Bible Dictionaries
Italy

Holman Bible Dictionary

(iht' uh lee) The boot-shaped peninsula between Greece and Spain which extends from the Alps on the north to the Mediterranean Sea on the south. Its long narrow shape contributed to its ethnic diversity, with so many Greeks occupying the southern part that it was called “Great Greece” by the citizens of Rome. Through the Punic Wars with Carthage (264-146 B.C.), the city of Rome extended its control over the whole country and eventually conquered the entire Mediterranean. The Roman Empire was created when Octavian became Augustus Caesar (27 B.C.) after the murder of Julius Caesar and of the demise of the Republic (44 B.C.). Italy is named in the New Testament in Acts 18:2; Acts 27:1 ,Acts 27:1,27:6 and Hebrews 13:24 .

John McRay