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,
the guide was very informative and brought it to life his name is ata and we enjoyed it very much,take plenty to drink as it gets very hot
Very unusual ancient city due to the existence of both a Greek and Roman gate to the city. Baths are in good condition as are the streets with columns. Plenty of opportunities for photo compositions which isolate on the Greek and Roman architecture of an ancient city. Barren site, so trees and other greenery will not available for shade or…
Personally this was not a good place to go. It lacked any form of structure. Maps or what was where would have been good. Pictures/models showing what it looked like in its day would have helped.
All it needed was a little bit of extra work to enable you to see what a wonderful and interesting place it would have…
This is where St Paul gave his first ever sermon at Perge – great to walk amongst the old Roman ruins here and imagine how this town was all those years ago.
Its easy to get to by bus from the otogar. Get a bus to Aksu then its a 10 min walk. The amphitheatre was closed for conservation but looked great as did the stadium. The two towers at the entrance are really spectacular. The baths are very well preserved. Its quite a big site and when we went we largely…
Today we travelled with my family to the ancient city of Perge. It is one of the first ancient sites or historical cities you can visit just outside of the city of Antalya. It is approximately 15 kms north east and is located on the Antalya-Side highway. And from the city center of Antalya and will take about 20 minutes…
Very close to the hotel. We just rented a bus with 10 people. It took only 20 minutes and we spend more than a hour with a guide who told us the history about thede place.
Well worth a visit its fab good tour guide learning about the ruins was fasinating. Some going back before the romans. After our. After our visit we were taken a short coach ride to a viaduct that was used bc below it you will find a small turkish market about 12 stalls they have the normal tatt along with the…
Very interesting place, but i would suggest that you go with a guide. Souvenirs a little expensive and it only had a very small cafeteria.
A ancient roman settlement, still mainly intact. The town can be walked through and around.
For us the best part were the old baths, but the forum and the main street came close. There are archways, a fountainand a ground level aquaduct worth seeing. Outside the main town is a theatre, yhis is likely to be closed for safety reasons,…