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After the death of Alexander the Great, one of his generals who is called Lysimachus
chose Pergamum as the depository for his wealth. He placed nine thousand talents
of gold in Pergamum under the guardianship of Philetaerus who was his lieutenant.
After the death of Lysimachus, Philetaerus took advantage of this wealth and founded
the independent dynasty of Attalid Kings which later became the centre of Hellenistic
civilization. With the success of the two kings Attalus I and Eumenes II, Pergamum
reached the highest point of its power. However during those time Rome and the
Hellenistic leaders united. After that Pergamum became a very powerful kingdom by
Attalus I including Mysia, Lydia, Caria, Pamphylia and Phrygia. He not only extended
the borders but also decorated the capital city with architectural splendors. Eumenes II
improved the city culturally. King Attalus III bequeathed the territory to the Romans
who made the city rich in art and culture poor in politics and economy. The city went through
the Arab, Byzantine and finally the Turkish period in the 14C. In Hellenistic period the
ancientity made an intellectual progress with the famous sculpture school and public
buildings and monuments. Also Pergamum played an important role during the
reign of the Romans. |
The foundation of acropolis in Pergamum depended on social and cultural activities which
we can consider it to be the daily life. Because of this, buildings in Pergamum were
designed to be used in daily life. More than religion socialization was important as a
proof even the temples were one of the meeting places of people where they can join in
social affairs just like other large buildings which were designed for this purpose. Pergamum
had the fame to be the first city who showed reaction to the functional urbanism of
Hippodamus as they preferred ornamental urbanism. Acropolis buildings were built
and designed with the aim of impressing the ones viewing the city from the valley. All
buildings except the Trajan Temple were built in the reign of the Hellenistic emperors
which are mostly made of andesite and rarely marble. |
Heroon in Pergamum was the shrine in which the kings especially Attalus I and Eumenes II
were worshipped. Eumenes II built the Sanctuary of Athena, dedicated to victory-bringing,
in Pergamum which was entered through a propylon. The entrance of the Sanctuary is
surrounded by three stoas of the Doric order which opens to a courtyard. Athena Temple
is located at the corner near the theatre in Doric order as well which was built earlier. |
Another building constructed by Eumenes II is the Library of Pergamum. It was the
second of the three famous ancient libraries which contained two hundred thousand
volumes and which were given to Cleopatra a century later as a wedding present by Mark
Antony to be added to the ones in the library of Alexandria. The library is located north
of the Athena Sanctuary. The Library of Pergamum was rich in sources but when the
Egyptians prohibited the export of papyrus, Pergamum King ordered a new material to be
found which can take the place of papyrus. What they found was called parchment which
was a material made of sheep or goat skin. It was polished first with pumice stone and
then slit into sheets. Because of this, the word parchment is used as a synonym of the
name Pergamum. |
In the 2nd century Hadrian who was the successor of Trojan have the Temple of Trojan
built in Pergamum in Corinthian order and dedicated it to Trojan itself. It was built of
marble. Zeus Altar can be accepted as the finest altar ever built. It was built in 180 B.C.
without a temple which is unusual. The altar which is a marble offering-table is on a huge
stone plinth which also supports the double colonnade of Ionic columns.It was built of marble.
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Historical Places 
