Hierapolis

Hierapolis was founded at the beginning of the 2nd century BC by the kings of Pergamon at the hot springs that emerge at the edge of the plateau above the Lycus valley. The water, with its high calcium content, was considered curative, and the city quickly grew up around the healing baths; after it was joined to Rome it became one of the main spa resorts of Asia Minor. The earthquake of the year 60 destroyed it almost completely, and everything visible today belongs to the Roman rebuilding. The theatre, cut into the slope, held about twelve thousand spectators; its stage has kept two tiers of columns and reliefs with scenes from the myths of Apollo and Artemis, and the lower rows of seats have been restored. Next to it stands the sanctuary of Pluto with a cleft from which carbon dioxide escapes, and the priests used this as proof of the nearness of the underworld. The necropolis of Hierapolis stretches for two kilometres along the road and numbers more than a thousand burials of various types, from plain sarcophagi to round tumuli. The Apostle Philip died in the city and, according to tradition, was buried here; an octagonal martyrium was raised over his grave in the 5th century.

On the map