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Acropolis
The Acropolis was built on an
extremely steep hill, approached by a winding road ascending some
300m. In this uniquely designed city, religious, official, social
and commercial buildings are all found side-by-side. On top of this
hill, which has been inhabited since ancient times, are the palaces
of the King of Pergamum. There are also five cisterns and an arsenal
on the hill.
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Below these buildings is the Temple of Athena, as well
as the Library and the Temple of Trajan. The Altar of Zeus was
carefully placed below these buildings on a terrace. One of the
steepest amphitheatres in the world is found here. The lowest
section of the acropolis is the gymnasium and the Temple of Demeter.
Because of the topographical location of the city and the course of
the main street, all the buildings of the acropolis are line up in a
north-south fashion, but the buildings all face west so that they
can be seen from far away. The Altar of Zeus was not encircled with
colonnades for the same reason. The Agora and Athena Temple also
have an unobstructed view of the plain.
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The Temple of Athena
The temple columns and architrave
pieces are still in Berlin. The fact that the city's most important
temple is the Temple of Athena, as it is in Izmir, Milet, Eriythrai,
Foca and Assos as well, reflects the religious tradition of Western
Anatolia. Eumenes II had a two-storey covered walkway built along
the length of the eastern and northern sides in the Hellenistic
style, to commemorate his successful war against the Seleucids,
Celts and Macedonians.
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Library
Adjacent to the sacred site of the
Temple of Athena, are the remains of the famous Pergamum library.
The library, whose entrance used to be on the top floor of the
gallery, dates back to the reign of Eumenes II and contains a
magnificent reading room measuring 13.53 x 15.35 meters. Equipped
with wooden shelves, the library also contained a 3.5m high statue
of Athena, which is now in the Berlin Museum. During the reign of
Eumenes II, the holding capacity of the library multiplied
immensely, and its only equal in the world was the Library of
Alexander.
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Arsenals
The military arsenal is on the north
end of the acropolis, on the other side of the palaces and the
Trajaneun, approximately 10m downhill. There are five compartments,
all parallel to one another.
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Trajaneum
This, the highest terrace in the
acropolis, was made for the Roman Emperor Trajan, who was declared
to be divine and before that, there was undoubtedly a Hellenistic
structure on this site. Measuring 68 x 58 m, the temple sits perched
upon a high terrace surrounded on three sides by covered promenades.
Hadrian had the temple built for his predecessor Trajan, but it is
known that both of the emperors were worshipped here because the
colossal heads of statues of Trajan and Handrian honoring them were
found here. These items are also on display in the Museum of Berlin.
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Theater
Built on a very steep slope, the
Pergamum theatre is one of the Hellenistic period's finest
architectural achievements. The steepest amphitheatre in western
Anatolia, it has a capacity of 10,000 people. In Hellenistic
times the stage was made of wood; set up for the performances and
then taken down again.
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The Temple of Dionysos
The people of Pergamum built this
very alluring temple on the north side of the 250m- long theatre
terrace, specifically so it would dominate the landscape of the
area. This well-preserved temple with its beautiful profile and
altar is a prostylos built upon a podium in the Ionic style. This
exquisite monumental structure with its distinctively Roman
understanding of art, located at the end of a long road, was a big
influence on the European Baroque school of architecture. The
building underwent radical changes during the Roman era. The
original Hellenistic and Roman pieces are in the Museum of Berlin.
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The Altar of Zeus
Located about 25m below the lower
terrace of the Temple of Athena, the altar was positioned at the
very center of a 69m x 77m area. It is likely that the area was open
on every side so that it could be easily seen for miles around. Its
reliefs are not background ornaments, but play just as important
role as the altar itself. The altar, only the foundation of which is
still in Pergamum, has been reconstructed and is today on display,
with all of its reliefs, in the Berlin Museum.
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Upper and Lower Agoras
The Agoras (Forum) are terraces
located south of the Altar of Zeus and were built in the Hellenistic
period in the style of Hermes, the god of commerce. Because of the
levels of the surrounding land, the covered patios are three storeys
on the outside, but only one inside. The Upper Agora was once the
focal point of social and commercial activities in the city,
although little remains of it today. South of the gymnasium is the
Lower Agora, work and homes of the common people. The main street of
the city passed right through the middle of the Agora, and below is
the Temple of Demeter, the place where rituals for a better after
life were practiced.
Gymnasiums
The magnificent gymnasium of Pergamum
was located on three terraces, one above the other. Inscriptions
have been found which indicate that the floor for adults.
The Upper Gymnasium is also known as the Ceremony Gymnasium. All
three of these gymnasiums were built during the dynastic period
during the second half of the 3rd century BC. first floor was for
children, the second floor for youth and the top
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Asclepion
Asclepion translates as 'place of
Aesklepios', the son of Apollo and the god of healing and health,
and was an important health center in Greco-Roman times. Among the
types of therapy practiced here were mud baths, sports, theatre,
psychotherapy and use of medicinal waters. A colonnaded street leads
to the Asclepion, and to the left of the entrance is the temple of
Asclepios.
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| This domed temple with its exceptionally thick 3m walls
was built in 150 AD, with donations made to the god of health. The
interior was decorated with colorful marble mosaics, and surrounded
by galleries on three sides, the Aesklepion has a passageway running
through the center alongside the sacred spring towards the therapy
building. It is thought that patients were cured here by the sound
of running water and by the persuasive hypnotic techniques used by
the priests. |
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The Temple of Serapis
The biggest structure and best-known
attraction in the town is the Kizil Avlu (Red Basilica), a temple
made of red brick dedicated to the gods of Egypt. The temple lies in
what is now the modern day town of Bergama. The two pools in the
temple with towers indicate ritual cleansing rites and a religious
background that was neither Greek nor Roman.
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The fact that it faces
west, and is decorated with statues in an Egyptian style, indicates
that it was possibly presented to Serapis, the Egyptian god of the
underworld. In the Byzantine period, it was turned into a church by
extensive remodeling, especially to the apse sections, and was
dedicated to the Apostle John. In early Christianity, it was one of
the Seven Churches of Asia Minor addressed by St John in the Book of
Revelation, who referred to it as the throne of the Devil. Although
a crumbling ruin, it still contains the remains of a mosque in one
of the towers.
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Pergamum
Tour 
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Ephesus