Patara

Related Category: Ancient History, Middle East

(păt´ərə), ancient Mediterranean port of Lycia, S Asia Minor (now Turkey). It was a Dorian colony, and became the seat of the Lycian League (167 B.C.–A.D. 43). According to the Acts of the Apostles, St. Paul visited Patara. Extensive excavation of the city's ruins only began in the late 20th cent.