Hierapolis

Hierap´olis, a city of Phrygia, not far from Colosse and Laodicea, where there was a Christian church under the charge of Epaphros, as early as the time of St. Paul, who commends him for his fidelity and zeal (Col 4:12-13). The place is visible from the theater at Laodicea, from which it is five miles distant northward.

The place now bears the name of Pamluck-kale (Cotton-castle), from the white appearance of the cliffs of the mountain on the lower summit, or rather an extended terrace, on which the ruins are situated. It owed its celebrity, and probably the sanctity indicated by its ancient name (Holy City), to its very remarkable springs of mineral water, the singular effects of which, in the formation of stalactites and incrustations by its deposits, are shown in the accounts of Pococke and Chandler, to have been accurately described by Strabo. A great number and variety of sepulchers are found in the different approaches to the site, which on one side is sufficiently defended by the precipices overlooking the valleys of the Lycus and Mæander, while on the other sides the town walls are still observable. The magnificent ruins clearly attest the ancient importance of the place.

A city of Phrygia, situated on its western border, near the junction of the rivers Lycus and Meander, and not far from Colosses and Laodicea. It was celebrated for its warm springs and baths. A Christian church was early established here, and enjoyed the ministrations of the faithful Epaphras, Col 4:12,13 . The city is now desolate, but its ruins still exhibit many traces of its ancient splendor. Among them are the remains of three churches, a theatre, a gymnasium, and many sepulchral monuments. The white front of the cliffs, above which the city lay, has given it its present name of Pamluke-kaleh, the Cotton Castle.\par

Hi-erap’olis. (holy city). A city of Phrygia, situated above the junction of the rivers Lycus and Maeander, near Colossae and Laodicea mentioned only in Col 4:13, as the seat of a church, probably, founded by Epaphras.

Col 4:13. Associated as the seat of a church with the neighbouring Colossae and Laodicea; on a height between the rivers Lycus and Meander, within a few miles of one another; the three churches were probably all founded by Epaphras. Now Pambouk Kalessi. Hot calcareous springs are near, which have deposited curious encrustations. There is a frozen cascade, the surface wavy, as of water suddenly petrified. A mephitic cavern, Plutonium, was in ancient times connected with the worship of Cybele, from from whence the city was designated Hierapolis, "the sacred city."

Hierapolis (hî’e-răp’o-lĭs), sacred city. A city in Proconsular Asia, Col 4:13, near the river Lycus, and in sight of Laodicea, which was about 5 miles to the south. It stood on a high bluff, with a high mountain behind it. In the city was the famous temple of Pluto, remains of which are still to be seen. The ruins of the city are extensive, as temples, churches, a triumphal arch, a theatre, gymnasium, baths, and highly ornamented sarcophagi.

[Hiera’polis]

City of Phrygia in Asia Minor, for the saints of which Epaphras had a great zeal, or for whom he laboured much. Col 4:13. Now called Pambuk Kalesi, 37° 58’ N, 29° 11’ E. It is remarkable for its hot calcareous springs, which have deposited curious incrustations.

(now called Pambuk Kalessi):

By: Richard Gottheil

City in Phrygia, Asia Minor; mentioned in Col. iv. 13 together with the neighboring Laodicea. It was a prosperous city during the Roman period, largely on account of its medicinal springs. A community of Jews lived there during the second and third centuries, three or four of whose grave-inscriptions have been found. In one (found 1853 by Wagener) Publius Ælius Glycon consecrates a family sepulcher and bequeaths "to the honored directors of [the gild of] purple-dyers" 200 denarii, that his grave may be decorated "on the Feast of Unleavened Bread"; to "the gild of carpet-weavers" 150 denarii, to be used for a similar purpose on theFeast of Pentecost. Aurelia Glyconida, daughter of Ammianus, consecrates a sepulcher for herself, while her husband Marcus Aurelius Theophilus, called "Asaph" (?), "of the people of the Jews," forbids, under a fine of 100 denarii against the Jewish community, the burying of strangers there.

The inscription on the tomb of one Aurelia Augusta of the Soteikos also provides for a fine against the Jewish community if any one besides herself, her husband Glyconianus Apros, and her children be buried there. An inscription (Ramsay, No. 412) found on a tomb outside the city gate and on the road to Tripolis, set by a certain Marcus Aurelius Diodorus Koriaskos, called "Asbolos," also attaches a fine to the interment there of strangers, against the "sacred management" and the "revered gerusia." A certain sum is left, also, to the "council of the purple-dyers" for some religious act on the anniversary of the birthday of the deceased. It is possible that the "gild of the purple-dyers" was a Jewish body. The decorating of the graves on Jewish holy days shows how far the Jews of Phrygia had departed from Talmudic usage.

Bibliography:

A. Wagener, in Revue de V Instruction Publique, xvi., vol. xi., Ghent, 1869 (= Philologus, xxxii. 380);

Alterthümer von Hierapolis, in Jahresbericht des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts, iv., Supplement, 1898;

Ramsay, Cities and Bishoprics of Phrygia, i. 545 et seq.;

Schürer, Gesch. 3d ed., iii. 13;

I. Lévy, in R. E. J. xli. 188;

The Jewish Messenger, New York, Jan. 19, 1900.

HIERAPOLIS (‘holy city’) is mentioned in the Bible only in Col 4:13, in association with the neighbouring towns Laodicea and Colossæ. All three were situated in the valley of the Lycus, a tributary of the Mæander, in Phrygia, Hierapolis on the north side being about 6 miles from the former and 12 miles from the latter. (The best map of this district is at p. 472 of Ramsay’s Church in the Roman Empire.) It probably belonged originally to the tribe Hydrelitæ, and derived its title from the medicinal hot springs there, which revealed plainly to the ancient mind the presence of a divinity. The water is strongly impregnated with alum, and the calcareous deposit which it forms explains the modern name Pambuk-Kalessi (Cotton Castle). Another sacred attribute of the city was a hole, about the circumference of a man’s body, from which noxious vapours issued: Strabo (in the time of Augustus) had seen sparrows stifled by them. The city owed all its importance in NT times to its religious character. It had not been visited by St. Paul, but derived its Christianity from his influence (cf. Act 19:10 and Col.). Legend declares that the Apostles Philip and John preached there, and this appears trustworthy. The fight between native superstition and the enlightenment brought by Christianity must have been very bitter. The city remained important throughout the Empire, and was the birthplace of Epictetus, the Stoic.

A. Souter.

A titular see of Phrygia Salutaris, suffragan of Synnada. It is usually called by its inhabitants Hieropolis, no doubt because of its hieron (which was an important religious centre), is mentioned by Ptolemy (v, 2, 27), and by Hierocles (Synecd., 676, 9). It appears as a see in the "Notitiæ Episcopatuum" from the sixth to the thirteenth centuries. It has been identified as the modern village of Kotchhissar in the vilayet of Smyrna, near which are the ruins of a temple and the hot springs of Ilidja. Hierapolis once had the privilege of striking its own coins. We know three of its bishops: Flaccus, present at the Council of Nicæa in 325 and at that of Philippopolis in 347; Avircius, who took part in the Council of Chalcedon, 451; Michael, who assisted at the second Council of Nicæa in 787. St. Abercius, whose feast is kept by the Greek Church on 22 October, is celebrated in tradition as the first Bishop of Hierapolis. He was probably only a priest, and may be identical with Abercius Marcellus, author of a treatise against the Montanists (Eusebius, H.E., V, xvi) about the end of the second century. On the epitaph of Abercius and its imitation by Alexander, another citizen of Hierapolis, see ABERCIUS, INSCRIPTION OF. The town in question must not be confounded with another Hierapolis or Hieropolis, more important still, a see of Phrygia Pacatiana. Lequien in his "Oriens Christianus" makes this error (I, 831 sqq.). There is also another Hierapolis, a see of Isauria, suffragan of Seleucia (Lequien, II, 1025).-----------------------------------RAMSAY, Cities and Bishoprics of Phrygia (Oxford, 1895-1897); IDEM, Trois villes phrygiennes in Bulletin de correspondance hellénique, 1882, VI; DUCHESNE, Hierapolis, patrie d’Abercius in Revue des questions historiques (July, 1883).S. PÉTRIDÈS Transcribed by Douglas J. Potter Dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume VIICopyright © 1910 by Robert Appleton CompanyOnline Edition Copyright © 2003 by K. KnightNihil Obstat, June 1, 1910. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., CensorImprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York

hē-ẽr-ap´ō̇-lis (Ἱεράπολις, Hierápolis, “sacred city”): As the name implies, Hierapolis was a holy city. It was situated 6 miles from Laodicea and twice that distance from Colosse, on the road from Sardis to Apamea. Though its history is not well known, it seems to have been of Lydian origin, and once bore the name of Kydrara. The Phrygian god Sabazios was worshipped there under the name Echidma, and represented by the symbol of the serpent. Other local deities were Leto and her son Lairbenos. Though called the holy city, Hierapolis was peculiarly regarded as the stronghold of Satan, for there was a Plutonium, or a hole reaching far down into the earth, from which there issued a vapor, even poisoning the birds flying above. It is supposed that upon a stool, deep in the Plutonium, a priest or priestess sat, and, when under the influence of the vapor, uttered prophecies valuable to those who sought them. Though a stronghold of Satan, Hierapolis early became a Christian city, for, according to Col 4:13, the only place where it is mentioned in the New Testament, a church was founded there through the influence of Paul while he was at Ephesus. Tradition claims that Philip was the first evangelist to preach there, and it also claims that he and his two unmarried daughters were buried there; a third who was married, was buried at Ephesus. Several of the early Christians suffered martyrdom at Hierapolis, yet Christianity flourished, other churches were built, and during the 4th century the Christians filled the Plutonium with stones, thus giving evidence that the paganism had been entirely supplanted by the church. During the Roman period, Justinian made the city a metropolis, and it continued to exist into the Middle Ages. In the year 1190 Frederick Barbarossa fought with the Byzantines there.

The modern town is called Pambuk Kalessi, or cotton castle, not because cotton is raised in the vicinity, but because of the white deposit from the water of the calcareous springs. The springs were famous in ancient times because they were supposed to possess Divine powers. The water is tepid, impregnated with alum, but pleasant to the taste. It was used by the ancients for dyeing and medicinal purposes. The deposit of pure white brought up by the water from the springs has heaped itself over the surrounding buildings, nearly burying them, and stalactite formations, resembling icicles, hang from the ruins. The ruins, which are extensive, stand on a terrace, commanding an extensive view, and though they are partly covered by the deposit, one may still trace the city walls, the temple, several churches, the triumphal arch, the gymnasium and baths, and the most perfect theater in Asia Minor. Outside the walls are many tombs.

(ἹåñÜðïëéò)

Hierapolis was a city in the province of Asia, picturesquely situated on a broad terrace in the mountain range which skirts the N. side of the Lycus valley. On the S. side, 6 miles away, Laodicea was plainly visible, while Colossae lay hidden from view 12 miles to the S.E. Differing widely in history and character, these three cities were evangelized together soon after the middle of the 1st century. Hierapolis was probably an old Lydian city, but in the Roman period it was always regarded as Phrygian. A change in the spelling of the name is significant. While the older form-Hieropolis, the city of the hieron-limits the sanctity to the shrine, the later form-Hierapolis, the sacred city-conveys the idea that the whole place was holy.

In such an environment Christianity had to contend not merely with a superficial Hellenic culture, but with a deep-rooted native superstition. Politically of little account, Hierapolis was important as the home of an ancient Anatolian nature-worship, the cult of Leto and her son Sabazios. The striking physical phenomena of the place were clear indications to the primitive mind of the dreaded presence of a numen which required to be propitiated. The numerous hot streams tumbling down the side of the hill on which the city stood are strongly impregnated with alum, and the snow-white incrustations which cover the rocky terraces present the appearance of ‘an immense frozen cascade, the surface wavy, as of water in its headlong course suddenly petrified’ (R. Chandler, Travels in Asia Minor3, 1817, p. 287). From a hole in the ground-probably filled up by Christians after a.d. 320-there issued fumes of mephitic vapour, which seemed to come from Hades, so that the awe-inspiring spot was called the Plutonion or Charonion (Strabo xiii. iv. 4). On account of its marvellous hot springs-regarded as a divine gift-the city was associated with the medicinal art of aesculapius, and under the Empire it became a famous health resort. It was the birth-place of Epictetus the Stoic.

Hierapolis is mentioned once in the NT (Col_4:13), as a city causing grave concern to Epaphras, who was apparently the founder and first pastor of its church. The cities of the Lycus valley no doubt received the gospel at the time of St. Paul’s prolonged mission in Ephesus, the city from which the light radiated over the whole province of Asia (Act_19:10; Act_19:26). Having acted as St. Paul’s delegate in the Lycus valley (Col_1:7 [Revised Version ]), Epaphras knew that the Apostle regarded its churches as in a manner his own, and after some years of strenuous labour the ‘faithful minister of Christ’ made a journey from Asia to Home to seek counsel and help in dealing with errors of doctrine and practice which threatened to undo his work.

There is a trustworthy tradition which connects the name of Philip the Apostle with Hierapolis. Polycrates, bishop of Ephesus towards the end of the 2nd cent.-as quoted by Eusebius (HE [Note: E Historia Ecclesiastica (Eusebius, etc.).] iii. 31)-states that Philip, ‘one of the twelve,’ was among ‘the great lights of Asia,’ and that he was ‘buried at Hierapolis along with his two virgin daughters.’ Theodoret (Commentary on Psalms 116) says that ‘the Apostle Philip controverted the error of the Phrygians.’ St. John is also believed to have preached at Hierapolis, and the progress of Christianity there was represented as the victory over the Echidna or serpent of aesculapius, which was identified with Satan. Hierapolis was made a metropolis by Justinian. The ruins of the city are extensive and well-preserved. The theatre is one of the finest in Asia Minor. The white terrace now bears the fanciful name of ‘Cotton Castle’ (Pambuk-Kalessi).

Literature.-W. J. Hamilton, Researches in Asia Minor, 1842, i. 507ff.; T. Lewin, Life and Epistles of St. Paul3, 1875, i. 356f., W. M. Ramsay, Hist. Geog. of Asia Minor, 1890, p. 84, and Cities and Bishoprics of Phrygia, i. [1895] 84-120.

James Strahan.