Across the Island

3RD STOP OF PAUL'S FIRST JOURNEY

Cyprus, from Salamis to Paphos

"When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos..." ACTS 13:6

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ONWARD - 100 MILES

Acts 13:6 records a significant yet easily overlooked detail: "When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos..." This brief statement encompasses what may have have been nearly a week of travel along Cyprus's southern coast, a journey of around 100 miles through territories deeply entrenched in pagan worship. The Roman road connecting Salamis to Paphos passed through several significant settlements - each presenting unique challenges to the gospel message.

The road likely brought them to Amathous, its temples and shrines rising above the harbor where ships unloaded goods from Alexandria and Antioch. All around stood evidence of Cyprus's devotion to the goddess "born of sea foam" - the very identity of the island wrapped up in myths of divine emergence from these waters. In houses and shops, small shrines featured the distinctive conical stone representing the goddess, a daily reminder of where most Cypriots placed their hopes and allegiance.

The ancient city of Amathus, one of the largest on the island and an important center for the cult worship of Aphrodite.

A LAND ENTRENCHED IN IDOLATRY

Pressing onward, Kourion was the next major settlement, where the magnificent theater carved into seaside cliffs offered breathtaking Mediterranean views and stood as testament to Rome's cultural dominance. The road then wound through rolling hills covered with vineyards and olive groves before descending toward Palaipathos with its world-famous sanctuary. Here, the legendary birthplace of Aphrodite attracted pilgrims from across the empire who came to honor the goddess at the very spot where she supposedly emerged from the sea. The massive temple complex, visible for miles around, served as both religious center and economic engine for western Cyprus.

As Paul gazed upon the rocky shoreline where mythology claimed divinity had entered the world, he prepared to proclaim a different story - one about true divinity taking human form not in sensual beauty rising from waves, but in a humble Jewish teacher whose broken body on a Roman cross revealed God's power through apparent weakness. This collision of narratives would reach its climax in nearby New Paphos, which was undoubtedly the first real test for Paul and Barnabas in their journey into the Roman world. There, the Roman proconsul himself would become an audience for the unfolding drama between God's kingdom and the powers that had long claimed Cyprus as their domain.