NEAPOLIS (NzdroXtr, ' new city ;' Neapolis), a city of Greece, celebrated as the first place in Europe visited by the Apostle Paul. After tra versing Asia Minor in his missionary tour, ' he came down to Troas ;' and thence, in obedience to a heavenly injunction, he sailed for Macedonia, and Luke thus describes the voyage Loosing from Troas, we came with a straight course to Samothracia, and the next day to Neapolis' (Acts xvi. 1). Samothracia is an island in the northern part of the Archipelago, opposite the coast of Troas. Forty miles west of it is another island called Thasos ; and on the north-west of the latter the coast of the mainland recedes, forming a wide and beautiful bay, in the centre of which is a small rocky promontory having a harbour on each side (Purdy, Sailing Directory, p. Isz) ; this is the site of Neap/is. It is now occupied by a Turkish village called Kavala, which gives its name to the bay (Leake, Travels, iii. 180). Paul did not remain here, but proceeded at once to Philippi. Along the shore behind Neapolis is a steep ridge, a branch of the Pangmus range. Across this runs an ancient paved road, commencing at the town, and ascending through a defile formed by cliffs close to the beach. After gaining the summit, it descends into a wide and rich plain, in which lie the ruins of Philippi, ten miles from Neapolis. This was the road taken by Paul. From the top of the pass the view is magnificent. Below lie the ruins of the town with its double harbour, and the whole bay is spread out beyond. In front of it is the island of Thasos, with the high top of Samo thrace appearing on the horizon on the left ; while away in the distance on the south is seen the lofty summit of Mount Athos (Clarke's Travels, ch. xiii.) At a later period Paul again visited Nea polis, though the name is not mentioned. After a three months' residence in Greece, Luke informs us, ' We sailed away from Philippi after the days of unleavened bread, and came unto them to Troas in five days' (Acts xx. 6). Philippi was an inland town, but Neapolis was its port, and when Paul sailed from it he was said to have sailed from Philippi ; just as one sailing from the Pyrmns is said to sail from Athens. His second voyage was a long one, for it took five days to do what had been previously done in two.
The town of Neapolis was within the bounds of the province of Thrace (Pliny, H. N., iv. 18) ; but
the emperor Vespasian attached it to Macedonia (Suetonias, Vesp. 8) ; and hence, while Pliny locates it in Thrace, Ptolemy (iii. 13) and Strabo (vii. 33o) assign it to Macedonia. During the great battle of Philippi, the fleet of Brutus and Cassius lay in the bay of Neapolis (Appian, De Bel. Civil. iv. 106), which Appian states was nine miles distant from their camp at Philippi ; and this state ment, taken in conjunction with the indications of the ancient Itineraries (see Itineraria, ed. \Vessel, pp. 603, 640, 321), is sufficient to prove the identity of Neapolis and Kavala, notwithstanding the arguments of Cousinery (Voyage dans la Mace doine).
The remains of Neapolis are extensive ; the most important being an aqueduct nearly ten miles in length, constructed to bring water from the dis tant hills. There are also numbers of columns and hewn stones, partly lying among rubbish in the suburbs, and partly built up in the modern houses. Several inscriptions have also been found, and sculptured stones and marble sarcophagi (Clarke's Travels, ch. xii. ; BibliotIzeca Sacra, October 1860; Conybeare and Howson, Life of St. Paul, i. 309, seq.) The modern town or village is said to con tain about 5000 inhabitants.
2. Neapolis was the name given during the Roman age to the ancient city of Shechem. The change appears to have taken place during the reign of Vespasiats, as upon the coins of that reign we first find the inscription, Flavia Neapolis,' the former title taken from Flavius Vespasian (Eckhel, Doctr. Nummor., iii. 433)• Josephus generally calls the city Sichem ; but he has Neapolis in Bell. yud. iv. 8. r ; and the words of Epiphanius afford sufficient proof of the identity of Sichem and Neapolis—'Ei' Tuduots, Toilr' ril yuyl. NeairoXec (Adv. p. 1o55 ; see Reland, Pal., p. 1004). For a description and history of this city, see SHECHEM.
3. An ancient episcopal city of Arabia, whose bishops were present at the councils of Chalcedon and Constantinople. The writer discovered an in scription at the ruined town of Suleim, at the western base of Jebel Hauran, near the ancient Kenath, which shows that Suleim is the episcopal Neapolis (Porter's Damascus, ii. 85 ; Reland, Pal., p. 217 ; S. Paulo, Geogr. Sac., p. 296).—J. L. P.