Perga was an old city even in the first century. Its name (which is not Greek) indicates that its origin dates from pre-Greek times. Alexander the Great passed through it twice while the Pergaeans offered no resistance to him although it was a walled city with a citadel. In Roman times the main streets were over twenty-one meters wide. They were lined with Ionic colonnades and a water channel ran down their center in a series of small waterfalls as in Antalya today. Behind the colonnades stood the shops. Of the early buildings the stadium and the theater have survived the ravages of earthquakes and wars with the least damage. In fact this stadium which could seat about fourteen thousand people is one of the best preserved in Turkey.
The temple of the Pergaean Artemis according to a writer of the time was “a marvel of size, beauty, and workmanship.” Its location has yet to be established; it may have been where there are now ruins of a Byzantine church on a hill to the southeast of the city.
Perga is on a rise not far from the Cestrus River which was navigable In Paul’s time. It was not a seaport in terms of Its being directly on the Mediterranean even then, but rather it was more easily defended where it was: its distance from the open sea made it less vulnerable to piracy.
Two people stand out among the early residents of Perga. Apollonius was a third century B.C. astronomer and mathematician who believed that the movements of heavenly bodies in the universe were explainable by orbits within orbits: that the moon went around the earth as the earth went around the sun. He was much ahead of his time in his theories of astronomy, so much so that the ideas had to be rediscovered during the Renaissance. Plancia Magna was unusual for a second century A.D. woman: she held the highest city office during her life, that of demiurgus. She must have been well-to-do for a number of inscriptions record her gifts to the city.
Paul and Barnabas went through Perga on their way to and from Antioch on their first journey (Acts 13:13, 14:25). John Mark was with them at first but left them at Perga to return to Jerusalem. The reason for that must have been such that Paul doubted his commitment to the cause. Later when Paul and Barnabas were about to start on their second journey from Antioch they had a sharp dispute over his worthiness. Paul refused to have him go along, so John and Barnabas went to Cyprus while Paul chose Silas to accompany him.
Paul talks in II Corinthians 12:7 and in Galatians 4:13-14 of bodily illness that brought him to Galatia the first time. It may have been on that account that he did not stay long in Perga the first time. Whatever the illness was, it seems to have improved in time in the dry mountain air to the north.
The second theory of why they did not stay long in Perga is that their interview with Sergius Paulus, the proconsul of Cyprus, had made them want to hurry to the Roman colony in Antioch of Pisidia. This interpretation may lay too much stress on the lasting importance of that meeting with a cultured Roman who could have been more interested in the pursuits of the mind than the salvation, in Christian terms, of his soul. It is interesting, however, that this is” the point in Acts (13:9) that Luke begins to call Paul by his Roman name, not his Jewish “Saul”.
On their return they did stay in Perga long enough to preach and talk with people there. Nothing else is told about the city or their time there.
Pillars of the Agora
Palaestra in front of the Roman baths
Perga Nymphaeum
Perga,
Brilliant day out, excellent lesson from our tour guide, enjoyed the ruins a lot. Even my girlfriend who isn't into this at all enjoyed walking around the ruins and learning about it all
Many, many things to see in Perge. Watching the transition from Greek to Roman city. Long columned streets, the agora, the gates, it's all here.
This was part of our day trip and was the least memorable albeit still quite grand in scale. We had seen most of Perge's restored statues at the Antalya museum and our guide had noted that most of what Perge had to offer was at the museum and much had yet to be discovered due to a lack of funding…
We booked this through a TUI excursion rep that came to our hotel. We like using the TUI excursions because they did not stop at fur, leather and jewlery shops; it was all about touring the areas you paid to see. Lunch was included and made for a very nice day. Bus was large and air conditioned.
Surprised just how large this site is and at the present time only about 10% has been excavated. Sadly the amphitheatre was closed for renovations during our visit
very interesting, a must see historical place if you are in Antalya. It is better to see this place with just a driver and not those organized tours as you wouldnt have time to take pictures. We did hire someone who drove us to the places we wanted to see, just me and my family and did tour the place…
we visited Perge in July 2010. It's an ancient city with columns, amphitheater, old city squares, streets.
we really liked it and advise to visit Perge to tourists who visit Turkey
Well mainteined site.
Important to start early in the morning in summer days since it's very warm and not much shade.
Interesting and well preserved archeological site and combined with a visit to Antalya museum is a must
I cannot compare it to Aspendos as I did not visit that site. However, Perge exceeded all of my family's expectations. We spent a good half-day walking around the expansive site, amazed at every crevace of this Roman city.
If you only have the time to visit a single Roman ruin, I don't think that you'd be disappointed to make…