This article is about the ancient Greek city of Pergamon. For the nearby modern city of Turkey, see Bergama. Bergama ( Pargauma /PergamosPeople of High City refers to a city and its surrounding district in İzmir Province, in the Aegean Region of the

Pergamon (Πέργαμος) Ancient Greek City (Bergama)

Reconstructed Temple of Trajan at Pergamon Pergamon Pergamon

Pergamon or Pergamum (Greek: Πέργαμος, 39°7′N, 27°11′E) was an ancient Greek city in modern-day Turkey, 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. Bergama ( Pargauma /PergamosPeople of High City refers to a city and its surrounding district in İzmir Province, in the Aegean Region of the Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly The term ancient Greece refers to the period of Greek history lasting from the Greek Dark Ages ca Turkey (Türkiye known officially as the Republic of Turkey ( is a Eurasian Country that stretches Mysia (Μυσία was a region in the northwest of ancient Asia Minor or Anatolia (part of modern Turkey) Anatolia (Anadolu Ανατολία Anatolía) or Asia minor, comprising most of modern Turkey, is the geographic region bounded by the Black Etymology In ancient times there were various explanations for the name Aegean. A 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) Bakırçay (ancient name Caicus, also Caecus; Καϊκός Transliterated as Kaïkos; formerly Astraeus) is the ancient name of Bakırçay (ancient name Caicus, also Caecus; Καϊκός Transliterated as Kaïkos; formerly Astraeus) is the ancient name of The Hellenistic period of European history was the period between the death of Alexander the Great (Alexander III of Macedon in 323 BC and the annexation The Attalid dynasty was a Hellenistic dynasty that ruled the city of Pergamon after the death of Lysimachus, a general of Alexander the Great Events By place Asia Minor The Battle of Corupedium in Lydia is the last battle of the Diadochi, the rival successors Today, the modern city of Bergama is located nearby. Bergama ( Pargauma /PergamosPeople of High City refers to a city and its surrounding district in İzmir Province, in the Aegean Region of the

History

The Attalid kingdom was the rump state left after the collapse of the Kingdom of Thrace. A rump state is the remnant of a once-larger Government, left with limited powers or authority after a Disaster, Invasion or Military occupation Lysimachus ( Greek: Λυσίμαχος Lysimachos; 360 BCE - 281 BCE was a Macedonian officer and diadochus (i

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. Philetaerus ( Greek:, Philétairos, ca 343 BC&ndash263 BC was the founder of the Attalid dynasty of Pergamon in Anatolia. Events By place Asia Minor The Battle of Corupedium in Lydia is the last battle of the Diadochi, the rival successors The Roman Republic was the phase of the ancient Roman civilization characterized by a Republican form of government a period which began with the overthrow of the 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. Attalus I ( surnamed Soter ( "Savior" 269 BC &ndash 197 BC ruled Pergamon, a Greek Polis in what is now Turkey Philip V ( Greek Φίλιππος Ε΄) (238 BC - 179 BC was King of Macedon from 221 BC to 179 BC The 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 The Second Macedonian War ( 200 &ndash 197 BC) was fought between Macedon, led by Philip V of Macedon, and Rome, allied with Pergamon 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 Eumenes II of Pergamon (Εὐμένης Α' τῆς Περγάμου (ruled 197 - 159 BC was king of Pergamon and a member of the Attalid dynasty. Perseus ( Greek Περσεύς) (ca 212 BC - 166 BC) was the last king ( Basileus) of the Antigonid dynasty The Third Macedonian War ( 171 BC - 168 BC) was a war fought between Rome and King Perseus of Macedon. For support against the Seleucids, the Attalids were rewarded with all the former Seleucid domains in Asia Minor. The Seleucid Empire /sə'lusɪd/ ( 312 - 63 BC) was a Hellenistic empire i The Attalid dynasty was a Hellenistic dynasty that ruled the city of Pergamon after the death of Lysimachus, a general of Alexander the Great Anatolia (Anadolu Ανατολία Anatolía) or Asia minor, comprising most of modern Turkey, is the geographic region bounded by the Black

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. Delphi ( Greek,) ( pronounce and dialectal forms) is an archaeological site and a modern town in Greece on the south-western The island of Delos ( Greek: Δήλος Dhilos) isolated in the centre of the roughly circular ring of islands called the Cyclades, near Mykonos Athens (ˈæθənz Αθήνα Athina,) the Capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery as one of the world's They defeated the invading Celts. Celts (ˈkɛlts or /ˈsɛlts/, see Names of the Celts They remodeled the Acropolis of Pergamum after the Acropolis in Athens. Acropolis (Gr akros akron edge extremity + polis city pl acropoleis 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. Attalus III (in Greek Attalos III) Philometor Euergetes (ca 170 BC &ndash 133 BC was the last Attalid king of Pergamon, ruling from

The first Christian bishop of Pergamon, Antipas, was believed to have been martyred here in 92 AD. Saint Antipas is referred to in the Book of Revelation ( as the "faithful martyr" of Pergamon. (Revelation 2:13).

Notable structures

Sketched reconstruction of ancient Pergamon

The Kingdom of Pergamon (colored olive) shown at its greatest extent in 188 BC.

The Great Altar of Pergamon is in the Pergamon Museum, Berlin. The Great Altar of Pergamon, a massive stone podium about one hundred feet long and thirty-five feet high was originally built in the 2nd century BCE in the Ancient Greek The Pergamon Museum ( German: Pergamonmuseum) is among the museums on Museum Island in Berlin. Berlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany. 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 (Revelation 2:12-13). John of Patmos is the name given to the author of the Book of Revelation (or Book of the Apocalypse) in the New Testament. The Book of Revelation, also called Revelation to John, Apocalypse of John ( pronounced, from the Ἀποκάλυψις Ἰωάννου

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. Library of Pergamum in Pergamum, Turkey, was one of the most important libraries in the ancient world. ^[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. The Ptolemaic dynasty (sometimes also known as the Lagids, from the name of Ptolemy I's father Lagus) was a Hellenistic Macedonian royal family Papyrus (/pəˈpaɪrəs/ (Rhymes -aɪrəs)is a thick paper-like material produced from the Pith of the papyrus plant Cyperus papyrus A codex ( Latin for block of wood, Book; plural codices) is a book in the format used for modern books with separate pages normally Parchment is a thin material made from Calfskin, Sheepskin or goatskin. This was made of fine calf skin, a predecessor of vellum. A calf (kɑːf plural calves, /kɑːvz/ is the young of various species of Mammal. Vellum (from the Old French Vélin for "calfskin" is mammal skin prepared for writing or printing on single pages scrolls codices or books The library at Pergamom was believed to contain 200,000 volumes, which Mark Antony later gave to Cleopatra as a wedding present. Marcus Antonius (in Latin: M·ANTONIVS·M·F·M·N ( c January 14 83 BC&ndash August 1, 30 BC known in English as Mark Cleopatra VII Philopator (in Greek, Κλεοπάτρα Φιλοπάτωρ; January 69 BC &ndash 30 BC was a Hellenistic ruler of Egypt 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

The Great Altar of Pergamon, on display in Berlin, Germany

Three kilometers south of the Acropolis was the Sanctuary of Asclepius (also known as the Asclepeion), the god of healing. Demeter (dɨˈmiːtɚ Greek:, possibly "distribution-mother" from the noun of the Indo-European mother-earth * dheghom * mater In the Olympian pantheon of classical Greek Mythology, Hera (ˈhɪərə or /ˈhɛrə/ Greek) or Here ( in Ionic and Homer Eumenes of Cardia ( Greek: Ευμένης ca 362 BC—316 BC was a Greek general and scholar Asclepius (pronounced /æsˈkliːpiːəs/, Greek, transliterated Asklēpiós; Latin Aesculapius) is the god of Medicine 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.

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. Serapis (Latin spelling or Sarapis in Greek was a syncretic Hellenistic - Egyptian god in Antiquity. A Serapeum is a Temple or other religious institution dedicated to the syncretic Hellenistic - Egyptian god Serapis, who combined aspects 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 2:12). The 1st century was the Century that lasted from 1 to 100 according the Julian calendar. Christianity ( Greek Χριστιανισμός from the word Xριστός ( Christ)is a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings This article is about the seven churches mentioned in the Book of Revelation. The Book of Revelation, also called Revelation to John, Apocalypse of John ( pronounced, from the Ἀποκάλυψις Ἰωάννου

See also

• Allianoi

Notable people

• Epigonus (3rd century BC) Greek sculptor
• Aeulius Nicon (2nd century BC) Greek architect and builder
• Galen (ca. Allianoi is an ancient spa settlement (dating predominantly from the Roman Empire period 2nd century A Epigonus is also a genus of the Epigonidae, the Deepwater Cardinalfishes The 3rd century BC started the first day of 300 BC and ended the last day of 201 BC Aeulius Nicon was a wealthy Architect and builder in 2nd century Pergamon. The 2nd century BC started the first day of 200 BC and ended the last day of 101 BC. Galen ( Greek: Γαληνός Galēnos; Latin: Claudius Galenus, Aelius Galenus, Claudius Aelius Galenus, or 129-200/216) Greek physician

References

1. ^ http://www.whitman.edu/theatre/theatretour/pergamon/introduction/pergamon.intro2.htm accessed September 24, 2007
2. ^ http://www.turkishodyssey.com/places/aegean/aegean1.htm accessed September 24, 2007
3. ^ after that of Alexandria (see Royal Library of Alexandria)

• Hansen, Esther V. Alexandria ( Egyptian Arabic: اسكندريه Eskendereyya; Standard Arabic: ar الإسكندرية Al-Iskandariyya; Ἀλεξάνδρεια The Royal Library of Alexandria or Ancient Library of Alexandria in Alexandria, Egypt, was once the largest library in the ancient world (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

• Rosa Valderrama, "Pergamum": brief history
• Photographic tour of old and new Pergamon, including the museum
• The Theatre at Pergamon. The Ancient Theatre Archive. Theatre specifications and virtual reality tour of theatre