Pergamon, Pergamum or Pérgamo (in Greek Greek , an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages, is the language of the Greeks. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. In its ancient form, it is the language of classical ancient Greek literature and the New Testament of, Πέργαμος or Πέργαμον) was an ancient Greek Ancient Greece is the civilization belonging to the period of Greek history lasting from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to 146 BC and the Roman conquest of Greece after the Battle of Corinth. At the center of this time period is Classical Greece, which flourished during the 5th to 4th centuries BC, at first under Athenian city in modern-day Turkey Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey ( Türkiye Cumhuriyeti (help·info)), is a Eurasian country situated in the Anatolian peninsula, located in Western Asia, and Eastern Thrace, located in southeastern Europe. Turkey is one of the six independent Turkic states. Turkey is bordered by eight countries: Bulgaria to the northwest;, in Mysia 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, Troad on the west and by the Propontis on the north. In ancient times it was inhabited, today located 16 miles (26 km) from the Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea (Greek: Αιγαίο Πέλαγος, Egeo Pelagos [eˈʝeo ˈpelaɣos] ; Turkish: Ege Denizi) is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea located between the southern Balkan and Anatolian peninsulas, i.e., between the mainlands of Greece and Turkey respectively. In the north, it is connected to the Marmara Sea and Black Sea on a promontory A promontory is a prominent mass of land which overlooks lower lying land or a body of water on the north side of the river Caicus (modern day Bakırçay), that became the capital of the Kingdom of Pergamon during the Hellenistic period In the context of Ancient Greek art, architecture, and culture, Hellenistic Greece corresponds to the period between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the annexation of the classical Greek heartlands by Rome in 146 BC focuses on the history of 'Greece proper' during this period, under the Attalid dynasty, 281–133 BC. Today, the main sites of ancient Pergamon are to the north and west of the modern city of Bergama Bergama refers to a city and its surrounding district in İzmir Province, in the Aegean Region of the Republic of Turkey. Known for its cotton, gold, and fine carpets, the city was the ancient Greek and Roman cultural center of Pergamon; its wealth of ancient ruins continues to attract considerable tourist interest today.

History

The Attalid kingdom was the rump state A rump state is the remnant of a once-larger government, left with limited powers or authority after a disaster, invasion, military occupation, secession or partial overthrowing of a government. In the last case, a government stops short of going in exile because it still controls part of its previous territory. For example, after the Qing left after the collapse of the Kingdom of Thrace The historical boundaries of Thrace have varied. Noteworthy is the fact that, at an early date, the ancient Greeks employed the term "Thrace" to refer to all of the territory which lay north of Greece inhabited by the Thracians, a region which "had no definite boundaries" and to which other regions (like Macedonia and even.

The Attalids, the descendants of Attalus, father of Philetaerus Philetaerus was the founder of the Attalid dynasty of Pergamon in Anatolia who came to power in 281 BC following the collapse of the Kingdom of Thrace, were among the most loyal supporters of Rome The Roman Republic was the phase of the ancient Roman civilization characterised by a republican form of government. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, c. 509 BC, and lasted 482 years until its subversion, through a series of civil wars, into the Principate form of government and the Imperial period in the Hellenistic world. Under Attalus I (241-197 BC), they allied with Rome against Philip V of Macedon, during the first The First Macedonian War 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. There were no decisive engagements, and the war ended in a stalemate and second Macedonian Wars, and again under Eumenes II Eumenes II of Pergamon (ruled 197 - 159 BC) was king of Pergamon and a member of the Attalid dynasty. The son of king Attalus I and queen Apollonis, he followed in his father's footsteps and collaborated with the Romans to oppose first Macedonian, then Seleucid expansion towards the Aegean, leading to the defeat of Antiochus the Great at the (197-158 BC), against Perseus of Macedon Perseus (ca. 212 BC - 166 BC) was the last king (Basileus) of the Antigonid dynasty, who ruled the successor state in Macedon created upon the death of Alexander the Great. He also has the distinction of being the last of the line, after losing the Battle of Pydna on 22 June 168 BC; subsequently Macedon came under Roman rule, during the Third Macedonian War The Third Macedonian War 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. Perseus married Laodike, daughter of King Seleucus IV Keraunos of Asia, and increased the size of his army. He also made alliance treaties with Epirus and several. For support against the Seleucids, the Attalids were rewarded with all the former Seleucid domains in Asia Minor Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the western two-thirds of the Republic of Turkey. The region is bounded by the Black Sea to the north, Georgia to the northeast, the Armenian Highland to the east, Mesopotamia to the southeast, the Mediterranean Sea to the south and the Aegean Sea.

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 Delphi is both an archaeological site and a modern town in Greece on the south-western spur of Mount Parnassus in the valley of Phocis. In Greek mythology, Delphi was the site of the Delphic oracle, the most important oracle in the classical Greek world, and a major site for the worship of the god Apollo after he slew the Python, a deity who lived, Delos The island of Delos , isolated in the centre of the roughly circular ring of islands called the Cyclades, near Mykonos, is one of the most important mythological, historical and archaeological sites in Greece. The excavations in the island are among the most extensive in the Mediterranean; ongoing work takes place under the direction of the French, and Athens Athens (pronounced /ˈæθɨnz/; Modern Greek: Αθήνα, Athina, IPA: [aˈθina], Katharevousa/Ancient Greek: Ἀθῆναι, Athēnai , the capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery; as one of the world's oldest cities, its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. They defeated the invading Celts The Iron Age and Roman-era Celts were a diverse group of tribal societies in Europe who spoke Celtic languages. They remodeled the Acropolis of Pergamon after the Acropolis Acropolis means "highest city" in Greek, literally city on the extremity and is usually translated into English as Citadel (akros, akron, edge, extremity + polis, city, pl. acropoleis). For purposes of defense, early people naturally chose elevated ground to build a new settlement, frequently a hill with precipitous sides. In many parts 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.

According to Christian tradition, the first bishop of Pergamon, Antipas Saint Antipas is referred to in the Book of Revelation as the "faithful martyr" of Pergamon. According to Christian tradition, John the Apostle ordained Antipas as bishop of the Pergamon during the reign of the Roman emperor Domitian. The traditional account goes on to say Antipas was martyred in ca. 92 AD by burning in a brazen bull-, was martyred there in ca. 92 AD. (Revelation 2:13)

The Ottoman The Ottoman Empire was a regime that lasted from 1299 to 1923 Sultan Murad III had two large alabaster Alabaster is a name applied to varieties of two distinct minerals: gypsum and calcite (a carbonate of calcium). The former is the alabaster of the present day; generally, the latter is the alabaster of the ancients urns transported from the ruins of Pergamon and placed on two sides of the nave in the Hagia Sophia Hagia Sophia from the Greek: Ἁγία Σοφία, "Holy Wisdom"; Latin: Sancta Sophia or Sancta Sapientia) is a former Orthodox patriarchal basilica, later a mosque, now a museum in Istanbul, Turkey. From the date of its dedication in 360 until 1453, it served as the cathedral of Constantinople except between 1204 and 1261, when it was in Istanbul Istanbul is the largest city in Turkey and 5th largest city proper in the world with a population of 12.8 million, also making it the second largest metropolitan area in Europe by population, and the largest metropolitan city proper. Istanbul is also a megacity, as well as the cultural, economic, and financial centre of Turkey. The city covers 39.^[1]

Notable structures

Upper Acropolis

The Great Altar of Pergamon 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 BC in the Ancient Greek city of Pergamon in north-western Anatolia, 25.74 kilometers (16 miles) from the Aegean Sea. The Great Altar of Pergamon has figured in lists of the Wonders of the World is in the Pergamon Museum The Pergamon Museum is situated on the Museum Island in Berlin. The site was designed by Alfred Messel and Ludwig Hoffmann and was constructed in twenty years, from 1910 to 1930. The Pergamon houses original-sized, reconstructed monumental buildings such as the Pergamon Altar, the Market Gate of Miletus, all consisting of parts transported from, Berlin. The base of this altar remains on the upper part of the Acropolis. It was perhaps to this altar, believed dedicated to Zeus, that John of Patmos John of Patmos is the name given to the author of the Book of Revelation in the New Testament. According to the text of Revelation, the author, who gives his name as "John," is living on the Greek island of Patmos. Many believe John was in exile referred to as "Satan's Throne" in his Book of Revelation The Book of the Revelation of John, usually referred to simply as Revelation or the Book of Revelation, is the last book of the New Testament. It is also called the Apocalypse of John in Catholic parlance. Apocalypse, from the Greek, is a synonym for "Revelation", but also from it comes the name for the type of literature; an " (Revelation 2:12-13).

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.^[2]
• The Sanctuary of Trajan (also known as the Trajaneum)
• The Sanctuary of Athena
• The Library a.k.a. Athenaeum^{[citation needed]}
• The Royal palaces
• The Heroön - a shrine where the kings of Pergamon, particularly, Attalus I and Eumenes II, were worshipped.^[3]
• 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 civilization.^[4] When the Ptolemies The Ptolemaic dynasty, was a Greek royal family which ruled the Ptolemaic Empire in Egypt during the Hellenistic period. Their rule lasted for 275 years, from 305 BC to 30 BC stopped exporting papyrus Papyrus is a thick paper-like material produced from the pith of the papyrus plant, Cyperus papyrus, a wetland sedge that was once abundant in the Nile Delta of Egypt, partly because of competitors and partly because of shortages, the Pergamenes invented a new substance to use in codices A codex is a book in the format used for modern books, with separate pages normally bound together and given a cover, called pergaminus or pergamena (parchment Parchment is a thin material made from calfskin, sheepskin or goatskin, often split. Its most common use was as a material for writing on, for documents, notes, or the pages of a book, codex or manuscript. It is distinct from leather in that parchment is limed but not tanned, therefore it is very reactive with changes in relative humidity and is) after the city. This was made of fine calfskin Calfskin is a leather or membrane produced from the hide of a calf. Calfskin is particularly valuable because of its softness, and fine grain. It is commonly used for high-quality shoes, wallets and similar products, as well as traditional leather bookbindings, a predecessor of vellum Vellum is mammal skin prepared for writing or printing on, to produce single pages, scrolls, codices or books. It is generally smooth and durable, although there are great variations depending on preparation, the quality of the skin and the type of animal used. The manufacture involves the cleaning, bleaching, stretching on a frame, and scraping. The library at Pergamom was believed to contain 200,000 volumes, which Mark Antony Marcus Antonius (c. January 14, 83 BC–August 1, 30 BC), known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general. He was an important supporter and the loyal friend of Gaius Julius Caesar as a military commander and administrator, being Caesar's second cousin, once removed, by his mother Julia Antonia. After Caesar's assassination, later gave to Cleopatra Cleopatra VII Philopator (in Greek, Κλεοπάτρα Φιλοπάτωρ; was the last person to rule Egypt as an Egyptian pharaoh – after she died, Egypt became a Roman province as a wedding present.

Lower Acropolis

The lower part of the Acropolis has the following structures:

• the Upper Gymnasium
• the Middle Gymnasium
• the Lower Gymnasium
• the Temple of Demeter In Greek mythology Demeter was the goddess of the harvest, who presided over grains, the fertility of the earth, the seasons (personified by the Hours), and the harvest. Though Demeter is often described simply as the goddess of the harvest, she presided also over the sanctity of marriage, the sacred law, and the cycle of life and death. She and
• the Sanctuary of Hera Hera was the wife and one of three sisters of Zeus in the Olympian pantheon of classical Greek Mythology. Her chief function was as the goddess of women and marriage. In Roman mythology, Juno was the equivalent mythical character. The cow, and later, the peacock were sacred to her. Hera's mother was Rhea and her father, Cronus
• the House of Attalus
• the Lower Agora and
• the Gate of Eumenes Eumenes of Cardia was a Greek general and scholar. He participated in the wars of the Diadochi as a supporter of the Macedonian Argead royal house

At foot of Acropolis

Sanctuary of Asclepius

Three kilometers south of the Acropolis, down in the valley, there was the Sanctuary of Asclepius Asclepius is the god of medicine and healing in ancient Greek religion. Asclepius represents the healing aspect of the medical arts; his daughters are Hygieia ("Hygiene"), Iaso ("Medicine"), Aceso ("Healing"), Aglæa/Ægle ("Healthy Glow"), and Panacea ("Universal Remedy"). The rod of Asclepius, a (also known as the Asclepieion In ancient Greece and Rome, an asclepeion was a healing temple, sacred to the god Asclepius), 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 Asclepieion 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.

Serapis Temple

Pergamon's other notable structure is the Serapis Temple (Serapeum A serapeum is a temple or other religious institution dedicated to the syncretic Hellenistic-Egyptian god Serapis, who combined aspects of Osiris and Apis in a humanized form that was palatable to the Ptolemaic Greeks of Alexandria. There were several such religious centers, each of which was a serapeion or, in its Latinized form, a serapeum) which was later transformed into the Red Basilica complex (or Kizil 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 Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented in the New Testament. Christianity comprises three major branches: Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy (which parted ways with Catholicism in 1054 A.D.) and Protestantism (which came into existence during the Protestant Reformation of the 16th Church at Pergamon inside the main building of the Red Basilica was one of the Seven Churches to which the Book of Revelation The Book of the Revelation of John, usually referred to simply as Revelation or the Book of Revelation, is the last book of the New Testament. It is also called the Apocalypse of John in Catholic parlance. Apocalypse, from the Greek, is a synonym for "Revelation", but also from it comes the name for the type of literature; an " was addressed (Revelation 2:12). The forecourt is still supported by the 193 m wide Pergamon Bridge, the largest bridge substruction of antiquity.^[5]

Notable people

• Epigonus (3rd century BC) Greek sculptor
• Aeulius Nicon (2nd century AD) Greek architect and builder
• Galen (ca. 129-200/216) Greek physician

See also

• Allianoi
• List of Roman domes

Footnotes

1. ^ E.J. Brill's first encyclopaedia of Islam, 1913-1936‎ - Page 526
2. ^ [1] accessed September 24, 2007
3. ^ Bergama (Pergamum)-Akhisar (Thyatira) accessed September 24, 2007
4. ^ after that of Alexandria (see Royal Library of Alexandria)
5. ^ Grewe & Özis 1994, pp. 350, 352

References

• Grewe, Klaus; Özis, Ünal (1994), "Die antiken Flußüberbauungen von Pergamon und Nysa (Türkei)", Antike Welt 25 (4): 348–352
• 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.
• Nagy, Gregory (1998). "The Library of Pergamon as a Classical Model," in Helmut Koester, ed., Pergamon: Citadel of the Gods. Harrisburg PA: Trinity Press International: 185-232.
• Nagy, Gregory (2007). "The Idea of the Library as a Classical Model for European Culture," http://chs.harvard.edu/publications.sec/online_print_books.ssp/. Center for Hellenic Studies

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
• Pergamon: City of Science... and Satan: Biblical Archaeology Review

Coordinates: 39°08′00″N 27°11′00″E / 39.1333333°N 27.1833333°E

Categories: Archaeological sites in Turkey | Hellenistic colonies | Ancient Greek cities | Ancient Greek sites in Turkey | Galatian populated places | Pergamon | New Testament cities | Former populated places in Turkey

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