Philippi

—Philippian /fi lip"ee euhn/, adj., n.

/fi lip"uy, fil"euh puy'/, n.

a ruined city in NE Greece, in Macedonia: Octavian and Mark Antony defeated Brutus and Cassius here, 42 B.C.; the site of one of the first Christian churches in Europe, founded by St. Paul.

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Ruined hill town, northern central Macedonia, Greece.

In с 357 BC it was fortified by King Philip II to control nearby gold mines. In 42 BC it was the scene of the decisive Roman battle in which Mark Antony and Octavian (later Augustus) defeated Brutus and Cassius, the leading assassins of Julius Caesar. Many Christian ruins, especially of the 5th–6th century AD, are spread over the site. St. Paul preached the gospel to Christian converts there.

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▪ Greece

modern  Fílippoi 

      hill town in the nomós (department) of Kavála, Greece, overlooking the coastal plain and the bay at Neapolis (Kavála). Philip II of Macedon fortified the Thasian settlement called Crenides in 356 BC to control neighbouring gold mines. He derived a fortune from the gold mines but treated the city, renamed after him, as a “free city” with its own Greek constitution.

      In 42 BC Philippi was the site of the decisive Roman battle in which Mark Antony (Antony, Mark) and Octavian (later the emperor Augustus) defeated Brutus and Cassius, the leading assassins of Julius Caesar. Brutus and Cassius, whose forces roughly equaled those of their opponents, lay astride the Via Egnatia to the west of Philippi, their position being partly protected by a marsh. Antony made a successful attack on the camp of Cassius, who, not knowing that Brutus's forces had successfully assailed Octavian's camp, committed suicide. About three weeks later, on October 23, Brutus, against his better judgment, fought a second action in which he was routed; despairing of restoring the republican cause, he too took his own life. After the battle a colony for Roman veterans was started at Philippi, and this was later reinforced by Augustus.

      The Letter of Paul to the Philippians was addressed to Christian converts in Philippi whom he had visited in his second and third missionary journeys. Many ruins, especially of the imperial epoch, are spread over the site, most notably a theatre and four basilicas.

▪ West Virginia, United States

      city, seat (1844) of Barbour county, northeastern West Virginia, U.S. It lies in the Tygart Valley River valley, about 13 miles (21 km) south of Grafton. Settled in 1780, it was early called Anglin's Ford and then Booths Ferry until it was chartered in 1844 and named for Philip Pendleton Barbour (Barbour, Philip P), associate justice (1836–41) of the U.S. Supreme Court. Philippi is known primarily as the site of an important early battle of the American Civil War. Fought on June 3, 1861, the engagement was initiated by Union troops who, led by Colonel B.F. Kelley, were attempting to protect the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. Locally the battle is called the Philippi Races because of the speed with which the Confederate forces under Colonel George A. Porterfield retreated. A marker at the site on Broaddus Hill, now on the campus of Alderson-Broaddus College, describes it as the “First Land Battle between North and South.”

      Alderson-Broaddus College, a private, coeducational institution affiliated with the Baptist church, was founded as Broaddus College in 1871; it was moved to Philippi in 1909 and merged with Alderson Junior College in 1931. A covered bridge spanning the Tygart Valley River is believed to be the nation's only covered two-lane bridge in current use on a federal highway. Originally built in 1852, it was used by both sides during the Battle of Philippi in the Civil War, was reinforced in 1937, and, after it burned in 1989, was restored (1989–91). Tygart Lake State Park is just to the north. Coal mining, timber, plastics, and mixed farming are the city's economic mainstays. Inc. city, 1905. Pop. (1990) 3,132; (2000) 2,870.

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