Colossae

Colossae , ancient city of SW Phrygia, Asia Minor, S of the Maeander (modern Menderes) River, in W Turkey, 4 mi (6.4 km) E of Denizli. It flourished as a trading town until eclipsed by neighboring Laodicea. The area around Colossae was famous for fantastic theological theories in early Christian times. Although Paul himself never went there, he addressed his epistle to the Colossians through his fellow worker, Epaphras, who lived at Colossae.

Colossae A city in Asia Minor not far from Laodicea, which had come to exceed it in wealth and importance. There was a big Jewish population in the 1st cent., but the greater part was Greek, and Greek was the predominant language. There was a flourishing trade in wool, and possibly Christians enjoyed an affluence similar to their neighbours in greater Laodicea (Rev. 3: 17 ff.). Roman religion did not extirpate the old Phrygian cults and the mother goddess of fertility had her home in neighbouring Hierapolis. The impression is of a lively and fairly tolerant community in which there were mixed Jewish–Gentile marriages and the dilution of strict Jewish worship with elements of Hellenistic paganism. (The English ‘colossal’ suggests that our ancestors many generations ago regarded Colossae as larger than life.) Archaeological remains of the city are scanty.