Puteoli

Biblical Text

Puteoli appears only once in Scripture, in Acts 28:13-14. Paul, who was being taken to Rome as a prisoner, had spent three months with his companions on the island of Melita. They then sailed on an Alexandrian ship and reached Rhegium. A south wind blew the next day, and on the day after they arrived at Puteoli. There they "found brethren, and were desired to tarry with them seven days: and so we went toward Rome" (Acts 28:14). Acts 28:15 goes on to record that the believers in Rome, hearing of their coming, went out to meet them as far as Appii Forum and The Three Taverns. Because this passage is narrated in the first-person plural ("we"), it has traditionally been read as an account of events that Luke witnessed while accompanying Paul.

Background

Puteoli is the Latin name of the city; the Greek text of Acts renders it Potioloi. The city is believed to have originated as Dicaearchia, a Greek colony founded around the sixth century BC. It later became a Roman colony in the early second century BC. The Latin name has been explained as deriving from a word for "wells" or as referring to the sulfurous odor of the volcanic region, but no etymology has been established with certainty.

In the New Testament era, Puteoli was a principal gateway on the sea route to Rome. In particular, large ships carrying grain from Alexandria in Egypt are known to have unloaded their cargo there. The statement that Paul sailed on an Alexandrian ship (Acts 28:11) fits well with this shipping route. As a trading port, the city drew people from many regions, and a Jewish community is also known to have lived there. From Puteoli the journey to Rome continued overland along the Appian Way, the great highway leading to Rome.

Significance in the Bible as a Whole

The account of Puteoli shows that Christian communities already existed before Paul's arrival, not only in Rome but also in the port cities of Italy. Acts traces the spread of the gospel from Jerusalem "unto the uttermost part of the earth" (Acts 1:8), and Puteoli was the last stop on that journey before it reached Rome. The scene in which believers in a foreign land welcomed Paul, a prisoner under escort, and stayed with him is also frequently cited as an example of the communion of saints.

Interpretations and Issues

• Origin of the church: Scripture does not say who founded the church at Puteoli. Some suggest that the gospel was brought there by the "strangers of Rome" (Acts 2:10) who were in Jerusalem at the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, or by merchants and travelers, but this is conjecture rather than fact grounded in the text.
• The prisoner's stay: Interpreters differ on how a prisoner under escort could remain for as long as seven days. Many explain it by the favor that Julius, the centurion escorting Paul, showed him from the beginning (Acts 27:3, 27:43), while others regard the stay as a necessary part of the escort's itinerary.
• Later traditions: Local traditions hold that Paul preached at Puteoli or founded the church there. Acts, however, records only that Paul stayed with the brethren.