Bible Dictionary
COS
Cos was an island in the Aegean Sea off the coast of Asia Minor. Paul visited it during his third missionary journey, and it was also known as a center of commerce and a Jewish community.
Definition
Cos was a mountainous island off the coast of Caria in Asia Minor, one of the Sporades, and also the name of its capital. It was a flourishing center of commerce, industry, medicine, and Jewish life in the Aegean.
Biblical Usage
Paul visited Cos during his third missionary journey. The island is also mentioned in connection with Jewish relations and communities.
Historical Background
Cos was known for wine, wheat, ointments, silk, clothing, and other products. It possessed a hospital and medical school, was associated with Hippocrates, and became a commercial and financial center in the eastern Mediterranean.
Related Figures
Historical Bible Dictionaries
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>kos (Kos, "summit"; the King James Version Coos): An island off the coast of Caria, Asia Minor, one of the Sporades, mountainous in the southern half, with ridges extending to a height of 2,500 ft.; identified with the modern Stanchio. It was famous in antiquity for excellent wine, amphorae, wheat, ointments, silk and other clothing (Coae vestes). The capital was also called Cos. It possessed a famous hospital and medical school, and was the birthplace of Hippocrates (the father of medicine), of Ptolemy Philadelphus, and of the celebrated painter Apelles. The large plane tree in the center of the town (over 2,000 years old) is called "the tree of Hippocrates" to this day. The older capital, Astypalaea, was in the western part of the island, the later (since 366 BC) in the eastern part. From almost every point can be seen beautiful landscapes and picturesque views of sea and land and mountain.</p><p>Cos was one of the six Dorian colonies. It soon became a flourishing place of commerce and industry; later, like Corinth, it was one of the Jewish centers of the Aegean, as well as one of the financial centers of the commercial world in the eastern Mediterranean. Among the benefactors of the people of Cos was Herod the Great. It is mentioned in connection with Paul's third missionary journey in Ac 21:1, and in its relations with the Jews in 1 Macc 15:23; Ant, XIV, vii, 2; x, 15; BJ, I, xxi. 11. For a list of works on the island see Paton-Hicks, Inscriptions of Cos, ix.</p><p>J. E. Harry</p>