Achaea

Achaea or Achaia is a district on the northern coast of the Peloponnese, stretching from the mountain ranges of Erymanthus and Cyllene on the south to a narrow strip of fertile land on the north, bordering the Corinthian Gulf[?], into which the mountain Panachaicus[?] projects. Achaea is bounded on the west by the territory of Elis, on the east by that of Sicyon, which, however, was sometimes included in it.

The origin of the name has given rise to much speculation; one theory is that the Achaeans were driven back into this region by the Dorian invaders of the Peloponnese. Another Achaea, in the south of Thessaly, called sometimes Achaea Phthiotis, has been supposed to be the cradle of the race.

In Roman times the name of the province of Achaea was given to the whole of Greece, except Thessaly, Epirus, and Acarnania. It is in this latter enlarged meaning that the name is always used in the New Testament (e.g., Acts 18:12, 27; 19:21; Romans 15: 26; 16:5).

See also: Achaeans.

This entry uses text from an encyclopedia of 1911