Pergamon or the Pergamum also referred to by its modern Greek form Pergamos (Greek: Πέργαμος), was a rich and powerful ancient Greek city in Mysia. It is located 26 kilometres (16 miles) from the modern coastline of the Aegean Sea on a promontory on the north side of the river Caicus (modern-day Bakırçay) and northwest of the modern city of Bergama, Turkey.

1. Pergamon
By the Editors of the Madain Project
Pergamon or the Pergamum also referred to by its modern Greek form
Pergamos (Greek: Πέργαμος), was a rich and powerful ancient Greek city in
Mysia. It is located 26 kilometers (16 miles) from the modern coastline of the
Aegean Sea on a promontory on the north side of the river Caicus (modern-day
Bakırçay) and northwest of the modern city of Bergama, Turkey.
Overview
The city is centered on a 335 meters high (1,099 feet) mesa of andesite which
formed its acropolis. This mesa falls away sharply on the north, west, and east
sides, but three natural terraces on the south side provide a route up to the top.
To the west of the acropolis, the Selinus River (modern Bergamaçay) flows
through the city, while the Ketios river (modern Kestelçay) passes by to the east.

2. Notable Archaeological Structures
circa

3. Trajaneum: Temple for Trajan and Zeus Philios
The construction of the temple was started under the ROman emperor
Trajan (98-117 CE) and then enlarged and completed under his successor
Hadrian (117-138 CE). It served the cult of both rulers and Zeus, only relicts
of whose colossal statues have been found. Since the Hellenistic times, the
worship of rulers had been customary in the Orient and Asia Minor. As a
monument of Roman domination, the Trajaneum, served to strengthen the
bonds with Rome and the imperial family.
The Trajaneum is the only Roman monument on the upper fortress. The
temple, conceived to have a distant effect, and the lower town
complemented each other in their alignment. The large site was partly

4. obtained by leveling the rock in the side of the mountain; the steep syncline
of the side of the valley was traversed by a giant substructure.
The temple was built on a high marble covered podium in the middle of this
platform. In accordance with Greek traditions, the main body of the building
was free standing. On three sides, it was surrounded by halls with monolithic
columns and a special form of corinthian capitals; the north hall whose
supporting walls cover the remaining rock, and the side halls which were
subsequently added.
It is not known when the temple was destroyed. In the Middle Ages the wall
facing the valley was included in the Byzantine fortifications and restored
several times. Parts of the substructures were used as cisterns.
circa

5. Temple-sanctuary of Hera
The sanctuary of Hera Basileia ('the Queen') lay north of the upper terrace of
the gymnasium. Its structure sits on two parallel terraces, the south one
about 107.4 meters above sea level and the north one about 109.8 meters
above sea level. The Temple of Hera sat in the middle of the upper terrace,
facing to the south, with a 6-meter-wide (20 feet) exedra to the west and a
building whose function is very unclear to the east. The two terraces were
linked by a staircase of eleven steps around 7.5 meters wide, descending
from the front of the temple.
circa

6. Theatre
The well-preserved Theatre of Pergamon dates from the Hellenistic period
and had space for around 10,000 people, in 78 rows of seats. At a height of
36 meters, it is the steepest of all ancient theaters. The seating area (koilon)
is divided horizontally by two walkways, called diazomata, and vertically by
0.75-metre-wide (2.5 feet) stairways into seven sections in the lowest part of
the theater and six in the middle and upper sections. Below the theater is a
247-meter-long (810 feet) and up to 17.4-metre-wide (57 feet) terrace, which
rested on a high retaining wall and was framed on the long side by a stoa.
circa 150 BCE

7. Remains of the Great Altar of Zeus
Not much remains of the Great Altar of Pergamon, and there is little to see
at the original site today, but it is enough to provide a sense of the
magnitude of the great shrine. And for those who have seen the altar in
Berlin, it allows one to imagine what it would have looked like in its original
position, standing proudly on the acropolis. On the terrace below to the
south is the upper market (agora). Bounded by stoas, it contains to the west,
a temple probably dedicated to Hermes, the god of Merchants.
Dedicated to Zeus and Athena, the altar was ornamented on its vast sockel
with reliefs depicting the struggle of the Olympian gods and the
subterranean powers. It was built by Eumenes II (197-159 BCE) in

8. commemoration of his victoryover the Gauls in 190 BCE. The altar,
ascended by means of a stairway on its western side, enclosed an offering
table within a raised court bounded on three sides by colonnaded enclosure
wall which itself was ornamented on the inside with reliefs depicting the
legend of Telephus, the son of Heracles and Auge and forefather of the
Pergamene royal family.
circa 150 BCE
Temple of Dionysus
In the 2nd century BCE, Eumenes II (probably) built a temple for Dionysus at
the northern end of the theater terrace. The marble temple sits on a podium,

9. 4.5 meters above the level of the theater terrace and was an Ionic prostyle
temple. The pronaos was four columns wide and two columns deep and was
accessed by a staircase of twenty-five steps. Only a few traces of the
Hellenistic structure survive. The majority of the surviving structure derives
from a reconstruction of the temple which probably took place under
Caracalla, or perhaps under Hadrian.
circa
Temple of Athena
The Temple or sanctuary of Athena was dedicated to the city goddess
Athena, who brings victory, and to Zeus. It was the oldest temple known in

10. Pergamon (4th century BCE), surrounded by Doric columns, 6 to the front
and rear and 10 columns on each side with a divided room inside (of which
only foundations are visible today).
A double-aisled stoa with attached library was added on the northern side of
the temple precinct in the same time of Eumenes II (197-159 BCE). In the
main room of the library the podium and wall sockets designed to support
the bookshelves are visible. On the pedestal centered in front of the northern
wall of the room stood a reduced copy of Athens' famous statue of Athena
Parthenos. The reputed 200,000 scrolls kept here were carried off by
Anthony in 41 BCE and presented to Cleopatra.
On the eastern side of the precinct a single aisled stoa with an entrance
gateway decorated with reliefs was also added in the time of Eumenes II.
The single aisled stoa on the southern side was probably added later in the
second century CE. Within the sanctuary court the art collections of the
Pergamene kings and the votive offerings celebrating victories over the
Gauls were displayed. On the round base in the center of the stood a statue
of the Roman emperor Augustus (31 BCE- 14 CE).
circa

11. Temple-precinct of Demeter
The Sanctuary of Demeter occupied an area of 50 x 110 meters on the
middle level of the south slope of the citadel. The sanctuary was old; its
activity can be traced back to the fourth century BCE. The sanctuary was
entered through a Propylon from the east, which led to a courtyard
surrounded by stoas on three sides. In the center of the western half of this
courtyard, stood the Ionic temple of Demeter, a straightforward Antae
temple, measuring 6.45 x 12.7 meters, with a porch in the Corinthian order
which was added in the time of Antoninus Pius.
The rest of the structure was of Hellenistic date, built in local marble and had
a marble frieze decorated with bucrania. About 9.5 meters in front of the

12. east-facing building, there was an altar, which was 7 meters long and 2.3
meters wide. The temple and the altar were built for Demeter by Philetaerus,
his brother Eumenes, and their mother Boa.
circa
Gymnasium
A large gymnasium area was built in the 2nd century BCE on the south side
of the Acropolis. It consisted of three terraces, with the main entrance at the
southeast corner of the lowest terrace. The lowest and southernmost terrace
is small and almost free of buildings. It is known as the Lower Gymnasium
and has been identified as the boys' gymnasium. The middle terrace was

13. around 250 meters long and 70 meters wide at the center. On its north side
there was a two-story hall. In the east part of the terrace there was a small
prostyle temple in the Corinthian order. A roofed stadium, known as the
Basement Stadium is located between the middle terrace and the upper
terrace.
Gallery
See Also
​ Acropolis of Athens
​
​ Seven Churches of the Apocalypse
​
​

14. ​
References
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(Pergamenische Forschungen. Vol. 2).
​
​ Dreyfus, Renée (1996). Pergamon: The Telephos Friez from the Great Altar; [exhibition,
The Metrolopitan Museum of Art, New York, N. Y., 16 January - 14 April 1996...]. University
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​
​ Errington, R. Malcolm (2008). A History of the Hellenistic World: 323–30 BC. Blackwell
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​
​ P. Green, Alexander to Actium. The historical evolution of the Hellenistic age.
​
​ Elizabeth Kosmetatou, "The Attalids of Pergamon" in Andrew Erskine, Companion to the
Hellenistic World. Blackwell Publishing, 2003.
​
​ Foss, Clive (1991). "Pergamon". In Kazhdan, Alexander (ed.). The Oxford Dictionary of
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​
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​
​ Christopher Prestige Jones: New heroes in antiquity: from Achilles to Antinoos. Harvard
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​
​ Wolfgang Radt: Pergamon: Geschichte und Bauten einer antiken Metropole. Darmstadt
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​

15. ​ Klaus Rheidt, "Die Obere Agora. Zur Entwicklung des hellenistischen Stadtzentrums von
Pergamon." Istanbuler Mitteilungen. Vol. 42 (1992).
​
​ On the Trajaneum: Jens Rohmann: Die Kapitellproduktion der römischen Kaiserzeit in
Pergamon. W. de Gruyter, Berlin – New York 1998, ISBN 3-11-015555-9.
​
​ Klaffenbach, G. (1954). "Die Astynomeninschrift von Pergamon". Deutsche Akademie der
Wissenschaften. Abhandlungen. Klasse für Sprachen, Literatur und Kunst. 6
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​ McEvedy, Colin (2012). Cities of the Classical World. Penguin Global
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​ Nagy, Gregory (2007). "The Idea of the Library as a Classical Model for European Culture".
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​ Tucker, Jack (2012). Innocents Return Abroad: Exploring Ancient Sites in Western Turkey.
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​

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​ Radt, Wolfgang. 1984. Pergamon, Archeological Guide. 3rd ed. Istanbul: Türkiye Turing Ve
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​ Walbank, Frank W. 1993. The Hellenistic world. Revised ed. Cambridge, MA: Harvard
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