The front of the Pergamon Altar, as it is reconstructed in the Pergamon Museum in Berlin. The Pergamon Museum ( German: Pergamonmuseum) is among the museums on Museum Island in Berlin.

The Pergamon Altar is a magnificently opulent structure originally built in the 2nd century BC in the Ancient Greek city of Pergamon (modern day Bergama in Turkey) in north-western Anatolia, 25. The 2nd century BC started the first day of 200 BC and ended the last day of 101 BC. The term ancient Greece refers to the period of Greek history lasting from the Greek Dark Ages ca Bergama ( Pargauma /PergamosPeople of High City refers to a city and its surrounding district in İzmir Province, in the Aegean Region of the Turkey (Türkiye known officially as the Republic of Turkey ( is a Eurasian Country that stretches Anatolia (Anadolu Ανατολία Anatolía) or Asia minor, comprising most of modern Turkey, is the geographic region bounded by the Black 74 kilometers (16 miles) from the Aegean Sea. The kilometre ( American spelling: kilometer) symbol km is a unit of Length in the Metric system, equal to one thousand A mile is a unit of Length, usually used to measure Distance, in a number of different systems including Imperial units United States Etymology In ancient times there were various explanations for the name Aegean. It has long been assumed that the temple was dedicated to Zeus. Zeus (zjuːs in Greek: nominative: Zeús /zdeús/ genitive: Diós; Modern Greek /'zefs/ in Greek mythology ^[1] The altar appears to be mentioned in the Book of Revelation, Revelation 2:12-13: "In Pergamos where Satan's Throne is". The Book of Revelation, also called Revelation to John, Apocalypse of John ( pronounced, from the Ἀποκάλυψις Ἰωάννου ^[2]; more firmly, the only lengthy reference to it in Antiquity is in the Liber Memorialis of Ampelius (8.14), where it is described as "a large marble altar, forty feet high with a great many sculptures, among which a Battle of the Giants. "

Some fragments from the frieze (the back view of a Giant, probably from Worksop Manor, and a dead giant, found at Fawley Court have been identified), perhaps collected by William Petty, were part of Thomas Howard, Earl of Arundel's collection of Antiquities at Arundel House, Strand, London, but rejected, as too weathered, for inclusion in the gift to the Ashmolean Museum. Worksop Manor is a stately home in The Dukeries area of Nottinghamshire. Fawley Court stands on the banks of the River Thames at Fawley in the English county of Buckinghamshire, just north of Henley-on-Thames Sir William Petty ( May 27 1623 – December 16 1687) was an English Economist, scientist and Philosopher Thomas Howard 21st Earl of Arundel 4th Earl of Surrey and 1st Earl of Norfolk ( 7 July 1585 &ndash 4 October 1646) was a prominent English Arundel House was a town-house or palace located between the Strand and the Thames, near St Clement Danes. The Strand is a street in the City of Westminster, London, England. The Ashmolean Museum (in full the Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology) on Beaumont Street, Oxford, England, is the world's first ^[3] However, the main excavation was carried out in two campaigns, in 1879 and 1904, and shipped out of the Ottoman Empire by the German archaeological team led by Carl Humann; it was reconstructed in the Pergamon Museum in Berlin, built in part to receive it, from 1910, where it can be seen alongside other monumental structures such as the Market Gate of Miletus and the Ishtar Gate from Babylon. Carl Humann ( January 4, 1839 &ndash April 12, 1896) was a German Engineer, Architect and Archaeologist 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 Ishtar Gate ( Assyrian: ܕܵܪܘܲܐܙܲܐ ܕܥܵܐܫܬܲܪ translit Darwaza D'Ishtar, Arabic:بوابة عشتار was the Babylon was a City-state of ancient Mesopotamia, the remains of which can be found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Province, Iraq

The Altar has a 113 metre (371 feet) long sculptural frieze depicting the gigantomachy, or struggle of the gods and the giants. The metre or meter is a unit of Length. It is the basic unit of Length in the Metric system and in the International A foot (plural feet or foot; symbol or abbreviation ft or sometimes &prime – the prime symbol) is a non-SI unit In Architecture the frieze is the wide central section part of an Entablature and may be plain or &ndash in the Ionic or Corinthian order &ndash See Gigantes y cabezudos for the giant figures of Spanish culture "the frieze is composed of a sequence of isolated, tightly-knit and self-contained groups and figures" each unit assigned to one workshop. Many inscriptions on the lower moulded margin identify the sculptor responsible and his city. ^[4]

The date of construction

Detail of the frieze

The Pergamene Altar, which consisted of a stepped square podium (remaining in situ, illustration, right) and an Ionic colonnade, synthesized in an innovative way two features of Ionian architecture and cult practice: the monumental open-air altar block raised on a podium, with Egyptian precedents, combined for the first time with features of the Ionic funerary monument or heroon of heroic ancestor-cult— the peristyle raised on a high podium. The Ionic order column forms one of the three '''orders''' or '''organizational systems''' of Classical architecture, the other two canonic orders being the Geography Physical Ionia was of small extent not exceeding 90 geographical miles in length from north to south with a breadth varying from 40 to 55 miles but to this For the 2004 film directed by Yann Moix see Podium (film. A podium (plural podia) is a Platform that A heroon - ἡρῷον (plural heroa - ἡρῷα also called heroum, was a shrine dedicated to an ancient Greek or Roman hero and was ^[5] It forms the traditional fixed point against which the chronology of Hellenistic sculpture styles has been based. Unfortunately the date of the Altar is not secure; its two friezes (illustration, left) differ in their stylistic character, an anomaly that has been explained on the basis of their presumed chronological difference of twenty years (180-160 BCE). When the initial excavations were made, the chronology of Hellenistic pottery types had not yet been established. Another excavation in 1961 yielded some more ceramic material, which, if they are interpreted as downdating the altar's first construction to ca. 165 BC, would associate it with Eumenes II's victories against Galatia in 167-166. Ancient Galatia was an area in the highlands of central Anatolia in modern Turkey. Further test trenches in 1994 yielded yet more ceramic fragments, which were dated to just after 172 BC, which would associate with the date of the recovery of Eumenes II from a reported assassination attempt at Delphi that almost cost him his life. Prevailing cautious opinion leaves its construction date open. Construction of the monument may have started as early as ca. 160 BC. ^[6]

Interpreting the Gigantomachy frieze

Zeus fights against Poryphion

Due to the pedantic nature of Hellenistic art, it has been theorized that the program of the external frieze of the Great Altar, which only partially survives, was deeply scholastic. The library at Pergamon was second only to Alexandria in the ancient world, and scholars such as Pergamon's own Krates of Mallos were probably commissioned to collaborate on its design. The Royal Library of Alexandria or Ancient Library of Alexandria in Alexandria, Egypt, was once the largest library in the ancient world Crates, of Mallus in Cilicia (modern day Southeastern Anatolia Region Turkey) was a Greek language Grammarian and Stoic The original interpretation of Carl Robert and Otto Puchstein divided the four sides of the great altar's frieze into the realms of the Olympians (east), water and earth gods (west), celestial/light gods (south) and gods of night and constellations (north). Robert and Puchstein drew on three sources for their interpretation: Hesiod's Theogony, Bibliotheke, by the pseudo-Apollodorus and, for the north frieze, Phainomena by Aratos. Hesiod ( Greek: Hesiodos) was an early Greek Poet and Rhapsode, who presumably lived around 700 BCE Theogony ( Greek: Θεογονία theogonia = the birth of God(s is a Poem by Hesiod describing the origins and genealogies The Bibliotheca (in English: Library) in three books provides a grand summary of traditional Greek mythology and heroic Legends This article is about the didactic poet There was also an Aratus of Sicyon and an Aratus son of Asclepius For the crab Genus, see

The interpretation that is currently most accepted is from Erika Simon's 1975 Pergamon und Hesiod,^[7] which draws exclusively on Hesiod's Theogony for a reading of the Great Altar. According to Simon, the frieze is arranged genealogically, with the descendants of Ouranos and of Ge, the Titans and Olympians, on the South and East friezes, respectively. Uranus (ˈjʊərənəs jʊˈreɪnəs is the Latinized form of Ouranos () the Greek word for Sky. Gaia (ˈgeɪə or /ˈgaɪə/ (" land " or " Earth " from the Ancient Greek Γαîα also Gæa or Gea In Greek mythology, the Titans ( Greek: Tītā́n; plural Tītânes) were a race of powerful Deities that ruled during the legendary The Twelve Olympians, also known as the Dodekatheon ( Greek: Δωδεκάθεον On the left portion of the West frieze begin the descendants of Pontos, deities associated with water, who curl around to the right portion of the North frieze. Geography The Black Sea region loosely called Pontus by various scholars has a steep rocky coast with rivers that cascade through the gorges of the coastal ranges Lastly are the descendants of Nyx, associated with darkness, mortality, and fate, who occupy the central portion of the North Frieze.

There are some inconsistencies with Simon's interpretation, such as the presence of Dione, mother of Aphrodite, who did not exist in Hesiod's Theogony but was instead a Homeric character. Dione in Greek mythology is a vague goddess presence who has her most concrete form in Book V of Homer 's Iliad as the mother of Aphrodite Homer ( Ancient Greek:, Homēros) is a legendary ancient Greek epic Poet, traditionally said to be the author of the epic poems the A more recent yet less respected interpretation by Michael Pfanner asserts that Nyx is in fact Persephone, as shown by the nearby presence of a pomegranate flower. In Greek mythology, Persephone ( Kore or Cora) was the embodiment of the Earth's fertility at the same time that she was the Queen of the Underworld The pomegranate ( Punica granatum) is a Fruit -bearing Deciduous Shrub or small Tree growing to between five and eight metres tall In any event, of the near-hundred figures on the frieze surrounding the Great Altar, only fourteen have both name and position confirmed by surviving inscriptions; these include Athena and Ge (east), Aphrodite and Dione (north), Triton and a host of satyrs (west), and Themis and Asteria (south). ATHENA was an Antimatter research project that took place at the AD Ring at CERN. Dione in Greek mythology is a vague goddess presence who has her most concrete form in Book V of Homer 's Iliad as the mother of Aphrodite Triton (Τρίτων gen Τρίτωνος is a mythological Greek god, the messenger of the deep In Greek mythology, satyrs (Σάτυροι Satyroi) are a troop of male companions of Pan and Dionysus – " Satyresses quot For other uses see Themis (disambiguation. In Greek mythology, Hesiod mentions Themis (Θέμις among the six sons and six daughters of Gaia In Greek mythology, Asteria was a name attributed to five individuals Amazon Asteria was the sixth Amazon killed by Heracles when Figures whose inscriptions have not been preserved but who may iconographically be identified beyond a doubt include Artemis, Zeus and Nike (east). In Greek mythology, Artemis language|Greek] ( Nominative), ( Genitive))] was the daughter of Zeus and Leto, and the twin sister Zeus (zjuːs in Greek: nominative: Zeús /zdeús/ genitive: Diós; Modern Greek /'zefs/ in Greek mythology In Greek mythology, Nike ( Greek Νίκη níːkɛː meaning Victory) was a Goddess who personified Triumph

Political use

Empty basis of altar in Pergamon

The Great Altar was probably constructed in the wake of Eumenes II's military victories over his opponents in the eastern Mediterranean and the mainland of Asia Minor. Eumenes II of Pergamon (Εὐμένης Α' τῆς Περγάμου (ruled 197 - 159 BC was king of Pergamon and a member of the Attalid dynasty. Anatolia (Anadolu Ανατολία Anatolía) or Asia minor, comprising most of modern Turkey, is the geographic region bounded by the Black Pergamon sought to cultivate an image of itself as the inheritor of Athen's cultural and political legacy over the Greek-speaking world—Athens had fallen from primacy in the fifth century BCE, and no city-state had risen to replace it. Pergamene building projects aimed at this goal were extensive and included the sponsorship of monuments on the distant Acropolis and other Greek city-states in Asia Minor. The Acropolis of Athens is the best known Acropolis (high city The "Sacred Rock" in the world The gigantomachy frieze on the Great Altar bolsters these claims by making direct reference both to the Parthenon at Athens and Attalid naval victories over Hannibal of Carthage. The Parthenon ( Ancient Greek:) is a temple of the Greek goddess Athena, built in the 5th century BC on the Athenian Acropolis Athens (ˈæθənz Αθήνα Athina,) the Capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery as one of the world's Hannibal (Pronounced in Phoenician: Hanniba'al means " Ba'al is my grace " or " Ba'al has given me grace " 247 BC &ndash Most significantly, the extensive theme of Greek gods defending a natural order against the Giants who represented chaos paralleled the Attalid conception of the Pergamene dynasty as defenders of Greek culture against Gallic barbarians.

On the interior of the great altar is a separate frieze depicting the life of Telephos, son of Herakles, whom the ruling Attalid dynasty associated with their city and utilized to claim descendance from the Olympians and links with mainland Greece. This article is about Telephus the son of Heracles. The name also refers to the father of Cyparissus. In Greek mythology, Heracles or Herakles ("glory of Hera " or The Attalid dynasty was a Hellenistic dynasty that ruled the city of Pergamon after the death of Lysimachus, a general of Alexander the Great Pergamon, having entered the Greek world much later than their counterparts to the west, could not boast the same divine heritage as older city-states, and had to retroactively cultivate their place in the Greek tradition.

The Nazi-era architect Albert Speer used the Pergamon Altar as the model for the Zeppelintribüne, 1934-37. Berthold Konrad Hermann Albert Speer, commonly known as Albert Speer ( 19 March 1905 - 1 September 1981 was an Architect, author and for part of World Nazi party rally grounds (in German Reichsparteitagsgelände) is the name of a site in the southeast of Nuremberg ( UGN:) where the Nazi The Führer's pulpit was in the center of the tribune. Tribunal is a generic term for any body acting judicially whether or not it is called a tribunal in its title After World War II the frieze reliefs were translocated to the Hermitage Museum, ostensibly as a compensation for damage inflicted by the German invaders on Soviet museums. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including The State Hermitage Museum (Государственный Эрмитаж Gosudarstvennyj Èrmitaž) in Saint Petersburg, Russia is one of the largest At the behest of Nikita Khrushchev, the frieze reliefs were returned to East Germany, together with the entire collection of the Dresden Gallery, in 1956. Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (April 17 1894 – September 11 1971 served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 following The German Democratic Republic ( GDR; Deutsche Demokratische Republik DDR; commonly known in English as East Germany) was a Socialist state The Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister (English Old Masters Picture Gallery) is an state Art museum located in the Semper wing of the Zwinger

Notes

References

• Pollitt, J. J. , Art in the Hellenstic Age (Cambridge 1986)
• Queyrel, François, 2005. "L'Autel de Pergame: Images et pouvoir en Grèce d'Asie". Antiqua 9 (Paris: Éditions Picard)
• Ridgway, B. S. 2000. Hellenistic Sculpture II. The Styles of ca. 200-100 BC, (Madison, Wisconsin)
• Stewart, A. 2000. ""Pergamon Ara Marmorea Magna. On the Date, Reconstruction, and Functions of the Great Altar of Pergamon" in N. De Grummond and B. S. Ridgway, editors, From Pergamon to Sperlonga: Sculpture and Context (Berkeley).
• Hoffmann, Herbert, "Antecedents of the Great Altar at Pergamon" The Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 11. 3 (October 1952), pp. 1-5.
• Queyrel, François , L'Autel de Pergame. Images et pouvoir en Grèce d'Asie. Antiqua vol. 9. Paris: Éditions A. et J. Picard, 2005. See Bryn Mawr Classical Review 2005. 08. 42.