Pergamus

Pergamus, or PERGAMUM, anciently a city of Mysia in Asia Minor, on the river Caicus, 15 miles from its mouth. According to tradition, the place was founded by Greeks from Arcadia. It first acquired prominence when Lysimachus, one of Alexander's generals, chose it as a stronghold in which to keep his treasures. Under Philetærus, his eunuch, whom he appointed guardian of his treasures, it became the capital of a state, 283 B.C. His successor, Eumenes I., maintained its independence against the Seleucids, although the title of king was first assumed by Attalus I., who reigned from 241 to 197 B.C., and defeated the Gauls in a great battle. He intimately allied himself with the Romans against Philip of Macedon, and this alliance subsisted throughout succeeding reigns, during which the kingdom continued to increase in extent and importance. Attalus III., surnamed Philometer, who died in 133 B.C., left it to the Romans, and under them it was one of the chief cities of Asia Minor. The native kings had adorned it with grand sculptures, the work of artists belonging to the Pergamenian school, and collected a library only inferior to that of Alexandria. Pergamus was a special seat of the worship of Asclepius (Æsculapius); and it gave its name to Parchment (q.v.). It began to decline under the Byzantine emperors. The place still exists under the name Bergama, and is noted for the splendour and magnificence of its ruins, which embrace temples, palaces, aqueducts, gymnasia, amphitheatres, and city walls. These were excavated for the Prussian government by Humann, Bohn, and others, in 1878-86, many of the treasures being carried to Berlin.