PERGAMON
A Place for Healing
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Located in modern-day Bergama, in western Turkey, Pergamon was a resplendent ancient city and a center of intellectual energy in the Roman Empire. Galen always considered it his home, and even after decades away, he frequently referred to the city as “our Asia.”
Ruins of a Hellenistic theater in ancient Pergamon (present-day Bergama, Izmir province, Turkey). Photo: Aytug Askin / Alamy Stock Photo.
Map showing location of Pergamon. Base map: d-maps.com. Click to enlarge.
The Pergamene Kingdom was established at the end of the third century BCE by a local dynast, Philetaerus. As Pergamon prospered, Philetaerus's successors continued to develop the city and its environs by building temples, gymnasia, villas, and the famous Pergamon Altar (now in Berlin at the Pergamon Museum).
Reconstructed western façade of the main Pergamon Altar. Hellenistic, ca. 170 BCE. Marble. Present-day Bergama, Izmir province, Turkey. W. 36.8 m; D. 34.2 m. Antikensammlung der Staatlichen Museen zu Berlin – Preußischer Kulturbesitz: Pe. 1. Photo: Johannes Laurentius. © Antikensammlung der Staatlichen Museen zu Berlin – Preußischer Kulturbesitz.
Civic leaders also organized a lively marketplace and assembled a library of 200,000 volumes to rival Alexandria. A small but rich kingdom, Pergamon flourished under the Attalid Dynasty (281–133 BCE) but struggled to maintain its independence in the face of larger kingdoms. Attalus III (r. 138–133 BCE), the final king in the Attalid line, died at age thirty-six with no heirs of his own and left the kingdom to the Roman Republic in his will.
Bust of Attalus III or II. Roman, ca. 152–150 BCE. Marble. Ionian Temple, Pergamon (Bergama, Izmir province, present-day Turkey). Mounted: H. 40 cm; W. 40 cm; D. 20 cm. Antikensammlung der Staatlichen Museen zu Berlin – Preußischer Kulturbesitz: AvP VII 132. Photo: Ingrid Geske. © Antikensammlung der Staatlichen Museen zu Berlin – Preußischer Kulturbesitz.
As a Roman province in Asia Minor, the city declined in both prestige and power for a time, but, like many Greek cities, it underwent a revival in the middle of the first century CE. As the population grew, major building projects were initiated—a theater, forum, amphitheater, and stadium, as well as baths, temples, aqueducts, and more. When Galen was young, the rebuilding of Pergamon was in full swing and the cultural life of the city on the ascent. Perhaps the most impressive construction was the rebuilding of the Temple of Asclepius, almost two miles outside the city. This important site of healing and pilgrimage attracted visitors from all over the Empire. Indeed, Asclepius came to be so closely associated with the city that he was frequently called “the god of Pergamon.”
