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Beroea
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Ancient Berea or Beroea A city in in Greece. Modern name is Verria or Boor. In ancient times Berea was a Greek town in the Roman province of Macedonia, about 50 miles west of Thessalonica and about 24 miles from the sea. Berea is mentioned in the Bible where Paul preached on his first journeyto Europe. Acts 17:10, 13; and Acts 20:4 (KJV refers to the city as Berea).

Acts 17:10 - And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming [thither] went into the synagogue of the Jews.

Acts 17:13 - But when the Jews of Thessalonica had knowledge that the word of God was preached of Paul at Berea, they came thither also, and stirred up the people.

Acts 20:4 - And there accompanied him into Asia Sopater of Berea; and of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus; and Gaius of Derbe, and Timotheus; and of Asia, Tychicus and Trophimus.

Beroea (Βέροια). A large city of Macedonia, south of Edessa, and of great antiquity. Reference should be made to the Acts of the Apostles, xvii. 11. - Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities. New York. Harper and Brothers.

BEROEA (Βέροια, Βέρροια: Eth. Βεροαῖος, Steph. B. sub voce Beroeus, Liv. 23.39: Verria), a city of Macedonia, in the N. part of the province (Plin. Nat. 4.10), in the district called Emathia (Ptol. 3.13.39), on a river which flows into the Haliacmon, and upon one of the lower ridges of Mount Bermius (Strab. vii. p.330). It was attacked, though unsuccessfully, by the Athenian forces under Callias, B.C. 432. (Thuc. 1.61.) The statement of Thucydides presents some geographical difficulties, as Beroea lies quite out of the way of the natural route from Pydna to Potidaea. Mr. Grote (Hist. of Greece, vol. vi. p. 96) considers that another Beroea, situated somewhere between Gigonus and Therma, and out of the limits of that Macedonia which Perdiccas governed, may probably be the place indicated by Thucydides. Any remark from Mr. Grote deserves the highest consideration; but an objection presents itself against this view. His argument rests upon the hypothesis that there was another Beroea in Thrace or in Emathia, though we do not know its exact site. There was a town called Beroea in Thrace, but we are enabled to fix its position with considerable certainty, as lying between Philippopolis and Nicopolis (see below), and no single authority is adduced to show that there was a second Beroea in Thrace between Gigonus and Therma.

Beroea surrendered to the Roman consul after the battle of Pydna (Liv. 44.45), and was assigned, with its territory, to the third region of Macedonia (45.29). St. Paul and Silas withdrew to this city from Thessalonica; and the Jewish residents are described as more ingenuous and of a better disposition than those of the latter place, in that they diligently searched the Scriptures to ascertain the truth of the doctrines taught by the Apostle. (Acts, 17.11.) Sopater, a native of this town, accompanied St. Paul to Asia. (Acts, 20.4.) Lucian (Asinus, 34) describes it as a large and populous town. It was situated 30 M. P. from Pella (Peut. Tab.), and 51 M. P from Thessalonica (Itin. Anton.), and is mentioned as one of the cities of the thema of Macedonia. (Constant. de Them. 2.2.) For a rare coin of Beroea, belonging to the time of Alexander the Great, see Rasche, vol. i. p. 1492; Eckhel, vol. ii, p. 69.

Verria stands on the E. slope of the Olympene range of mountains, about 5 miles from the left bank of the Vistr�tza or Inj�kara, just where that river, after having made its way to an immense rocky ravine through the range, enters the great maritime plain. Verria contains about 2000 families, and, from its natural and other advantages, is described as one of the most agreeable towns in Rumil�. The remains of the ancient city are very considerable. Leake (Northern Greece, vol. iii. p. 291), from whom this account of Verria is taken, notices the NW. angle of the wall, or perhaps of the acropolis; these walls are traceable from that point southward to two high towers towards the upper part of the modern town, which appears to have been repaired or rebuilt in Roman or Byzantine times. Only three inscriptions have been discovered. (Leake, l.c.) - Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography, William Smith, LLD, Ed.