The Site;
Hierapolis is
among the cities of the ancient world in which
the grid-plan was applied. The Necropolis
is the largest ancient cemetery in Anatolia
with approximately 1,200 graves. Although in
the cemetery there are free-standing
sarcophagi and some round tumuli, the main
attraction is provided by large tomb-enclosures
housing three or more vessels and often
flanked outside by sarcophagi, presumably
placed there after the interior was full.
Hierapolis gives the impression of a
large cemetery which, although the tombs have
been visited by robbers, very large numbers of
the structures and also the vessels are still
in place; only the tomb gates (presumably of
bronze or iron) and decorations have
disappeared. Many of the tombs here were
Christian and there is at least one large
Christian basilica, |
 |
for the Apostle Philip was
martyred here in 1C AD and the faithful wished
to be buried as close as possible to the holy
dead.
The gardens of the tombs in the
necropolis were maintained by specifically
established guilds. It was these guilds’
responsibility to put wreaths at the graves on
special days.
The tomb of the Apostle Philip, the
Martyrium was built in octagonal shape
in the 5C, according to the legend on a spot
where he was stoned to death. The Roman
Bath after the necropolis was originally
built in either the 2C or 3C AD. In the early
Christian period, probably in the 5C it was
converted into a Basilica. The
Triple Arch is the northern gateway to the
city and was built in the 1C AD by the
proconsul of the Asian Province, Julius
Frontinus in honor of the Roman Emperor
Domitian. It was constructed out of the local
travertine and flanked by two round towers. It
also had an upper story which is no longer
standing. The Colonnaded Street is
1,190 m / 1,300 yards long with 6-meter-long
(20 ft) walks on either side separated from
the street by columns.
The remains of a huge 2C AD Roman
Bath serves today as a small archeological
museum with local finds.
The Sacred Pool which coincidentally
contains many ancient column pieces is located
in the Pamukkale
Motel and is not to be missed. This pool may
well easily be the remains of the original
pool of the antiquity near the Apollo Temple.
As John Freely says, "There cannot be
another hotel in the world That has a swimming
pool like this."
Somewhere under the surface of the high
plateau on which the city was built there was
a vent of poisonous gases, known to the people
of those days as the Plutonium. It was
a shrine of Pluto, the god of the dead and the
underworld. Only a closed room and a paved
courtyard survived to modern day. Geographer
Strabo describes it well: "The
Plutonium was a man-high, very deep opening
under a gently sloping hill...the vapors were
so thick That it was impossible to see the
floor...but any living creature That enters
will find death upon the instant. Bulls for
example collapse and die. We let some little
birds fly in, and they at once fell lifeless
to the ground. The eunuchs of Cybele are
resistant to the extent That they can approach
close to the opening and indeed go in without
having to hold their breath."
The Theater is a 2C AD building in
Roman style with many reliefs depicting scenes
representing the Emperor Septimus Severus and
from the life of Dionysus. In the 3C AD it was
thought to be restored during the reign of
Septimus Severus. The seating capacity was
20,000. In the 4C the theater was restored
again but this time with additional changes in
the orchestra which offered the possibility of
water displays
|
