Aphrodisias

Aphrodisias (Greek: Ἀφροδισιάς, Aphrodisiás) was a small city in Caria, on the southwest coast of Asia Minor. Its site is located near the modern village of Geyre, Turkey, about 230 km (140 mi) south-east of İzmir and about 100 km (62 mi) inland from the coast.

Aphrodisias was named after Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, who had here her unique cult image, the Aphrodite of Aphrodisias. According to the Byzantine encyclopedic compilation called the Suda, before being known as Aphrodisias, the city had held three previous names: Lelégōn Pólis (Λελέγων πόλις, "City of the Leleges"), Megálē Pólis (Μεγάλη Πόλις, "Great City"), and Ninóē (Νινόη),

Sometime before 640, in the Late Antique period, the city was renamed Stauroúpolis (Σταυρούπολις, "City of the Cross").