Bible Dictionaries
Hierapolis

Holman Bible Dictionary

(hi uhr ahp' oh lihss) Place name meaning, “sacred city.” Site of early church where Epaphras worked (Colossians 4:13 ). Nothing else is known of the church. The city was twelve miles northwest of Colossae and six miles north of Laodicea on the Lycus River a short way above its junction with the Meander River. It is now called Pambuck Kulasi. Its fame rested on textile and cloth dyeing industries. It began as a center for worship of the Phrygian mother goddess. A large Jewish community is evidenced by grave inscriptions and other literary remains.