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.
Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.