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88-622: In antiquity, the Bakırçay was or formed part of the Kaikos or Caicus River which flowed near the city of Pergamon and was the site of the Battle of the Caecus River . The Kaikos River is mentioned by Hesiod and Plutarch , who claims that its name was originally Astraeus (Ἀστραῖος) but was changed after Caicus, a son of Hermes , threw himself into it after sleeping with his sister Alcippe . However, since

176-498: A cella divided into two rooms. The foundations, measuring around 12.70 x 21.80 metres, are still visible today. The columns were around 5.25 metres high, 0.75 metres in diameter, and the distance between the columns was 1.62 metres, so the colonnade was very light for a temple of this period. This is matched by the shape of the triglyphs , which usually consist of a sequence of two triglyphs and two metopes , but are instead composed of three of triglyphs and three metopes. The columns of

264-661: A detailed depiction in high relief of the Gigantomachy , the battle between the Olympian gods and the Giants. The frieze is 2.30 metres high and has a total length of 113 metres, making it the second longest frieze surviving from antiquity, after the Parthenon Frieze in Athens. A 20-metre-wide (66 ft) staircase cut into the base on the western side leads up to the upper structure, which

352-453: 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 . Pergamon's oldest temple is a sanctuary of Athena from the 4th century BC. It was a north-facing Doric peripteros temple with six columns on the short side and ten on the long side and

440-467: A free city. Henceforth the city was required to pay tribute and accommodate and supply Roman troops, and the property of many of the inhabitants was confiscated. Imported Pergamene goods were among the luxuries enjoyed by Lucullus . The members of the Pergamene aristocracy, especially Diodorus Pasparus in the 70s BC, used their own possessions to maintain good relationships with Rome, by acting as donors for

528-521: A high retaining wall and was framed on the long side by a stoa . Coming from the Upper market, one could enter this from a tower-building at the south end. This terrace had no space for the circular orchestra , which was normal in a Greek theatre, so only a wooden stage building was built which could be taken down when there was no performance taking place. Thus, the view along the terrace to the Temple of Dionysos at

616-541: A library might indicate, however, that the building was located in that area. Other notable structures still in existence on the upper part of the Acropolis include: The site is today easily accessible by the Bergama Acropolis Gondola from the base station in northeastern Bergama. A large gymnasium area was built in the 2nd century BC on the south side of the Acropolis. It consisted of three terraces, with

704-414: A more resistant layer or layers of harder rock , e.g. shales overlain by sandstones . The resistant layer acts as a caprock that forms the flat summit of a mesa. The caprock can consist of either sedimentary rocks such as sandstone and limestone ; dissected lava flows ; or a deeply eroded duricrust . Unlike plateau , whose usage does not imply horizontal layers of bedrock , e.g. Tibetan Plateau ,

792-526: A result, the area has a strongly inland character. In Hellenistic times, the town of Elaia at the mouth of the Caicus served as the port of Pergamon. The climate is Mediterranean with a dry period from May to August, as is common along the west coast of Asia Minor. The Caicus valley is mostly composed of volcanic rock, particularly andesite, and the Pergamon massif is also an intrusive stock of andesite. The massif

880-444: A second neocorate, from Trajan in AD 113/4. Hadrian raised the city to the rank of metropolis in 123 and thereby elevated it above its local rivals, Ephesus and Smyrna . An ambitious building programme was carried out: massive temples, a stadium, a theatre , a huge forum and an amphitheatre were constructed. In addition, at the city limits the shrine to Asclepius (the god of healing)

968-443: A sill, may shield the layers below it from erosion while the softer rock surrounding it is eroded into valleys, thus forming a caprock. Differences in rock type also reflect on the sides of a mesa, as instead of smooth slopes, the sides are broken into a staircase pattern called "cliff-and-bench topography". The more resistant layers form the cliffs, or stairsteps, while the less resistant layers form gentle slopes, or benches, between

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1056-399: A staircase of eleven steps around 7.5 metres wide, descending from the front of the temple. The temple was about 7 metres wide by 12 metres long, and sat on a three-stepped foundation. It was a Doric tetrastyle prostyle temple, with three triglyphs and metopes for each span in the entablature. All the other buildings in the sanctuary were made out of trachyte , but the visible part of

1144-532: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article related to a river in Turkey is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Pergamon Pergamon or Pergamum ( / ˈ p ɜːr ɡ ə m ə n / or / ˈ p ɜːr ɡ ə m ɒ n / ; Ancient Greek : Πέργαμον ), also referred to by its modern Greek form Pergamos ( Πέργαμος ), was a rich and powerful ancient Greek city in Aeolis . It

1232-507: Is about one kilometre wide and around 5.5 km long from north to south. It consists of a broad, elongated base and a relatively small peak - the upper city. The side facing the Cetius river is a sharp cliff, while the side facing the Selinus is a little rough. On the north side, the rock forms a 70 metres (230 ft) wide spur of rock. To the southeast of this spur, which is known as the 'Garden of

1320-619: Is located 26 kilometres (16 mi) 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 . During the Hellenistic period , it became the capital of the Kingdom of Pergamon in 281–133 BC under the Attalid dynasty, who transformed it into one of the major cultural centres of

1408-593: Is not mentioned in Greek myth or epic of the archaic or classical periods. However, in the Epic Cycle the Telephus myth is already connected with the area of Mysia. Searching for his mother, Telephus visits Mysia on the advice of an oracle. There he becomes Teuthras ' son-in-law or foster-son and inherits his kingdom of Teuthrania , encompassing the area between Pergamon and the mouth of the Caicus. Telephus refuses to participate in

1496-477: Is similar to, but has a more extensive summit area than a butte . There is no agreed size limit that separates mesas from either buttes or plateaus. For example, the flat-topped mountains which are known as mesas in the Cockburn Range of North Western Australia have areas as large as 350 km (140 sq mi). In contrast, flat topped hills with areas as small as 0.1 km (0.039 sq mi) in

1584-460: Is surrounded by a colonnade, and consists of a colonnaded courtyard, separated from the staircase by a colonnade. The interior walls of this colonnade had a further frieze, depicting the life of Telephus , the son of Heracles and mythical founder of Pergamon. This frieze is around 1.60 metres high and thus is clearly smaller than the outer frieze. In the New Testament Book of Revelation ,

1672-399: Is the steepest of all ancient theatres. The seating area ( koilon ) is divided horizontally by two walkways, called diazomata , and vertically by 0.75-metre-wide (2.5 ft) stairways into seven sections in the lowest part of the theatre and six in the middle and upper sections. Below the theatre is a 247-metre-long (810 ft) and up to 17.4-metre-wide (57 ft) terrace, which rested on

1760-538: The Corinthian order . A roofed stadium , known as the Basement Stadium is located between the middle terrace and the upper terrace. The upper terrace measured 150 x 70 metres square, making it the largest of the three terraces. It consisted of a courtyard surrounded by stoas and other structures, measuring roughly 36 x 74 metres. This complex is identified as a palaestra and had a theatre-shaped lecture hall beyond

1848-533: The Elbe Sandstone Mountains , Germany , are described as mesas. Less strictly, a very broad, flat-topped, usually isolated hill or mountain of moderate height bounded on at least one side by a steep cliff or slope and representing an erosion remnant also have been called mesas. In the English-language geomorphic and geologic literature, other terms for mesa have also been used. For example, in

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1936-602: The First World War and were only resumed in 1927 under the leadership of Theodor Wiegand , who remained in this post until 1939. He concentrated on further excavation of the upper city, the Asklepieion, and the Red Basilica . The Second World War also caused a break in work at Pergamon, which lasted until 1957. From 1957 to 1968, Erich Boehringer worked on the Asklepieion in particular, but also carried out important work on

2024-652: The Fourth Crusade , Pergamon became part of the Empire of Nicaea . When Emperor Theodore II Laskaris ( r.  1254–1285 ) visited Pergamon in 1250, he was shown the house of Galen, but he saw that the theatre had been destroyed and, except for the walls which he paid some attention to, only the vaults over the Selinus seemed noteworthy to him. The monuments of the Attalids and the Romans were only plundered ruins by this time. With

2112-584: The Muslim conquests ; this community produced the emperor Philippicus ( r.  711–713 ). In 716, Pergamon was sacked again by the armies of Maslama ibn Abd al-Malik . It was again rebuilt and refortified after the Arabs abandoned their Siege of Constantinople in 717–718. Pergamon suffered from the Seljuk invasion of western Anatolia after the Battle of Manzikert in 1071. Attacks in 1109 and 1113 largely destroyed

2200-627: The Ptolemies derived themselves directly from Heracles, the Antigonids inserted Heracles into their family tree in the reign of Philip V at the end of the 3rd century BC at the latest, and the Seleucids claimed descent from Apollo . All of these claims derive their significance from Alexander the Great , who claimed descent from Heracles, through his father Philip II . In their constructive adaptation of

2288-463: The Third Macedonian War , but the Romans heard rumours of his conducting secret negotiations with their opponent Perseus of Macedon . On this basis, Rome denied any reward to Pergamon and attempted to replace Eumenes with the future Attalus II, who refused to cooperate. These incidents cost Pergamon its privileged status with the Romans, who granted it no further territory. Nevertheless, under

2376-508: The Trojan War , but his son Eurypylus fights on the side of the Trojans . This material was dealt with in a number of tragedies, such as Aeschylus ' Mysi , Sophocles ' Aleadae , and Euripides ' Telephus and Auge , but Pergamon does not seem to have played any role in any of them. The adaptation of the myth is not entirely smooth. Thus, on the one hand, Eurypylus who must have been part of

2464-472: The 13th century. Beginning with Ciriaco de' Pizzicolli in the 15th century, ever more travellers visited the place and published their accounts of it. The key description is that of Thomas Smith, who visited the Levant in 1668 and transmitted a detailed description of Pergamon, to which the great 17th century travellers Jacob Spon and George Wheler were able to add nothing significant in their own accounts. In

2552-437: The 3rd century BC, when the Attalids made him the chief god of their dynasty. In the 2nd century BC, Eumenes II (probably) built a temple for Dionysus at the northern end of the theatre terrace. The marble temple sits on a podium, 4.5 metres above the level of the theatre 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

2640-487: The Caicus, mistook it for Troy and began to ravage the land. On the other hand, the story was linked to the foundation of the city with another myth – that of Pergamus , the eponymous hero of the city. He also belonged to the broader cycle of myths related to the Trojan War as the grandson of Achilles through his father Neoptolemus and of Eetion of Thebe through his mother Andromache (concubine to Neoptolemus after

2728-497: The Greek world. Many remains of its monuments can still be seen and especially the masterpiece of the Pergamon Altar . Pergamon was the northernmost of the seven churches of Asia cited in the New Testament Book of Revelation . The city is centered on a 335-metre-high (1,100 ft) mesa of andesite , which formed its acropolis . This mesa falls away sharply on the north, west, and east sides, but three natural terraces on

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2816-449: The Pergamon museum in Berlin, where the parts of the frieze taken to Germany have been installed in a partial reconstruction. For the altar's construction, the required flat area was skillfully created through terracing, in order to allow it to be oriented in relation to the neighbouring Temple of Athena. The base of the altar measured around 36 x 33 metres and was decorated on the outside with

2904-449: The Queen', the massif reaches its greatest height and breaks off suddenly immediately to the east. The upper city extends for another 250 metres (820 ft) to the south, but it remains very narrow, with a width of only 150 metres (490 ft). At its south en d the massif falls gradually to the east and south, widening to around 350 metres (1,150 ft) and then descends to the plain towards

2992-482: The Roman period, his image appears on civic coinage and he is said to have had a heroon in the city. Even so, he provided a further, deliberately crafted link to the world of Homeric epic. Mithridates VI was celebrated in the city as a new Pergamus. However, for the Attalids, it was apparently the genealogical connection to Heracles that was crucial, since all the other Hellenistic dynasties had long established such links:

3080-694: The Roraima region of Venezuela, the traditional name, tepui , from the local Pomón language, and the term table mountains have been used to describe local flat-topped mountains. Similar landforms in Australia are known as tablehills , table-top hills, tent hills, or jump ups ( jump-ups). The German term Tafelberg has also been used in the English scientific literature in the past. Mesas form by weathering and erosion of horizontally layered rocks that have been uplifted by tectonic activity. Variations in

3168-414: The Temple, the former sharing it with the latter. The temple sits on a 2.9-metre-high (9.5 ft) podium on top of a vaulted terrace. The temple itself was a Corinthian peripteros temple, about 18 metres wide with six columns on the short sides and nine columns on the long sides, and two rows of columns in antis . To the north, the area was closed off by a high stoa, while on the west and east sides it

3256-495: The ability of different types of rock to resist weathering and erosion cause the weaker types of rocks to be eroded away, leaving the more resistant types of rocks topographically higher than their surroundings. This process is called differential erosion. The most resistant rock types include sandstone , conglomerate , quartzite , basalt , chert , limestone , lava flows and sills . Lava flows and sills, in particular, are very resistant to weathering and erosion, and often form

3344-515: The archaeologist Alexander Conze took over direction of the department of ancient sculpture at the Royal Museums of Berlin , he quickly initiated a programme for the excavation and protection of the monuments connected to the sculpture, which were widely suspected to include the Great Altar. As a result of these efforts, Carl Humann, who had been carrying out low-level excavations at Pergamon for

3432-532: The beginning of the 3rd century Caracalla granted the city a third neocorate, but a decline had already set in. The economic strength of Pergamon collapsed during the crisis of the Third Century , as the city was badly damaged in an earthquake in 262 and was sacked by the Goths shortly thereafter. In late antiquity , it experienced a limited economic recovery. In AD 663/4, Pergamon was captured by raiding Arabs for

3520-406: The brothers Eumenes II and Attalus II, Pergamon reached its apex and was rebuilt on a monumental scale. It had retained the same dimensions for a long interval after its founding by Philetaerus, covering c. 21 hectares (52 acres). After 188 BC a massive new city wall was constructed, 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) long and enclosing an area of approximately 90 hectares (220 acres). The Attalids' goal

3608-611: The city acquired much new territory under Eumenes I. In particular, after the Battle of Sardis in 261 BC against Antiochus I , Eumenes was able to appropriate the area down to the coast and some way inland. Despite this increase of his domain, Eumenes did not take a royal title. In 238 his successor Attalus I defeated the Galatians , to whom Pergamon had paid tribute under Eumenes I. Attalus thereafter declared himself leader of an entirely independent Pergamene kingdom. The Attalids became some of

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3696-453: The city and its ruins was first produced by Charles Texier when he published the second volume of his Description de l'Asie mineure . In 1864–5, the German engineer Carl Humann visited Pergamon for the first time. For the construction of the road from Pergamon to Dikili for which he had undertaken planning work and topographical studies, he returned in 1869 and began to focus intensively on

3784-531: The city, which was only rebuilt, by Emperor Manuel I Komnenos ( r.  1143–1180 ), around 1170. It likely became the capital of the new theme of Neokastra , established by Manuel. Under Isaac II Angelos ( r.  1185–1195 ), the local see was promoted to a metropolitan bishopric , having previously been a suffragan diocese of the Metropolis of Ephesus . After the Sack of Constantinople in 1204 during

3872-419: The cliffs. Cliffs retreat and are eventually cut off from the main cliff, or plateau , by basal sapping. When the cliff edge does not retreat uniformly but instead is indented by headward eroding streams, a section can be cut off from the main cliff, forming a mesa. Basal sapping occurs as water flowing around the rock layers of the mesa erodes the underlying soft shale layers, either as surface runoff from

3960-606: The course of the river has changed since antiquity it is not clear how the ancient names apply to the modern geographical features. Leake infers from the direction of L. Scipio 's march from Troy to the Hyrcanian plain , that the Caicus was the north-eastern branch of the river of Pergamon which flows by Menduria (possibly Gergitha ) and Balıkesir (Caesaraea). The Caicus as it seems is formed by two streams which meet between 50 and 65 km above its mouth, and it drains an extensive and fertile country. Strabo (p. 616) says that

4048-503: The death of Hector of Troy ). With his mother, he was said to have fled to Mysia where he killed the ruler of Teuthrania and gave the city his own name. There he built a heroon for his mother after her death. In a less heroic version, Grynos the son of Eurypylus named a city after him in gratitude for a favour. These mythic connections seem to be late and are not attested before the 3rd century BC. Pergamus' role remained subordinate, although he did receive some cult worship. Beginning in

4136-464: The development of the city. Numerous honorific inscriptions indicate Pasparus' work and his exceptional position in Pergamon at this time. Pergamon still remained a famous city, and was the seat of a conventus (regional assembly). Its neocorate , granted by Augustus , was the first manifestation of the imperial cult in the province of Asia. Pliny the Elder refers to the city as the most important in

4224-456: The discovery of a 1,800-year-old well-preserved geometric patterned floor mosaic around the Red Basilica. The most famous structure from the city is the monumental altar, sometimes called the Great Altar, which was probably dedicated to Zeus and Athena. The foundations are still located in the Upper city, but the remains of the Pergamon frieze, which originally decorated it, are displayed in

4312-636: The dynastic line as a result of the appropriation of the myth, was not mentioned in the hymn sung in honour of Telephus in the Asclepieion. Otherwise he does not seem to have been paid any heed. But the Pergamenes made offerings to Telephus and the grave of his mother Auge was located in Pergamon near the Caicus. Pergamon thus entered the Trojan epic cycle, with its ruler said to have been an Arcadian who had fought with Telephus against Agamemnon when he landed at

4400-620: The expansion of the Anatolian beyliks , Pergamon was absorbed into the beylik of Karasids shortly after 1300, and then conquered by the Ottoman beylik . The Ottoman Sultan Murad III had two large alabaster urns transported from the ruins of Pergamon and placed on two sides of the nave in the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul . Pergamon, which traced its founding back to Telephus , the son of Heracles ,

4488-478: The faith of the Pergamon believers, who "dwell where Satan's throne is" is commended by the author . Many scholars believe that the " seat of Satan " refers to the Pergamon Altar, due to its resemblance to a gigantic throne . The well-preserved Theatre of Pergamon  [ de ] dates from the Hellenistic period and had space for around 10,000 people, in 78 rows of seats. At a height of 36 metres, it

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4576-640: The family of Gongylos from Eretria , a Greek favourable to the Achaemenid Empire who had taken refuge in Asia Minor and obtained the territory of Pergamon from Xerxes I , and Xenophon was hosted by his widow Hellas. In 362 BC, Orontes , satrap of Mysia, used Pergamon as his base for an unsuccessful revolt against the Persian Empire. Only with Alexander the Great were Pergamon and the surrounding area removed from Persian control. There are few traces of

4664-718: The first time. As a result of the ongoing Arab threat, the area of settlement retracted to the acropolis , which the Emperor Constans II ( r.  641–668 ) fortified with a 6-meter-thick (20 ft) wall built of spolia . During the middle Byzantine period, the city was part of the Thracesian Theme , and from the time of Leo VI the Wise ( r.  886–912 ) of the Theme of Samos . 7th-century sources attest an Armenian community in Pergamon, probably formed of refugees from

4752-483: The flat top, or caprock , of a mesa. The less resistant rock layers are mainly made up of shale , a softer rock that weathers and erodes more easily. The differences in strength of various rock layers are what give mesas their distinctive shape. Less resistant rocks are eroded away on the surface into valleys, where they collect water drainage from the surrounding area, while the more resistant layers are left standing out. A large area of very resistant rock, such as

4840-569: The late 18th century, these visits were reinforced by a scholarly (especially ancient historical) desire for research, epitomised by Marie-Gabriel-Florent-Auguste de Choiseul-Gouffier , a traveller in Asia Minor and French ambassador to the Sublime Porte in Istanbul from 1784 to 1791. At the beginning of the 19th century, Charles Robert Cockerell produced a detailed account and Otto Magnus von Stackelberg made important sketches. A proper, multi-page description with plans, elevations, and views of

4928-441: The legacy of the city. In 1871, he organised a small expedition there under the leadership of Ernst Curtius . As a result of this short but intensive investigation, two fragments of a great frieze were discovered and transported to Berlin for detailed analysis, where they received some interest, but not a lot. It is not clear who connected these fragments with the Great Altar in Pergamon mentioned by Lucius Ampelius . However, when

5016-500: The lower city as a whole and performed survey work, which increased knowledge of the countryside surrounding the city. In 1971, after a short pause, Wolfgang Radt succeeded him as leader of excavations and directed the focus of research on the residential buildings of Pergamon, but also on technical issues, like the water management system of the city which supported a population of 200,000 at its height. He also carried out conservation projects which were of vital importance for maintaining

5104-478: 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 around 250 metres long and 70 metres wide at the centre. On its north side there was a two-story hall. In the east part of the terrace there was a small prostyle temple in

5192-553: The march of the Ten Thousand under Xenophon's command ended at Pergamon in 400/399 BC. Xenophon, who calls the city Pergamos, handed over the rest of his Greek troops (some 5,000 men according to Diodorus ) to Thibron , who was planning an expedition against the Persian satraps Tissaphernes and Pharnabazus , at this location in March 399 BC. At this time Pergamon was in the possession of

5280-638: The material remains of Pergamon. Since 2006, the excavations have been led by Felix Pirson . Most of the finds from the Pergamon excavations before the First World War were taken to the Pergamon Museum in Berlin, with a smaller portion going to the İstanbul Archaeological Museum after it was opened in 1891. After the First World War the Bergama Museum was opened, which has received all finds discovered since then. In May 2022, archaeologists announced

5368-888: The mesa top or from groundwater moving through permeable overlying layers, which leads to slumping and flowage of the shale. As the underlying shale erodes away, it can no longer support the overlying cliff layers, which collapse and retreat. When the caprock has caved away to the point where only little remains, it is known as a butte . Many but not all American mesas lie within the Basin and Range Province . A transitional zone on Mars , known as fretted terrain , lies between highly cratered highlands and less cratered lowlands. The younger lowland exhibits steep walled mesas and knobs . The mesa and knobs are separated by flat lying lowlands. They are thought to form from ice-facilitated mass wasting processes from ground or atmospheric sources. The mesas and knobs decrease in size with increasing distance from

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5456-617: The most complete possible exposure and investigation of the historic city and citadel that was possible. He was followed by the architectural historian Wilhelm Dörpfeld from 1900 to 1911, who was responsible for the most important discoveries. Under his leadership the Lower Agora, the House of Attalos, the Gymnasion, and the Sanctuary of Demeter were brought to light. The excavations were interrupted by

5544-400: The most distinctive trait of the Attalids: a pronounced sense of family without rivalry or intrigue - rare amongst the Hellenistic dynasties. Attalus II bore the epithet 'Philadelphos', 'he who loves his brother', and his relations with Eumenes II were compared to the harmony between the mythical brothers Cleobis and Biton . When Attalus III died without an heir in 133 BC, he bequeathed

5632-474: The most loyal supporters of Rome in the Hellenistic world. Attalus I allied with Rome against Philip V of Macedon , during the first and second Macedonian Wars . In the Roman–Seleucid War , Pergamon joined the Romans' coalition against Antiochus III , and was rewarded with almost all the former Seleucid domains in Asia Minor at the Peace of Apamea in 188 BC. The kingdom's territories thus reached their greatest extent. Eumenes II supported Rome again in

5720-490: The myth, the Attalids stood within the tradition of the other, older Hellenistic dynasties, who legitimized themselves through divine descent, and sought to increase their own prestige. The inhabitants of Pergamon enthusiastically followed their lead and took to calling themselves Telephidai ( Τηλεφίδαι ) and referring to Pergamon itself in poetic registers as the 'Telephian city' ( Τήλεφις πόλις ). The first mention of Pergamon in written records after ancient times comes from

5808-409: The northern end was unimpeded. A marble stage building was only built in the 1st century BC. Additional theatres were built in the Roman period, one in the Roman new city and the other in the sanctuary of Asclepius. On the highest point of the citadel is the Temple of Trajan , the Traianeum or Trajaneum. The Temple is also called the Temple of Zeus Philios , as both Zeus and Trajan were worshiped in

5896-452: The northern stoa, which is probably of Roman date and a large banquet hall in the centre. Further rooms of uncertain function were accessible from the stoas. In the west was a south-facing Ionic antae temple , the central sanctuary of the gymnasium. The eastern area was replaced with a bath complex in Roman times. Further Roman baths were constructed to the west of the Ionic temple. The sanctuary of Hera Basileia ('the Queen') lay north of

5984-399: The pre-Hellenistic city, since in the following period the terrain was profoundly changed and the construction of broad terraces involved the removal of almost all earlier structures. Parts of the temple of Athena , as well as the walls and foundations of the altar in the sanctuary of Demeter , go back to the fourth century. Lysimachus , King of Thrace , took possession in 301 BC, and

6072-433: The previous few years and had discovered for example the architrave inscription of the Temple of Demeter in 1875, was entrusted with carry out work in the area of the altar of Zeus in 1878, where he continued to work until 1886. With the approval of the Ottoman Empire , the reliefs discovered there were transported to Berlin, where the Pergamon Museum was opened for them in 1907. The work was continued by Conze, who aimed for

6160-406: The province and the local aristocracy continued to reach the highest circles of power in the 1st century AD, like Aulus Julius Quadratus who was consul in 94 and 105. Yet it was only under Trajan and his successors that a comprehensive redesign and remodelling took place, with the construction of a Roman 'new city' at the base of the Acropolis. The city was the first in the province to receive

6248-497: The rise of the city; the story that it was invented by the Pergamenes, to circumvent the Ptolemies ' monopoly on papyrus production, is not true. Surviving epigraphic documents show how the Attalids supported the growth of towns by sending in skilled artisans and by remitting taxes. They allowed the Greek cities in their domains to maintain nominal independence, and sent gifts to Greek cultural sites like Delphi , Delos , and Athens. The two brothers Eumenes II and Attalus II displayed

6336-460: The sources of the Caicus are in a plain separated by the range of Temnos from the plain of Apiae, and that the plain of Apia lies above the plain of Thebe in the interior. He adds that there also flows from Tetanus a river (the Mysius) which joins the Caicus below its source. The Caicus enters the sea approximately 12 km from Pitane , and 3 km from Elaea . Elaea was the port of Pergamon, which

6424-590: 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 Cetius river (modern Kestelçay) passes by to the east. Pergamon was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2014. Pergamon lies on the north edge of the Caicus plain in the historic region of Mysia in the northwest of Turkey. The Caicus river breaks through

6512-604: The southwest. Settlement of Pergamon can be detected as far back as the Archaic period , thanks to modest archaeological finds, especially fragments of pottery imported from the west, particularly eastern Greece and Corinth , which date to the late 8th century BC. Earlier habitation in the Bronze Age cannot be demonstrated, although Bronze Age stone tools are found in the surrounding area. The earliest mention of Pergamon in literary sources comes from Xenophon 's Anabasis , since

6600-453: The surrounding mountains and hills at this point and flows in a wide arc to the southwest. At the foot of the mountain range to the north, between the rivers Selinus and Cetius, there is the massif of Pergamon which rises 335 metres (1,099 ft) above sea level. The site is only 26 km from the sea, but the Caicus plain is not open to the sea, since the way is blocked by the Karadağ massif. As

6688-462: The temple are unfluted and retained bossage , but it is not clear whether this was a result of carelessness or incompleteness. A two-story stoa surrounding the temple on three sides was added under Eumenes II, along with the propylon in the southeast corner, which is now found, largely reconstructed, in the Pergamon Museum in Berlin. The balustrade of the upper level of the north and east stoas

6776-412: The temple was made of marble, or at least had a marble cladding. The base of the cult image inside the cella supported three cult statues. Mesa A mesa is an isolated, flat-topped elevation , ridge or hill , which is bounded from all sides by steep escarpments and stands distinctly above a surrounding plain . Mesas characteristically consist of flat-lying soft sedimentary rocks capped by

6864-484: The term mesa applies exclusively to the landforms built of flat-lying strata . Instead, flat-topped plateaus are specifically known as tablelands . As noted by geologist Kirk Bryan in 1922, mesas "...stand distinctly above the surrounding country, as a table stands above the floor upon which it rests". It is from this appearance that the term mesa was adopted from the Spanish word mesa , meaning "table". A mesa

6952-474: The town was enlarged by his lieutenant Philetaerus . In 281 BC the kingdom of Thrace collapsed and Philetaerus became an independent ruler, founding the Attalid dynasty . His family ruled Pergamon from 281 until 133 BC: Philetaerus 281–263; Eumenes I 263–241; Attalus I 241–197; Eumenes II 197–159; Attalus II 159–138; and Attalus III 138–133. Philetaerus controlled only Pergamon and its immediate environs, but

7040-408: The upper terrace of the gymnasium. Its structure sits on two parallel terraces, the south one about 107.4 metres above sea level and the north one about 109.8 metres above sea level. The Temple of Hera sat in the middle of the upper terrace, facing to the south, with a 6-metre-wide (20 ft) exedra to the west and a building whose function is very unclear to the east. The two terraces were linked by

7128-401: The whole of Pergamon to Rome. This was challenged by Aristonicus , who claimed to be Attalus III's brother and led an armed uprising against the Romans with the help of Blossius , a famous Stoic philosopher . For a period he enjoyed success, defeating and killing the Roman consul P. Licinius Crassus and his army, but he was defeated in 129 BC by the consul M. Perperna . The Attalid kingdom

7216-521: Was decorated with reliefs depicting weapons which commemorated Eumenes II's military victory. The construction mixed Ionic columns and Doric triglyphs (of which five triglyphs and metopes survive). In the area of the sanctuary, Attalos I and Eumenes II constructed victory monuments, most notably the Gallic dedications. The northern stoa seems to have been the site of the Library of Pergamon. The Library of Pergamon

7304-472: Was divided between Rome, Pontus , and Cappadocia , with the bulk of its territory becoming the new Roman province of Asia . The city itself was declared free and served briefly as capital of the province, before this distinction was transferred to Ephesus . In 88 BC, Mithridates VI Eupator made Pergamon his headquarters in his first war against Rome, in which he was defeated. The victorious Romans deprived Pergamon of all its benefits and of its status as

7392-414: Was expanded into a lavish spa. This sanctuary grew in fame and was considered one of the most famous healing centers of the Roman world. In the middle of the 2nd century Pergamon was one of the largest cities in the province, and had around 200,000 inhabitants. Galen , the most famous physician of antiquity aside from Hippocrates , was born at Pergamon and received his early training at the Asclepieion. At

7480-729: Was on the Caicus, approximately 25 km from Elaea. The Bakırçay is one of the two candidates for the Hittite placename Seha River , site of the Seha River Land known from texts such as the Manapa-Tarhunta letter . The Gediz River is the other candidate. [REDACTED]  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain :  Smith, William , ed. (1854–1857). "Caicus". Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography . London: John Murray. This article about an Aegean Region of Turkey location

7568-458: Was surrounded by simple ashlar walls, until further stoas were inserted in Hadrian's reign. During the excavations fragments of statues of Trajan and Hadrian were found in the rubble of the cella , including their portrait heads , as well as fragments of the cult statue of Zeus Philios. At Pergamon, Dionysus had the epithet Kathegemon , 'the guide', and was already worshiped in the last third of

7656-508: Was the second largest in the ancient Greek world after the Library of Alexandria , containing at least 200,000 scrolls. The location of the library building is not certain. Since the 19th century excavations, it has generally been identified with an annex of the northern stoa of the sanctuary of Athena in the Upper Citadel, which was built by Eumenes II. Inscriptions in the gymnasium which mention

7744-502: Was to create a second Athens , a cultural and artistic hub of the Greek world. They remodeled their Acropolis after the Acropolis in Athens, and the Library of Pergamon was renowned as second only to the Library of Alexandria . Pergamon was also a flourishing center for the production of parchment , whose name is a corruption of pergamenos , meaning "from Pergamon". Despite this etymology, parchment had been used in Asia Minor long before

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