The Rise and Fall of Pergamon

For nearly a century and a half, Pergamon was one of the great powers of the Greek world. Its kings defeated the Celtic raiders of Galatia, assembled a library that rivaled Alexandria's, built a spectacular series of temples and palaces, and brought the Romans into Asia Minor. The story of the city and kingdom of Pergamon begins as the whole Hellenistic epoch began. With the conquests of Alexander the Great, Alexander swept across Asia Minor, modern Turkey, in little more than a year, replacing Persian satraps with his own governors. One of these men, Antigonus the One-Eyed, seized most of Asia after Alexander's death. He held the region until he fell, still fighting at the ripe old age of 81, at the Battle of Ipsus. Western Asia Minor was then allotted to Lysimachus, another of Alexander's former generals. It was under Lysimachus that the city of Pergamon first came to prominence. It was, first and foremost, a spectacular natural citadel, rising nearly a thousand feet above the surrounding plain. In the mid-4th century BC, a Persian satrap had based himself in Pergamon during an unsuccessful rebellion. Later, Alexander's illegitimate son, Heracles, had taken refuge there. Lysimachus made Pergamon one of his chief strongholds in Asia Minor. He established a treasury in the city, which eventually contained 9,000 talents, approximately half a million pounds of silver. To guard the fortress and its treasure, Lysimachus appointed Philotyrus, son of Attalus, a trusted lieutenant. We know little about Philotyrus. We know that his father was Greek, but his mother was not. We know that he was a eunuch. And we know that he had a keen eye for political opportunity, since he switched his allegiance to Seleucus, ruler of Syria and Central Asia, shortly before the battle in which Lysimachus lost his life and kingdom. When Seleucus was assassinated the following year, Philotyrus ransomed the king's body, cremated it at Pergamon, and sent the ashes on to Antioch, confirming his loyalty to the Seleucid dynasty. For the next two decades, Philotyrus quietly built up the strength of his fiefdom, centered on the fertile valley of the Caicos River. He built sanctuaries, sent gifts to local Greek cities, and began to transform Pergamon into a monumental capital. Unable to have children of his own, he adopted his nephew Eumenes, who succeeded him in 263 BC. Shortly afterward, Eumenes defeated Antiochus, his Seleucid overlord, in battle, winning a measure of independence. But it was only under Attalus I, Eumenes' adopted son and successor, that Pergamon became the center of a kingdom. Early in his reign, Attalus won a spectacular, or at least spectacularly well-publicized, victory over the Galatians, Gauls who had recently settled in Asia Minor. This triumph gave Attalus the prestige he needed to claim the title of king. It also allowed him to pose as a defender of Asia's Greek cities, and to present Pergamon as the new Athens, bulwark against the barbarians. Over decades of warfare, King Attalus gained, lost, and finally recovered control over most of the Seleucid territories in Asia Minor. He built a stoa at Delphi, bought the island of Aegina, and, crucially, established an alliance with the Roman Republic. The Roman alliance bore fruit during the reign of Attalus' successor, Eumenes II. When the Seleucids under Antiochus III threatened to conquer his kingdom, Eumenes urged the Romans to intervene. This, eventually, the Romans did, driving the Seleucids beyond the Taurus Mountains. In the aftermath, Eumenes successfully lobbied the Senate for control over most of Asia Minor. Despite his expanded territory, Eumenes faced many challenges. One of his rivals, Prusias of Bithynia, was advised by Hannibal, who won a naval victory by hurling pots filled with venomous snakes onto the decks of Pergamene ships. Eumenes himself was severely injured by Macedonian assassins, who rolled boulders down on the king as he rode through a mountain pass. Under Eumenes, the city of Pergamon became an imposing royal metropolis. The citadel received its definitive fortifications, a vast gymnasium complex was laid out on the lower slopes, and the Great Altar of Zeus, the supreme achievement of Hellenistic art, rose in the shadow of the royal palaces. History enthusiasts everywhere have the same problem. You spend your evenings reading about Rome or the Reformation, but your shirt just has some faded band logo. Echoes of Antiquity, today's sponsor, is here to help. With more than a thousand shirt designs spanning antiquity, the Middle Ages, and literary culture, Echoes of Antiquity has shirts for all historical interests and caters to everyone who appreciates a quietly clever take on the past. This shirt, for example, is a fun reference to Odysseus having himself tied to the mast to resist the siren's songs. I was an Echoes of Antiquity customer long before this sponsorship. I hope that you'll enjoy their shirts as much as I have. Follow the link in the description to find a shirt that speaks to your passion for the past. Save 20% with the code TOLDENSTONE20. Returning to our topic, Pergamon continued to flourish under Attalus II, Eumenes's brother and successor. Like Eumenes, Attalus pursued a policy of cultural diplomacy, building the huge stoa that now houses the museum in the Athenian Agora. He strengthened Pergamene rule in southern Asia Minor, founding the city of Atalaia, modern Antalya, on the Mediterranean coast. And, in every aspect of his foreign policy, he carefully maintained the alliance with Rome. The final king of Pergamon, Attalus III, was a strange and reclusive man, said to have spent much of his time in his gardens, cultivating the plants he used to concoct both medicines and poisons. He wrote a treatise on agriculture that was quoted for centuries by Roman authorities. He appears, however, to have been more successful as an author than as a ruler. Unexpectedly, after a reign of only five years, Attalus III died. Lacking children or obvious heirs, he left his kingdom to the Roman people. Aristonicus, the late king's half-brother, immediately launched a revolt. From conviction or desperation, he promised freedom to every slave who joined him, calling his followers people of the sun, after a utopian philosophical tract. But the Romans crushed his revolt, and Aristonicus was strangled in Rome's Mamertine prison. Although Pergamon was never as rich or powerful as the Ptolemaic and Seleucid kingdoms, its legacy was equally enduring. Eager to associate themselves with the legitimizing power of Greek culture, the kings of Pergamon built up a library reputed to contain 200,000 volumes, second only to the collection in Alexandria. Many of these books were written on parchment, which came to be so closely associated with Pergamon that the Latin word for parchment was Pergamena. Pergamon remained a cultural center for centuries. Galen, the Roman doctor whose works defined Western and Arab medicine, was a native of the city. Pergamene sculptors gave definitive shape to the emotional and expressive qualities of Hellenistic art. The Great Altar of Zeus, now partially reconstructed in Berlin's Pergamon Museum, epitomizes their achievement. The famous Gigantomachy frieze depicts the primordial battle of the gods and giants on a scale unprecedented and never again achieved in Greek art. Pergamene sculpture impressed the Romans, who commissioned copies of such masterpieces as the Dying Gaul, now in the Capitoline Museums. In some ways, Pergamon set the tone for the whole course of Roman art, not least by establishing the tradition of copying Greek masterpieces. During the Renaissance, the rediscovery of the famous Laocoon group, almost certainly inspired by a Pergamene original, profoundly influenced Michelangelo, Raphael, and generations of later artists. The most important legacy of Pergamon, however, was political. Before Attalus III bequeathed his kingdom to the Roman people, it was not guaranteed that the Romans would advance eastward, beyond Greece. The king's bequest ensured that they would, and that the kingdom of Pergamon would become the province of Asia, soon to be one of the wealthiest parts of the Roman world. Eventually, the former territories of Pergamon became the Byzantine heartland. For half a millennium, it was the fertile fields and tough peasant soldiers of Anatolia that staved off the collapse of the Eastern Roman Empire. And, in that sense, just as Rome had once redeemed the kingdom of Pergamon, Pergamon finally saved Rome. Join me next spring in Tunisia, where we'll be exploring the ruins of Carthage, Duga, and many other fascinating sites. I'm also leading a tour to Jordan, which will include the colonnaded streets of Jerash, Roman forts and crusader castles, and the wonders of Petra. You'll find links for both tours in the description. My new book, Leaky Aqueducts, Battle Pigeons, and Mystery Cults, is now available wherever books are sold. There's an Amazon link in the description. Finally, please check out the Tolandstone Patreon, where I'm reviewing HBO's hit series, Rome, and my other two channels, Tolandstone Footnotes and Scenic Routes to the Past. Thanks for watching.