Pergamum (Pergamon-Bergama) Rev. 1:11;2:12
Pergamon (also Pergamos, Pergamum) received the third letter of the
seven letters of the St.
John
to the Churches of Asia Minor. The impressive city has been
variously described as the most illustrious city of Asia (Barclay);
the most spectacular Hellenistic city of Asia Minor because of its
imaginative town planning (Mellink, IDB, III: 734); and a royal city
(Ramsay, Letters, p. 295).
The city was located 16 miles inland from the Aegean Sea, two miles
north of the Caicus River (modern Bakir Cay) in southern Mysia. It
was about 57 miles north of Izmir, built on a precipice about 1165
feet above sea level, one thousand feet above the surrounding plain.
The image of strength and permanence is obvious on first glace of
the citys remains. The terraces that overlook the Caicus River
valley lead to the entry gate of the city.
The two small tributaries of the Caicus that neared the city, the
Selinus to the west, the Cetius to the east were navigable by small
vessels that transported goods in the ancient period from the sea.
The city was also joined to an inland road climbing over toward
Thyatira and on into Sardis. Today, the modern Turkish town of
Bergama (population 45,000) surrounds the ancient precipice, and
partially covers the ruins of Roman Pergamum.
There appears to have been a small settlement in antiquity, but
little is known of its history. By the C5th BCE coins were issued.
The city became prominent in the Hellenistic Period. Lysimachus, a
successor to Alexander the Great, deposited 9,000 talents of gold
for war expenses with a regional General named Philetaerus. The
General revolted against the rule of Thrace, and when news came of
the death of Lysimachus in 232 BCE, Philetaerus used the 9,000
talents to set up his own kingdom, calling it the Attalid Kingdom
(named after the nephew of Philetaerus).
The successive dynasty was celebrated in the heroon, built by the
citadel gate. This served as a sanctuary for the kings, then
worshipped as gods. The succession was as follows:
Philetaerus (282-263 BCE).
Eumenes I (263-241 BCE). Extensive minting of coinage.
Attalus I (241-197 BCE). Held against the attacking Galatians
who had migrated from Gaul (Gallic tribes). He carefully aligned
himself closely with Rome. He took the title savior as the protector
against barbarians. He expanded the kingdom along the Aegean and
inland.
Eumenes II (197-159 BCE). This king was most responsible for
building the majority of the Pergamum city seen today. He built the
Doric Temple to Athena and a theatre on the steep western slope (170
BCE). The now decimated altar of Zeus to commemorate the victory of
Attalus I was built in his reign, as well as the 200,000 volume
library, which rivaled Alexandria. He completed most of the work on
the citys five palaces and five theatres. Built toward the end of
his reign, the arsenal contained a huge supply of catapult stones,
and was said to have contained enough grain for 1000 men for a year.
Most archaeologists also credit his building campaign with the 2700
foot Corinthian colonnade called the Sacred Way (common to many
noble cities). This lead to the Asclepion, or healing center.
Attalus II (159-138 BCE). He sent money for the famous Stoa
of Attalus (now entirely restored as a museum) near the forum in
Athens.
Attalus III (138-133 BCE). Intending apparently to bequeath
all the movable assets of his lands to the Romans, they generously
interpreted the gesture as a complete inheritance of his throne and
lands totaling some 66,750 square miles.
In the Roman period, Pergamum became the capital of Asia, as the
first city to make an alliance
with
Rome. Ephesus became the capital of the province, but scholars have
argued that this city remained the focal point of the worship of the
Roman Emperors. The city lost its great library to Alexandria when
Mark Antony gave it to Cleopatra. The famous physician Galen, who
served the emperors Marcus Aurelius, Commodus, and Septimius Severus,
was born here in 129 CE.
The religious life of Ephesus has been the subject of much research
by scholars and historians. Three specific threads appear to be
visible. First, the association with the worship of snakes and the
handling of reptiles in antiquity appears valid. Other early signs
of the worship of Dionysus, the god of vegetation also appears to be
well accepted. Later, worship of Asklepios (Roman Aesculapius) the
god of healing emerged. The serpent became the emblem of Asklepios.
A Pergamene coin shows the emperor Caracalla standing spear in hand
before a great serpent twined around a bending sapling. Christians
must thus have found the cult of the god of healing, and his serpent
infested temple, peculiarly revolting (Blaiklock, Ibid.). The altar
of Zeus built by Eumenes II to commemorate the victory of Attalus I
over the Gallic invaders had striking pagan scenes on the frieze.
The gods of Olympus were represented as giants with serpent like
tails. Zeus was called savior.
The second association was dominant in the Hellenistic kingdom. This
included the worship of Zeus and the goddess Athene. Finally, the
Imperial Cult flourished in the city, making it a neokoros or temple
guardian for the Roman Imperial cult. The first temple in Asia was
erected to Augustus in 29BCE. Other temples were later erected to
honor Trajan and Caracalla. It was Emperor Domitian who made these
temples a litmus test for civic loyalty.
Biblical Sites in Turkey List