Chi'os. (snowy). An island of the Aegean Sea, 12 miles from Smyrna. It
is separated from the mainland by a strait of only 5 miles. Its length is about
12 miles, and in breadth, it varies from 8 to 18. Paul passed it on his return
voyage, from Troas to Caesarea. Act_20:15.
It is now called Scio.
Source:
Smith’s Bible Dictionary
Chios
kē´os, kī´os (Χίος,
Chíos): An island belonging to Turkey in the Aegean Sea, South of
Lesbos, and very near the mainland of Asia Minor. Paul's vessel passed it on
his last voyage to Jerusalem (Act_20:15).
The channel here is very picturesque. From Luke's expression, “we came the
following day over against Chios,” it has been conjectured that they were
becalmed; more probably it simply means that, because of the dark moon, they
lay at anchor for the night on the Asian coast opposite the island (Hastings Dictionary
of the Bible, under the word). Herod, when on his way to Agrippa at the
Bosphorus, “continued many days at Chios” and conferred many royal benefactions
upon the inhabitants (Josephus, Ant, XVI, ii, 2).
The soil is sterile (though well cultivated), the climate mild.
Earthquakes are frequent. In the mountains (highest 4,000 ft.) beautiful blue
marble with white veins, and excellent potter's clay, were quarried in
antiquity. In modern times large quantities of ochre are mined. The chief
industry is the culture of the silkworm, the cocoons being sent to Lyons.
Oranges, lemons, almonds, brandy, anise, mastich and leather are also exported.
The inhabitants, who are almost entirely Greeks, number about 60,000. The
capital, Castro, has a population of 15,000. The place where Homer is said to
have collected his pupils around him is still pointed out to the traveler at
the foot of Mt. Epos, near the coast. It is in reality (probably) a very old
sanctuary of Cybele, the Mother of the Gods. The tragic poet Ion, the historian
Theopompus and the sophist Theocritus were natives of Chios. The Chians were
especially famous for their skill in telling stories, and for their levity. A
familiar proverb says that “it is easier to find a green horse than a
sober-minded Sciot” (Conybeare and Howson, XX, 549).
The oldest inhabitants of the island were Leleges, Cretans and Carians,
who were conquered by the Ionians. The latter made Chios one of the most
flourishing states in Ionia. When the Persians overran Asia Minor and oppressed
the Greek colonies, the Chians showed a Pan-Hellenic spirit. They surrendered,
however, to Cyrus in 546 bc. Nevertheless, 46 years later they joined in the
rebellion of Aristagoras against the Persians. In the naval engagement off the
island Lade they fought with 100 ships and displayed great bravery. Again they
fell into the power of Persia; but after the battle of Mycale (479) the Chians
joined the Athenian confederacy. In 412 they sided with the Peloponnesians, in
the 19th year of the war which Athens had been waging against Sparta and her
allies. For this act of treason the Athenians devastated the island. At the end
of the war the Chians revolted from Sparta and, after the battle of Naxos
(376), became an ally of Athens once more. Oppressed now by Athens, as she had
been by Sparta, Chios made an alliance with Thebes in 363 and defended herself
successfully against the Athenian general, Chares; and in 355 Athens was forced
to recognize the island's independence. Later the Chians became friends of the
Romans and in the war with Mithridates were obliged to surrender their ships to
the Pontic king and in addition pay him 2,000 talents.
In 1307 ad Turkish pirates subjugated and laid waste the island. The
Turks themselves became masters of Chios in 1566. In the war of the Greek
revolution the Chians joined the Greeks (February 1821) but were overpowered by
the Turks. The Pasha decreed that the island should be utterly devastated;
23,000 Chians were massacred and 47,000 sold into slavery. Only 5,000 escaped.
A second attempt to regain their freedom was made in 1827, but met with
failure. When the kingdom of Greece was established two years later, Chios was
not included. On April 3, 1881, the island was visited by a terrible
earthquake, the city of Castro being almost entirely destroyed.
Literature
Conybeare and Howson, The Life and Epistles of Paul; W. M.
Ramsay, St. Paul the Traveler; G. H. Gilbert, The Student's Life of
Paul (chiefly concerned with the chronology and order of events in Paul's
life); Eckenbrecher, Die Insel Chios (1845); Pauli, same person (in the Mitteilungen
der Geogr. Gesellschaft in Hamburg, 1880-81).
Source:
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Chios
Mentioned in Act_20:15, an
island in the Egean Sea, about 5 miles distant from the mainland, having a
roadstead, in the shelter of which Paul and his companions anchored for a night
when on his third missionary return journey. It is now called Scio.
Source: Easton’s Bible Dictionary