PORPHY´REON
PORPHY´REON (
Πορφυρέων: Eth.
Πορφυρεώνιος, Eth.
Πορφυρεωνίτης), a city of Phoenicia, mentioned by Scylax (p. 42, Hudson) between Berytus and Sidon, and marked in the Jerusalem Itinerary (where it is written Parphirion, p. 583, Wesseling) as 8 Roman miles N. of Berytus. Procopius calls it a village upon the coast. (
Hist. Arc. c. 30, p. 164, Bonn.)
It is mentioned by Polybius (
5.68), from whose narrative we learn that it was in the neighbourhood of Platanus. [
PLATANUS] Hence it seems to be correctly placed at the
Khân Neby Yûnas, where Pococke relates (vol. ii. p. 432) that he saw some broken pillars, a Corinthian capital, and ruins on each side of a mountain torrent.
In the side of the mountain, at the back of the
Khân, there are extensive excavated tombs, evidently once belonging to an ancient city. The Crusaders regarded
Haifa as the ancient Porphyreon; but there is no authority that a city of this name ever stood in the bay of
‘Akka. Justinian built a church of the Virgin at Porphyreon (Procop.
de Aedif. 5.9, p. 328); and it was a place of sufficient importance to be made a bishopric under the metropolitan of Tyre. (Robinson,
Biblical Researches, vol. iii. p. 432.)
