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,
Incredibly well-preserved ruins with a magnificent example of the Roman heating system of their baths. You can walk down the main street like the Romans would have done and observe the commercial agora in all its glory. I recommend going at any period other than summer because it gets VERY hot and there is not much shade!
Loved Perge and Aspendos! Had a really good guide who brought it all to life for us, fascinating! (tomson). Do not support the use of the poor Camels the man has kneeling on concrete at Aspendos! Poor creatures!
Very big site with lots to see and interesting if you like historical ruins. I would recommend going as part of a tour, as we found the guide very informative and he pointed out things we would otherwise have missed. There are toilet facilities near the entrance.
Very interesting with lots of information. The pillars remaining are fabulous as are the baths.
This first class visit was organised by First Choice/Thomson. First stop was Perge, what an unbelievable site, breathtaking to think how advanced the Grecians/Romans were in 300bc!!.
After Perge we travelled to Aspendos to view what is one of the best preserved Amphitheatres in the world truly amazing. The First Choice guide was very knowledgeable and helpful. The excursion was…
This was my second visit to this site, the Amphitheatre is still closed off to visitors due to restoration. However I did get a chance to have a look around the stadium this time…wow!
The main site is huge, well I suppose it would be if the town had a population of around 50,000. Most of the main Public buildings…
Agora, collonaded street, bath-house,stadium and nymphaeum all splendid.
Only a short walk up the road from Aksu village where the minibus from Antalya drops you. Theatre and palaestra unfortunately currently closed for restoration.
Got what we expected, shame the mini coliseum was closed due to repairs. There's a great Agora and loads of nice ruins to get pictures. If you can dont go when its too warm because there's no shadow in there 😉
An amazingly extensive and well-preserved site that is still being excavated – fascinating!
Amidst the large hubbub of Antalya and all its other attractions is one that eluded me during my trip planning. The only reason I found it, was seeing a brown tourist attraction road sign called “Perge”, and looking up the name back at my hotel. I am happy to have seen it and glad to rate Perge as a must…