PERGAMON
Listen to Bergama from me..
The Founding Story of the City
A local rich named Arkhias was killed by a pig while hunting in Pindados (Madra). is injured. for treatment He goes to Epidauros and finds healing there. most of the period It is one of the important health centers and Arkihias Inspired by this, he builds a similar one in Bergama. He brings the Asklepiad (Physicians) with him.
It existed as a brilliant center for 600 years. There was no death. The reason was that the bad ones were not allowed in, and the bad ones were taken out.
There are 16 different phases. The first finds It dates back to the 3rd century.
It is said that the sanctuary begins from the ridge of rock called the core. The first temple of Asklepios was built at the back of the Pool. The sanctuary was formed naturally with 3 springs near this temple. Since this temple shows similarities with the temple of Demeter built in the time of Philetairos, it is decorated with leaf series capitals in Aeol style, not Ionic.
Two temples and an altar were built. Very few remains of these temples have survived to the present day.
In the writings of Aelius Aristides, Asklepios soter mentions the temples built for Telesphoros, hygeia and Apollo. It also mentions a holy water coming out of the surface of the temple of Asclepius Soter.
Royal Buildings
*The kings of Pergamon used to prioritize safety over ostentatiousness.
Because the arsenals in the acropolis are valuable, it can be thought that many buildings have a second floor.
Most of the palaces were peristyle houses. All peristyle houses had at least one cistern.
Right at the bottom of the castle entrance, we see the warehouses for the soldiers of the building we call building group VI. Many war items were found in this building.
*The building group V was a house worthy of a monarch with a size of 2420m2. It is surrounded on four sides by columned galleries. There is a rock cistern under the west gallery. And
It was used until the Byzantine period.
During the excavations in the royal places in Pergamon, the most artifacts were found in Palace V.
Many rooms had marble thresholds and interior walls. A pedestal was found in the smallest room in the northeast corner, which is thought to be the altar room. In addition, the presence of a Dyonysos statue on this pedestal can be considered. Most of the floor mosaic has been preserved in this room.
*Also in floor mosaics; A mosaic depicting the Alexander Parrot was found. Mosaic particles are half and one millimeter in size.
The northwest room of the palace had a larger mosaic. The mosaic stones in this room are 1-3 mm in size. It is decorated with leaf and flower friezes, small animal figures and Cupids. And it is a mosaic with the signature of Hephaston.
*Building group IV was definitely a peristyle house. The floor area was approximately 30*35 m. It is known that the rooms in this structure were plastered and had colorful wall decorations. In the eastern room there is an altar and a slab of andesite. The fact that the plate was burned indicates that sacrifice was made here and that this room was a cult place. Also in this room, floor mosaics of extraordinary fineness were found.
*There was one cistern in the middle of the courtyard and another in the room to the northeast.
The walls of the royal palaces were decorated with colorful stuccos rather than carved marbles, their floors were covered with magnificent mosaics and, if there were no mosaics, carpets. There were also mobile paintings on the walls.
Library
*II. Another work created and built by Eumenes was the library. According to the sources, there were 200,000 scrolls of books here. This was a royal library. This figure is thought to belong to the year 41-40 BC. This is the date Antony gave it to Cleopatra.
* 3 m high statues of Athena and Hera were found in the northeast hall. This great room with the statues could have been an art gallery, a museum. Although it is not certain that the kings also collected the works of art here.
*According to another study, three of these halls were covered with wooden cabinets. There were only built-in book cabinets on the entrance wall.
The southwesternmost room is thought to be a festive room furnished with klines.
*Another claim was that the shelves were hung on these pegs. And a catalog area was formed. Other rooms housed books. Another idea in these pegs was the display of war booty weapons.
*Although it is very difficult, another claim is that the Library is in the Gymnasion, which is a very baseless claim.
It has been determined that even if there are shelves in these rooms, even 4.5 meters high, only 1 out of 10 of the mentioned figure can fit in these rooms.
*4 of these 5 rooms could be accessed from the upper floor of the north gallery. Since the westernmost room was at the courtyard level, this room was entered from a narrow courtyard in the south. To reach this place and the structures between the Athena sanctuary and the Traianeum, it was necessary to walk across a passage at the west end of the north gallery.
*The rooms had andesite walls.
Perhaps books were exhibited in the curtained section on the upper floor of the north gallery. He also thinks that the floor of this place is a mosaic.
Arsenal
*The presence of a building with strong walls, measuring 18*18 m, was detected both on the upper part of the round cistern. Although not certain, this place is thought to be the palace of Gongylos in the 5th century BC. This building can be explained as the end of the pressurized water system for the Hellenistic period.
*Although Building 1 is thought to be a king's house, no definite evidence has been reached. It is thought that the place where this building is located was a barracks built in the 2nd century BC.
It is thought that there were arsenals belonging to earlier periods in the lower part of the palaces. For the construction of the palace, this regiment was demolished and new ones were built at the north end.
*I. and II. It is thought that the arsenals were built from the Philetarios period, and 4-5 buildings were built for palaces instead of demolished buildings. The fact that these buildings have a lower ventilation slot shows us that this place was also used as a grain warehouse.
*Arsenals were captured with 961 cannonballs of 15 different diameters. Numerous catapults and iron hoops were captured.
As the people say, Viran Kapı, that is, the entrance door to the sanctuary, would welcome the guests with a very assertive inscription on its pediment.
'Death cannot enter here!'
Sanctuary of Athena
Traian Temple
It is the most prominent structure of the Roman imperial period. The temple was seen from far away as the crown of the fortress mountain.
An inscription found just southeast of the temple is dated to 114-115 AD. The inscription states that the rich Pergamon native Aulus Julius Quadratus, who was a friend of the emperor; It is said that the temple was built in honor of Trajan and contains rules about the festivities. He was honored together with Emperor Zeus Philios.
* Among the cult sculptures of the temple are the sculptures of Emperor Trajan and his successor, Imp Hadrian. These were standing in the cella part of the temple. The statue heads of these statues larger than human size were removed. It is thought to be about 5 meters in size.
*A sitting giant statue of Zeus Philios was found.
Zeus sitting on a coin belonging to the Trajan period and the standing emperor are engraved.
As the reason for the statue of Hadrian to be here. Upon the request of the people of Pergamon to build a temple for him, he wrote to them, giving permission that his statue could be erected next to his father's.
Trajan never came to Pergamum, but Hadrian is thought to have come twice, with one being certain in 124.
It is seen in the writings of Aelius Aritedis as the Hadrianeum of the temple, which was completed during the reign of Hadrian.
The construction of the building started in 114 AD. The opening date is 129 AD, which is thought to be the second visit date of Hadrian.
Propylon
It had three doors opening to the festival area. It was built by Claudius Charax.
The structure of the Nike figure found near the Proplylon was never found to belong to the Imp period, but it has become one of the symbols of the Pergamon museum.
Dionysus Temple; The difference between the terraced podium was closed with 25 steps 4.5 m high.
Dionysus was the god of the Pergamon royal family. Along with Heracles, he was revered as an ancestor.
There was a Dionysos union here, which was previously located in Teos. After Teos joined the kingdom's lands, these people were under the command of the king, who were the ones who performed the games and organized the festivals.
The temple has Prostyle style and Ionic style columns.
There was an altar on the theater terrace in front of the temple.
Its length is 21.60 m and its height is 13.17 m. They reach a total height of 15 m with their three acroteria with female figures.
Its foundation is andesite, and the other parts are completely made of marble.
There was a bronze votive inscription in gold plated from its architrave.
It has two different building phases. Hellenistic and Roman period
As the construction date of the temple II. The Eumenes period is the most favorable period.
A fire inside the cella caused great damage to the temple. The inner walls are covered with untouched boards. The entrance wall and the monumental gate were rebuilt and higher than the roof of the cella.
However, although there is no exact date of fire and renewal, the estimates show the Hadrian period. This conclusion was reached by detecting the similarities in the Traijan temple.
The temple was severely damaged by the earthquake in 262 AD.
The church built in this area was built near the building with a niche. Covering an area of 52 square meters, this church had three naves and its façade faced west. It had a cross domed plan. 12-13. There was a saint or martyr's grave here before the church, which points to the centuries. In addition, it is thought that the upper terrace was used as a cemetery in the middle and late Byzantine period.
Temple of Dionysus
galleries
The altar is a masterpiece of Pergamon art.
In the only extant fragment of the altar inscription. It says 'of good deeds done by the gods'.
The old houses here were destroyed, the Philetairos wall was demolished and the area was expanded.
There was an abscissa structure here. It was probably a heroon dedicated to the founder Telephos.
Structure; It was 35.64*33.40 m in size. The stairs to the west were almost 20 m. The stairs were 6 m. The whole building, including the acroteres, was 10 m.
The famous frieze depicting the war between gods and giants was 2.30 m high and 113 m long.
On the inner walls were friezes depicting the life of Telephos, the legendary founder of Pergamon.
Only certain people can enter the main altar at feasts.
Sacrifices were made on the stair step and only parts of it were burned on the main altar in the name of the gods. The remaining pieces were dispersed by the crowd.
There are unnoticeable harmonies between the Temple of Athena and the Altar of Zeus.
The frieze of the chief gods was on the east, that is, on the sunrise side. At the corner connecting the East with the North were Ares and Aphrodite. They were both apart and back to back. On the south side, the Sun god Helios was fighting and next to him was Eos and Selene. On the north side, the Night Goddess Nyx was fighting. Around him were gods related to him.
The inner frieze from the northwest corner told the story of Telephos. In the other part, it was told that the Achaeans came to Pergamon by mistake and fought and Telephos was injured by Achilles and then recovered and founded the city.
The Pergamon Altar is a product of palace art.
During the construction period, the knowledge of not only the masters but also the clergy was used.
It is certain that the eastern friezes were made by the chief master. The simultaneous work of all blocks shows that it is the joint work of various masters.
The altar is mentioned in the narrative of the wonders of the world in the ancient writer L. Ampelius' Liber Memoralis.
In addition, the depiction on the coin found by the French archaeologist and numismatist Antoine Heron de Villefosse is the only data we have today about the appearance of the altar in antiquity.
The Pergamon altar differs from the Classical Ionic altars.
The columned galleries on the podium are independent of the galleries of the inner courtyard. That's why they're Peristyles.
The altar has the appearance of a palace in terms of structure. This palace is likened to the palace of Zeus.
On the friezes on the stairs, it is seen that the gigants were entering the house of Zeus and Zeus' eagles stopped them at the last moment.
On the opposite side, it is written that Oceanos and his wife Tethys neutralized and threw them towards the entrance of the columned courtyard and Zeus prevented them in the form of an eagle.
The hero Heracles, who was always next to Zeus, is blessed on the frieze inside. For this war could not be won without the help of a mortal, and that mortal was Heracles.
There is also the idea that this structure has no connection with the victories. II. We can also consider it as part of the project where Eumenes reshaped the royal capital.
In the message of the Prophet Jesus to the Christians in Anatolia, he referred to Pergamon as 'the place where Satan's throne is located'.
Among the foundations, pottery fragments from earlier periods and traces of a two-nave building were found. This building was most likely an agora.
TUNNEL
This tunnel, which is a kind of kryptoporticus, protected the guests from the negative effects of the weather. But the most important thing is the sound they hear and what they feel while passing through this tunnel.
I am waiting for you in Bergama to feel this..
round treatment building
The altar terrace is 69 m in north-south direction and 77 m in the south. In the north, it was 92.5 m.
The wall, which is the row of the market place in the north, has been preserved until today. In front of this wall was a podium for placing votive gifts and statues.
The altar foundation has a grid structure consisting of thick walls extending in the east-west direction and thin walls that cut them. These walls are surrounded by andesite blocks.
A second Ionic column capital, with a fish-scale-looking arch in the middle, is a prominent contemporary example for its period.
In another version, the use of a stylized lightning bolt may be a clue that Zeus was the god of the altar.
The Telephos frieze is 56.6 m long, 1.58 m high and consists of 7 plates. The back view of each of the friezes that tells the life story of the Telephos friezes is different.
The beam holes on the altar point to another phase, which was a canopy addition.
The marble roof of the outer galleries was filled with small acroter figures. These figures were found near the altar foundation. The four chariots are fragments of eleven identified horses, two Tritons, three griffins, two centaurs, and five god figures. Gods; Athena, Poseidon, Apollo, Dionysus and the other are not understood.
To the north are Poseidon and the Tritons.
The great frieze is 28.78 m from 31 plates in the north and south. In the east, it is 31.12 m from 32 plates.
Zeus-Asclepius
temple
Lucius rafinus was taken as an example to the Pantheon in Rome, that is, the temple of all gods, in terms of architecture and religious cult. The inner diameter of this structure is 24 meters. In the middle of the roof, there is a round window like in the Pantheon. A cult niche dedicated to Zeus asclepius was found across the entrance. Both the floor and the walls are covered with colored marbles. At the entrance there was a columned front structure with four Corinthian columns and a pediment roof.