Atlas from Space: Satellite View of Pergamum Aesklepion

This area on the west side of ancient Pergamum was dedicated to Aesklepius (Aesculapius), the god of healing, one of dozens of such temples throughout the Hellenistic world, the most famous of which is at Epidaurus in Greece.

Those seeking healing would walk 807 m. (2690 ft.) down the impressive colonnaded street ("The Sacred Way") and, after drinking a hallucinatory potion, would pass through the tunnel, in which they would hear encouraging whispers from the Aesklepian priests stationed at openings in the tunnel's ceiling. Upon entering what is now known as the Temple of Telephorus (the son of Aesklepius), they would bathe in a sacred pool and then lie down in an assigned place to sleep and dream. The sanctuary had many harmless snakes, whose ability to be "reborn" as they shed their skins came to symbolize the healing of the patients. The god would contact such a subject by dreams, which a priest would interpret the next morning as instructions for therapy.

According to Walton (see below), "The earliest form of the cult was a worship of Asklepios, and a consultation of dreams, at first for any purpose, and eventually for health. At this time there were no physicians; then the oracle became more famous for its success in performing cures and the priest aided in interprtation of dreams by his practical knowledge of simple remedies. Third, some priest gave all his attention ot observance of ritual, while a colleague or assistant devoted himself to the cures, which werre effected by surgical operations, magnetism, drugs, or applications of the dogs or serpents. The last state was reached [in about the first century BCE] when a school of physicians called Asklepiadae became a recognized factor in the temples, and the cult and the oracle were divorced. The cures were not the work of a night, but the result of an extended course of treatment" (67).

Galen (131-210 CE), a famous physician of ancient times and a native of Pergamum, served as a physician here for two short periods.

Adjacent to the Aesklepion to the north was a small theater (capacity: 3,500). At its northeast corner was a room for the imperial cult.

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.

Online resources:

Alice Walton, PhD – "The Sanctuaries of Asklepios" 36-46 in The Cult of Asklepios (Cornell Studies in Classical Philology, III: 1894).

Christine Eslik, PhD – Recent and current excavations

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

From Dick Osseman's photo gallery of Pergamum – Aesklepion

From Andys Basten's photo gallery of Pergamum – Aesklepion

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).