Hierapolis (Phrygia)

Hierapolis was a Greco-Roman city of Phrygia beside the hot springs at modern Pamukkale, Turkey, founded under the Seleucids and long used as a spa; its ruins became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988. Rebuilt after earthquakes in 17 CE and 60, it was the birthplace of the Stoic philosopher Epictetus, who was born there into slavery. Christian tradition holds that the apostle Philip spent his last years there, and his martyrium and tomb stand at the site. Papias, an early second-century Christian writer, was bishop of the city, and in 531 Justinian raised its bishop to metropolitan rank.