The Ruined Cities of Asia Minor 



755 



the inhabitants of the early Greek king- 

 doms of Asia Minor. There were nu- 

 merous porticos which protected the 

 people from the sun and storms, and 

 fountains which tempered the heat of the 

 climate. When these theaters were at 

 the height of their splendor the hills 

 above them abounded in cool, shady 

 nooks. Such was the theater at Hie- 

 rapolis, which, with the single exception 

 of the excavated theater at Miletus, is 

 the most perfect structure in Asia Minor. 

 To begin with, it evidently has not been 

 laid waste by the hand of man. The en- 

 tire front of the building has apparently 

 been shaken by earthquakes, as a portion 

 only of the proscenium still stands, the 

 rest being a mass of ruins. The passage- 

 ways which led through the beautifully 

 arched entrances are still intact, and are 

 decorated with festoons and foliage. 

 The orchestra is filled with rubbish, but 

 it is only the accumulation of time. 

 Among the innumerable fragments of 

 the stage architecture there are many 

 bases of spiral and Ionic columns, as 

 well as bas-reliefs of Roman style. 



With the exception of the roof, the 

 church of the Apostle Philip stands in- 

 tact, and some fresco work may still be 

 seen in one of the little chapels. The 

 place is now inhabited by a band of wan- 

 dering nomads who have pitched their 

 tents close to the western wall. Their 

 horses are stabled within the ancient 

 church itself. 



One of the four necropolises at Hie- 

 rapolis is probably the best preserved in 

 the world. Some of the finest of the 

 mausoleums still stand erect and in as 

 perfect a state of architecture as when 

 first constructed. The long epitaphs on 

 most of them may be read as distinctly as 

 if they had been engraved but yesterday. 

 Some of them are huge affairs and con- 

 tain benches and vaults, all in perfect 

 preservation. I remember one in par- 

 ticular which belonged to a rich patri- 

 cian of Apollonia. There are, however, 

 many others equally as interesting, and 

 it is only to be wondered at that the col- 

 umns and marbles, with their many in- 

 scriptions, have not been removed by the 



ravaging hand of man. Perhaps some 

 of the inscriptions which threaten wan- 

 ton hands with eternal punishment have 

 had the effect of scaring away would-be 

 desecraters, but they did not have suffi- 

 cient terrors to keep the sarcophagi from 

 being robbed of their valuables. 



Hierapolis contains many other edi- 

 fices of peculiar interest. On the heights 

 overlooking the city there is an old 

 acropolis. Behind the church of the 

 Apostle Philip there is an ancient theater. 



At the edge of the precipice, not far 

 from the baths, there stands a medieval 

 castle fairly well preserved. It was 

 probably erected from some of the older 

 ruins, perhaps by the Crusaders, and is 

 remarkable only as a contrast in solidity 

 of construction as compared with the 

 theater or church. If left to the lapse of 

 time, the Greek and Roman ruins will 

 be standing as today long after the castle 

 has disappeared. Over a deep gorge to 

 the east may be seen the buttresses of an 

 ancient bridge which led out to the Lao- 

 dicea road, the full outlines of which 

 may still be traced along the hillside. 



Hierapolis has had a stormy history. 

 During the reign of Nero, Hierapolis 

 was destroyed by an earthquake, and re- 

 built with the assistance of the state. 

 Frederick Barbarossa once fought a bat- 

 tle at the foot of the falls. 



Hierapolis, as well as Laodicea, was 

 famous for wool and for dyeing cloths. 

 The people were thrifty and full of en- 

 terprise. One manufacturer of Hierap- 

 olis tells us on his mausoleum that he 

 had visited Rome no less than 72 times 

 in the interest of his business. That man 

 would be worth the weight of his mauso- 

 leum in gold if he were alive today and 

 we could secure him to push American 

 commercial interests in Asia Minor ! 

 The population of the city seems to have 

 been employed chiefly in spinning and 

 weaving. Such were these cities once. 

 Today they are forsaken, and the inter- 

 vening valley, one of the richest spots on 

 earth, is nothing but a dreary waste. 

 Speaking of the splendors of these cities 

 at one time, no less an authority than 

 Gibbon says : 



