Today much of the water is being used in spas recommended for the treatment of heart diseases, circulatory problems, high blood pressure, nervous disorders, rheumatism and eye and skin diseases. The ancient city of Aphrodisias, dedicated to the goddess of love, was a Hellenistic city which also flourished under Roman and Byzantine rule. Aphrodisias was primarily known as a center for the arts, specifically sculpture. The Aphrodisias School of Sculpture had a distinctive style and was very well circulated throughout the Greek and Roman world. Statues with corresponding signatures were discovered from Spain to present day Germany and virtually everywhere in the Roman world.
Sculptural reliefs adorn many of the buildings that are still standing.
The splendid city was almost forgotten until Dr. Kenan Erim of New York University received a grant from National Geographic to excavate the site in the 1960's. His archaeological work revealed a city of vast importance. The ruins are numerous and well preserved. A two mile long Byzantine wall still stands around the city limits. A stadium seating 30,000 people, dating to the 1st century AD was uncovered.