-1 101 Z Pergamum, the best surviving example of a major Hellenistic city, is situated on a high hill overlooking the fertile Caicus valley, 15 miles (25 km) from the sea. Under the Attalid dynasty it was a powerful city with a Greek constitution, deriving its wealth from parchment and textile industries, silver mines, agriculture and livestock. After 133 BC, Pergamum came under Roman rule.
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#GREAT ALTAR IW
2 102 D Athena was the patron goddess of Pergamum, to whom were dedicated the Sanctuary of Athena and the Great Altar. The Portico of the Sanctuary is typical of Hellenistic architecture in its combination of a Doric colonnade in the lower level with an Ionic one in the upper level.
#SANCTUARY
3 102 F A flourishing school of sculpture existed at Pergamum. The most famous sculptures must be those commemorating Attalus I's victory over the Gauls around 238 BC. Many were situated around the Sanctuary of Athena, and they were very melodramatic. Here, a Gaul plunges his sword into his own breast after having killed his wife.
#sculpture
4 101 X The royal library was second only to Alexandria's. The scholars attached to it, however, were believed in some circles to lack the brilliance and flair of those at Alexandria. Their detractors dismissed them as mere critics and interpreters rather than creators.
#library
5 102 A The theatre with its great fan-like auditorium was built on the side of the hill under King Eumenes II in the early 2nd century BC. This king was responsible for the construction of most of the buildings in Pergamum.
#theatre
6 102 B The Acropolis area gave Pergamum an identity which was more in keeping with a Greek city than a West Asian one. It was the religious heart of the city and all of the major buildings were located on it - theatre, palace, temples, barracks, library and the Great Altar of Zeus.
#Acropolis
9 101 X The gymnasium of Pergamum, the most complete to have survived from the Hellenistic world, included huge courts and stadia for athletics as well as dining rooms, lecture halls, baths, a theatre, colonnades and sun bays. The gymnasia spread over three giant terraces, each level catering for a different age group - adolescents, ephebes (men aged 18-20) and adults.
#gymnasium
10 101 X The city of Pergamum is a classic example of Hellenistic town planning. Its buildings were constructed on the terraced slopes of the hills, with the palace and citadel at the very top. The peculiar terrain and conditions of the site were taken into account by its architects so that the buildings on each site fitted within a planned whole.
