Perge

Perge, one of the best preserved of Pamphylia’s cities, was founded on a wide plain between two hills 4 km. west of the Kestros (Aksu) river.

History

Despite its being some 12 km. inland from the sea, Perge by means of the Kestros, was able to benefit from the advantages of the sea as if it were a coastal city. Moreover, it was removed from the attacks of pirates invading by sea.In later copies of a third or fourth century map of the world, Perge is shown beside the principal road starting at Pergamum and ending at Side.

The city was founded after the Trojan War by colonists from Argos under the leadership of Mopsos and Calchas. Inscriptions dating to 120-121 mention the names of seven heroes-Mopsos, Calchas, Riksos, Labos, Machaon, Leonteus, and Minyasas.

Perge was under Persian rule until the arrival of Alexander the Great. In 333 B.C. Perge surrendered to Alexander without resistance; at this period the city was not yet surrounded by protective walls.

With the death of Alexander, Perge remained for a short time within the boundaries of Antigonos domain and later fell under Seleucid sovereignty. When the border dispute between the Seleucids and the king of Pergamum continued after the treaty of Apamea, the Roman consul Manlius Vulso was sent from Rome in 188 A.D. in the capacity of mediator. Learning that Antiochos III had a garrison in Perge, he surrounded the city at the urging of Pergamum’s king. At this point the garrison commander informed the consul that he could not surrender the city before obtaining permission from Antiochos; for this, he said he would need thirty days, at the end of which, Perge passed to Pergamum.

Perge became totally independent when the kingdom of Pergamum was turned over to Rome in about 133 B.C.

In 79 B.C. the Roman statesman Cicero described to the senate, Cilician questor Gaius Verres’ unlawful conduct in Perge, saying, "As you know, there is a very old and sacred temple to Diana in Perge. I assert that this was also robbed and looted by Verres and that the gold was stripped from the statue of Diana and stolen".

Artemis occupied an important position among the gods and gooddesses in Perge. This ancient Anatolian goddess appears on Hellenistic coins as Vanassa Preiia; after Greek colonization she became known as Artemis Pergaia. Besides being rendered on coinage, the Artemis of Perge is the subject of a variety of statues and reliefs found in excavations of the city. The cult of Artemis Pergaia also appears in many other cities, even in countries around the Mediterranean.

As famous as Artemis Pergaia was in the ancient world, no trace of the temple has yet been found. For the present we must content ourselves with what knowledge we can get from schematic representations of the temple on coins; of this renowned monument that safeguarded the gold-adorned statue of Artemis, and whose scale, beauty, and construction was marvelled at by ancient writers.

In 46 A.D., Perge became the setting of an event important to the Christian world when St. Paul journeyed from Cyprus to Perge, from there continued on to Antiocheia in Pisidia, then returned to Perge where he delivered a sermon. 

From the beginning of the Imperial era, work projects were carried out in Perge. In the second and third centuries A.D., the city grew into one of the most beautiful, not just in Pamphylia, but in all of Anatolia.

In the first half of the fourth century, during the reign of Constantine the Great (324-337), Perge became an important centre of Christianity. The city retained its status as a Christian centre in the fifth and sixth centuries. Due to frequent rebellions and raids, the citizens retreated inside the city walls, able to defend themselves only from within the acropolis. Perge lost its remaining power in the wake of the mid-seventh century Arab raids. At this time some residents of the city migrated to Antalya.

Ruins

 

Perge’s Theatre

Perge’s theatre is constructed on the southern slopes of the Kocabelen hill. The cavea, slightly more than a semicircle, is divided in two by a wide diazoma passing through it. It contains 19 seating levels below and 23 above, which translate into a total seating capacity of about 13,000.

The orchestra, situated between the cavea and the stage building, is wider than a semicircle. Because of the gladiatorial and will animal combats popular in the mid-third century, the orchestra was used as an arena. To keep the animals from escaping, it was surrounded by carved balustrade panels that passed between marble knobs made in the form of Herme.

The partially standing two-story stage building can be dated to the middle of the second century A.D. by its columned architecture and sculptural ornamentation. On the facade, columns between the five doors by which the actors entered and exited support a narrow podium above. The theatre’s most striking feature is a series of marble reliefs of mythological subject decorating the face of this podium. The first relief on the right portrays the local god personifying the Kestros (Aksu) river, Perge’s lifeblood, along with one of the mythological females called nymphs. From here on, the reliefs depict, in serial form, the entire life story of Dionysos, the god of wine and the founder and protector of theatres.

Dionysos was the son of Zeus and Semele, the daughter of a king and reputed to be as beautiful as spring. Hera, ever jealous of her husband, wanted to get rid of Semele along with her son. To trick her, the goddess assumed the form of the girl’s mother and begged Semele to persuade Zeus to let her see him in all his might and glory. The credulous Semele was taken in by the ruse and implored Zeus to acquiesce. Zeus, unable to resist the pleas of his beloved, came down from Olympos on his golden chariot and appeared before her, but the mortal Semele could not withstand his radiance and was consumed by fire. Dying, she gave birth to the fruit of her love, who had not yet come to full term, and threw him from the flames.

Zeus took this little boy, sewed him into his hip and kept him there until his term was completed. It is in this way that the boy was given the name Dionysos-born once from his mother’s womb and coming into the world a second time from his father’s hip. So that the infant could be protected from Hera’s malevolence, fed and brought to manhood, he was taken by Hermes to the nymphs of Mount Nysa, who raised the boy in a cave, giving him love and careful attention.

Finally, as a young man, Dionysos one day drank the juice of all the grapes on the vine growing along the cave’s walls. This is how wine was discovered. With the aim of introducing his new drink into every corner of the globe and spreading the knowledge of viniculture, the god of wine went on a journey around the world in a chariot drawn by two panthers.

It is unfortunate that an important section of these beautiful reliefs was damaged as a result of the subsidence of the stage building. From pieces recovered during excavations begun in 1985, it is evident that the building was originally decorated with several more friezes on different themes. The subject of a 5 metre-long frieze from an as yet undetermined part of the building is especially interesting. Here, Tyche holds a cornucopia in her left hand, and in her right a cult statue. On either side are the figures of an old man and two youths bringing bulls for sacrifice to the goddess.

 

Stadium

On the right of the asphalt road running from the theatre to the city is one of the best preserved stadiums to have survived from ancient times to our own. This huge rectangular building measuring 34x 334 metres, is shaped like a horseshoe on its north end and open on its south. It is wery likely that the building was entered at this point via a monumental wooden door. The stadium was built on a substructure of 70 vaulted chambers, 30 along each long side and 10 on its narrow northern end. These chambers are interconnected, with every third compartment providing entrance to the theatre. From inscriptions over the remaining compartments giving the names of their owners and listing various types of goods,it is clear that these spaces were used as shops. The tiers of seats which lie on top of these vaulted rooms, provided a seating capacity of 12,000.

When gladiatorial and wild animal combat became popular in the mid-third century, the north end of the stadium was surrounded with a protective balustrade and turned into an arena. Its architectural style and stone work date this edifice to the second century A.D.

Tomb of Plancia Magna

Another noteworthy ruin outside the city walls is the tomb of Plancia Magna, who was the daughter of Plancius Verus, the Governor of Bithynia. She was a wealthy and civic minded woman who, around the beginning of works in Perge, and who had a number of spots in the city adorned with monuments and sculpture. Because of her community service, the people, assembly, and senate erected statues of her. In various inscriptions Plancia’s name appears with the title "demiurgos", which was the highest civil servant in the city’s government. In addition, she was a priestess of Artemis Pergaia, a priestess-for-life of the mother of the gods, and the head priestess of the cult of the emperor.

 

City Walls

A large part of Perge is encircled by walls that in some places go back to the Hellenistic period. Towers 12-13 metres high were built on top of the fortifications. However, during the time of the Pax Romana, which provided a period of continuous peace and tranquility, the walls lost their importance, and buildings such as the theatre and stadium could be built beyond the walls without fear. On entering the city through a late period gate in the fourth century walls, one comes to a small rectangular court 40 metres long bounded by walls of later date. From this courtyard one continues through a second, southern gate built in the form of a triumphal arch and highly decorated, particularly on the back. This gate leads into a trapezoidal courtyard 92 metres long and 46 metres wide.

 

On the west wall of this court, which was used as a ceremonial site during the reign of Emperor Septimius Severus (193-211 A.D.) is a monumental fountain or nymphaeum. The building consists of a wide pool, and behind it a two-storeyed richly worked facade. From its inscription, it is apparent that the structure was dedicated to Artemis Pergaia, Septimius Severus and his wife Julia Domna, and their sons. An inscription belonging to the facade, various facade fragments, and marble statues of Septimius Severus and his wife, all found in excavations of the nymphaeum, are now in the Antalya Museum.

 

Baths

 

A monumental propylon directly north of the nymhaeum opens onto the largest and most magnificent bath in Pamphylia. A large pool (natacia) measuring 13×20 m. covers the inside of an apsed chamber on the south portico of a broad palaestra; the palaestra is bounded in front by a portico. Pergaians cleansed themselves in this pool after exercising in the palaestra. It is clear from the dynamic architecture of the facade, the coloured marble facing, and the statues of Genius, Heracles, Hygiea, Asklepios and Nemesis, that decorated, this space must have been dazzlingly beautiful. From here another door leads to the frigidarium, a space that also contained a pool.

Before entering, bathers washed their feet in water flowing along a shallow channel running the full length of the pool’s north side. Existing evidence suggests that the frigidarium was adorned with statues of the Muses. Next are the tepidarium and the caldarium, which connect with each other. Beneath these rooms one can see courses of bricks belonging tothe hypocaust system that circulated the hot air coming from the boiler room.

Washing in a Roman bath was a proces that took place in several stages. First the bather removed his clothign in a room called the apodyterium and from there entered the palaestra where he took his exercise. Then he either went into the pool to get rid of the dirt and perspiration from this physical exertion, or washed himself in hot water in the caldarium. From there he went to the tepidarium or to the frigidarium for a cold water bath. In the Roman era the bath was not just a place for washing, but was also a place where men met to pass the time of day or to discuss a variety of important topics. The long rectangular compartment at the north of the frigidarium was probably a place where bathers strolled and chatted. A long marble bench extends along this room’s west wall. Inscriptions on a large number of plinths found during excavations, indicate the statues that once stood on them were donated by a man named Claudius Peison.

 

 

 

Hellenistic Gate

 

 At the northern end of the inner court is a Hellenistic gate, Perge’s most famous structure. Dating to the third century B.C., it consists of two towers with a horseshoe-shaped court behind them. The towers had three stories and were covered with a conical roof. With the aid of Plancia Magna, several alterations in the decoration of the court were made between 120 and 122 A.D., changing it from a defensive structure to a court of honour. To create a facade, the walls were covered with coloured marble, several new niches were opened, and Corinthian columns were added. Figures of gods and goddesses like Aphrodite, Hermes, Pan and the Dioskouroi occupied the niches on the lower level.

According to the inscriptions on nine statue bases, these statues were placed in the niches on the upper level, representing the founders of Perge. In inscriptions on two pedestals, the names M. Plancius Varus and C. Plancius Varus, his son, appear. Because of their generosity toward Perge, they were thought of as second founders of the city.

The horseshoe-shaped court is bounded on the north by a three-arched monumental gate built by Plancia Magna. Inscriptions on pedestals unearthed in excavations indicate that statues of the emperors and their wives from the reign of Nerva to Hadrian, stood in the gate’s niches.

 

Agora

An agora 65 metres square is located to the east of the Hellenistic gate. On all four sides a wide stoa surrounds a central lined with shops. The floor of these shops is paved with coloured mosaics. A stone used in an ancient game can be seen in front of one store in the north portico. The game, which was played with six stones per person and thrown like dice, must have been very popular throughout the region, as similar stones were also found in other neighbouring cities. 

Colonnaded Street

A colonnaded street runs north-south through the city centre going under the triumphal arch of Demetrios-Apollonios, currently under restoration, at a point near the acropolis. This thoroughfare is intersected by another running east-west. On both sides of this 250 metre-long street are broad porticoes behind which are rows of shops. In this way the columned architecture on both sides offers various examples of the Roman understanding of perspective. The porticoes also provided a place where people could both take shelter from the violent rains in winter, and protect themselves from Perge’s extremely hot summer sun. Because of their suitability for the climate, avenues of this type are frequently found in the cities of southern and western Anatolia.

The main road comes to an end at another nymphaeum built at the foot of the acropolis in the second century A.D. The rich architecture of its two-tiered facade and its numerous statues make it one of Perge’s most striking monuments. The water brought from the spring empties into a pool beneath the statue of the river god Kestros standing in the centre of the fountain, and from there flows to the streets via channels.

Turning left from the triumphal arch of Apollonios that intersects the streets, and passing the Hellenistic gate, one comes to the palaestra, Perge’s oldest building. Here, under the supervision of their teachers, the youth of the city practiced wrestling and underwent physical education. According to an inscription this square edifice, consisting of an open area surrounded by rooms, was dedicated to the Emperor Claudius (reigned 41-54 A.D.) by a certain C. Julius Cornutus.

Perge, transformed by artisans into a city of marble, was truly magnificent, with a layout that would have been the envy of modern city planners. In order to fully appreciate its grandeur today, one must visit the Antalya Museum to see the hundreds of sculptures from Perge now housed there.

Among the famous men raised in this city can be cited the physician Asklepiades, the sophist Varus, and the mathematician Apollonios.

Perge has been under excavation by Turkish archaeologists since 1946.