian language was spoken. (Ac 14:6-11) The boundaries of Lycaonia fluctuated considerably throughout its history and are uncertain. Basically, in the period during which Lycaonia figured in the Bible record, it lay in the southern part of the Roman province of Galatia and was bounded by Pisidia and Phrygia on the W, Cappadocia on the E, and Cilicia on the S. This area consists of a treeless plain having limited water. Anciently, though, it was reasonably productive and furnished sufficient pasturage for a large number of sheep.

The apostle Paul visited Derbe and Lystra, two cities of Lycaonia, during the course of his first and second missionary journeys. He may also have stopped there on his third missionary tour as he traveled from “place to place through the country of Galatia.”​—Ac 14:6, 20, 21; 16:1; 18:23.