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Perge

The ancient city of Perge

Location

Country

Turkey

Province

Antalya

District

Aksu

Region of Antiquity

Pamphylia

Contact

36 57 '42 "North
30 51 '15 "East / 36.96159, 30.854295

Perge

Perga Perga or (in ancient Greek / in Hittite or is an ancient city, once capital of Pamphylia , now located in Turkey , to Aksu , 17 km east of Antalya.

/ / History

The ancient city of Perge was situated on both banks of the river Kestros in the region of Taurus. This river gave access to Perge the advantage of having a port 17 kilometers away from the sea and was therefore immune to hacker attacks.

In the twelfth century BC. BC, a wave of Greek immigration from the north occurred towards the Mediterranean coast. A portion of these migrants settle in the region, which became known as Pamphylia. Four major cities developed: Perge, Sillyon, Aspendos and Side.

Perge was founded around 1000 BC. AD, 20 km inland to avoid pirate raids. In -546, the Achaemenid seized the city and control it until the conquests of Alexander the Great. Hellenistic civilization that followed was prolonged in the Seleucid kingdom of Syria , who succeeded to the empire of Alexander. The city walls are witness to the Hellenic. Also at this time What lived Apollonius of Perga (-262 to -190). Student of Archimedes, the mathematician who studied the conic sections (circles, ellipses, parabolas, hyperbolas). It was perhaps the basis of the theory of epicycles of the astronomer Hipparchus.

The kingdom of Pergamon and the Seleucid kingdom fought Perge and the city was subject to arbitration -188 of the Roman consul Manlius Vulser, which decided that Perge return to the kingdom of Pergamum. In -133, Perge integration the Roman Empire when Rome got inherit the kingdom said.

Among the gods worshiped at Perge, there were mainly Artemis. This goddess is represented on coins of Perge and on many bas-reliefs and statues.

The ^Second and ^Third Centuries , Perge became the most beautiful city in Anatolia.

In early Christianity , St. Barnabas and St. Paul came to Perge and the latter made his first sermon. The Bible mentions Perge as the seat of Christianity. It remained so until the ^sixth century. But over the centuries, the river on whose banks had built Perge fills with silt and eventually became impractical to access the city. Faced with Arab raids of ^the seventh century , the city is gradually emptied of its inhabitants and was abandoned.

Archaeological remains

The ruins of Perge extend over a wide area.

City Gate	Stage	Hellenic door	Spa
Agora	Track bar	Monumental Fountain	The god of the fountain

Ancient Theatre

This is the first monument encountered. Greco-Roman style, he is leaning against the hillside and could accommodate 15,000 people. Its ornate facade had five doors for artists. Its height is 25 meters. The stage was decorated with marble friezes and reliefs, some of which are visible at the Antalya Museum.

Stage

The remains of Perge Stadium, dating from the ^second century, are the other side of the road leading to the theater. Shaped like a horseshoe and a 334m x 34m in size, it could accommodate 12,000 people. Characteristic of this stage, bleachers overcame a shopping arcade.

Speakers and city gates

The city walls are in places Hellenic period. Two towers of 12 meters are still visible at the site entrance. The current entry, type Roman is after the Greek entry and features a triumphal arch in the center.

Fontaine

A monumental fountain located at the western entrance. Its basin and its facade was ornate. It was dedicated to the Emperor Septimius Severus. Some statues and sculptures from the facade are exposed today in the museum of Antalya.

Doors Hellenistic

They date from the ^third century and are flanked on each side of turns three floors. The walls sported statues of gods and founders of the city.

Propylaeum

It is a monumental gateway between the fountain and the Hellenistic gate.

Spa

Propylaeum stand behind the great baths of the ^second century. They have various rooms dressed statues and a courtyard with columns and bas-reliefs.

Agora

It lies east of the entrance door and goes back to Greece and ^the second century. Behind the pillars that border were the shops. The floors were covered with mosaics.

Ways to columns

A long path columns decorated through the city from north to south, passing under the arch of triumph of Demetrius Apollonos. This long path was lined with pillars. An aqueduct runs through the center of the channel that brought water to the city.

Monumental fountain (nymphaeum)

The track bar ends with a monumental fountain. This fountain at the foot of the Acropolis, the water fed to the track. In the central part is represented the god of the river, Kestros in a supine position.