| Hierapolis-Pamukkale * | |
|---|---|
| Country | Turkey |
| Type | Mixed |
| Criteria | iii, iv, vii |
| Reference | 485 |
| Region ** | Europe and Asia |
| Inscription history | |
| Inscription | 1988 (12th Session) |
| * Name as inscribed on World Heritage List ** Region as classified by UNESCO |
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Hierapolis (Greek: Ἱεράπολις 'holy city') was the ancient Greco-Roman city which sat on top of hot springs located in south western Turkey near Denizli.
Hierapolis is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The hot springs there have been used as a spa since the 2nd century BCE, and people came to soothe their ailments, with many of them retiring or dying here. The large necropolis is filled with sarcophagi, including the Sarcophagus of Marcus Aurelius Ammianos.
The great baths were constructed with huge stone blocks without the use of cement, and consisted of various closed or open sections linked together. There are deep niches in the inner section of the bath, library, gymnasium and other closed or open locations. The complex, which was constructed in the 2nd century BCE, constitutes a good example of vault type architecture. The complex is now an archaeological museum.
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Hierapolis is located adjacent to Pamukkale.
There are only a few historical facts known about the origin of the city. No traces of the presence of Hittites or Persians have been found. The Phrygians built a temple dedicated to Hieron, probably in the first half of the 3rd century BCE. This temple would later form the centre of Hierapolis. It was already used by the citizens of the nearby town Laodiceia, a city built by Antiochus II Theos in 261-253 BCE.
Hierapolis was founded as a thermal spa early in the 2nd century BCE and given by the Romans to Eumenes II, king of Pergamon in 190 BCE. The city was named after the existing temple, or possibly to honour Hiera, wife of Telephus — son of Heracles by a Mysian princess Auge - the mythical founder of the Attalid dynasty. The city was expanded with proceeds from the booty from the Battle of Magnesia in 190 BCE, where Antiochus the Great was defeated by Eumenes II, who had sided with the Romans. Thus Hierapolis became part of the Pergamon kingdom.
Hierapolis became a healing centre where doctors used the hot thermal springs as a treatment for their patients. The city began issuing bronze coins in the 2nd century BCE. These coins give the name Hieropolis (town of the temple Hieron). This name eventually changed into Hierapolis (Holy city).[1]
In 133 BCE, when Attalus III (the last Attalid king of Pergamon) died, he bequeathed his kingdom to Rome. Hierapolis thus became part of the Roman province of Asia. The Hellenistic city was slowly transformed into a Roman town.
In the year 17 CE, during the rule of emperor Tiberius, an earthquake destroyed the city. In 60 CE, during the rule of emperor Nero, an even more severe earthquake left the city completely in ruins. Afterwards the city was rebuilt in Roman style with the financial support of the emperor. It was during this period that the city attained its present form. The theatre was built in 129 CE when the emperor Hadrian visited the town. It was renovated under Septimus Severus (193-211 CE). When emperor Caracalla visited the town in 215 CE he bestowed on the city the much coveted title of Neocoros, according the city certain privileges and the right of sanctuary.
This was the golden age of Hierapolis. Thousands of people came to benefit from the medicinal properties of the hot springs. New building projects were started; two Roman baths, a gymnasium, several temples, a main street with a colonnade and a fountain at the hot spring. Hierapolis became one of the most prominent cities in the Roman empire in the fields of the arts, philosophy and trade. The town grew to 100,000 inhabitants and became wealthy. According to the geographer Stephanus of Byzantium, the city was given its name because of the large number of temples it contained (again a sign of wealth).
Antiochus the Great had sent 2,000 Jewish families to Lydia and Phrygia from Babylon and Mesopotamia, later joined by Jews from Palestine. A Jewish congregation grew in Hierapolis with their own more or less independent organizations. It is estimated that the Jewish population in the region was as high as 50,000 in 62 BCE.[2] Several sarcophagi in the necropolis attest to their presence.
Through the influence of the Christian apostle Paul, a church was founded here while he was at Ephesus.[3] The Christian apostle Philip spent the last years of his life here.[4] In 80 CE, he was martyred by crucifixion and was buried here. His daughters remained active as prophetesses in the region. The Martyrium was built on the spot where Philip was crucified.
During his campaign in 370 CE against the Sassanid king Shapur II, the Roman emperor Valens made the last ever imperial visit to the city.
During the 4th century CE, the Christians filled the Plutonium (a sacred cave, see below) with stones, suggesting that Christianity had become the dominant religion and that earlier religions were suppressed. In 531 CE the Byzantine emperor Justinian raised the bishop of Hierapolis to the rank of metropolitan. The town was made a see of Phrygia Pacatiana.[5] The Roman baths were transformed to a Christian basilica. During the Byzantine period the city continued to flourish and also remained an important centre for Christianity.
In the early 7th century CE, the town was devastated by Persian armies and again by a destructive earthquake, from which it took a long time to recover.
In the 12th century CE, the area came under the control of the Seljuk sultanate of Konya. In 1190 CE, crusaders under Frederick Barbarossa fought with the Byzantines and conquered the town. About thirty years later, the town was abandoned and the Seljuks built a castle in the 13th century CE. The city was abandoned in the late 14th century CE.
In 1354 CE, the great Thracian Earthquake toppled the remains of the ancient city. The ruins were slowly covered with a thick layer of limestone.
Hierapolis was first excavated by the German archaeologist Carl Humann (1839–1896) during the months June to July 1887. His excavation notes were published in his 1889 book Altertümer von Hierapolis.[6] His excavations were rather general and included a number of drilling holes. He would gain fame for his discovery in Pergamon of the Pergamon Altar which was reconstructed in the Pergamon Museum in Berlin.
Excavations began in earnest in 1957 when Italian scientists, led by Paolo Verzone, began working on the site. These studies continued into 2008 when a restoration of the site began. For example, large columns along the main street near the gate named after Domitian, that had been toppled by earthquakes, were erected again. A number of houses from the Byzantine period were unearthed, including an 11th century courtyard house.
Many statues and friezes were transported to museums in London, Berlin and Rome. In 1970, the Hierapolis Museum was built on the site of the former Roman baths.
After the large white limestone formations of the hot springs became famous again in the 20th century, it was turned into a tourist attraction named Cotton Castle (Pamukkale). The ancient city was rediscovered by travelers, but also partially destroyed by hotels that were built there. The new buildings were removed in recent years; however the hot water pool of one hotel was retained, and, for a fee, it is possible to swim amongst ancient stone remains.
The Hellenistic city was built with streets running parallel or perpendicular to the main street. This main street ran from north to south close to a cliff with the travertine terraces. It was about 1,500 metres (4,900 ft) long, 13.5 metres (44 ft) wide and was bordered on both sides by an arcade. At both ends of the main street there was a monumental gate, flanked by square towers built of massive blocks of stone. The side streets were about 3 metres (9.8 ft) wide. There is another gate, the Domitian gate, close to the northern city gate. This triumphal arch, flanked by circular towers, consists of three arches and was built by proconsul Frontinius.
The first theatre was constructed to the northeast above the northern gate, when the ancient city was destroyed by earthquake in 17 CE.
After the earthquake of 60 CE and during the reign of emperor Titus Flavius Vespasianus, a new theatre was hollowed out of the slope of the hill further to the east, using the remains and the seats of the old theatre. There were alterations during the reign of emperors Hadrian and Septimius Severus. In 352 CE, it underwent a thorough restoration and was adapted for water shows.
There is an inscription in the theatre that relates to the emperor Hadrian. Emperor Septimus Severus is portrayed, together with his wife, Julia Domna, and his two sons, Caracalla and Geta, in a relief on the scene of the god Jupiter, who is shown seated on his throne. Emperor Septimius Severus also had a number of new buildings constructed in Hierapolis in gratitude for the sophist Antipater of Hierapolis, his private secretary and the tutor of his two sons.
There were four entrances (vomitoria) to the theatre, each with six statues in niches, flanked by marble columns. The auditorium (cavea) consists of stacked seating with a capacity of 15,000 and is divided in two by a horizontal corridor (diazoma) and featured an imperial box. The lower part originally had twenty rows, and the upper part twenty five rows. But only thirty rows altogether have survived. The auditorium is segmented into nine aisles by means of eight vertical passageways with steps. The proscenium consisted of two stories with ornately decorated niches off to the sides. Several statues, reliefs (depicting Apollo, Dionysios and Artemis) and decorative elements have been excavated by the Italian archaeological team and can be seen in the local museum.
The theatre is now under restoration. Many reliefs and statues, depicting mythological figures, have been excavated from the site.
A temple was raised to Apollo Lairbenos, the principal god of Hierapolis, during the Hellenistic period (as can be seen on coins from Hierapolis).[7] Apollo was linked to the ancient Anatolian sungod Lairbenos and the god of oracles Kareios. But ancient worship also centered on Cybele, Artemis, Pluto and Poseidon. Now only the foundations of the Hellenistic temple remain. The temple stood within a peribolos (15 by 20 metres (49 by 66 ft)) in Doric style. As the back of the temple was built against the hill, the peribolos was surrounded on three sides by marble Doric order columns. The new temple was reconstructed in the 3rd century in Roman fashion, but also by recycling the stone blocks from the older temple. It has a smaller area, and now only its marble floor remains.
The temple of Apollo has deliberately been built over an active fault passing underneath, giving rise to the cave of the Plutonium, as shown by seismological investigations.[8] Temples dedicated to Apollo were often built over sites with geological activity, such as his most famous temple, the temple at Delphi.[9]
When the Christian faith was introduced as the official religion in the 4th century CE, this temple underwent a number of desicartions. Part of the peribolos was dismantled to make room for a large Nympheum.
Next to this temple, within the sacred area, is the oldest local sanctuary, called the Plutonium (in Greek Πλουτωνειον = "the place of Pluto") or Chronion (named after Cronus), or Charonion (named after Charon), a shrine to the god of the underworld. The Plutonium was described by several ancient writers including Strabo, Cassius Dio, and Damascius. It is a small cave, just large enough for one person to enter through a fenced entrance, beyond which stairs go down, and from which emerges suffocating carbon dioxide gas caused by underground geologic activity. Behind the 3 square metres (32 sq ft) roofed chamber is a deep cleft in the rock, through which fast flowing hot water passes releasing a sharp smelling gas.[10] Because people died in the gas, people thought that the gas was sent by Pluto, god of the underworld.
During the early years of the town, castrated priests of Cybele descended into the Plutonium, crawled over the floor to pockets of oxygen or held their breath. Carbon dioxide is heavier than air and so tends to settle in hollows. They then came up to show that they were immune to the gas. People believed a miracle had happened and that therefore the priests were infused with superior powers and had divine protection.[11]
An enclosed area of 2,000 square metres (22,000 sq ft) stood in front of the entrance. It was covered by a thick layer of suffocating gas, killing everyone who dared to enter this area. The priests sold birds and other animals to the visitors, so that they could try out how deadly this enclosed area was. Visitors could (for a fee) ask questions of the oracle of Pluto. This provided a considerable source of income for the temple. The entrance to the Plutonium was closed off during the Christian times.[12][13][14][15]
The Nymphaeum is located inside the sacred area, in front of the Apollo temple. It dates from the 2nd century CE. It was a shrine of the nymphs, a monumental fountain distributing water to the houses of the city via an ingenious network of pipes. The Nymphaeum was repaired in the 5th century CE during the Byzantine era. The retaining wall was built with elements from the peribolos of the Apollonian temple. By doing so, the early Christians cut off the view of the pagan temple. The Byzantine gate was constructed in the 6th century CE.
Now only the back wall and the two side walls remain. The walls and the niches in the walls were decorated with statues. The Italian archaeological team has excavated two statues of priestesses, which now on display at the local museum.
The Nymphaeum has a U-shaped plan and sits on the continuation of the main colonnaded road. The stone pavement columns and other architectural remains mark a great part of the colonnaded road which ran through in a north-south direction. It has statues and shops around it, underneath which passed canals. The road had a base covered with stone blocks, now under the pool of the Private Administration. There are two huge doors which were constructed at the end of the 1st century CE which were left outside the city walls.
Following the main colonnaded road, and passing the Thermae extra muros, an extensive necropolis extends for over two kilometers on either side of the old road to Tripolis (Phrygia) and Sardis. The necropolis extends from the northern to the eastern and southern sections of the old city. Most of the tombs have been excavated. This necropolis is one of the best preserved in Turkey. Most of about the 1200 tombs were constructed with local varieties of limestone. The extent of this necropolis attests again to the importance Hierapolis had in the Antiquity.
Most tombs date from the late Hellenic period, but there are also a considerable number from the Roman period, and the early Christian period. People who came for medical treatment to Hierapolis in ancient times and the native people of the city buried their dead in tombs of several types according to their traditions and reflecting the social-economic status of the people.
The tombs and funeral monuments can be divided into four types:
The St. Philip Martyrium was named after the Christian apostle Philip and stands on top of the hill outside the northeastern section of the city walls. It dates from the 5th century CE. It was said that St. Philip was buried in the center of the building, and though his tomb has recently been unearthed, the exact location has not yet been verified.[16] The Martyrium burned down at the end of the 5th or early 6th century CE, as attested to by fire marks on the columns. Philip is said to have been martyred in Hierapolis by being crucified upside-down,[17] or by being hung upside down by his ankles from a tree.
Since early times there has been confusion about which Philip of Hierapolis was meant.[18] This confusion started with a report by Polycrates of Ephesus in his book "Church History" (Hist. eccl., III., xxxi. 3, V., xxiv. 2).[19]
On the other hand, Philip could designate Philip the Evangelist, a later disciple, who helped with administrative matters and had four virgin, prophetess daughters (Acts 6:1-7; 21:8-9). Early traditions say this Philip was martyred by hanging in Phrygia.[18] He is confusingly also called "Philip the Apostle".
The Martyrium had a special design, probably executed by an architect of the Byzantine emperor. It has a central octagonal structure (with a diameter of 20 metres (66 ft)) under a wooden dome which is covered with lead. This was surrounded with eight rectangular rooms, each accessible via three arches. Four were used as entrances to the church, the other four as chapels. The space between the eight rooms was filled with heptagonal chapels with a triangular apse. The dome above the apse was decorated with mosaics. The whole structure was surrounded with an arcade with marble columns. All the walls were covered with marble panels.
In 2011 it was announced that Philip's gravesite may have been discovered about 40 metres (130 ft) from the Martyrium.[20]
The Roman Bath, one of the biggest buildings of Hierapolis antique city, has been used as the site of the Hierapolis Archaeology Museum since 1984.
In this museum, alongside the historical artifacts which were found in Hierapolis, there are some artifacts from Laodiceia, Colossae, Tripolis, Attuda and other towns of the Lycos (Çürüksu) valley. In addition to these, the museum has a large section devoted to artifacts found at Beycesultan Hüyük and which includes some of the most beautiful examples of Bronze Age craft.
Artifacts which have come from the Caria, Pisidia and Lydia regions are also on display in this museum. The museum's exhibition space consists of three closed areas of the Hierapolis Bath and open areas in the eastern side, which are known to have been used as the library and the gymnasium. The artifacts in the open exhibition space are mostly marble and stone.
This room contains finds from the excavations in Hierepolis and Laodiceia, including sarcophagi, statues, gravestones, pedestals, pillars and inscriptions. Among these artifacts there are statues of Tyche, Dionysus, Pan, Asklepios, Isis, Demeter and Trion which, although executed by the Romans, were inspired by the Hellenistic tradition. The representations of local customs on family tombs are particularly interesting.
The most beautiful examples of baked earth sarcophagi are specific to this area. One of the most valuable works of art in this room is the sarcophagus belonging to a certain Arhom, of the 'Sidemare' type. On it is an inscription to Maximilian, and it is the finest work to emerge from the ancient towns of Lahdi and Laodicia.
In this room, there are small findings from several civilizations of the last 4,000 years. These works, which are displayed in chronological order include works from many archaeological sites in and around Denizli. A special importance is given to the findings from Beycesultan Höyük. These discoveries are an example of an ancient civilization. These works, which were found in the excavation conducted by the British Institute of Archaeology include idols, baked earth bowls, libation cups, seals and other stone artifacts. In other parts of the room are displayed objects from the Frigan, Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine period such as glass cups, necklaces, gemstones (in the form of rings, bracelets, earrings and so on) and earthenware lamps. This room also contains an important sequence of ancient coins arranged in chronological order. The earliest of these coins were minted in the 6th century CE and the display proceeds through the Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Selçuk and Ottoman periods with coins of gold, silver and bronze.
In this room, decorative works from the theater of Hierapolis, most of which have been restored, are displayed. Some of the reliefs of the scenery building remain in site but parts of them have been replaced by copies. In the works that are found in the room there are reliefs devoted to the myth of Apollo and Artemis, the delights of Dionysos and the coronotion of the Roman Emperor Septimus Severus. There are depictions of the abduction of Persephone by Hades, Apollo, Leto, Artemis, and Hades and sculpted sphinxes. Sculpted relief reminiscent of Attalos and Eumenes are on display. Inscriptions describing the coronation of the goddess Hierapolis and decisions of the assembly concerning the theater may be seen.
The theatre, in Greek style, was built on a hill slope, probably during the Flavian Period, in 62 CE after the earthquake of 60 CE. The facade is 300 feet long (92 m), the full extent of which remains standing. The theater, which was under construction during the Hadrianus period (117-138 CE), was finished in 206 CE during the Severian Period. In the cavea there are 50 rows of seats divided into 7 parts by 8 intermediate stairways. The diazome, which divided the cavea into two, was entered by two vaulted passages (vomitoria). The Imperial lodge at the middle of cavea and the 6-foot-high (1.83 m) wall surrounding the orchestra are particularly impressive. In 352 CE, the orchestra was probably transformed into a colimbetra for aquatic shows, which had become fashionable. The scene-building, which is 12 ft high (3.66 m), had 5 doors and 6 niches. In front of these there were 10 marble columns, decorated with alterne rectilinear and curved segments. The wall behind the scene was decorated with three rows of columns one behind another. The columns on the front row do not have grooves and stood on octagonal bases.
Excavations revealed that a large number of statues had embellished the columns. Behind these columns, are multistage friezes in relief. The first Anatolian occurrence of this kind of relief is in the Lycia in the 5th century BCE, for example the Gölbaşı, Nereid and Harrpy Monuments. During the 4th century BCE, the form developed to be incorporated into mausolea. The best 3rd century examples are on the Atlar of Zeus in Pergamum, the Atlar of the Temple of Athena Polias in Priene and that of the Temple of Artemis in Magnesia.
The theatre friezes depict mythological scenes; the birth of Apollon and Artemis and the religious ceremonies held in honour of them; the disports of Dionysos, Satyr and Menad; the musical contest between Marsyas and Apollo; fights between Gods and giants (Giganthomochi); the abduction of Persephone by Hades and daily scenes such as the athletic competitions. On the architrave of the main entrance the Imperial family attending the coronation of Septimus Severus is shown. The different styles of the friezes suggest that they were carved in a variety of periods by adherents of different artistic traditions. Hellenistic influence is particularly obvious in the detailed friezes depicting mythological friezes clearly show the influence of the Pergamum school of art (e.g. the reliefs of the Zeus Atlar). The decoration of the scene building resembles that of the Perge, Side and Nysa theaters.[21]
Originally this work was of the Hellenistic period. However, the figures of Marsyas, in Roman style, which indicates that these are two works that have been made into one. In the relief, Marsyas holds his arms up, his hands tied to a pine tree. Opposite the bound Marsyas a skeleton on its knees is sharpening a knife on a large stone. The row of figures look at the bound figure of Marsyas opposite them. The god Apollo watches from behind.
The original of the work was executed between the first and the relief depicting the aftermath of Apollo's victory is bordered by Delphinios accompanied by two nymphs. Apollo, the palm of victory in his hand, drinks to his triumph.[22]
Apollo and Artemis are the children of Leto and Zeus. These two gods, because of their supposed origins in Anatolia and their support of the Anatolian side in the Turuva wars, were particularly worshiped in that region. According to the myth, Leto, pregnant by Zeus and afraid of his wife Hera, gave birth on the island of Delos. Young women with posies of lavender and poppy flowers are following the sacred birth of Artemis while Leto recumbent on a couch prepares to give birth to Apollo. Attendants are on hand to assist with the delivery.[22]
Antaeus was a giant, son of the sea-god Poseidon and the mother figure Gaia. Antios joined battle with the Macedonian giants. According to the myth it was impossible to lay Antios out, for wherever he fell he drew strength from his mother earth, Gaia and rose again. And so, Heracles took Antios on his back, bore him to another land and killed him there.[22]
The legend of Niobe is special to Anatolia. Niobe was born in Sipylos (Manisa) where her father was king. She grew up with the goddess Leto, and they became friends. Then she married Amphion, the king of Thebes. Niobe was so proud of having fourteen children that she thought herself superior to Leto. When Apollo and Artemis saw that their mother was unhappy because of this, they became angry with Niobe, and killed all her children. Because of her grief, Niobe then turned to stone.[21]
While Persephone was picking a flower, suddenly Hades emerged from underground in his chariot and abducted her. This event was important because it supposedly led to the creation of seasons.
Beyond the city walls and meadow, in all directions you can see necropol areas. These are situated in two sides of the north way; one goes from Tripolis to Sardes and the other goes in South way from Laodikya to Closae. Limestone and marble had been used for the graves.
The monuments are situated in the large area, together with many travertine lahids, make its scene effective.(You see Soros suffix written in Greek which are more than 2,000 years old, generally in the epigraphs on lahids.)
There are many architectural grave monuments in Hierapolis and they show different architectural techniques. The oldest graves are of the Hellenistic Period (1st and 2nd centuries BCE), and are Tumulus graves. The stone is cut properly limited to the drum cylinder which bonds the top of the burial chamber. You reach the grave room with the corridor dramos. Tumuluses are reached by going through the way and they are located on east side of foothill.
That these tombs belong to rich families is quite prominent, Because poor families' tombs are the ones which are carved into the rock and which are simple. On the North side of the city, the graves made as the 2'nd and the 3'rd, are generally surrounded by walls and they have gardens decorated with flowers and trees (especially cypress). Grave monuments which are completely made of travertine, shows different types; like simple lahids, and home kind graves which has two or more lahids on it. On the sarcophagus that holds the lahid, there is an inscription written in Greek ("bomas" (altar)). Bomas is used as symbol which stresses that with the connection of a dead body of a person in high position, his/her remembrance will be exalted. These monuments have the same functions with heroon.(The grave monuments made for celebrating are for the heroes' and important persons’ who are believed to become gods after they die.)
A raised relief on the Sarcophagus of a certain Marcus Aurelius Ammianos, a local miller, depicts the earliest known machine to incorporate a crank and connecting rod.[23] On the pediment a waterwheel fed by a mill race is shown powering via a gear train two frame saws cutting rectangular blocks by the way of connecting rods and, through mechanical necessity, cranks (see diagram). The accompanying inscription is in Greek.[24]
On the right side, fascinating signs of the earthquake can be seen. Large travertine area is completely demolished. The rectangle and hallow graves, which may be simpler and older than the necropolis, attracts attention. While digging, experts in Denizli Museum, found a grave with long inscriptions. Close to it, Epigraphic marble blocks had been founded which are dated to Young Helenistic Period. On the North side of the area, digging works are going on. On the hillside, Byzantine ramparts, on the grave builds, marble lahids had been founded. This lahids are staying on a stone base. The roof that built with cob brick is covered with tiles. This was a new style in this period, and inside the grave it is decorated with coloured wall paintings.
On the way to Laodikeia and Colossea, you can see another grave which are related to Necropolis.
The grave of Tiberius Cladius Talamos, whose name was written in the long epigraph, attracts attention and its front rebounds home architecture.
Especially in The Roman Empire period, Hierapolis and its side was exactly a health centre. In those years, thousands of people used to come to the baths, of which there are more than 15, and they found their remedy in those baths. Today's Antique Pool was shaped by the earthquake which happened in the 7th century CE. The marble portico with Ionic arrangement fell into the spring during the earthquake in the 7th century.
According to research, the Antique Pool's water is good for heart diseases, atherosclerosis, blood pressure, rheumatism, eye and skin diseases, rickets, nervous disorders, nervous and physical exhaustion circulatory problems and furthermore when it has been drank it is good for digestive maladies. And all this benefits shows why so many health centers had been founded sides the Antique Pool from Roman Empire times on.
The water in the thermal pool is 36-57 °C, pH value is 5,8 and radon value is 1480 pCi/l. Spa water has its inside bicarbonate, sulphate, carbon dioxide, partly with iron and radioactive combination. And also, the water in this spring is suitable for taking shower and drinking cures, 2430 MG/liter melt metal value.
The new Temple of Apollo was established above the ancient and holy chasm called Plutonium was the oldest religious centre of the native community, the place where Apollo met with Cibele. It was said that only the priest of the Great Mother could enter the cave without being overpowered by the noxious underground fumes. The remains of the superstructure of the Temple of Apollo date from the 3rd century CE while the foundations are late Hellenistic.
The Temple, which may be recognised by its marble staircase, lies within a sacred area, about 70 metres long, which was surrounded by an enclosure wall (temenos). The enclosure was in turn surrounded, at least on its southern, western and northern sides, by a marble portico which has been only partially excavated.
An elegant marble portico may be seen, with pilasters bearing fluted Doric semi-columns supporting capitals that are decorated below with a row of astragali and beads and which, on the decorated below with a row of astragali and beads and which, on the echinus, bear a series of ovolos.
The structures of the Temple are later, though the presence of two beautiful Ionic capitals in the Museum (see under Museum), as well as of a Corinthian capital of the 1st century CE and other architectural fragments lead us to suppose the existence of an earlier temple on the site.
This is the monumental entrance to the Roman city and leads onto the large plateia, 14 m wide, which crosses the whole settlement, exiting a gate at the opposite side, to connect with the road that goes to Laodicea on the Lykos and then Colossae. It is worth admiring the well preserved structure with three openings, in carefully squared travertine blocks, with elegant arches decorated with a simple cornice moulding, flanked by two round towers that recall Hellenistic city Gates such as that of the Pamphilian city of Perge, near Antalya.
The north gate forms part of a fortification system built at Hierapolis in Theodosian times (end of the 4th century CE) and is its monumental entrance, matched by a symmetrical gate to the south of the city. Built of reused material from the demolition of the Agora, it is flanked by two square towers, as in other nearby cities such as Blaundus. Four large marble brackets with heads of lions, of panther and of a Gorgon were found collapsed in front of the gate. They are quti expressive and, whilst belonging to antique buildings, were evidently reused as apotropaic elements on the two sides of the gate so as to ward off evil influence.
Another set of baths was constructed outside the north gate at the beginning of the 3rd century CE. This building was converted into a church in the Early Christian Era (c. 5th century CE). It is apparent that the building had stuccoed, vaulted ceilings and that the halls were decorated with marble slabs.
The Martyrion was built at the end of the 4th or at beginning of the 5th century on an area measuring 20 by 20 metres (66 by 66 ft). It was erected in honour of Saint Philip who was killed in Hierapolis. It became an important sanctuary when Christianity was adopted as an official religion. The surviving remains demonstrate that it was flanked by rooms on four sides and by porticos on two sides. There were eight chapels separated from each other by polygonal rooms. A central chapel and octagonal cloister are entered through the surrounding rooms. Accordingly the construction resembles two crosses.
The roof of the cloister which is about 20 metres (66 ft) in diameter is formed by a dome constructed from lead tiles supported on a wooden frame. The sides are formed by a mixture of brick arches and wooden roofs. The presence of the Martyrion and the many churches indicate the importance of the city in Christian history.
Philip, one of the twelve apostles, mentioned fifth in all the lists. He is a mere name in the Synoptists, but a figure of some prominence in the Fourth Gospel. There he is said to have been "of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter", and to have received his call to follow Jesus at Bethany, having previously been, it would seem, a disciple of the John the Baptist. Philip was at that time the means of bringing Nathanael to Jesus, and at a later date he, along with Andrew, carried the request of the inquiring Greeks to the Master. Philip and Andrew alone are mentioned by name in connection with the feeding of the five thousand, and Philip is also one of the few interlocutors in John 14. Slight though these references are, all agree in presenting Philip as of an inquiring and calculating character, slow to take the initiative, but, when convinced of the path of duty, thoroughly loyal in following it. After the resurrection he was present at the election of Matthias as successor to Judas, but he does not again appear in the New Testament history; it is, however, implied that he still continued in Jerusalem after the outbreak of the first persecution.
Little reliance can be placed on the traditional accounts of Philip, owing to the evident confusion that had arisen between him and the evangelist of the same name, who appears in the book of Acts. According to Polycrates, bishop of Ephesus, in his controversial letter written to Victor of Rome towards the end of the 2nd century, the graves of Philip "of the twelve apostles", and of his two aged virgin daughters were in (the Phrygian) Hierapolis; a third daughter, "who had lived in the Holy Ghost", was buried at Ephesus. With this may be compared the testimony of Clement of Alexandria, who incidentally speaks of "Philip the Apostle" as having begotten children and as having given daughters in marriage. On the other hand, Proclus, one of the interlocutors in the "Dialogue of Caius", a writing of somewhat later date than the letter of Polycrates, mentions "four prophetesses, the daughters of Philip at Hierapolis in Asia, whose tomb and that of their father are to be seen there", where the mention of the daughters prophesying identifies the person meant with the Philip of Acts (cf. Acts 21:8). The reasons for setting aside this latter identification, and for holding that the Philip who lived at Hierapolis was the Apostle are clearly stated by Lightfoot, Colossians (2) note 3, p. 45 seq., and fresh confirmation of his view was afforded by the discovery of an inscription at Hierapolis, showing that the church there was dedicated to the memory "of the holy and glorious apostle and theologian Philip."
A later stage of the tradition regarding Philip appears in various late apocryphal writings which have been edited by Tischendorf in his Acta apostolorum apocrypha, and in his Apocalypses apocryphae. According to the Acta Philippi, a work belonging at the earliest to the close of the 4th century, Philip, with Bartholomew and his own sister Mariamne, exercised a widespread missionary activity, preaching not only throughout Asia Minor, but also in Hellas the city of the Athenians, in Scythia, and in Gaul, etc. According to one account he died a natural death; according to another he was hanged or crucified, head downwards. An apocryphal gospel, which describes the progress of the soul through the next world, bears his name.
Since the 6th century, Philip has been commemorated in the West, along with St. James the Less, on 1 May, their relics being deposited in the same church in Rome; in the Eastern Church Philip's day is 14 November, and that of James the Less is 23 October.
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