Ancient fragment returns from the ruins
The missing head of a statue of Hygieia, the ancient Greek goddess of health and cleanliness, was recovered during restoration work at the archaeological site of Laodicea, researchers announced. The fragment had lain among the ruins for roughly 2,100 years before restorers uncovered it while working on the site’s amphitheater.
Celal Simsek of Pamukkale University described the find on X as "the meeting of the Sun and Hygieia with us in Laodicea after 2,100 years," calling the discovery extraordinary.
Hygieia, daughter of Asclepius (the god of medicine), was widely venerated in Greek and Roman religion; her name is the root of the modern word "hygiene." Statues of Hygieia commonly stood in sanctuaries and healing centers connected with Asclepius. The newly recovered head complements a previously unearthed statue of Asclepius at Laodicea and strengthens evidence that the city hosted a significant medical and cultural center in antiquity.
Experts date both figures to the late Hellenistic to early Augustan period and praise their classical style and fine workmanship. Archaeologists say these works support the idea that Laodicea boasted organized medical activity—possibly linked to medical schools and practitioners known in the region—and are consistent with historical references to the city’s medical reputation found in ancient sources such as Strabo.
Laodicea: prosperity, culture, and decline
Originally called Laodicea on the Lycus and founded around 261 B.C. by Antiochus II, the city sat on the Lycus River near an important trade route in what is now southwestern Turkey near Denizli. It flourished under Hellenistic and later Roman rule and is mentioned in the New Testament as one of the seven churches. At its height the city reportedly contained the largest stadium in Asia Minor, multiple theaters and baths, fountains, temples and richly decorated streets dominated by colonnades.
Laodicea’s prosperity was repeatedly interrupted by earthquakes: a major quake in 60 A.D. (during Nero’s reign) damaged the city, and later tremors around 494 and 602 A.D. caused further destruction. Over subsequent centuries political upheaval and invasions contributed to the city’s long decline and abandonment.
Why this matters: Recovering Hygieia’s head restores an important piece of Laodicea’s cultural and medical history. The find enriches our understanding of ancient healing practices, artistic production in the late Hellenistic–early Roman period, and the civic life of a once-prominent provincial metropolis.
