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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. |
