Academic literature on the topic 'Theater Hierapolis'

An inscription found in the theatre of Hierapolis(Pamm UKkale)in Phrygia and recently published is of interest both in itself and because it may help to elucidate a passage of Arrian′sDiscourses of Epictetos.

The study concerns the city walls of Hierapolis in Phrygia (Denizli, Turkey), which were built in the second half of the 4th century AD or at the beginning of the 5th century AD, by systematically recycling architectural blocks from Imperial-era public monuments and funerary edifices. The preserved remains of the fortifications enclose the city along its northern, eastern and southern sides, leaving out large sectors of the urban area. Within the research activities of the Italian Archaeological Mission, topographical DGPS surveys of the remains were performed, and a geodatabase of the reemployed blocks was implemented with three main aims: i) the reconstruction of the building site of the city walls; ii) the identification of the demolished monuments of the Imperial-era used as “quarries” and the study of the procurement strategies of stone materials in the early-Byzantine Hierapolis; iii) the analysis of the relationship between the large building site of the fortifications and the other coeval construction sites and their impact on the socio-economic life of the city. The research allowed us to trace the development of the building site of the city walls, which, starting from the north, mainly reemployed blocks from the necropolises, North Theatre, North Agora and the shops along the plateia not-included into the early Byzantine Hierapolis. Moreover, numerous materials from the Gymnasium and other monuments located in the central part of the city but not yet identified on the ground were especially reused in the eastern and southern sectors of the walls. Lastly, the location of the recycled blocks made it possible even to reconstruct the various transportation routes linking the demolished monuments to the different sectors of the city walls. On cover:Late Roman wall, the portion immediately south of the West Gate (Porta Oea) with re-used blocks from first-century mausolea (Drawing by Francesca Bigi) and Tombstone of Regina from South Shields (Arbeia) (Tyne and WearArchives and Museums/ Bridgeman Images). E-ISSN (online version) 2611-3686 ISSN (print version) 0065-0900

Hierapolis is a popular tourist site, featured frequently on travel posters and tourist advertisements because of the adjacent spectacular calcified cliffs. Equally as impressive as the white cliffs, however, are the remains of the ancient city and the excellent museum at the site. Along with Colossae and Laodicea, Hierapolis was one of the major cities of the Lycus River valley. While Colossae and Laodicea are on the southern side of the Lycus River, Hierapolis (today known as Pamukkale) is north (or northeast) of the river. The site of the ancient city is approximately 12 miles north of the modern city of Denizli. The most striking aspect of the city, in ancient as well as modern times, is the sight of the calcified white cliffs, formed by mineral deposits from the water flowing over the cliffs. From these white cliffs, which can be seen from the ruins of Laodicea, approximately 6 miles away, Hierapolis derived its modern name of Pamukkale (meaning “cotton castle”). The date of the founding of the city of Hierapolis is uncertain. Because the earliest inscription found at Hierapolis dates from the reign of Eumenes II of Pergamum (r. 197–159 B.C.E.), the founding of the city has usually been dated to the time of the Pergamene kingdom. But because of an inscription in the theater that lists various tribal names, some of which are derived from the names of members of the Seleucid family who ruled parts of Asia Minor during the 4th and 3rd centuries B.C.E. (such as Seleucidos and Antiochidos), the founding of the city should likely be moved back to the time of the Seleucid kings. Even the origin of the name of the city is uncertain. One tradition is that the Pergamene rulers named the city after Hiera, the wife of Telephus (son of Hercules and grandson of Zeus), the mythical founder of Pergamum. Another explanation is that the name means “holy city” (hieros in Greek means “holy”) and that the city was so named because of the temples located there. The latter explanation may have arisen after the mythological connection was forgotten.

Abstract Theatres were a crucial stage not only for the theatrical performances which took place as part of festivals, but also for other forms of social rituals and performances, such as processions, libations and public honours. This chapter explores the decoration above the central doorway of two theatres in Asia minor, those at Hierapolis and Perge, and explores the ways in which it presented a normative view of the most important aspects of civic festivals to both citizens and visitors. Drawing on the insights of both performance theory and the ‘spatial turn’, it explores the ways in which the decoration of these theatres exerted agency onto those who used the space, offering up a vision of the meaning of the activities in which they were involved, and identifying a hierarchy of activities, individuals, and groups. At Hierapolis the porta regia frieze asserts the importance of Hierapolis’ festivals and her cult of Apollo, and the involvement in this of officials, performers, and civic bodies as well as sacred envoys from the wider region. At Perge the concentration is narrower, focussing particularly on the different ages groups which took part in religious processions in honour of the patron goddess Artemis Pergaia. In both, the decorative programme sets forth messages which acted to frame and inform the human activities which took place within the space, and to solidify a particular version of festival in civic memory.