Pergamus

an ancient city of Asia Minor. It grew up about an acropolis near a small stream about fifteen miles inland from the Mediterranean. It was founded by settlers from Greece. On the dismemberment of Alexander's empire Pergamus became the seat of an independent kingdom. The wealth of a large part of Asia Minor centered here for a century or two, and Pergamus became one of the most magnificent cities of the age. Sculptors were attracted by the prospect of rich reward.

Under Eumenes II, who ruled 197-159 B. C., a vast marble altar in honor of Zeus Soter was built in the Agora. It was adorned with statues and especially by an enormous frieze depicting the defeat of the barbarian giants by the gods. This altar was one of the marvels of the ancient world. The sculptors of Pergamus lacked the refinement of Phidias, but their work stirs the student by its vigor. In the nineteenth century Turkey gave the Germans permission to excavate among the ruins of the city. In 1878-80 search was made. Slab after slab of the colossal frieze was found practically uninjured. The sections were sent down the hill in a slide, rafted down the stream to its mouth, and conveyed on board a steamer. They were taken in triumph to Berlin, where they are now displayed in the gallery of antiquities of the Old Museum, an exhibit second only to that of the Elgin Marbles. About two-thirds of the large outside frieze was recovered. An excellent cut of a portion of the famous frieze may be found in the Century Dictionary under the article on Pergame. Portions of a smaller frieze from the interior were also recovered, constituting a series of portrayals in marble of the doings of Pergamus, a local hero for whom the city was named. A large amount of other material hardly less interesting was obtained from the ruins of various temples and public places.

As a literary center Pergamus ranked second only to Alexandria. Every effort was made to accumulate manuscripts until an enormous library, now lost, had been built up. The city was famous for the manufacture of parchment, that is to say, the preparation of goatskins for the use of the scribe. The very name parchment is a corruption of the Greek Pergamena, meaning skin of Pergamus. The city passed under Roman rule 133 B. C. A Christian church was established here at an early date. "The church of Pergamos," is one of the seven stars, the seven golden candlesticks to which Saint John refers in the Revelation. A modern Turkish town of 20,000 people lies at the foot of the old acropolis.

See Parchment