Perga
Perga is an ancient city located in Pamphylia, southern Asia Minor, approximately six miles from the Mediterranean coast. Historically significant, it was believed to have been founded by a mixed population following the Trojan War, later experiencing colonization by the Argolid and Spartans in the seventh century BC. The city gained prominence due to its strategic location along the Cestrus River and its port, which facilitated trade and military operations, including support for Alexander the Great in the 4th century BC.
Perga flourished during Roman rule, particularly in the second century AD, when it became a prosperous center. It is noted for its impressive architecture, including a well-preserved Roman gate, a colonnaded main street, and significant public structures such as a theater and stadium. The city also held a special cultural connection to the goddess Artemis Pergaia, whose temple, while not yet discovered, is celebrated on local coins. Additionally, Perga is known for its early Christian history, including the martyrdom of Nestor during the reign of Emperor Decius. The archaeological remains of Perga reflect its rich and diverse history, making it a site of interest for historians and tourists alike.
Subject Terms
Perga
Perge (Murtana near Aksu)
A city in Pamphylia (southern Asia Minor), six miles from the sea, at the junction of the river Cestrus (Aksu Çayı) with the smaller Catarrhactes. According to tradition—which may possess a certain factual basis—it was founded by a `mixed’ population, which immigrated after the Trojan War under the leadership of Amphilochus, Mopsus and Calchas.
Subsequently colonized from the Argolid and by the Spartans in the seventh century BC, the place derived importance from its close proximity to the river Cestrus, at the mouth of which it possessed a port, seven miles from the city. After periods of Lydian and then Persian control, Perga paid tribute to Athens during the Peloponnesian War (431–404). In 334/3 it supplied guides to Alexander the Great, and served as his base for operations in Pamphylia. The greatest citizen of Perga was the mathematician Apollonius (second only to Archimedes in renown), who worked in the later third century. The Seleucids exercized domination until their garrison was expelled by the Roman Cnaeus Manlius Vulso in 188. Subsequently the place became part of the Pergamene kingdom, and then of the successive Roman provinces to which Pamphylia (qv) belonged. Perga was twice visited by St. Paul, and became very prosperous in the second century AD. In the following century it acquired the honorific distinction of asylia (inviolability) and the status of metropolis.
The coins of Perga are remarkable for the number of deities that they depict. The city's special pride was a shrine of Artemis Pergaia or Anassa (princess; Vanassa Preiia in the local speech); like `Diana of the Ephesians’ she seems to have been a native goddess of Asia Minor identified with Artemis by the Greeks. The temple, containing an image (perhaps originally a meteoric stone) behind a barrier that was decorated with bands of dancing figures, is depicted on coins, for example of Lucius Verus (161–69) and Tacitus (275–276); but it has never been discovered. The original town, in which it was presumably located, stood on a flat-topped acropolis at the northern end of the site. But a lower town also came into existence, and was fortified by the Seleucids. The wall still stands today (with Byzantine extensions), including a gate of the reign of Hadrian (120–22), which is Perga's most impressive surviving monument; it is flanked by two round towers and opens onto an elliptical interior courtyard. An elaborate triumphal arch across the inner end of the courtyard was one of the many lavish benefactions of Plancia Magna, priestess of Artemis Pergaia, who is mentioned in numerous inscriptions.
Beyond the courtyard starts the city's colonnaded main street, lined by porticoed shops and column bases. Beside the street is a recently excavated, irregularly shaped agora, a palaestra (athletics school)—comprising an open courtyard—at the foot of the acropolis, and a nymphaeum (fountain building), from which water issued from behind a reclining figure of the river-god Cestrus to flow down a channel in the middle of the street. A second, smaller, nymphaeum is flanked by large baths, recently excavated. To the southwest of the city lie a theater and a stadium, both excellently preserved, with seating capacities for 14,000 and 12,000 spectators respectively.
The Christian martyr Nestor died at Perga during the persecution of Trajanus Decius (251), and the line of its bishops known by name goes back to the fourth century.