Editing Pergamon (section)

==Main sights==

===Upper Acropolis===

====Pergamon Altar====
{{Main|Pergamon Altar}}
[[File:Pergamonmuseum Pergamonaltar.jpg|right|thumb|The Great Altar of Pergamon, on display in the [[Pergamon Museum]] in [[Berlin]], Germany]]
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 the Pergamon museum in Berlin, where the parts of the frieze taken to Germany have been installed in a partial reconstruction.

[[File:PergamonAltar2000.jpg|right|thumb|Foundations of the Pergamon altar]]

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 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 {{convert|20|m|ft|adj=mid|-wide}} staircase cut into the base on the western side leads up to the upper structure, which 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.<ref>On the Pergamon altar, see [[Wolf-Dieter Heilmeyer]] (ed.), ''Der Pergamonaltar. Die neue Präsentation nach Restaurierung des Telephosfrieses''. Wasmuth, Tübingen 1997, {{ISBN|3-8030-1045-4}}; [[Huberta Heres]] & Volker Kästner: ''Der Pergamonaltar''. Zabern, Mainz 2004 {{ISBN|3-8053-3307-2}}</ref><ref>Tucker, pp. 28&ndash;29.</ref>

In the [[New Testament]] [[Book of Revelation]], the faith of the Pergamon believers, who "dwell where Satan's throne is" is commended by [[John of Patmos|the author]].<ref>{{bibleverse||Revelation|2:13|NKJV}}</ref> Many scholars believe that the "[[throne|seat]] of [[Satan]]" refers to the Pergamon Altar, due to its resemblance to a gigantic [[throne]].<ref>Yeomans, S., [https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-sites-places/biblical-archaeology-sites/pergamon-2/ ''Ancient Pergamon''], ''Bible History Daily'' article published in 2013, accessed 10 October 2018</ref>

====Theatre====
[[File:Theatre of Pergamon.jpg|thumb|left|Theatre of Pergamon, one of the steepest theatres in the world, has a capacity of 10,000 people and was constructed in the 3rd century BC.]]
The well-preserved {{ill|Theatre of Pergamon|de|Theater von Pergamon}} 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 is the steepest of all ancient theatres. The seating area (''koilon'') is divided horizontally by two walkways, called ''diazomata'', and vertically by {{convert|0.75|m|ft|adj=mid|-wide}} stairways into seven sections in the lowest part of the theatre and six in the middle and upper sections. Below the theatre is a {{convert|247|m|ft|adj=mid|-long}} and up to {{convert|17.4|m|ft|adj=mid|-wide}} terrace, which rested on 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 [[Theatre of ancient Greece#Orchestra|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 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.<ref>''Altertümer von Pergamon''. IV; Gottfried Gruben: ''Die Tempel der Griechen''. 3rd edition. Hirmer, München 1980, pp. 439–440.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.whitman.edu/theatre/theatretour/pergamum/commentary/pergamum.commentary.htm |title= The Acropolis Theater at Pergamum, Turkey |website=www.whitman.edu |access-date=September 24, 2007}}</ref>

====Temple of Trajan (Traianeum)====
[[File:Pergamum.jpg|thumb|right|The Traianeum]]
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#Roles and epithets|Zeus Philios]], as both Zeus and Trajan were worshiped in the Temple, the former sharing it with the latter.<ref>{{
Cite journal
| access-date=2023-09-17
| date=1996
| doi=10.34780/BF9A-21F6
| first=C. P.
| journal=Chiron
| last=Jones
| page=33
| publisher=Deutsches Archäologisches Institut
| quote=The temple could actually have been for the worship of both Zeus and Hadrian with the latter as ''synnaos'' with the former, as Trajan shared the temple of Zeus Philios at Pergamon
| title=The Panhellenion
| url=https://publications.dainst.org/journals/chiron/article/view/1021
| volume=26
}}</ref> The temple sits on a {{convert|2.9|m|ft|adj=mid|-high}} podium on top of a vaulted terrace. The temple itself was a [[Corinthian order|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 was surrounded by simple ashlar walls, until further stoas were inserted in Hadrian's reign.

{{Multiple image
| align=center
| background color=#FFFFFF
| footer=[[Roman provincial currency|Provincial coins]] minted in Pergamon depicting Trajan sharing a temple with Zeus Philios
| height=200
| image_style=background-color: #FFFFFF; border: none;
| image1=Monnaie - Bronze, Pergame, Mysie, Trajan - btv1b8505296f (1 of 2).jpg
| image2=Reverse face of coin of Traianus from Pergamum (number 19 of RPC III, 1717).jpg
| image3=Reverse face of coin of Traianus from Pergamum (number 22 of RPC III, 1717).jpg
| image4=Reverse face of coin of Traianus from Pergamum (number 23 of RPC III, 1717).jpg
}}

During the excavations fragments of statues of Trajan and Hadrian were found in the rubble of the [[cella]], including their [[Roman portraiture|portrait heads]], as well as fragments of the cult statue of Zeus Philios.<ref>On the Trajaneum: Jens Rohmann: ''Die Kapitellproduktion der römischen Kaiserzeit in Pergamon''. W. de Gruyter, Berlin – New York 1998, {{ISBN|3-11-015555-9}}, pp. 8–38 (''Pergamenische Forschungen''. Vol. 10); ''Altertümer von Pergamon''. Vol. 2; earlier research in Gottfried Gruben: ''Die Tempel der Griechen''. 3rd edition. Hirmer, München 1980, pp. 434–435.</ref>

[[File:The Temple of Dionysus on its raised plinth below the Hellenistic theatre, Acropolis, built in the 2nd century BC, Pergamon, Turkey (8417206434).jpg|thumb|right|Sanctuary of Dionysus at the north end of the theatre terrace]]

====Temple of Dionysus====
At Pergamon, Dionysus had the epithet ''Kathegemon'', 'the guide',<ref>On Dionysus Kathegemon, see Erwin Ohlemutz: ''Die Kulte und Heiligtümer der Götter in Pergamon''. Würzburg 1940, pp. 99–122.</ref> and was already worshiped in the last third of the 3rd century BC, when the Attalids made him the chief god of their dynasty.<ref>[[Helmut Müller]], "Ein neues hellenistisches Weihepigramm aus Pergamon," ''[[Chiron (journal)|Chiron]]'' 1989, pp. 539–553.</ref> 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 order|Ionic]] [[prostyle]] temple. The [[pronaos]] was four columns wide and two columns deep and was accessed by a staircase of twenty-five steps.<ref>Wolfgang Radt, ''Pergamon: Geschichte und Bauten einer antiken Metropole''. Darmstadt 1999, p. 189.</ref> 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]].<ref>Wolfgang Radt, ''Pergamon: Geschichte und Bauten einer antiken Metropole''. Darmstadt 2005, p. 190.</ref>

====Temple of Athena====
[[File:PergamonAthene1.jpg|left|thumb|Temple of Athena]]
Pergamon's oldest temple is a sanctuary of Athena from the 4th century BC. It was a north-facing [[Doric order|Doric]] [[peripteros]] temple with six columns on the short side and ten on the long side and 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 [[triglyph]]s, which usually consist of a sequence of two triglyphs and two [[metope]]s, but are instead composed of three of triglyphs and three metopes. The columns of 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 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.<ref>''Altertümer von Pergamon''. II; [[Gottfried Gruben]]: ''Die Tempel der Griechen''. 3. Auflage. Hirmer, München 1980, pp. 425–429.</ref>

====Library====
{{main|Library of Pergamum}}
The Library of Pergamon 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.<ref>''Altertümer von Pergamon''. II, p. 56–88.</ref> Inscriptions in the gymnasium which mention a library might indicate, however, that the building was located in that area.<ref>[[Harald Mielsch]], "Die Bibliothek und die Kunstsammlung der Könige von Pergamon," ''Archäologischer Anzeiger''. 1995, pp. 765–779.</ref><ref>Kekeç 1989, p. 40.</ref>

====Other structures====
[[File:Acropolis of Pergamon - Friedrich Thierch - 1882.jpg|thumb|right|Reconstructed view of the Pergamon Acropolis, [[Friedrich Thierch]], 1882]]
Other notable structures still in existence on the upper part of the Acropolis include:
*The Royal palaces
*The Heroön – a shrine where the kings of Pergamon, particularly Attalus I and Eumenes II, were worshipped.<ref>[http://www.turkishodyssey.com/places/aegean/aegean1.htm Bergama (Pergamum)-Akhisar (Thyatira)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928072838/http://www.turkishodyssey.com/places/aegean/aegean1.htm |date=2007-09-28 }} accessed September 24, 2007</ref>
*The Upper Agora
*The Roman baths complex
*Diodorus Pasporos heroon
*Arsenals

The site is today easily accessible by the [[Bergama Acropolis Gondola]] from the base station in northeastern Bergama.

===Lower Acropolis===

====Gymnasium====
[[File:Pergamon_Gymnasium_area_086.jpg|thumb|left|Gymnasium area near Upper Terrace]]

A large [[Gymnasium (ancient Greece)|gymnasium]] area was built in the 2nd century BC 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.<ref>On the Lower Terrace: ''Altertümer von Pergamon''. VI, pp. 5–6, 19–27.</ref> 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 the [[Corinthian order]].<ref>''Altertümer von Pergamon''. VI, pp. 40–43.</ref> A roofed [[stadium]], known as the Basement Stadium is located between the middle terrace and the upper terrace.<ref>On the Middle gymnasium: ''Altertümer von Pergamon''. VI, pp. 5, 28–43.</ref>

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 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 order|Ionic]] [[antae temple]], the central sanctuary of the gymnasium. The eastern area was replaced with a [[Roman bath|bath complex]] in Roman times. Further Roman baths were constructed to the west of the Ionic temple.<ref>On the upper terrace: ''Altertümer von Pergamon''. VI, pp. 4, 43–79.</ref>

====Sanctuary of Hera====
[[File:Pergamon Tempel der Hera.JPG|thumb|left|Temple and sanctuary of Hera from the west]]
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 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 {{convert|6|m|ft|adj=mid|-wide}} [[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 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 order|Doric]] tetrastyle [[prostyle]] temple, with three [[triglyph]]s and [[metope]]s for each span in the entablature. All the other buildings in the sanctuary were made out of [[trachyte]], but the visible part of 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.

The surviving remains of the inscription on the architrave indicate that the building was the temple of Hera Basileia and that it was erected by Attalus II.<ref>On the Sanctuary of Hera: ''Altertümer von Pergamon''. VI, pp. 102–110, Tables I-II, IV–V, VI–VII, VIII, X–XI, XVIII, XXXII, XXXIII, XXXIV, XXXV.</ref>

====Sanctuary of Demeter====
[[File:Pergamon Demeter sanctuary 0098.jpg|thumb|right|Sanctuary of Demeter from the east]]
The Sanctuary of Demeter occupied an area of 50 x 110 metres 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 BC.

The sanctuary was entered through a Propylon from the east, which led to a courtyard surrounded by stoas on three sides. In the centre of the western half of this courtyard, stood the [[Ionic order|Ionic]] temple of [[Demeter]], a straightforward [[Antae temple]], measuring 6.45 x 12.7 metres, 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 [[bucranium|bucrania]]. About 9.5 metres in front of the east-facing building, there was an altar, which was 7 metres long and 2.3 metres wide. The temple and the altar were built for Demeter by Philetaerus, his brother Eumenes, and their mother Boa.

In the east part of the courtyard, there were more than ten rows of seating laid out in front of the northern stoa for participants in the mysteries of Demeter. Roughly 800 initiates could fit in these seats.<ref>On the sanctuary of Demeter, see: ''Altertümer von Pergamon''. XIII; earlier research in Gottfried Gruben, ''Die Tempel der Griechen''. 3rd edition. Hirmer, München 1980, pp. 437–440.</ref>

====Other structures ====
The lower part of the Acropolis also contains the following structures:

*the House of Attalus
*the Lower Agora and
*the Gate of Eumenes

===At the foot of the Acropolis===

====Sanctuary of Asclepius (Asclepieion)====
{{Main|Asclepieion of Pergamon}}

[[File:Pergamon Acropolis.jpg|thumb|right|View of Acropolis from the Sanctuary of Asclepius]]
{{convert | 3 | km | abbr=off | spell=In}} south of the Acropolis (at 39° 7′ 9″ N, 27° 9′ 56″ E), down in the valley, is the Sanctuary of [[Asclepius]], the god of healing. The Sanctuary of Asclepius, more commonly left untranslated [[Asclepieion]] (from Greek), or sometimes Asclepium (from Latin), was approached along an {{Convert | 1=820 | 2=m | adj=on}} colonnaded sacred way. 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 many gifts and dedications that people would make afterwards, such as small terracotta body parts, no doubt representing what had been healed. [[Galen]], the most famous doctor in the ancient Roman Empire and personal physician of Emperor [[Marcus Aurelius]], worked in the Asclepieion for many years.<ref>Tucker, p. 36.</ref> 

Notable extant structures in the Asclepieion include:
* the Roman theater
* the North Stoa
* the South Stoa
* the Temple of Asclepius
** in some sources, referred to as the Temple of Zeus Asclepius, or the Temple of Zeus Asclepius Soter ([[Soter|"Soter" being an epithet meaning "savior"]]), since there is evidence that {{Ill|L. Cuspius Pactumeius Rufinus|de}}, who constructed the temple, dedicated it to this new syncretic god<ref>{{
Cite thesis
| access-date=2023-09-17
| date=April 2016
| degree=PhD
| first=Ghislaine E. [Elisabeth] van der
| institution=[[University of Warwick]]
| last=Ploeg
| page=142
| quote=It would seem that Hadrian had a definite impact upon the Pergamene sanctuary and this is best articulated in the creation of a new god here, the syncretic universal deity Zeus-Asclepius to whom a temple was built on site
| title=The Impact of the Roman Empire on the Cult of Asclepius
| url=http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/79956
}}</ref><ref>{{
Cite book
| author3=Deutsches Archäologisches Institut
| first1=Christian
| first2=Michael
| isbn=9783110011975
| issn=1868-9876
| language=de
| last1=Habicht
| last2=Wörrle
| number=3
| oclc=2517016
| page=13
| publication-place=Berlin
| publisher=Walter de Gruyter & Co.
| series=Altertümer von Pergamon
| title=Die Inschriften des Asklepieions
| url=https://archive.org/details/dieinschriftende0000habi/page/12/mode/2up
| volume=8
| year=1969
}}</ref><ref>{{
Cite book
| access-date=2023-09-17
| chapter=Rebuilding the Myth of Asklepios at the Sanctuary of Epidauros in the Roman Period
| date=2010
| editor1-first=A. D.
| editor1-last=Rizakēs
| editor2-first=Cl. E.
| editor2-last=Lepenioti
| first1=Milena
| isbn=9789607905543
| last1=Melfi
| location=Athēna
| oclc=50169190
| pages=329–340
| publisher=Kentron Hellēnikēs kai Rōmaikēs Archaiotētos
| series=Roman Peloponnese
| title=Economy and Culture under the Roman Empire: Continuity and Innovation
| url=https://www.academia.edu/1397676
| volume=3
}}</ref>
* 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)
* a [[Propylaea|propylon]]

====Serapis Temple====
[[File:Red basilica west view.jpg|thumb|The [[Red Basilica]]]]
Pergamon's other notable structure is the great temple of the Egyptian gods [[Isis]] and/or [[Serapis]], known today as the [[Red Basilica]] (or ''Kızıl Avlu'' in Turkish), about {{convert|1|km|spell=in|abbr=off}} south of the Acropolis at (39 7' 19" N, 27 11' 1" E). It consists of a main building and two round towers within an enormous ''temenos'' or sacred area. The temple towers flanking the main building had courtyards with pools used for ablutions at each end, flanked by stoas on three sides. The forecourt of the Temple of Isis/Sarapis is still supported by the {{convert|193|m|ft|adj=mid|abbr=off|-wide}} [[Pergamon Bridge]], the largest bridge substruction of antiquity.<ref>{{harvnb|Grewe|Özis|1994|pp=350, 352}}</ref>

According to [[Christian tradition]], in the year 92 [[Saint Antipas]], the first [[bishop of Pergamum]] ordained by [[John the Apostle]], was a victim of an early clash between Serapis worshippers and [[Christians]]. An angry mob is said to have [[Death by burning|burned Saint Antipas alive]] in front of the Temple inside a [[brazen bull]]-like [[incense]] [[censer|burner]], which represented the [[Sacred Bull|bull]] [[Deity|god]] [[Apis (deity)|Apis]].<ref>Tucker, p. 34.</ref> His [[martyrdom]] is one of the first recorded in [[History of Christianity|Christian history]], highlighted by the [[New Testament|Christian Scripture]] itself through the [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=revelation+2%3A13&version=KJV message] sent to the [[Seven Churches|Pergamon Church]] in the [[Book of Revelation]].

{{wide image|Pergamon 10.jpg|890px|align-cap=center| Panoramic view of Pergamon and the modern city of [[Bergama]].}}