Atlas from Space: Model of Pergamum acropolis

The Pergamum acropolis is a masterpiece of city planning, built over a period of more than 150 years (283-133 BCE, with a few later additions). Prominent on the acropolis is its theater. Its three section of 80 rows seated 10,000 on the steepest cavea in the ancient world. In front of the theater was a Doric stoa 246 m. (807 ft.). The section facing the theater was one story high, but the back, facing the lower city was three stories. At the north end of this theater terrace sat the temple of Dionysus.

Directly behind the theater was the temple of Athena with its sculpture of "The Dying Gaul" at the rotunda, commemorating Attalos I's victories over the Gauls in 233 and 228 BCE. The propylon to the Athena temenos now resides in the Pergamon museum of Berlin, Germany. The Altar of Zeus, originally located just south of the temple of Athena, is also in the same Berlin museum.

Adjacent to the temple of Athena on the north was the famous library of Pergamum, housing 200,000 volumes until Marc Antony gave them all to Cleopatra, who added them to the library of Alexandria, Egypt.

Want to go deeper?

The following are recommended to help you look deeper into the history and archaeology of Pergamum.

Recommended for purchase:

Steve Singleton – Overcoming: A Study Guide for the Book of Revelation (DeeperStudy.com, 2004) – Provides a brief historical background of Pergamum and the other six cities of the Apocalypse, as well as a thorough introduction and brief commentary on the Apocalypse. Get digital edition and save almost 50%!

Steve Singleton – Seven Letters to the Church (2006) – E-book drawn from Overcoming (see above), with additional material. Illustrated commentary on the Letters to the Seven Churches of Asia, as found in Revelation chapters 2 and 3. Includes history, culture, and archaeology of the churches, plus a summary of relevance for today as well as verse by verse comments. Illustrated with drawings & color photos, including satellite images of Ephesus, Pergamum, and Laodicea.

Claude E. Fant & Mitchell G. Reddish – A Guide to Biblical Sites in Greece and Turkey (Oxford, 2003). – Nearly two-thirds of the New Testament, including all the letters of Paul, most of Acts, and the Book of Revelation, are set in either Turkey or Greece. This book serves as a historical, biblical, and archaeological guide to most of these biblical sites. View excerpt

CD-ROM: Turkey: Pictorial Library of Bible Lands (2004) – Series is most complete collection of high resolution Bible Land images available... perfect for worship, class study, or personal Bible study! Highest quality available. This CD features more than 700 high-resolution digitized images, including: Cities of Paul's Journeys (Antioch on the Orontes, Seleucia, Tarsus, Pisidian Antioch, Lystra and Derbe, Colossae, Hierapolis, Assos, Alexandria Troas, and Miletus); seven churches of Revelation: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea; plus Istanbul, Cappadocia, Priene, and Troy.

Helmut Koester – Pergamon: Citadel of the Gods: Archaeological Record, Literary Description, & Religious Development – Harvard Theological Studies (Trinity Press International, 1998). – Includes comprehensive descriptions of the ancient city's famous temples and sanctuaries by German archaeologists who excavated them. In addition, leading European and American scholars in the fields of classics and New Testament studies provide interpretive essays. Richly illustrated with photographs, drawings, maps, and plans. The definitive study in English on this important Hellenistic and Roman city.

Frank Sear – Roman Theatres: An Architectural Study. (Oxford, 2006). – Sear discusses Pergamum's Hellenistic theater on pp. 346-347.

Ekrem Akurgal – Ancient Civilizations and Ruins of Turkey: From Prehistoric Times Until the End of the Roman Empire (Haset Kirabevi, 1985). | cheaper, earlier edition – Akurgal was the archaeologist in charge of the excavation of the original Smyrna at Bayrakli.

Online resources:

Christine Eslik, PhD – Recent and current excavations

Roy George – Temple and Sanctuary of Athena (from "The Museum of the Goddess Athena")

Mary M. Honan – Guide to the Pergamon Museum (Berlin: George Reimer, 1904).

Lucy M. Mitchell – The sculptures of Pergamon from A History of Ancient Sculpture (NY: Dodd, Mead & Co., 1905), 561-594. Especially describes the sculptures surrounding the Altar of Zeus.

Lynn A. Levine – Tour of Pergamum from Frommer's Turkey, 4th ed. (2006):177-181.

Lionel Casson – The Library of Ancient Pergamum from Libraries in the Ancient World (Yale, 2001):50-54.

Amanda Haefferman – Pergamum's Hellenistic theater (Ancient Theater Archive) – Provides detailed information about the theaters of ancient Pergamum, including the famous Hellenistic theater of the acropolis.

Dick Osseman's photo gallery of Pergamum – Archaeological Museum | Site of Altar of Zeus | Hellenistic Theater

Andys Basten's photo gallery of Pergamum – Acropolis

William M. Ramsay – "Pergamum: The Royal City, City of Authority" | "The Letter to the Church in Pergamum" 281-290 and 291-315, respectively, from Letters to the Seven Churches & Their Place in the Plan of the Apocalypse, 2nd ed. (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1906).

Burak Sansal. [History of] Pergamum – Sansal is a Turkish professional tour guide.