Rhegium

RHEGIUM (now Reggio) was an old Greek colony near the SW. extremity of Italy, and close to the point from which there is the shortest passage to Sicily. Messana (modern Messina) on the opposite side is but six miles distant from Rhegium. The whirlpool of Charybdis and the rock of Scylla are in this neighbourhood, and were a terror to the ancient navigators with their small vessels. Rhegium was in consequence a harbour of importance, where favourable winds were awaited. The situation of the city exposed it to changes of government. In the 3rd cent. BC Rome entered into a special treaty with it. Soon after 90 BC it acquired municipal status. In NT times the population was mixed Graeco-Latin. Greek was spoken here throughout imperial times. St. Paul's ship waited here one day for a favourable S. wind to take her to Puteoli. Ac.28.13 describes how the ship had to tack (' make a circuit') to get from Syracuse to Rhegium, owing to the changing winds.[Article: Dictionary of the Bible, J.Hastings, 2nd Ed., T&T.Clark, 1963 - A.So. - F.C.G.]