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View looking north. In the distance, the low flat hill that slopes from the upper left to lower right, is the acropolis of the city.
The stadium of Perge is one of the best preserved in the classical world (that at Aphrodisias is number one). The stadium measures 111x767 ft. [34x234 m.] and could seat 12,000 spectators. Construction of the stadium began in the second half of the first century A.D.
In the Greco-Roman world stadiums were used for athletic contests including running races (compare Acts 20:24; Gal 2:2; Phil 2:16; 2 Tim 4:7; etc.) wrestling, boxing (1 Cor 9:26–27), discus and javelin throwing and other spectacles.
Note how the writer of the book of Hebrews (12:1) writes "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us."
