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The name Hierapolis (literally Holy City) by which the site is known
in archaeological literature stems from the temples and numerous other
structures of a religious nature that are to be found here.
The precise region to which Hierapolis belonged in ancient times is
a matter of some debate. Ancient writers themselves were unable to
decide whether the city was in Lydia, Phrygians, or Caria.
St. Paul refers to the city as being in the southwest near Phrygians and close to the Carian border. He adds also that it was northwest of the city of Colossai. According to Strabo and Ptolemy, Hierapolis was a Phrygian city like Laodicea and Tripoli's, which bordered on Caria, owing to its proximity to them.
The
Byzantine author Stephanus refers to Hierapolis as lying between Lydia
and Phrygia. Stephanus adds that the city was a holy place and that
there were many temples in its vicinity but that they had ceased to
function during the reign of Augustus.We lack any definite information
about the name of this site before Hellenistic times. It is said however
that there was early settlement here and reference is made to the
existence of the sacred cave known as the Plutonium and to the Magna
Mater cult practiced there.
It would appear that the city was founded by King Eumenes II of Pergamon in the 2nd century BC and it is possible that the city took its name from Hiera, the wife of Telephos, the legendary founder of Pergamon. It is most probable that the sacred cave called the Plutonium was the kernel around which the city grew up in Hellenistic times. The oldest inscription found on the site is that of a decree issued in honor of King Eumenes' mother, Apollo is.
In 133 BC, the city was bequeathed, along with the entire Pergamene kingdom, to the Romans by King Attalos III. The region, which is notorious for its seismic activity, has long been subject to devastating earthquakes. One occurred in 17 during, the reign of Tiberius, and flattened Hierapolis. Another serious earthquake occurred in 60, during the reign of Nero but this one proved to be the occasion for a rebuilding and renewal of the city. Other earthquakes occurred during the reigns of Antonio's Pius and Alexander Severus.
Hierapolis experienced the height of its prosperity in the 2nd and 3rd centuries. During this period, the city underwent a complete rebuilding and lost all traces of its Hellenistic character becoming thoroughly Roman in its style. Ancient sources indicate that the city flourished during these years, that it was advanced in the arts of working metal and stone, and that it was famous for its woolen textiles (carpets and fabrics) and flowers. Hierapolis was endowed with rich deposits of polychrome marble that was quarried and exported. The city is believed to have been visited during the Roman period by the emperors Hadrian and Caracals.
The city continued to prosper during the reign of Constantine the Great, who made Hierapolis the capital of the Phrygian region. The new Christian faith spread rapidly through Hierapolis, aided perhaps by the presence of a large Jewish community that lived there. Nevertheless it was in Hierapolis that the apostle Philip was martyred in 80. During Byzantine times, Hierapolis was the seat of an Episcopal see and it was then that a big church was erected in St Philip's name.
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