2 - Hierapolis (Pamukkale)

Summary

Philip the evangelist, one of seven deacons appointed in Jerusalem by the Twelve, and at least two of his daughters, died at Hierapolis in the Lycus valley. In a letter written between 189 and 198, Polycrates, bishop of Ephesus, names Philip and six other bishops as members of his family. This shows the importance of family networks in the growth of Christianity. Parallels include Jesus’ own family, members of which became bishops of Seleucia (Ctesiphon), and later, the family of Basil of Caesare – whose relatives were bishops of several churches in Cappadocia and Pontus. Also at Hierapolis, Papias wrote the Account of Logia about the Lord, a redacted account of Jesus. For this work, completed any time between about 90 and the 130s, Papias had interviewed anyone who came his way and ‘had been in attendance on the elders’. Like Laodicea, Hierapolis had a synagogue and an important Jewish community; there may even have been a Jewish quarter in the city. Glykon, buried at Hierapolis, left money to fund distributions to members of the carpet-weavers’ guild during the festival of Pentecost, and also at the Roman new year on 1 January. Glykon may have been a Godfearer.