SYRTIS MINOR

The 'Syrtis Minor' is the Latin name used in Ancient Rome for the Gulf of Gabes in the Mediterranean Sea along the coast of North Africa. It spans roughly from modern day Tripoli to Sfax, Tunisia. Syrtis is referred to in the Bible in Acts 27:10-19, which tells the story of the Apostle Paul being sent in chains to Rome to stand trial before Caesar Nero. The crew of his ship was worried about being driven by a storm into Syrtis, and took precautions to prevent it, resulting, eventually, in being shipwrecked on the island of Malta in the Mediterranean Sea.