View source for Perga

{{Short description|Ancient Greek city}}
{{Infobox ancient site
  |name = Perga
  |native_name = {{Transliteration|hit|''Parha''}} ([[Hittite language|Hittite]])<br/>Πέργη {{in lang|grc}}<br/>Perge {{in lang|tr}}
  |alternate_name = 
  |image = Perge city overview.jpg
  |alt = 
  |caption = Overview of Perga
  |map_type = Turkey
  |map_alt = 
  |map_size = 270
  |coordinates = {{coord|36|57|41|N|30|51|14|E|display=inline,title}}
  |location = [[Aksu, Antalya]], Turkey
  |region = [[Lukka lands|Lukka]]<br/>[[Pamphylia]]
  |type = Settlement
  |part_of = 
  |length = 
  |width = 
  |area = 
  |height = 
  |builder = 
  |material = 
  |built = By 1209&nbsp;BC
  |abandoned = 
  |epochs = [[Chalcolithic]] Age to [[Middle Ages]]
  |cultures = {{hlist|[[Luwians|Luwian]]|[[Lycians|Lycian]]|[[Hittites|Hittite]]| [[Greeks|Greek]]| [[Ancient Rome|Roman]]|[[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]]| [[Turkish people|Turkish]]}}
  |dependency_of = 
  |occupants = [[Apollonius of Perga|Apollonius]]
  |event = 
  |excavations = 
  |archaeologists = 
  |condition = 
  |ownership = 
  |management = 
  |public_access = 
  |website = <!-- {{URL|example.com}} -->
  |notes = 
}}

[[File:Perge Plan.jpg|thumb|Plan of Perge]]
[[File:Perge - Ágora - 01.jpg|thumb|The [[agora]]]]
[[File:Perge - Estadio.jpg|thumb|The stadium]]
'''Perga''' or '''Perge''' ([[Hittite language|Hittite]]: ''Parha'',{{efn|See:<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Gurney |first1= Oliver Robert |date= 1997 |title= The Annals of Hattusilis III. |url= https://www.jstor.org/stable/3642903 |journal=Anatolian Studies |volume=47 |pages=128–135 |doi= 10.2307/3642903 |jstor= 3642903 |s2cid= 162163204 | access-date= 25 November 2022|url-access= subscription }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1= Gander |first1= Max |date= 2012|title= Review: The Historical Geography of Western Anatolia in the Late Bronze Age: still an open question |url= https://www.jstor.org/stable/i40119644 |journal= Orientalia |volume=81 |issue=2 |page=137 | access-date= 25 November 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1= Gander |first1= Max |date= 2014|title= Tlos, Oinoanda and the Hittite Invasion of the Lukka lands. Some Thoughts on the History of North-Western Lycia in the Late Bronze and Iron Age |url= https://www.researchgate.net/publication/272399858 |journal= Klio |volume=81 |issue=2 |page=370 | access-date= 25 November 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Blasweiler |first= Joost |date= 2019 |title= The kingdom of Purušhanda and its relations with the kings of Mari and Kanesh in the 18th Century BC |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=vaSWwgEACAAJ |publisher= Joost Blasweiler |page= 25 |isbn= 978-90-820497-5-6}}</ref><ref>{{cite thesis |type=MSc |last=Çilingir |first=Sevgül |date=2011 |title=Hitit Tapınak Kentleri |url=https://www.academia.edu/2083096 |publisher=Ege Üniversitesi |page= 25}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last1=Matessi | first1= Alvise | last2= Tomassini Pieri | first2= Bianca Maria|editor-last1=Weeden | editor-first1= Mark | editor-last2=Ullmann | editor-first2=Lee Z. |date=2012 |title=Hittite Landscape and Geography |url= https://brill.com/edcollbook/title/22731 |chapter= South-Central: Archaeology |publisher= Brill |page= 98 |isbn= 978-90-04-34939-1}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Rutherford |first= Ian |date= 2012 |title= Hittite Texts and Greek Religion: Contact, Interaction, and Comparison |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=mJj5DwAAQBAJ|location= Oxford |publisher= Oxford University Press |page= 51 |isbn= 9780199593279}}</ref>}} {{langx|el|Πέργη}} ''Perge'', {{langx|tr|Perge}}) was originally an ancient Lycian settlement{{efn|See:<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Gurney |first1= Oliver Robert |date= 1997 |title= The Annals of Hattusilis III. |url= https://www.jstor.org/stable/3642903 |journal=Anatolian Studies |volume=47 |page=135|doi= 10.2307/3642903 |jstor= 3642903 |s2cid= 162163204 |url-access= subscription }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1= Bryce |first1= Trevor R. |date= 1992|title= Lukka Revisited |url= https://www.jstor.org/stable/545499 |journal= Journal of Near Eastern Studies |volume=51 |issue=2 |page=123|doi= 10.1086/373535 |jstor= 545499 |s2cid= 222441745 |url-access= subscription }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Yakar |first= Jak |editor-last1= Çınardalı-Karaaslan |editor-first1= Nazlı |editor-last2=Aykurt |editor-first2= Ayşegül |editor-last3=Kolankaya-Bostancı  |editor-first3=Neyir  |editor-last4= Erbil |editor-first4= Yiğit H. |date= 2014 |chapter= The Archaeology and Political Geography of the Lower Land in the Last Century of the Hittite Empire |title= Anadolu Kültürlerine Bir Bakış Some Observations on Anatolian Cultures Armağan Erkanal'a Armağan Compiled in Honor of Armağan Erkanal |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/271384482 |publisher= Hacettepe Üniversitesi Yayınları |page= 504}}</ref><ref>{{cite thesis |type=MSc |last=Seçer |first=Sezer |date=2012 |title=Yazılı Belgeler Işığında Lukka, Pedassa ve Walma Ülkelerinin Tarihi ve Tarihi Coğrafyası|url=http://nek.istanbul.edu.tr:4444/ekos/TEZ/49229.pdf |publisher=İstanbul Üniversitesi |page= 39}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Talloen |first= Peter |date= 2015 |chapter= The Archaeology and Political Geography of the Lower Land in the Last Century of the Hittite Empire |title= Cult in Pisidia: Religious Practice in Southwestern Asia Minor from Alexander the Great to the Rise of Christianity |url= https://www.academia.edu/11543998 |publisher= Brepols Publishers |page= 62}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Bilgin |first= Tayfun |date= 2015 |chapter= The Archaeology and Political Geography of the Lower Land in the Last Century of the Hittite Empire |title= Officials and Administration in the Hittite World |url= https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9781501509773/html |publisher= De Gruyter |page= 23|doi= 10.1515/9781501509773 |isbn= 9781501509773 |s2cid= 166095378 }}</ref>}} that later became a [[Greeks|Greek]] city in [[Pamphylia]].<ref name="CottonHoylandPrice2009">{{cite book | editor1 = Hannah M. Cotton | editor2 = Robert G. Hoyland | editor3 = Jonathan J. Price | editor4 = David J. Wasserstein | date = 3 September 2009 | title = From Hellenism to Islam: Cultural and Linguistic Change in the Roman Near East | publisher = Cambridge University Press | pages = | isbn = 978-0-521-87581-3 | oclc = 1014862628 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=7fVsvzHi8iQC|quote=Like Ephesus, Perge was a Greek Polis, and the seat of the governor and the financial procurator of the province of Lycia-Pamphylia.}}</ref> It was the capital of the Roman province of [[Pamphylia Secunda]], now located in [[Antalya Province]] on the southwestern Mediterranean coast of [[Turkey]]. Today its ruins lie {{convert|15|km}} east of [[Antalya]].

It was the birthplace of [[Apollonius of Perga]], one of the most notable [[Greek mathematics|ancient Greek mathematicians]] for his work on [[conic sections]]. A unique and prominent feature for a Roman city was the long central water channel in the centre of the main street which contained a series of cascading pools and which would have been remarkable even today in a semi-arid area where summer temperatures reach over 30 degrees Celsius.

==History==

[[File:PergeTheater1.jpg|left|thumb|The Roman theatre]]
[[File:Perge_0010.jpg|left|thumb|The stadium]]

Perge was situated on the coastal plain between the Rivers Catarrhactes (Düden Nehri) and [[Aksu River (Turkey)|Cestrus (Aksu)]], about 11&nbsp;km from the mouth of the latter.<ref>[[Strabo|Strab]]. xiv. p. 667</ref><ref>[[Pliny the Elder|Plin]]. v. 26</ref><ref>[[Pomponius Mela|Pomp. Mel.]] i. 14</ref><ref>[[Ptolemy|Ptol]]. v. 5. § 7.</ref>

===Early Bronze===
The history of the city dates back to the Late Chalcolitic Era or Early Bronze Age.<ref>{{cite book |last=Aşkım |first= Özdizbay |editor-last1= Tekin |editor-first1= Oğuz|editor-last2=Roosevelt |editor-first2= Christopher H. |editor-last3=Akyürek  |editor-first3=Engin <!--DUPLICATE |title=Tarih Boyunca Anadolu’da Hayırseverlik: Birinci Uluslararası Suna & İnan Kıraç Akdeniz Uygarlıkları Sempozyumu --> |date= 2020 |chapter= Perge’nin İtalik Kökenli Hayırseverleri ve Kent Gelişimine Katkıları |title= Anadolu Kültürlerine Bir Bakış Some Observations on Anatolian Cultures Armağan Erkanal'a Armağan Compiled in Honor of Armağan Erkanal |url=https://www.academia.edu/44341593 |publisher= Koç Üniversitesi |page= 83}}</ref> Excavations in the original settlement on the [[acropolis]] date it to the early [[Bronze Age]], 4000-3000 BC.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.trekearth.com/gallery/Middle_East/Turkey/Mediterranean/Antalya/photo494664.htm|title=Perge|access-date=2006-10-30}}</ref> Pottery found in the Perga Acropolis is linked to the Early Bronze Age pottery traditions in Western Anatolia.<ref>{{cite book |last=Umurtak |first= Gülsun |editor-last1= Abbasoğlu |editor-first1= Haluk |editor-last2= Martini |editor-first2= Wolfram |title= Die Akropolis von Perge. Band 1: Survey und Sondagen 1994-1997 |url=http://nek.istanbul.edu.tr:4444/ekos/MAKALE/M2912.pdf |date= 2004 |chapter= A short report on a group of prehistoric pottery |publisher= wbg Philipp von Zabern in Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft |page=82}}</ref>

===Late Bronze===
From a bronze tablet discovered in 1986 in [[Hattusas]], a treaty between the [[Hittites|Hittite]] Great King [[Tudhaliya IV]] and his vassal, the king of [[Tarhuntassa]], defined the latter's western border at the city "Parha" and the "Kastaraya River".<ref>{{cite book|author=G. Beckman| title=Hittite diplomatic texts |location= Atlanta | year=1996}}, no. 18C</ref> The river is assumed to be the classical Cestrus. West of Parha were the "Lukka Lands".<ref>{{cite journal | journal=British Museum Studies in Ancient Egypt and Sudan |volume=14 | title=The Arzawa letters in recent perspective |author=J. David Hawkins | year=2009 |pages=73–83}}, 75</ref> Parha likely spoke a late Luwian dialect like Lycian and that of the neo-Hittite kingdoms.

===Iron Age===
The settlement probably became a Greek colony of [[Rhodes]] in the 7th c. BC. Perge was later a Pamphylian Greek city, and came under successive rule by Persians, Athenians, and Persians again.

In 540 BC Perga, along with the other cities in Pamphylia was captured by the [[Achaemenid Empire]]. During the reign of [[Darius the Great|Darius I]], it was a part of the [[Ionia (satrapy)|Satrapy of Ionia]]. There is no archeological evidence that shows the Achaemenid rule over [[Pamphylia]] but some classical sources do exist. [[Herodotus]] mentions that Pamphlyians sent aid to the military campaign of [[Xerxes I|Xerxes]] against the Greeks, so it must have been under the control of the Achaemenids. According to [[Diodorus Siculus]], Perge was one of the cities that rebelled against the Achaemenid rule during the [[Great Satraps' Revolt]] in 360 BC.<ref>{{cite book |last=Axel |first=Filges |editor-last1=Delemen |editor-first1=İnci | editor-last2=Çokay-Kepçe |editor-first2=Sedef |editor-last3=Özdizbay |editor-first3=Aşkım |editor-last4=Turak |editor-first4=Özgür |title= Euergetes: Prof. Dr. Haluk Abbasoğlu'na 65. Yaş Armağanı. Festschrift für Prof. Dr. Haluk Abbasoğlu zum 65. Geburtstag |url=http://nek.istanbul.edu.tr:4444/ekos/MAKALE/M2912.pdf |date= 2008 |chapter= Pamphylia - Perge Tarihi ve Roma İmparatorluk Dönemi Öncesi Perge’nin Gelişimi: Güncel Araştırmalar Işığında Genel bir Değerlendirme |publisher= Suna - İnan Kıraç Akdeniz Medeniyetleri Araştırma Enstitüsü |page=845}}</ref>

[[Alexander the Great]], after taking [[Phaselis]], was welcomed in Perge with his army in 334 BC. Alexander's rule was followed by the [[Diadochi]] empire of the [[Seleucids]]. The walls around the lower city were built in the period starting from 223 BC. In the 2nd century BC the city became prosperous and started minting its own coins with the image of Artemis and her temple.<ref name=SmithDGRG>{{SmithDGRG|title=Perge|inline=1}}</ref> Perge became renowned for the worship of [[Artemis]], whose temple stood on a hill outside the town, and in whose honour annual festivals were celebrated.<ref>Strab. xiv. p. 667</ref><ref>Callim. Hymn. in Dian. 187</ref><ref>[[Scylax]], p. 39</ref><ref>Dionys. Per. 854.</ref>

Following the defeat of the Seleucids by the Romans in 188 BC, the wider area was gifted by the Romans to the [[Attalid kingdom]]. When its last king died without heirs in 133 BC, he bequeathed his kingdom, including Perga, to the [[Roman Republic]]. After 25 BC, the Romans built the [[Via Sebaste]] linking Pisidian [[Antioch, Pisidia|Antioch]] in [[Galatia]] with Perge. When the Romans first incorporated Perga into the Empire, the city was a part of the Province of [[Galatia]]. After the [[Flavian Dynasty]] was founded by Emperor [[Vespasian]], the city became a part of the [[Lycia et Pamphylia]] province. Vespasian also granted the city the rank of [[neocorate]] which made the city in charge of the [[Roman imperial cult|imperial cult]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Şahin |first=Sencer |date= 1999|title= Çağlar Boyunca Anadolu'da Konut Sempozyumu Bildirileri |chapter= Perge territoriumundaki antik Varsak yerleşimi: Lyrboton Kome-Elaibari |url= https://www.academia.edu/1076935|location= |publisher=Ege Yayınları |page=İstanbul |isbn=}}</ref>

During the 2nd century AD there was a construction boom in the city, fueled by [[Pax Romana]] and excessive wealth. The city center was expanded to the South side of the city and new monuments were erected. Perga also had many philanthropists during the Roman Empire period who financed the construction of monumental structures.<ref>{{cite book |last=Aşkım |first= Özdizbay |editor-last1= Tekin |editor-first1= Oğuz|editor-last2=Roosevelt |editor-first2= Christopher H. |editor-last3=Akyürek  |editor-first3=Engin <!-- DUPLICATE |title=Tarih Boyunca Anadolu’da Hayırseverlik: Birinci Uluslararası Suna & İnan Kıraç Akdeniz Uygarlıkları Sempozyumu --> |date= 2020 |chapter= Perge’nin İtalik Kökenli Hayırseverleri ve Kent Gelişimine Katkıları |title= Anadolu Kültürlerine Bir Bakış Some Observations on Anatolian Cultures Armağan Erkanal'a Armağan Compiled in Honor of Armağan Erkanal |url=https://www.academia.edu/44341593 |publisher= Koç Üniversitesi |pages= 83–85}}</ref>

Under the Romans from the 1st to the 3rd century AD the town became a magnificent city with many impressive buildings. It became one of the most beautiful towns in Anatolia, competing with [[Side, Turkey|Side]] for the status of most important town in Pamphylia. [[Plancia Magna]] (d. 122), daughter of the governor [[Marcus Plancius Varus]], was the greatest benefactor and instigator of public buildings and was honoured with statues erected by the town council. In 46 AD, according to the [[Acts of the Apostles]], [[St. Paul]] journeyed to Perga. Paul and [[Barnabas]] came to Perge during their [[Paul the Apostle#First missionary journey|first missionary journey]], but probably stayed there only a short time, and do not seem to have preached there;<ref>Acts 13:13.</ref><ref name=Catholic/> it was there that [[John Mark]] left Paul to return to [[Jerusalem]]. On his return from [[Pisidia]], Paul preached at Perge.<ref>Acts 14:24.</ref><ref name=Catholic/>
As the Cestrus silted up over the late Roman era, Perga declined as a secular city.<ref name="silt">{{cite web | url=http://www.anatolia.luwo.be/destinations/perge.html | title=Perge | access-date=2016-03-08 | archive-date=2016-09-16 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160916033246/http://www.anatolia.luwo.be/destinations/perge.html | url-status=dead }}</ref> In the first half of the 4th century, during the reign of [[Constantine the Great]] (324-337), Perga became an important centre of Christianity, which soon became the official religion of the Roman Empire. The city retained its status as a Christian centre in the 5th and 6th centuries.
St. [[Matrona of Perge]] of the 6th century was a female [[saint]] known for temporarily [[cross-dressing]] to avoid her abusive husband.<ref>{{Cite web | title=Antalya     Satılık Daire  İlanları - konutkurdu.com | url=https://konutkurdu.com/antalya/daire | access-date=2025-08-25 | website=konutkurdu.com}}</ref> She also is known for opposing the [[Monophysite]] policy of the emperor [[Anastasius I Dicorus|Anastasios I]].<ref name="Holy Women of Byzantine">{{cite web|last1=Talbot|first1=Alice-Mary|author-link=Alice-Mary Talbot |title=Holy Women of Byzantium: Ten saints lives' in English translation|url=http://www.doaks.org/resources/publications/doaks-online-publications/holy-women-of-byzantium/talbch2.pdf|website=doaks.org|publisher=Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection|access-date=19 November 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140513043701/http://www.doaks.org/resources/publications/doaks-online-publications/holy-women-of-byzantium/talbch2.pdf|archive-date=13 May 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> Matrona hid in the [[monastery of St. Bassion]] as the enuch Babylos. Once revealed, she was sent to a woman's monastery where she was head of the convent. She was famous for her miraculous gift of healing. She went on to found a nunnery in [[Constantinople]]. St Matrona died at the age of 100. Her life was told through a ''vita prima'' whose author and exact time period remains a mystery.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/matrona.asp |title=vita prima |access-date=2014-11-19 |archive-date=2014-09-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140925022558/http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/matrona.asp |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The [[Greek Language|Greek]] ''[[Notitiae episcopatuum]]'' mentions the city as [[Metropolis (religious jurisdiction)|metropolis]] of [[Pamphylia Secunda]] until the 13th century. [[Le Quien]] gives the names of 11 of its bishops:<ref name="Le Quien">{{Oriens Christianus|volume=1|article=Ecclesia Perges|at=cols. 1013–1016}}</ref> Epidaurus, present at the [[Council of Ancyra]] in 312; Callicles at the [[First Council of Nicaea]] in 325; Berenianus, at Constantinople (426); Epiphanius at the [[Second Council of Ephesus]] (449), at the First [[Council of Chalcedon]] (451),<ref>Richard Price, Michael Gaddis, The Acts of the Council of Chalcedon, Volume 1 (University of Liverpool Press, 2005)[https://books.google.com/books?id=6IUaOOT1G3UC&q=Perge&pg=RA2-PA157 p94].</ref> and a signatory of the letter from the bishops of the province to Emperor Leo (458); Hilarianus, at a [[Council of Constantinople (536)|council at Constantinople]] in 536; Eulogius, at the [[Second Council of Constantinople]] in 553; Apergius, condemned as a [[Monothelite]] at the [[Third Council of Constantinople]] in 680; John, at the [[Trullan council]] in 692; Sisinnius Pastillas about 754 (an [[Byzantine iconoclasm|iconoclast]] who was condemned at the [[Second Council of Nicaea]] in 787); Constans, at the same council of that condemned his predecessor; John, at the [[Fourth Council of Constantinople (Catholic)|Council of Constantinople of 869–70]].<ref name=Catholic/>

No longer a residential, the bishopric is included in the [[Catholic Church]]'s list of [[titular see]]s.<ref>''Annuario Pontificio 2013'' (Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2013, {{ISBN|978-88-209-9070-1}}), p. 952</ref>

Perga remained inhabited until the foundation of the [[Seljuk Empire]] in roughly 1100.<ref name="silt"/>

== City monuments ==
[[File:2007 0215TurkeyThursdayA0098 (3281744467).jpg|thumb|South baths plan]]

Excavations started in 1946 and have uncovered many monumental buildings: a [[Roman theatre (structure)|theatre]], a stadium, [[palaestra]], a temple of [[Artemis]] and two churches. The [[temple of Artemis]] was located outside the town.<ref name=Catholic>{{Catholic|wstitle=Perge|inline=1}}</ref> Many of the coins struck in the city portrayed both the goddess and her sanctuary.<ref name="realmofhistory.com">{{Cite web |url=https://www.realmofhistory.com/2017/07/25/greek-mythology-mosaic-perga/ |title=A Bevy Of Greek Mythology-Depicting Mosaics Uncovered At The Ancient City Of Perga, Turkey |access-date=2018-02-11 |archive-date=2018-11-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181120221100/https://www.realmofhistory.com/2017/07/25/greek-mythology-mosaic-perga/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The Hellenistic walls date from the 3rd c. BC and had 3 gates. The south gate is particularly monumental and includes 2 towers 3 storeys high with conical roofs and a horseshoe-shaped square behind. Under [[Hadrian]] in 121 AD, a triumphal arch was inserted into the northern wall of the courtyard and the facades were covered in precious marbles and decorated with columns and statues.

One of the most impressive monuments is the theatre which lies outside the walls near the stadium. It is larger than those of [[Myra]] and [[Patara (Lycia)|Patara]].

The south baths created in the 1st c. AD is one of the best preserved buildings and is noteworthy for its size and monumentality, and for the large collection of sculptures found there.

Perge has been dubbed as “Turkey’s second [[Zeugma, Commagene|Zeugma]]” for the alluring appearance of the mosaics that have been unearthed so far. In 2003 archaeologists discovered well-preserved Greek [[mosaics]] showing [[Oceanus]] and [[Medusa]]. In 2017 a mosaic depicting the sacrifice of [[Iphigenia]] was discovered.<ref name="hurriyetdailynews.com">[http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/1800-year-old-mosaic-found-in-ancient-city-of-perge-115733 1,800-year-old mosaic found in ancient city of Perge]</ref><ref name="realmofhistory.com"/>

The city was eventually supplied in the Roman era by 2 aqueducts.<ref>G. Buyukyildirim (1994): Perge kenti tarihsel su yapilari (Historical water structures of the city of Perge)</ref>  The Kursunlu aqueduct was 11&nbsp;km long and probably built to supply baths from close to the Kursunlu waterfall. A later aqueduct of 21&nbsp;km length used a greater flow from the Duden river near the Dudenbasi waterfall.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.romanaqueducts.info/aquasite/perge/index.html | title=Roman aqueducts: Perge (Turkey) }}</ref>

Perge had at least 6 [[nymphaeum|nymphaea]], the most striking being the northern, or "Hadrian's", nymphaeum (about 122 AD) and the southern nymphaeum in the square of [[Septimius Severus]] (end 2nd to early 3rd c. AD). Hadrian's nymphaeum was beautifully decorated with numerous sculptures including the river god [[Cestrus]] under whom water cascaded. It is located at the edge of the acropolis to capture the outflow of the abundant water supply and from there fed the channel that flowed through the city. The southern nymphaeum faces the courtyard of Septimius Severus and is next to the [[propylon]] (monumental entrance) of the southern baths whose hydraulic system provided it with water.

A full-body statue of a dressed female was revealed by archaeologists headed by Sedef Cokay Kepçe in 2020. The statue, believed to have been made during the Roman Empire, will be on display at the Antalya Museum.<ref>{{Cite web|title=3rd-century statue unearthed in ancient city|url=https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/3rd-century-statue-unearthed-in-ancient-city-156929|access-date=2020-07-29|website=Hürriyet Daily News|date=28 July 2020 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=3rd-century statue unearthed in ancient Greek city of Perge|url=https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2020/07/3rd-century-statue-unearthed-in-ancient.html|access-date=2020-07-29|website=The Archaeology News Network|archive-date=2020-07-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200729093716/https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2020/07/3rd-century-statue-unearthed-in-ancient.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Notable people==

Perga's most celebrated ancient inhabitant was the mathematician [[Apollonius of Perga|Apollonius]] (c.262&nbsp;BC – c.190&nbsp;BC). He wrote a series of eight books describing a family of curves known as [[conic section]]s, comprising the [[circle]], [[ellipse]], [[parabola]], and [[hyperbola]].<ref name="Boyer Apollonius">{{cite book |first=Carl B. |last=Boyer |author-link=Carl Benjamin Boyer |title=A History of Mathematics |edition=Second |publisher=John Wiley & Sons, Inc. |year=1991 |isbn=978-0-471-54397-8 |chapter=Apollonius of Perga |pages=[https://archive.org/details/historyofmathema00boye/page/156 156–157] |chapter-url-access=registration |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/historyofmathema00boye/page/156 }}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[List of ancient Greek cities]]

==Notes==
{{notelist|a}}
{{notelist|B}}
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Perge}}
{{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Perga}}
*{{CathEncy|title=Perge|url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11667a.htm}}
*{{EBD}}
*[http://www.turkeyphotoguide.com/perge Perge Guide and Photo Album]
*[http://www.pbase.com/dosseman/perge Over 500 pictures including 2013 excavations]
*[http://www.trekearth.com/gallery/Middle_East/Turkey/Mediterranean/Antalya/photo494664.htm Perge photo]

{{First Journey of Paul of Tarsus}}
{{Former settlements in Turkey}}
{{Tentative list of World Heritage Sites in Turkey}}
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{{|date=May 2020|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}
[[Category:Archaeological sites in Antalya Province]]
[[Category:Populated places in ancient Pamphylia]]
[[Category:Greek colonies in Anatolia]]
[[Category:Former populated places in Turkey]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Antalya]]
[[Category:New Testament cities]]
[[Category:World Heritage Tentative List for Turkey]]
[[Category:Catholic titular sees in Asia]]
[[Category:Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Turkey]]
[[Category:Members of the Delian League]]
[[Category:Roman towns and cities in Turkey]]