BIKE CLASSICAL: Colossae

Photos by Jack A. Waldron

The Colossae sign is in place, the ancient site is clearly mapped (sort of), but the only antiquities you'll view are covered in sediment, or large stone blocks that appear to have been configured into sheep pens (37°47'12.0"N 29°15'36.0"E).

There is nothing like exploring an ancient city that has yet to be excavated. Ancient Colossae is that, but why? During antiquity, this was one of the most important cities of Phrygia, and Asia Minor, with a recorded history that mat reach back to the 17C BCE, when the Hittites referred to a city called Huwalusija.

Similar to the nearby ancient cities of Laodikeia (15 km to the northwest), and Hieropolis (25 km north by northwest), Colossae was enriched by the wool trade, of which this was the center, with trade routes crisscrossing through the heart of the area.

The name 'Colossae' may derive from 'colossinus', a popular dye color that is a type of purple or reddish-purple that may have been used to treat the local wool, and then exported far and wide along the trade routes. Pictured below, a late afternoon view of the mountains to the east from the acropolis of Colossae.

The sun baked acropolis shows few signs that this was once a magnificent sprawling metropolis, and though the golden grass is beautiful, there really wasn't much to photograph.

That said, as you come to the northern edge of the acropolis the half-moon shape of the Theater clearly stands out (pictured below)(37°47'12.0"N 29°15'40.2"E). As you descend the edges of the Theater, large stone blocks still engaged with the main structure begin to reveal themselves (pictured below).

I suspect that though the entire Theater has been buried under the accumulation of centuries of wind blown soil and vegetation, the vomitorium was not filled, and that rain water found its way down into the depths, thus creating some holes near the entry points (pictured above).

There some vague outcrops of seating to be seen, along with some sections of cavea walls, as well as the odd stone block sitting on the surface.

I hope excavations will begin as soon as possible, so I can see this hidden gem. The Theater at Colossae is ver large, and I am going to take a guess that it had a seating capacity of around 30,000 to 40,000.

The late afternoon sun created a perfect outline of the curvature of the Theater where it meets the acropolis (pictured above).

Ancient Colossae will be the last on the list of the ancient cities around Denizli to have money invested in excavations and restorations, though I believe it will eventually get the attention it so well deserves.

As I was looking at the other ancient cities in the area, I noticed that the restoration work on the smaller Roman Theater at Laodikeia has been completed, and that restoration work on the Roman Bridge west of the city is nearly complete (37°50'19.5"N 29°05'59.4"E).

I've also noticed that tremendous excavation progress is being made at Tripolis (38°02'23.8"N 28°56'57.8"E), which I photographed in 2018 (if I remember correctly), but have yet to write and post about.

As you can see by the fragment in the photo below, there are many finely sculpted and ornate antiquities waiting to be discovered here at Colossae.

Ancient Hieropolis is yet another of the great wool and cotton trading cities surrounding the rich valley, and with it sitting atop the Pammukale hot springs, recurring tourism ensured its restoration long ago.

Pictured below is a composite photo of the Theater at Colossae. With the sun beginning to set, I headed over to the western side of the river to explore the massive blocks used to create animal pens.

Pictured below, with the Theater in the distance in the right side of the photo, there is a sharp drop in the left of the photo.

It's possible that the flat area between this drop and the western edge of the Theater may be the location of the Stadium (37°47'14.1"N 29°15'41.3"E).

Also, the sharp drop down to the road may also be concealing the northern city defensive wall, in which the outer stadium wall acted as a section, similar to the stadium at ancient Priene.

Ancient Colossae was not named in the Book of Revelation as being a Church of the Apocalypse, but it is located a mere 20 kilometers from ancient Laodikeia, which holds such distinction. The twelfth book of the New Testament of the Christian Bible is titled, 'Epistle to the Colossians', which according to the text was composed by Paul the Apostle and Timothy.

It may be, that around the time of Paul's travels through the area, the Colossians were being tempted by an understanding of the universe that was influenced by Epicurean philosophy, which was born out of the region. References to "the elements" and "rudiments of the world" led the authors to cause the Colossian church of pursuing a 'philosophy of empty deceit" (Colossians 2:8 and 2:20).

Epicurean philosophy examines 'atomism', an early Greek theory that proposes a physical universe made up of invisible elements called atoms, that when clustered together create arrangements, positions, and shapes, which then offer substances to the macro world, or universe. For obvious reasons, the Christian doctrine could not accept such scientific hypothesis.

Leaving the central ancient site, I followed the main road across the bridge to the north side of the Aksu Stream (ancient Lycus River) to a large area of flat land with some stone block pens that are/were used to hold livestock (37°47'28.7"N 29°15'33.7"E).

There are quite a few of these pens scattered around the area, and I believe I can say with certainty that these stone blocks were once members of massive constructions, such as fountains, temples, gates, and other various buildings.

In the photo above, we are looking south across the Aksu Stream (ancient Lycus River), with the acropolis of Colossae in view, and the high mountains meeting the sky in the distance.

I am curious to know if these stone blocks belonged to buildings located on this specific site, or if they were moved and collected here?

My suspicion is, that this entire area consisted of the northern section of the city, and that beneath the surface is a complete street pattern with the bases of the builds that these stone blocks belong to.

A more ancient character who found his fate in ancient Colossae was Tissaphernes, the grandson of the Persian general Hydarnes, who commanded the Immortals under Xerxes during the invasion of Greece from 483 BCE.

Tissaphernes is described as being a lying deceitful character, but was trusted by Darius II in 414 BCE to suppress a rebellion by the Persian satrap of Ionia and Lydia named Pissuthnes in Asia Minor, and to replace him as satrap.

To make a long story short, following the death of Darius II in 404 BCE, Artaxerxes II became king, but was soon to be challenged for the crown by his brother Cyrus the Younger, who planned to assassinate him.

Tissaphernes exposed the plot of Cyrus the Younger to assassinate Artaxerxes II, which in turn led to the defeat and death of Cyrus the Younger at the Battle of Cunaxa. Parysatis, the wife of Darius II and mother of both Artaxerxes II and Cyrus the Younger, blamed Tissaphernes for the death of Cyrus the Younger.

The death of Tissaphernes came when he was lured into a meeting with the Persian satrap of Hellespontic Phrygia named Pharnabazus II. The chiliarch Tithraustes (chiliarch means, commander of a thousand men), was sent by Parysatis to assassinate Tassaphernes, which he accomplished in 395 BCE at the residence of Ariaeus in Colossae.

A more modern history of Colossae is that of a short revival during the Komnenian period of Byzantine Empire under five emperors collectively forming the Komnenos dynasty, that lasted from 1081-1185 CE. Pictured below, as I was leaving the site to seek out my camp for the night, I noticed a huge plume of smoke rising over the acropolis.

The five Byzantine emperors of the Komnenos dynasty were Alexios I, John II, Manual I, Alexios II, and Andronikos I. Not surprisingly, the Komnenian period was that in which the Crusades in the Holy Land took place, bringing Western Europeans, economic trade, soldiers, territorial expansion, and new energies to Asia Minor and Anatolia in general.

As a suffragan diocese of Phyrigia Pacatiana city of nearby Laodikeia, a basilica with mosaics and religious art was built, and the city took the name Chonae. During the 12C CE, the city and it's church were destroyed on two different occasions by Turkish rebels, Theodore Mangaphas and Pseudo-Alexios II, respectively.

Finally, we know that the Byzantine renegade Manual Maurozomes governed Chonae (Colossae) during the early 13C CE after the city finally fell to the Seljuks.

Though the site of church has yet to be located, the holy healing waters of the ancient Lycus River from nearby Mount Cadmus still flow, and it was in part these waters for which the ancient city was renowned.