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Hierapolis is an ancient city in Turkey, known for its hot springs and archaeological ruins. It was a popular health resort in the Roman era and served as a base for both Jews and Christians. The city was abandoned in the 14th century and later excavated in the 19th and 20th centuries. It contains notable remains of Hellenistic and Roman architecture, including the Temple of Apollo, the Nymphaeum, Plutonio, the theater, and the Martyrium.
Hierapolis is an ancient city in Türkiye. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and has been since 1988. It sits on top of the Pamukkale Hot Springs and is not far from the town of Danizli.
In the ancient world it was quite common for temples and sacred places to center around natural phenomena such as hot springs. As early as the 3rd century BC a temple dedicated to Hieron was built by the Phrygians on the site that would later become Hierapolis.
In the 2nd century BC, Hierapolis was transformed into a real spa. It was given by Rome to the king of Pergamum, Eumenes II. The origin of the name Hierapolis is disputed. Some believe he was merely adapting the temple’s previous name to Hieron. Others believe it was named in honor of Hiera, the wife of Telephus, who is said to have founded the Attalid dynasty.
Hierapolis quickly grew in popularity as a health resort, with the hot spring waters lauded for their healing properties. When the last king of the Attalid dynasty was dying, he returned Hierapolis to Rome. Over the next century and a half the city transformed from its Greek roots into a true Roman city.
In the early 1st century Hierapolis was devastated by an earthquake and a few decades later, in the time of Nero, it was almost entirely destroyed by another earthquake. The city was rebuilt almost from scratch, this time completely in the Roman style. Over the next two centuries Hierapolis flourished, with Hadrian building the famous theatre, and expansion continued rapidly.
At the beginning of the 3rd century, the city received the distinction of Neocoros from the emperor Caracalla. This gave Hierapolis a number of special privileges in the Roman legal system, including the granting of the right of true sanctuary. The city exploded, with the population reaching more than 3 inhabitants. It was world-renowned for its springs, and temples sprang up to serve the large itinerant population.
Hierapolis also served as a base for both Jews and Christians. It is estimated that at its peak the city boasted a population of around 50,000 Jews. Christians moved in during the first half of the 1st century, and by the 4th century, Christianity had almost completely eradicated the city’s previous pagan faiths. The sacred cave, the Plutonio, was filled with stones by the Christians to symbolize this dominion, and the baths were converted into a Christian basilica.
The city was contested during the Crusades and was finally abandoned towards the end of the 14th century. In the early 16th century Hierapolis was again devastated by an earthquake, but with no population to restore it, the damage was cemented in place. The city remained largely intact until its excavation in the late 19th and 20th centuries.
Hierapolis is a wonderful site for travelers interested in archaeological ruins. It contains a number of fine remains of Hellenistic and Roman architecture. The most notable are the Temple of Apollo, the Nymphaeum, a sanctuary of nymphs in the form of a huge fountain, Plutonio, a deep sanctuary and sanctuary of the god of the underworld, the mighty theater erected at the time of Emperor Titus Flavius Vespasian, and the Martyrium, celebrating the disciple St. Philip, who is said to have been buried here after being crucified at Hierapolis by being crucified upside down.
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