Ploutonion at Hierapolis
Creators: Douglas Walter, Emily Brod, Yeşim Yilmaz
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https://pleiades.stoa.org/places/232079424
37.926248, 29.1270484
- Representative Locations:
- OSM location of Pluto's Gate (330 BC - AD 640) accuracy: +/- 20 meters.
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- Πλουτώνιον (Ploutonion: Ancient Greek, 330 BC - AD 300)
- Pluto's Gate (English, modern)
- Plutonium (Latin, modern)
- Ploutonion at Hierapolis located at Hierapolis/Pamukkale (unspecified date range)
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None
sanctuary (religious center), shrine
- Evidence:
- See Further:
- See Also:
Pleiades
The Plutonion at Hierapolis is a walled sanctuary dedicated to Pluto and Kore centered around a small subterranean cave. The cave itself contained poisonous gas, which killed any animal which entered it. Strabo, Pliny the Elder, and Cassius Dio all report this phenomenon. Ammianus Marcellinus (23.6.18) seems to indicate that the cave was no longer extant in his time. Ancient sources report a sort of cistern around the cave and a theater built above it (Dio 68.27.3). Evidence at the site suggests that the cave was sealed in the sixth century CE. Recent excavations (2008-2014) uncovered a theatron set above a wall with an opening in the center, which is the presumed entrance to the ancient cave. The identification of an inscription dedicated to Pluto and Kore over the opening, and the resemblance to ancient descriptions of the site, positively identifies this site as the Plutonion. These excavations were the latest conducted by the Italian Archaeological Mission, which began in 1957.
Douglas Walter, Emily Brod, Yeşim Yilmaz, Jeffrey Becker, and Thomas Landvatter, 'Ploutonion at Hierapolis: a Pleiades place resource', Pleiades: A Gazetteer of Past Places, 2020 <https://pleiades.stoa.org/places/232079424> [accessed: 24 April 2024]
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