Caesarea to Fair Havens

The Augustan Cohort (Acts 27.1-.2)

Paul, along with some other prisoners, is handed over to a Centurion of the Augustan Cohort. Boarding ship at Caesarea, Paul is accompanied by two companions: Aristarchus and the author of Acts.

Ancient inscriptions attest to the existence of an auxiliary legion called the "Augustan Cohort" in Palestine during the first century. However, historical evidence suggests that the duty of escorting prisoners was reserved to legionary centurions alone.

Thus a centurian from an auxiliary legion could not have been Paul’s escort. It is possible that Luke’s reference is not to the auxiliary legion located in Palestine. The phrase "Augustan Cohort" simply means "the troop of the emperor." He may be referring to a group of Centurions on detached service, one of whose responsibilities was to escort prisoners. Such units existed in the second century, though there is no evidence for them in the first century. In short, there is not enough evidence to either confirm or deny Luke’s reference to the "Augustan Cohort." (1)

Luke states that he and Aristarchus accompanied Paul on the voyage. How likely is it that a prisoner, even if he were a Roman citizen, would have been permitted to take friends with him to Rome? The only other evidence on this question is found in a letter written by Pliny, who was the Roman governor of Bithynia fifty years after Paul’s voyage. He tells of a prisoner sent to Rome who was permitted to take his slaves with him. It should be noted that Paul’s ship was a public conveyance and that other passengers were aboard. So it is possible that Luke and Aristarchus were passengers as well. (2)

Voyage
Map

The distance between Caesarea and Sidon is 67 land miles, and to travel that distance in a single day requires a leading wind. The prevailing wind at that time of year (Acts 27.9 reveals that it was early fall) was from the west. This would have allowed them to cover the distance in the time stated.

Luke records that the prevailing wind forced the ship to pass east and north of the island of Cyprus. Both meteorological and nautical evidence confirm this statement. Given the prevailing west wind, they would have had to pass north of the island to continue west.

It was only after their vessel reached the Cilician coast that they could make headway against the wind. At that point, they would be aided by currents running along the coast, as well as by land breezes emanating from the Turkish land mass. Other ancient sources confirm that ships were forced to this route when the wind was from the west. The Greek writer Lucian records that it took his ship nine days to sail from Sidon to Myra by this route. (3) 

The Egyptian Grain Ship (Acts 27.6)

Landing at Myra, the Centurion transfers Paul and the other prisoners to an Alexandrian grain ship bound for Rome.

Myra was a major port in the eastern empire. It lay directly north of Alexandria, Egypt, on the far side of the Mediterranean. An Egyptian ship sailing for Rome would have to sail north to Myra at this time of year, because it was impossible to sail directly northwest to Rome. The prevailing wind from the west forced ships sailing from Egypt to Rome to follow this indirect route.

This presents us with a series of interesting evidential coincidences. The same westerly wind that accounted for the shortness of Paul’s trip to Sidon is the wind that required his ship to sail north of Cyprus, and is also the wind that brought the Egyptian ship to Myra. All three of these events confirm the direction of the prevailing wind.

Luke, in Acts 27.1, states that the ship they boarded in Caesarea was sailing for ports along the coast of the province of Asia. In other words, the ship was not bound for Rome, but was making ports of call along the southern coast of what today is Turkey. The harbor at Myra was one of the great trans-shipping ports of the ancient Mediterranean. Thus it makes sense that Paul and the others would leave the coastal vessel there and board the larger grain ship for the final leg of the voyage to Rome. (4)

From Myra to Crete (Acts 27.7-.8)

The Egyptian grain ship leaves Myra, then sails slowly westward for several days. Finally, they stand off the town of Cnidus, having reached that point only with the greatest difficulty. Because the wind is against them, the ship’s captain decides to sail southwest, in order to pass to the south of the island of Crete. After passing Cape Salome on the eastern end of the island, they make their way along the southern coast. It is with difficulty that they reach the harbor called Fair Havens.

The distance from Myra to Cnidus is 130 land miles. The ship could have covered that distance in a single day with a favoring wind. Luke says that it took several days, which again confirms that the prevailing wind was against them. In sailing west to Cnidus, they were leaving the shelter of the Turkish land mass.

Finding it impossible to proceed any farther west at Cnidus, the ship turned to the southwest to get behind Crete. This change in course is an important piece of evidence. It tells us that the wind had shifted, though Luke does not actually say that this occurred. The wind must now have been blowing from the northwest, since if it had been blowing from the west they could have crossed the Aegean Sea north of Crete. More importantly, a westerly wind would have made it impossible for them to sail to the southwest to get behind Crete.

Luke does not mention this change of wind direction, but he records its consequences. Meteorological evidence reveals that in late summer and early fall the prevailing wind often shifts to the northwest in the Mediterranean. Since this was the time of year they sailed, this is a further confirmation that the wind was now blowing from the northwest.

There is another interesting piece of nautical evidence. Had Paul’s ship turned to the southwest at any point between Myra and Cnidus, they would never have reached Crete. The islands in their path would have prevented them from turning to get behind Crete until the angle of descent was such that the northwest wind would have made that maneuver impossible. Southern Crete could not be reached by an ancient sailing ship from any point along their route, except by turning southwest at Cnidus.

Map of Southern Crete

After Paul’s ship reached Cape Salome on the eastern edge of Crete, they ran along the southern coast and used the island as a shelter from the wind. Luke records that it was with difficulty that they reached the harbor of Fair Havens. He then states that they halted there, but does not say why.

Meteorological and nautical evidence tells us why. Looking at the map of southern Crete, you will see that Cape Matala lies just  miles west of Fair Havens harbor. At the Cape, the coast curves to the north. Had their ship sailed past Cape Matala, they would have been exposed to the northwest wind and would have found it impossible to continue westward. The reason for their halt at Fair Havens was to wait for a change in the wind. Luke’s statement that they made the harbor at Fair Havens with difficulty also fits the evidence. A sailing ship working its way westward against a northwest wind, even under the shelter of Crete, would have had problems reaching Fair Havens. (5)

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Copyright © 1998-2001 by Jefferson White