What is "colossae"

Colossae (; Greek: Κολοσσαί) was an ancient city of Phrygia in Asia Minor, and was the location of a Christian community to which the Apostle Paul addressed a canonically accepted epistle (letter), which is known for its content's exaltation of the supremacy of Chistianity's namesake. Writing in the 4th century BC, Xenophon refers to Colossae as one of six large cities of Phrygia. It was populated by peoples of Greek and Hebrew origin ( Antiochus the Great having relocated there, two thousand Jewish families from Babylonia and Mesopotamia), as well as other cultures and ethncities, as it was an early center of trade given its location on the Lycus (a tributary of the Maeander River) and its position near the great military and commercial road from Ephesus to the Euphrates. It was situated 10 miles southeast of Laodicea, 13 miles from the ancient city of Hierapolis, and 3 miles from Mount Cadmus, at the head of a gorge. Commerce of the city included trade in wool—the dyed wool collossinus was named for the place—and in the products of weaving and other trades. It was also known for its fusion of religious influences (syncretism), which included Jewish, Gnostic, and pagan influences that in the first century AD were described as an angel-cult (a matter addressed by the Pauline letter). The city was decimated by an earthquake in the 60s AD, rebuilt independent of the support of Rome, overrun by the Saracens in the 7th and 8th centuries AD, and then destroyed, ultimately, by the Turks in the 12th century, with the remnant of its population relocating, among other places, to nearby Chonae. As of 2015, it had never been excavated, though plans are reported for an Australian led expedition to the site.

Despite a treacherously ambiguous cartography and history, Colossae has been clearly distinguished in modern research from nearby Chonae (Χῶναι), now called Honaz, with what remains of the buried ruins of the mound associated with Colossae lying a few kilometers to the north of Chonae/Honaz.