DENIZLI,COLOSSAE

C O L O S S A E

Denizli ilinin 25 km. doğusunda, Honaz ilçesinin 2 km kuzeyinde yer almaktadır. Denizli-Ankara karayolunun 16. km.sinde bulunan Organize Sanayi Bölgesi'nden, Honaz'a giden karayolu Colossae kentinin içinden geçmektedir. Antik kent, Honaz (Cadmos) dağının kuzeyinde, Aksu çayının kenarına kurulmuştur. Antik çağdan beri kullanılan güney şark yolu üzerindedir. Büyük Frigya içinde bulunan en önemli merkezlerdendir. Ksenephon'a göre Frigya'nın 6 büyük kentinden biridir. Pers egemenliğinde de en parlak çağlarını yaşamıştır. MÖ. III. yüzyıldan itibaren Hierapolis ve Laodikeia'nın kurulması ile önemini yitirmiştir. MS. I. YY.' da Neron döneminde meydana gelen depremle harap olmuştur. MS. 692-787 yıllarında şimdiki Honaz ilçe merkezinin bulunduğu yerde Chonae adıyla kurulan kent deprem nedeniyle tamamen terk edilmiştir. Chonae kentinde, St. Micheal kilisesinin bulunduğunu eski kaynaklardan öğrenmekteyiz. Osmanlı dönemine ait bir kale kalıntısı mevcuttur. Colossae antik kentinin kalıntılarına, Akropol olan, höyük tepesi ile çevresindeki arazilerde rastlanmaktadır. Höyüğün kuzeyindeki bölgede kayaya oyulmuş oda ve ev tipi mezarlar bulunmaktadır

COLOSSAE

(Epistle to the Colossians, Philemon 10,23)
It's situated 25 km east of Denizli and 2 km north of Honaz Town. The road passing through Colossae connects the Organized Industry Zone to Honaz Town, which is situated at the 16th km of the Denizli-Ankara Highway. The ancient city is situated on the west foothills of Mount Honaz (Mt. Cadmos) next to the Aksu River. It's on the southeast road, which was used in ancient times as well. It was one of the most important centers in greater Phrygia. According to Xenephon, Colossae was one of the six largest cities.
Along a main inland road from Ephesus to the Euphrates River, Colossae shared the beauty of the Lycus Valley with its sister cities: Hierapolis (12 miles northwest) and Laodicea (12 miles west). The original roads from Ephesus and Sardis joined there, and this defensible and well-watered hill became a strategic point in antiquity. Declining in importance by the time of Paul’s Epistle to them, they had already been surpassed in size by the other Lycus Valley cities. Strabo lists Colossae with smaller villages, not with major cities. The city received an Epistle because of the unique and insidious errors taking hold there, not becaue of its size. The site is abandoned today, near the village of Honaz.
By the C5BCE, Herodotus noted the “large city of Phrygia”. The center of a large and prosperous textile and wool industry, Xenophon remarked this was “a well populated city, large and wealthy”. The dark red wool from the region took the special name “colossinium”. The attraction of wealth and industry brought together a mix of Jews, Phrygians, and Greek traders. This combination no doubt helps the modern reader of Colossians account for the variety of philosophies addressed in the corrective Epistle.
The gospel probably arrived in Colossae with Paul’s preaching in Ephesus (cp. Acts 19:10) on the Third Mission Journey. Perhaps Epaphras, the Lycus Valley’s own evangelist heard Paul at Ephesus and returned with the message. It is impossible to know for sure, but it seems as though Paul had not yet visited at the time of the writing of the Epistle to the Colossians. Philemon and his slave Onesimus apparently were both natives of Colossae. The omission of any reference by Paul to the great earthquake of 60 CE, causes many scholars to believe Paul had not yet heard the news, or the Epistle predates the quake (Tacitus records the quake, Annals 14.27). Epaphras visited Paul during his house arrest, and brought news of the Lycus Valley to Paul, refreshing him during the imprisonment.


THEATRE
View of the unexcavated semi–circular seating area (cavea) of the theater. The group in the upper left portion of the photo is standing on the opposite side of the cavea. From the position where the photo was taken, the cavea curves to the left, to the tree, and from there back slightly to the right – to where the group is standing.
ACROPOL
View looking south at Colossae. The mound of Colossae is the dark (burnt) rise in the center of the picture. It had recently been burnt to remove vegetation (late July) when this photo was taken.
Clearly visible in the photo is the citadel of Colossae. On the far (south) side of the mound (not visible) a large lower portion of the mound extends in a southerly direction. The only real visible remain on the mound is the outline of an unexcavated theater.