Kyrenia (Ancient Greek: Κυρήνη), or more commonly known today as Cyrene, was founded as a colony of Greeks from Thira (Santorini) in 630 BC and is the birthplace of Eratosthenes, who was the first to calculate the perimeter of the earth.A relatively little-known Jewish revolt against Rome, the "Kitos War," happened in Cyrene:
At the highest point of the city, is the temple of Zeus, which dates from the 5th century BC. century.A Simon of Cyrene is mentioned in the Gospels in Mark 15:21 and parallels. And the source epitomized in 2 Maccabees (see 2:19-32) was written by a Jason of Cyrene.It was destroyed during a Jewish revolt in 115 AD, and was restored 5 years later by the Romans on the orders of Emperor Hadrian.
Related PaleoJudaica posts are here, here, and here.
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