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.
Perga,
Because the crowds were much smaller, we were able to linger at the various sites, and to gather around out guide and really hear what he had to say. The stadium was especially impressive, and the only one of its kind we saw while in Turkey
Canmom another DE for Antalya kindly took us out for the day and what a day it was.
Our first stop on this latest sight seeing trip was Perge having been with her to Aspendos previously !
We first stopped to see some ruins leading up to the site.It was a surprise how close Perge is to our luxurious hotel…
Extremely interesting walk around a 2000 year old city, brought to life by our guide.
See the inside and outside baths of this Roman City, stroll around the market square, walk along the colonnades
Great number of interesting pillars.
Amazing the sheer size of the original city.
The location is near Anatolia
We combined this with a trip to Aspendos,…
Perge is a historical site, 30 kms away from city center. It worths going there to explore excavated statues. I would recommend you to read a book about this site, to be more familiar with the all the details, if you won’t get a tour guide. It was opened after a long term renovation with a great support from the…
The ruins at Perge (English is Perga) were never pillaged and ransacked. An earthquake destroyed the city and remained untouched until Turkish archeologists discovered it. Many of the statuary from the ancient city are in the Perga museum in Antalya, and they are in spectacular shape.
Brilliant!! a must, what a privilege to be able to walk around and touch, and not to be behind a rope a 1/4 of a mile away!!
As part of an optional tour, with Gate1, we were driven to Perge, to visit this ancient city. The layout is still there. Enjoyed the walkabout as well, its history.
Honestly, Perge is a good place. But the day I went in, there was a movie that was being shot (and guess what, it was a bollywood movie). I greeted the actors but that wasnt really my objective to visit Perge. When I went in, I saw some set that was being made where the movie sequence was going to…
This place just took my breath away! Yes it is ruins and yes it may seem repetitive for those who are not interested in this sort of thing but if history is your thing then it is totally worth a visit! There are some boards (in English too!) which explain the history of the place and what area was for…
It was such a fabulous experience going on a guided tour of this ancient city. Actually walking on the original streets and having all the landmarks described so enthusiastically by our tour guide. Well worth going on an organised trip there. Truly memorable!