Hierapolis

Hierapolis (Ancient Greek: Ἱεράπολις, lit. "Holy City") was a Hellenistic Greek city in Phrygia, in southwestern Anatolia, Turkey. It was founded in the 3rd century BC, on the site of a Phrygian cult center of the Anatolian mother goddess Cybele, It was famous for its hot springs, its high quality wool fabrics and dyes, and as the birthplace of the Stoic philosopher Epictetus. Its extensive remains are adjacent to modern Pamukkale in Turkey.

The hot springs have been used as a spa since at least the 2nd century BCE, with many patrons retiring or dying there as evidenced by the large necropolis filled with tombs, most famously that of Marcus Aurelius Ammianos, which bears a relief depicting the earliest known example of a crank and rod mechanism, and the Tomb of Philip the Apostle.

Hierapolis was added as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988. The Italian Archaeological Mission of Hierapolis of Phrygia (MAIER) has operated at the site since 1957 and is currently directed by Grazia Semeraro, Professor of Classical Archaeology at the University of Salento.

Geography

Hierapolis is located on a terrace 300 feet above the Lycus river (modern Çürüksu), a tributary of the Büyük Menderes (the classical Meander), across the valley from ancient Laodicea on the Lycus and modern Denizli. It is adjacent to the geological formation of Pamukkale, meaning "cotton castle" in Turkish, famous for its travertine limestone terraces deposited by the hot springs. Hierapolis was located on the main road from Iconium to Ephesus, which facilitated trade with the Aegean region.

Iron Age

In 2016, excavations were carried out in the Northern Necropolis area of Hierapolis at the entrance of the Archaeological Park by the archaeologists from Denizli Hierapolis Archeology Museum. During these excavations, Iron Age settlement structures were unearthed for the first time in Hierapolis. There are round huts belonging to a large settlement believed to cover the side of the Çökelez Mountain overlooking the wide plain of the Lykos River. Before the Greek colony was established the cult area dedicated to Cybele around a cave and the surrounding rocks was the center of the archaic settlement.

Phrygian temple

The Phrygians built a temple dedicated to the mother goddess Cybele on the site probably in the first half of the 7th century BC. This temple, originally used by the indigenous communities living in the Lycus valley would later form the center of Hierapolis. When the Greek colonists arrived and built the city on the pre-existing pattern of settlement, the ancient cult of Cybele was gradually assimilated into the Greek religion.

From well before the time of the Greek colonization, the area was seen as a gateway to the underworld and a place of communication with the underworld deities because of the toxic gasses that emerge from a hot spring inside the cave. According to Strabon and Damascius the temple built on top of the cave was linked to the mother goddess Cybele. The eunuch priests of the Mother Goddess were believed to be the only ones that would not be asphyxiated by the gases of the cave. The hot springs were a major draw to city. After the process of assimilation into Greek culture, it was associated with Hades (Pluton) and Persephone instead of Cybele and the temple was named Plutonium.

Hellenistic city

Hierapolis was founded by the Seleucids in the time of Antiochus I (281–261 BC) and received polis status by Eumenes of Pergamon (197–160 BC). The city was famous for its high quality woollen fabrics and dye products. While the Phrygian inhabitants of the valley were gradually Hellenised, Hierapolis was a Greek foundation from the start.

Antiochus the Great sent 2,000 Jewish families to Lydia and Phrygia from Babylon and Mesopotamia, later joined by more from Judea. The Jewish congregation grew in Hierapolis and has been estimated as high as 50,000 in 62 BC. The city was expanded with the booty from the 190 BC Battle of Magnesia where Antiochus the Great was defeated by the Roman ally Eumenes II. Following the Treaty of Apamea ending the Syrian War, Eumenes annexed much of Asia Minor, including Hierapolis.

Hierapolis became a healing centre where doctors used the thermal springs as a treatment for their patients. The city began minting bronze coins in the 2nd century BC. These coins give the name Hieropolis. It remains unclear whether this name referred to the original temple (ἱερόν, hieron) or honoured Hiera, the wife of Telephus, son of Heracles and the Mysian princess Auge, the supposed founder of Pergamon's Attalid dynasty. This name eventually changed into Hierapolis ("holy city"), according to the Byzantine geographer Stephanus on account of its large number of temples.

Roman Hierapolis

In 133 BC, when Attalus III died, he bequeathed his kingdom to Rome. Hierapolis thus became part of the Roman province of Asia. Unlike other cities in the region, it was never reconstituted as a Roman colony, though some Romanization took place. In AD 17, during the rule of the emperor Tiberius, a major earthquake destroyed the city. The philosopher Epictetus was born as a slave in the city in 50 AD.

Through the influence of the Christian apostle Paul, a church was founded here while he was at Ephesus. The Christian apostle Philip spent the last years of his life here. The town's martyrium was alleged to have been built upon the spot where Philip was crucified in AD 80. His daughters were also said to have acted as prophetesses in the region.