Fragments
Hierapolis (Phrygia) · 130
P
Papias of Hierapolis
Papias of Hierapolis
60 CE–130 CE · Hierapolis (Phrygia)
An early-2nd-century bishop of Hierapolis in Phrygia (c. 60/70–130/155 CE); his five-volume Exposition of the Dominical Oracles (Λογίων κυριακῶν ἐξήγησις) survives only in fragments, chiefly preserved by Eusebius and Irenaeus, and contains important early traditions about the composition of the Gospels of Mark and Matthew. Papias was acquainted with the daughters of Philip (identified by Eusebius as the apostle Philip, though some scholars distinguish him from Philip the Evangelist/Deacon of Acts) who had settled in Hierapolis, and he claimed to have gathered oral traditions from those who knew the apostles directly. He is regarded as an important witness to early Christian millenarianism and to the process of gospel formation.
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Hierapolis (Phrygia)
What they did here
Papias served as bishop of Hierapolis throughout his known life; Eusebius (HE 3.36, 3.39) and Irenaeus both identify him firmly with this city, and he gathered apostolic traditions there from visitors and local informants including the daughters of Philip. A tradition in the late Paschal Chronicle claims he was martyred in Pergamon, but this is contradicted by Eusebius's silence and is not accepted by modern scholarship.
Hierapolis (Phrygia) in this era
Under Roman imperial rule as part of the province of Asia, Hierapolis became associated in early tradition — attested by Polycrates of Ephesus c. 190 CE — with Philip the Apostle, who reportedly died and was buried here alongside two of his daughters, while a third daughter was buried at Ephesus.