Aphrodisias  was a small city in Caria, Asia Minor. It is located near the modern village of Geyre, Turkey, about 230 km from İzmir.

Aphrodisias was named after Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of Love, who had here her unique cult image, the Aphrodite of Aphrodisias. According to the Suda, before being known as Aphrodisias, the city had three previous names: Lelégon Pólis (??????? ?????, "City of the Leleges"),, and Ninóe (?????), The city was later renamed Stauroúpolis (????????????, "City of the Cross") in the Christian era.
The city was built near a marble quarry that was extensively exploited in the Hellenistic and Roman periods, and sculptors in marble from Aphrodisias became famous in the Roman world. Many examples of statuary have been unearthed in Aphrodisias, and some representations of the Aphrodite of Aphrodisias also survive from other parts of the Roman world, as far afield as Portugal.