84 details in Acts verified by historical and archaeological research

Summary:

Among the precise, relevant and proven historical details listed in Colin Hermer's book, summarized below by Christian apologist Tim McGrew, we find:

1. A natural crossing between correctly named ports. Mt. Casius, which is south of Seleucia, is within sight of Cyprus (Acts 13:4-5);

2. The proper port (Perga) along the direct destination of a ship crossing from Cyprus (Acts 13:13);

3. The proper location of Iconium in Phrygia rather than in Lycaonia (Acts 14:6).  This identification was doubted because it challenges some sources reflecting boundary changes from a different date, but the ethnic inclusion of Iconium in Phrygia is confirmed by the geographical distribution of Neo-Phrygian texts and onomastic study;

4. The highly unusual but correct heteroclitic declension of the name Lystra. (Acts 14:6) This is paralleled in Latin documents.

5. The Lycaonian language spoken in Lystra (Acts 14:11).  This was unusual in the cosmopolitan, Hellenized society in which Paul moved. But the preservation of the local language is attested by a gloss in Stephanus of Byzantium, who explains that “Derbe” is a local word for “juniper.” Hemer lists many other native names in the Lystra district;

6. Two gods known to be so associated—Zeus and Hermes (Acts 14:12). These are paralleled epigraphically from Lystra itself, and the grouping of the names of Greek divinities is peculiarly characteristic of the Lystra district;

7. The proper port, Attalia, which returning travelers would use. (Acts 14:25) This was a coasting port, where they would go to intercept a coasting vessel, by contrast with Perga (Acts 13:13), a river port;

8.  The correct order of approach (Derbe and then Lystra) from the Cilician Gates (Acts 15:41; 16:1);

9. The form of the name “Troas,” which was current in the first century (Acts 16:8). The name was later changed to Eski Stambul in Turkish;

10. The place of a conspicuous sailors’ landmark, Samothrace, dominated by a 5000 foot mountain (Acts 6:11);

11. The proper description of Philippi as a Roman colony, and the correct identification of its seaport as Nea Polis, which is attested both in manuscripts and in numismatic evidence (Acts 16:11-12);

12. The right location of the Gangites, a small river near Philippi (Acts 16:13);

13. The identification of Thyatira as a center of dyeing (Acts 16:14). This is attested by at least seven inscriptions of the city. 

14. The proper designation for the magistrates of the colony as strategoi (Acts 16:22), following the general term archontes in v. 19;

15. The proper locations (Amphipolis and Apollonia, cities about 30 miles apart) where travelers would spend successive nights on this journey to Thessalonica (Acts 17:1);

16. The presence of a synagogue in Thessalonica (Acts 17:1). This is attested by a late 2nd AD inscription.  

17. The proper term (“politarchs”) used of the magistrates in Thessalonica (Acts 17:6);

18. The correct implication that sea travel is the most convenient way of reaching Athens, with the favoring “Etesian” winds of the summer sailing season (Acts 17:14-15);

19. The abundant presence of images in Athens (Acts 17:16);

20. The reference to a synagogue in Athens (Acts 17:17);

21. The depiction of philosophical debate in the Agora, which was characteristic of Athenian life (Acts 17:17);

22. The use of the correct Athenian slang word for Paul (spermologos, “seed picker,” 17:18) as well as for the court (Areios pagos, “the hill of Ares” (Acts 17:19);

23. The proper characterization of the Athenian character (Acts 17:21)

24. An altar to an “unknown god.” (Acts 17:23) Such altars are mentioned by Pausanias and Diogenes Laertius. Note also the aptness of Paul’s reference to “temples made with hands,” (Acts 17:24), considering that Paul was speaking in a location dominated by the Parthenon and surrounded by other shrines of the finest classical art.

25. The proper reaction of Greek philosophers, who denied the bodily resurrection. (Acts 17:32) See the words of Apollo in Aeschylus, Eumenides 647-48. 

26. The term “Areopagites,” derived from areios pagos, as the correct title for a member of the court (Acts 17:34);

27. The presence of a synagogue in Corinth (Acts 18:4);

28. The correct designation of Gallio as proconsul, resident in Corinth (Acts 18:12). This reference nails down the time of the events to the period from the summer of 51 to the spring of 52;

29. The bema (speaker's platform or judgment seat), which overlooks Corinth’s forum (Acts 18:16);

30.  The name “Tyrannus,” which is attested from Ephesus in first-century inscriptions (Acts 19:9);

31. The shrines and images of Artemis (Acts 19:24). Terracotta images of Artemis (=Diana) abound in the archaeological evidence;

32. The expression “the great goddess Artemis,” a formulation attested by inscriptions at Ephesus (Acts 19:27);

33. The fact that the Ephesian theater was the meeting place of the city (Acts 19:29). This is confirmed by inscriptional evidence dating from AD. 104;

34. The correct title “grammateus” for the chief executive magistrate in Ephesus (Acts 19:35). This is amply attested in inscriptional evidence;

35. The proper title of honor “neokoros,” commonly authorized by the Romans for major cities that possessed an official temple of the imperial cult (Acts 19:35);

36. The term “he theos,” the formal designation of the goddess (Acts 19:37);

37. he proper term (“agoraioi hemerai”) for the assizes, those holding court under the proconsul to describe the assizes and the magistrates who held court under the direction of the proconsul (Acts 19:38);

38. The use of the plural “anthupatoi,” (Acts 19:38), which is either a remarkable coincidence of expression or else a deliberate reference to the fact that at that precise time, the fall of AD 54, two men were conjointly exercising the functions of proconsul because their predecessor, Silanus, had been murdered. See Tacitus, Annals 13.1; Dio Cassius 61.6.4-5. This is one point where Ramsay’s work has been superseded in a way that reflects great credit on Luke’s accuracy.

39. The “regular” assembly, as the precise phrase is attested elsewhere (Acts 19:39);

40. The use of a precise ethnic designation, “Beroiaios” (Acts 20:4). This is attested in the local inscriptions;

41. The naming of towns from Assos to Mitylene (Acts 20:14-15)

42. The employment of the characteristic ethnic term “Asianos,” meaning “Greeks in Asia.” (Acts 20:4) 

43. The name of the town in the neuter plural (Patara)(Acts 21:1);

44. Mention of the sea route off Cyprus, favoured by persistent north-westerly winds (Acts 21:3);

45. The description of the journey between the towns of Ptolemais and Caesarea (Acts 21:7-8);.42. a description of a typically Jewish act of piety(Acts 21:24);

46. A description of the Jewish law forbidding Gentiles to enter the temple in Jerusalem (Acts 21:28);

47. The permanent stationing of a Roman cohort(chiliarch) at Antonia to suppress any disturbance during the festivals (Acts 21:31);

48. The staircase used by the guards at the time (Acts 21:35);

49. The common method of obtaining Roman citizenship at the time: paying a large sum of money (Acts 22:28);

50. The reaction of the court when it learned that they had bound a Roman citizen (Paul), not a Tarsian (Acts 22:29).

51. The mention of Ananias, the high priest of the time (Acts 23:2);

52. The location of Antipatris, a natural stopping place on the road to Caesarea (Acts 23:31);

53. The jurisdiction of Cilicia (Acts 23:34);

54. The provincial criminal procedure at the time (Acts 24:1-9): description of the indictment by Tertullus;

55. The name Porcius Festus (Acts 24:27) which corresponds exactly to that given by Flavius Josephus;

56. The right of appeal for Roman citizens (Acts 25:11);

57. The correct legal formula (Acts 25:18);

58. The characteristic form of reference to the emperor (Acts 25:26);

59. The best sea routes, which then bordered Cilicia and Pamphylia, for sailing to Myra (Acts 27:4-5);

60. The main port where to find a ship to Italy (Acts 27:5-6);

61. The slow passage to Knidos, facing the north-westerly wind (Acts 27:7);

62. The best route to take, taking the winds into account (Acts 27:7);

63. The location of Fair Havens near the town of Lasaia (Acts 27:8);

64. Fair Havens was a poorly sheltered port in winter (Acts 27:12);

65. The usual tendency of southerly winds to suddenly become violent winds (Acts 27:13);

66. The precise location and name of the island of Cauda (Acts 27:16);

67. The appropriate maneuvers for the safety of the ship (Acts 27:16);

68. The ability to foresee storms when drifting on the Adriatic (Acts 27:27), confirmed by many experienced Mediterranean navigators;

69. The precise term (Bolisantes) for taking depth measurements (Acts 27:28);

70. The correct depth of water near Malta is 15-20 fathoms, i.e. 27 to 36 meters (Acts 27:28);

71. The strict responsibility of the guards to prevent a prisoner from escaping (Acts 27:42);

72. The local inhabitants and the superstitions of the time (Acts 28:4-6);

73. The appropriate title of protos tēs nēsou (Acts 28:7);

74. The mention of Rhegium as a refuge to wait for a favourable south wind to cross the Straits of Messina (Acts 28:13);

75. The location of the Forum of Appius and the Three Taverns, stages on the Appian Way (Acts 28:15);

76. The method of guarding some prisoners in Rome (Acts 28:16);

77. The conditions of imprisonment, including the cost of lodgings, paid by the prisoner (Acts 28:30-31).

etc.

There is another major point to consider: Historians have not been able to detect any errors in the Book of Acts. This is why the historian A.N. Sherwin-White observed: "For the Acts of the Apostles, the confirmation of historicity is overwhelming.... Any attempt to reject its historicity must now appear absurd. Roman historians have long taken it for granted."

Going further:

The Book of Acts in the Setting of Hellenistic History by Colin Hemer, Open Source, 1990

More information:

• Video: The book of Acts is History, not Fiction (18 minutes).
• Video by dr. Tim McGrew: The Reliability of the Book of Acts
• Video "3 archeological finds that confirm the book of Acts"