Lycaonia

(land of Lycanon, or wolf land), a district of Asia Minor. From what is said in (Acts 14:11) of “the speech of Lycaonia,” it is evident that the inhabitants of the district, in St. Paul’s day, spoke something very different from ordinary Greek. Whether the language was some Syrian dialect or a corrupt form of Greek has been much debated. The fact that the Lycaonians were similar with the Greek mythology is consistent with either supposition. Lycaonia is for the most part a dreary plain, bare of trees, destitute of fresh water, and with several salt lakes. (It was about 20 miles long from east to west, and 13 miles wide. “Cappadocia is on the east, Galatia on the north, Phrygia on the west and Cilicia on the south “Among its chief cities are Derbe, Lystra and Iconium.—ED.) After the provincial system of Rome had embraced the whole of Asia Minor, the boundaries of the provinces were variable; and Lycaonia was, politically, sometimes in Cappadocia, sometimes in Galatia. Paul visited it three times in his missionary tours.