Still the inner lands of Pontus appear to have been Christianized to a considerable extent during the 3rd cent, by the work of Gregory Tliaumatuigus and other less famous missionaries. Such martyrs as Theodorus Tiro at Amasia, Theodorus the Soldier at HeracleopolisJ and Kukhaita, with many others,§ are mentioned in the latest persecutions under Dio- cletian, Maximian, and Licinius. Uefore the time of Constantine the ecclesiastical system in all the districts of Pontus had been organized to a very considerable det,'ree of completeness, not indeed so perfectly as in Pisidia and Lycaonia, but more thoroughly than in Galatia (see Galatia, vol. ii. p. 85). I'or example, Hieiodes gives a list of hve cities in Pontus Polemoniacus, and three of these were represented at the Council of Niciea in A.D. 325. But, as a whole, the evidence points to the 3rd and even tlie 4th cents, as the period when Christianity spread through inner Pontus, while
• Viginti i7«<)(/ii«, editloprinccps ; ciyinliquin/iue, conjecture.
1 Gregory Nyss. fit. Greg. Thaum. xlvi. pp. 898, !I54 (ed. Jfiitne) "^ ^
J Wrongly called llerncleia In the extant Ada (the best beinif the Armenian, tnin8lat«<l by Conybearc, Mimuiiienlt nj Sarlu Ckrieluoiit;/, p. 224) : it bore the double name Seba-sto- -■•oli.s-HeraeleoitoIia, and waa not far from Kukhaita; see ^cM Ulncturv.m, 7 Feb. vol. H. pp. 23, 891.
8 In the Martiiroti>g. Uieroui/m. the martyrs' names are often *«r>' corrupt (see Duchesne's Index, tt.vo. Amasia, Xeocaosarea, ^baatia) ; see also the Syriac ilartyrology, IStb Aug.
the 1st and 2nd cents, were the time when the sea. coast, i.e. the province Pontus, was evangelized. Hence it is on the coast, at Sinope, that we lind an early martyr, like Phocas the bishop of Tiajan'a persecution.*
About A.D. 20.') Diocletian reorganized the pro- vincial .system and broke up the large provinces. The Pontic districts were then completely re- arranged. The province Pontus was partitioned betw-een Paphlagonia and Diospontus. The latter, which was afterwards named Helenopontus, after the mother of Constantine, contained also parts of I'aphlagonia, Pontus Galaticus, and Polemoniacus. Pontus Polemoniacus retained its name, but was reduced in size, losing Zela to Diospontus, and Sebasteia to Armenia Minor. Pontus Galaticus disappeared entirely, losing Amasia, etc., to Dios- pimtus, Sebastopoiis-llcracleopolis to Armenia Minor, Comana, Ibora, and Zela to Polemoniacus, and probably some parts to Galatia the Byzantine province. T'he ecclesiastical organization followed this new arrangement. W. M. Ramsay.
POOL is the tr" in OT of three Heb. words.— 1. Dj.^ 'ftgam, ' pond ' of stagnant or muddy water, from [c;n] to be troubled or muddy. Tlie ' ponds,' RV 'pools,' of Egj-pt (Ex 7" 8' OLupuyes, paludes), were probably the sheets of stagnant water left by the inundation of the Nile. In Ps 107^ 114' the word is rendered 'standing water,' RV 'a pool of water ' [\iix.vn, stagnum) ; in Is 14«> 35' iV^ 42'^" ' pool ' or 'pools' (?Xos, pains, stagnum); and in Jer 51" it is put for 'reeds,' or reedy places ((Tv(rTiixa.Ta, paludes). In Is 19'", whilst the Vulg. renders by lacima, the LXX has i'CSos, ' beer ' (see art. Fl.SH- PooL). 2. .njij? mUcvch, or njipp mikvah ; a place where waters How together, from .up (Niph. 'assemble'). The word is tr' differently upon each occasion of its use. In Gn 1'" it is rendered the 'gathering together' (of the waters) when the earth and the seas were created (to. avariixara, cungregationcs [aquarum]). In Ex 7'" the 'pools,' KV 'ponds' (tA fXi), lacus), of Egypt were probably reservoirs for the storage of water, as opposed to tlie stagnant water ('(!(/«)«) left by the inundation. In Lv 11*" it is translated 'plenty,' ItV ' gatlierinfj' (of water) {(rmayuyn, congregatio [aquarum ]j. In Is 22" the 'ditcii,' KV ' reservoir' (Coup, lai-us), made between the two walls at Jerusalem appears to have been formed by damming up the valley.
3. .1J15 hc.ri'khnh, a ' pool,' or an ' artificial tank ' hence the Arabic birkel, and the Spanish al-bcrca. The LXX generally tr. the « onl by KoKvix^riBpa, but in four instances (2 S 2'^ 4'-, 1 K 22-'», 2 lv 2U'-''') by •rpTixi) and in one (Ca 7'') by Xifivri. The Vulg. has/Jwc/n/i and once (Neh 2''') aqua-durtus. In the IS'T (Jn 5-- ■'■'9') KoXiiM/^>)fl/)a is useil. In Ps 84", where the plural occurs, AV' reads 'lilleth the pools,' whilst KV has 'covereth it with blessings' {i.e. bcrakludh instead of herekhCth) ; with this may be compared the ' valley of Berachah,' /coiXis evXcr/lai, vallis bene- diitiojiis, 2 Ch 20-"'.
The pools were formed by building a nam across a valley, or by excavation ; and they were supplied by surface ilrainage, by springs, or by watei brought from a distance iiy conduits. They allowed the water to deposit any sediment it con- tained ; and they were often connected with aqueducts and baths. They also frequently sup- plied water for irrigation, and wore open to the air. riie pools near towns were usually rectangular in form, and had their sides lined with watertight cement. They were somellmes surrounded by porticoes {aroai), in wliich bathers un<lre8sed them- selves and lounged before or after bathing. The
• The best Acfa are the Armenian in Conybeare'e Monvv^entt of Etu-bj Christianity, p. 103 ; see also Acta Sanctoruvt, July U, vol. iii. p. 600 ff .
POOR
pool of Siloam had four such porticoes, and remains of them have been found by excavation ; Bethesda, which waa a duuhle jiool, had live porticoes (Jii 5-), one on eacli of the four sides, and tlie lifth in the middle between the two pools.