Pergamon, Turkey

The origin of Pergamon (Pergamum) is unknown, but such an easily defended hill would have been inhabited at a very early date. The main weakness of its defense was a lack of water. We ourselves can begin to sympathize with the plight of besieged soldiers as we walk around the hill on a summer day. We can also understand the reason for the inscription above many of the springs and fountains in Turkey: “From water comes all life.”

Pergamum was first mentioned in Xenephon’s Anabasis as the meeting place in 399 B.C. of Xenephon and the commander of the Spartans who had just defeated the Athenians in one of the Peloponnesian Wars. Nothing more is heard of Pergamum until after the death of Alexander the Great in 323 B.C. Then Lysimachus, one of his generals, took control of western Asia Minor. Later there was a series of kings named alternately Eumenes and Attalus who extended and strengthened their kingdom and spent some of their booty decorating the towering citadel of Pergamum with beautiful white marble structures. What is left of their contributions continues to attract people even now to their city.

In 133 B.C. Attalus III bequeathed the kingdom of Pergamum to the Roman government and it became known as the Province of Asia. The city of Pergamum remained one of the capitals for two and a half centuries, and was still the principal city of the province when the Book of Revelation was written.

One of the great events In the reign of the Attalid kings (263-133 B.C.) was the defeat of the Gauls in 230 B.C. The Gauls (related to those who settled in France) were invited by the king of Bithynia In 279 B.C. to come to Asia Minor as mercenaries in his private wars. After serving the king they settled In the area around Ankara, but they did not give up their warlike activities among their neighbors. They were so bloodthirsty that native soldiers were afraid to fight them, so instead many cities paid tribute to them.

However, King Attalus I of Pergamum determined to rid Asia Minor of these barbarians. Before his attack he prepared a sacrifice to the gods in order that the oracle might speak a word of encouragement to his frightened soldiers. The priest of the oracle announced the miracle that “Victory for the King” had appeared on the liver of the sacrificial animal. Attalus chose not to reveal to his inspired soldiers that he had written the words backwards on his hand and while helping examine the victim he had pressed his hand on the liver! Although outnumbered, the Pergamenes were victorious with no little thanks to their king’s knowledge of human nature. This battle is commemorated in the famous statue of the Dying Gaul which is now in the Vatican Museum.

The most impressive structure in Pergamum today is the large theater built into the hillside and extending upwards for seventy-eight rows of seats. The site is fortunate in having almost perfect acoustics: actors in the orchestra can talk quietly and still be heard in the top rows. North of the theater is the Temple of Athena and between them is what is left of the famous library. To the south is the agora and the Altar of Zeus. Much of the marble of that was in the museum in Berlin. A number of other temples can be seen as can the large gymnasium, various parts of the city wall, and the aqueduct which brought water from springs in the hills to the north to the cistern on the citadel.

The lower part of Pergamum is today known as Bergama. Its largest building of the Roman period is the Red Court (Kızıl Avlu), sometimes called the Red Basilica. It was probably built in the second century A.D. and has a central hall three stories high with red brick walls some two meters thick. The Selinus (Bergama Çayı) River flows diagonally under the court. There is no question that the building was originally a center of worship, but just which god or gods were worshipped there is uncertain. It may first have been a temple to several Egyptian gods, among them Serapis. Later a raised floor was put in and it was used as a church dedicated to St. John the Apostle.

Also below the citadel and southwest of the city is the Asclepieum, the medical center of Pergamum. In addition to the incubation rooms where patients slept and hoped to wake up cured, there can still be seen a theater, a library, a temple to Asclepius, and, under the central square, a long tunnel. Apparently patients were ushered through this tunnel while priests above whispered words of encouragement and healing. A cool, refreshing breeze still blows through it offering relief from the sweltering sun. The famous doctor and anatomist, Galen, was born in Pergamum and practiced medicine in the Asclepieum.

The letter in Revelation “to the angel of the church at Pergamum” was from “the One who has the sharp, two-edged sword” (Rev. 2:12). He spoke of “the place where Satan has his throne” (Rev. 2:13). This might be the Altar of Zeus on the citadel; it is more likely that it refers to the fact that the city was the center of Roman authority for the area and therefore the place of persecution for those who refused to worship Caesar.

In addition to this danger from the State there was the subtler temptation within the church itself from those people holding to the teaching of Balaam and to the doctrine of the Nicolations (Rev. 2:14, 15). John told the church that the vision he saw threatened to “make war upon them with the sword that comes out of my mouth” (Rev. 2:16). But to those who repented and were victorious, “I will give some of the hidden manna; I will give him also a white stone, and on the stone will be written a new name, known to none but him that receives it” (Rev. 2:17). This last sounds like the promise of an amulet or talisman for protection here and immortality to come.