Pergamon

Information about Pergamon

Pergamon(Πέργαμος)
Ancient City of Greece
(Bergama)
Reconstructed Temple of Trajan at Pergamon

Pergamon
Pergamon


Pergamon or Pergamum (Greek: Πέργαμος, modern day Bergama in Turkey, ) was an ancient Greek city, in Mysia, north-western Anatolia, 16 miles from the Aegean Sea, located on a promontory on the north side of the river Caicus (modern day Bakırçay), that became an important kingdom during the Hellenistic period, under the Attalid dynasty, 281–133 BC.

History

The Attalid kingdom was the rump state left after the collapse of the Kingdom of Thrace.

The Attalids, the descendants of Attalus, father of Philetaerus who came to power in 281 BC following the collapse of the Kingdom of Thrace, were among the most loyal supporters of Rome in the Hellenistic world. Under Attalus I (241-197 BC), they allied with Rome against Philip V of Macedon, during the first and second Macedonian Wars, and again under Eumenes II (197-158 BC), against Perseus of Macedon, during the Third Macedonian War. For support against the Seleucids, the Attalids were rewarded with all the former Seleucid domains in Asia Minor.
Enlarge picture
Sketched reconstruction of ancient Pergamon


The Attalids ruled with intelligence and generosity. Many documents survive showing how the Attalids would support the growth of towns through sending in skilled artisans and by remitting taxes. They allowed the Greek cities in their domains to maintain nominal independence. They sent gifts to Greek cultural sites like Delphi, Delos, and Athens. They defeated the invading Celts. They remodeled the Acropolis of Pergamum after the Acropolis in Athens. When Attalus III (138-133 BC) died without an heir in 133 BC he bequeathed the whole of Pergamon to Rome, in order to prevent a civil war.

The first Christian bishop of Pergamon, Antipas, was believed to have been martyred here in 92 CE.().

Notable structures

The Great Altar of Pergamon is in the Pergamon Museum, Berlin. The base of this altar remains on the upper part of the Acropolis. It was this altar, believed dedicated to Zeus, that John of Patmos referred to as "Satan's Throne" in his Book of Revelation ().
Enlarge picture
The Kingdom of Pergamon (colored olive) shown at its greatest extent in 188 BC.


Other notable structures still in existence on the upper part of the Acropolis include:
  • The Hellenistic Theater with a seating capacity of 10,000. This had the steepest seating of any known theater in the ancient world.[1]
  • The Sanctuary of Trajan (also known as the Trajaneum)
  • The Sanctuary of Athena
  • The Library
  • The Royal palaces
  • The Heroön - a shrine where the kings of Pergamon, particularly, Attalus I and Eumenes II, were worshipped.[2]
  • The Temple of Dionysus
  • The Upper Agora
  • The Roman baths complex
Pergamon's library on the Acropolis (the ancient Library of Pergamum) is the second best in the ancient Greek civilisation.[3] When the Ptolemies stopped exporting papyrus, partly because of competitors and partly because of shortages, the Pergamenes invented a new substance to use in codices, called pergaminus or pergamena (parchment) after the city. This was made of fine calf skin, a predecessor of vellum. The library at Pergamom was believed to contain 200,000 volumes, which Mark Antony later gave to Cleopatra as a wedding present. The lower part of the Acropolis has the following structures:
  • the Upper Gymnasium
  • the Middle Gymnasium
  • the Lower Gymnasium
  • the Temple of Demeter
  • the Sanctuary of Hera
  • the House of Attalus
  • the Lower Agora and
  • the Gate of Eumenes
Three kilometers south of the Acropolis was the Sanctuary of Asclepius (also known as the Asclepeion), the god of healing. In this place people with health problems could bathe in the water of the sacred spring, and in the patients' dreams Asclepius would appear in a vision to tell them how to cure their illness. Archeology has found lots of gifts and dedications that people would make afterwards, such as small terracotta body parts, no doubt representing what had been healed. Notable extant structures in the Asclepeion include:
  • the Roman theater
  • the North Stoa
  • the South Stoa
  • the Temple of Asclepius
  • a circular treatment center (sometimes known as the Temple of Telesphorus)
  • a healing spring
  • an underground passageway
  • a library
  • the Via Tecta (or the Sacred Way, which is a colonnaded street leading to the sanctuary) and
  • a propylon.
    Enlarge picture
    The Great Altar of Pergamon, on display in Berlin, Germany
Pergamon's other notable structure is the Serapis Temple (Serapeum) which was later transformed into the Red Basilica complex (or Kızıl Avlu in Turkish), about one kilometer south of the Acropolis. It consists of a main building and two round towers. In the first century AD, the Christian Church at Pergamon inside the main building of the Red Basilica was one of the Seven Churches to which the Book of Revelation was addressed (Revelation 1:12, ESV).





References

  • Hansen, Esther V. (1971). The Attalids of Pergamon. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press; London: Cornell University Press Ltd. ISBN 0-8014-0615-3.
  • Kosmetatou, Elizabeth (2003) "The Attalids of Pergamon," in Andrew Erskine, ed., A Companion to the Hellenistic World. Oxford: Blackwell: pp. 159–174. ISBN 1-4051-3278-7.

External links

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References

1. ^ [1] accessed September 24, 2007
2. ^ [2] accessed September 24, 2007
3. ^ after that of Alexandria (see Royal Library of Alexandria)
Bergama (Greek: Πέργαμος/Pergamos) refers to a city and its surrounding district in İzmir Province, in the Aegean Region of the Republic of Turkey.
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Greek}}} 
Writing system: Greek alphabet 
Official status
Official language of:  Greece
 Cyprus
 European Union
recognised as minority language in parts of:
 European Union
 Italy
 Turkey
Regulated by:
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Bergama (Greek: Πέργαμος/Pergamos) refers to a city and its surrounding district in İzmir Province, in the Aegean Region of the Republic of Turkey.
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Motto
Yurtta Sulh, Cihanda Sulh
Peace at Home, Peace in the World
Anthem
İstiklâl Marşı
The Anthem of Independence
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The term ancient Greece refers to the periods of Greek history in Classical Antiquity, lasting ca. 750 BC[1] (the archaic period) to 146 BC (the Roman conquest). It is generally considered to be the seminal culture which provided the foundation of Western Civilization.
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Mysia was a region in the northwest of ancient Asia Minor or Anatolia (part of modern Turkey). It was located on the south coast of the Sea of Marmara. It was bounded by Bithynia on the east, Phrygia on the southeast, Lydia on the south, Aeolis on the southwest,
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For the ship Aegean Sea, see .


The Aegean Sea (pronounced [i:ˈdʒi:ən/span>]], Greek:
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promontory is a prominent mass of land which overlooks lower lying land or a body of water (when it may be called a peninsula or headland).

Most promontories are formed either from a hard ridge of rock that has resisted the erosive forces that have removed the softer rock
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The Hellenistic period of Ancient Greek history was the period between the death of Alexander the Great (Alexander III of Macedon) in 323 BC and the annexation of the Greek peninsula and islands by Rome in 146 BC.
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The Attalid dynasty was a Hellenistic dynasty that ruled the city of Pergamon after the death of Lysimachus, a general of Alexander the Great. The Attalid kingdom was the rump state left after the collapse of the Lysimachian Empire.
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3rd century BC - 2nd century BC
310s BC  300s BC  290s BC - 280s BC - 270s BC  260s BC  250s BC 
284 BC 283 BC 282 BC - 281 BC - 280 BC 279 BC 278 BC

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State leaders - Sovereign states

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2nd century BC - 1st century BC
160s BC  150s BC  140s BC - 130s BC - 120s BC  110s BC  100s BC 
136 BC 135 BC 134 BC - 133 BC - 132 BC 131 BC 130 BC

Politics
State leaders - Sovereign states

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Lysimachus
King of Thrace
King of Asia Minor
King of Macedon

Lysimachus as horned Alexander.
Reign 306 BCE - 281 BCE
Buried

Lysimachus (ca.
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Attalus can refer to
  • Several members of the Attalid dynasty of Pergamon
  • Attalus I Soter, ruled 241 BC–197 BC

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Philetaerus (Greek: Φιλέταιρος, Philétairos, ca. 343 BC–263 BC) was the founder of the Attalid dynasty of Pergamon in Anatolia.
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3rd century BC - 2nd century BC
310s BC  300s BC  290s BC - 280s BC - 270s BC  260s BC  250s BC 
284 BC 283 BC 282 BC - 281 BC - 280 BC 279 BC 278 BC

Politics
State leaders - Sovereign states

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Roman Republic was the phase of the ancient Roman civilization characterized by a republican form of government. The republican period began with the overthrow of the Monarchy c.
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Attalus I (in Greek Attalos) Soter (Greek: "Savior"; 269 BC – 197 BC)[1] ruled Pergamon, a Greek polis in what is now Turkey, first as dynast, later as king, from 241 BC to 197 BC.
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Philip V (Greek Φίλιππος Ε΄) (238 BC - 179 BC) was king of Macedon from 221 BC to 179 BC. He belonged to the Antigonid dynasty.
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First Macedonian War (214 BC - 205 BC) was fought by Rome, allied (after 211 BC) with the Aetolian League and Attalus I of Pergamon, against Philip V of Macedon, contemporaneously with the Second Punic War against Carthage.
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Second Macedonian War (200–196 BC) was fought between Macedon, led by Philip V of Macedon and Rome, allied with Pergamon and Rhodes.

Philip had long been interested in the Greek city states but as long as these states were allied with Rome he did not dare attack them.
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The Macedonian and Seleucid wars were a series of conflicts fought by Rome during and after the second Punic war, in the eastern Mediterranean, the Adriatic, and the Aegean.
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Eumenes II of Pergamon (ruled 197 - 158 BC) was king of Pergamon and a member of the Attalid dynasty. The son of king Attalos I and queen Apollonis (?), he followed on his father's footsteps and collaborated with the Romans to oppose first Macedonian, then Seleucid
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Perseus (Greek Περσεύς) was the last king of the Antigonid dynasty, who ruled the successor state in Macedon created upon the death of Alexander the Great.
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Third Macedonian War (171 BC - 168 BC) was a war fought between Rome and King Perseus of Macedon. In 179 BC King Philip V of Macedon died and his talented and ambitious son, Perseus, took his throne.
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The Seleucid Empire was a Hellenistic successor state of Alexander the Great's dominion. At its greatest extent, the Empire comprised central Anatolia, the Levant, Mesopotamia, Persia, Turkmenistan, Pamir and the Indus valley (Pakistan).
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The Attalid dynasty was a Hellenistic dynasty that ruled the city of Pergamon after the death of Lysimachus, a general of Alexander the Great. The Attalid kingdom was the rump state left after the collapse of the Lysimachian Empire.
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