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Pergamum

PictureHouse of Virgin Mary - Selcuk Ephesus
After the death of Alexander the Great, one of his generals who is called Lysimachus chose Pergamum as the depository for his wealth. He placed nine thousand talents of gold in Pergamum under the guardianship of Philetaerus who was his lieutenant. After the death of Lysimachus, Philetaerus took advantage of this wealth and founded the independent dynasty of Attalid Kings which later became the centre of Hellenistic civilization. With the success of the two kings Attalus I and Eumenes II, Pergamum reached the highest point of its power. However during those time Rome and the Hellenistic leaders united. After that Pergamum became a very powerful kingdom by Attalus I including Mysia, Lydia, Caria, Pamphylia and Phrygia. He not only extended the borders but also decorated the capital city with architectural splendors. Eumenes II  improved the city culturally. King Attalus III bequeathed the territory to the Romans who made the city rich in art and culture poor in politics and economy. The city went through the Arab, Byzantine and finally the Turkish period in the 14C. In Hellenistic period the ancientity made an intellectual progress with the famous sculpture school and public buildings and monuments. Also Pergamum played an important role during the reign of the Romans.


The foundation of acropolis in Pergamum depended on social and cultural activities which we can consider it to be the daily life. Because of this, buildings in Pergamum were designed to be used in daily life. More than religion socialization was important as a proof even the temples were one of the meeting places of people where they can join in social affairs just like other large buildings which were designed for this purpose. Pergamum had the fame to be the first city who showed reaction to the functional urbanism of Hippodamus as they preferred ornamental urbanism. Acropolis buildings were built and designed with the aim of impressing the ones viewing the city from the valley. All buildings except the Trajan Temple were built in the reign of the Hellenistic emperors which are mostly made of andesite and rarely marble.


Heroon in Pergamum was the shrine in which the kings especially Attalus I and Eumenes II were worshipped. Eumenes II built the Sanctuary of Athena, dedicated to victory-bringing, in Pergamum which was entered through a propylon. The entrance of the Sanctuary is surrounded by three stoas of the Doric order which opens to a courtyard. Athena Temple is located at the corner near the theatre in Doric order as well which was built earlier.


Another building constructed by Eumenes II is the Library of Pergamum. It was the second of the three famous ancient libraries which contained two hundred thousand volumes and which were given to Cleopatra a century later as a wedding present by Mark Antony to be added to the ones in the library of Alexandria. The library is located north of the Athena Sanctuary. The Library of Pergamum was rich in sources but when the Egyptians prohibited the export of papyrus, Pergamum King ordered a new material to be found which can take the place of papyrus. What they found was called parchment which was a material made of sheep or goat skin. It was polished first with pumice stone and then slit into sheets. Because of this, the word parchment is used as a synonym of the name Pergamum.


In the 2nd century Hadrian who was the successor of Trojan have the Temple of Trojan built in Pergamum in Corinthian order and dedicated it to Trojan itself. It was built of marble. Zeus Altar can be accepted as the finest altar ever built. It was built in 180 B.C. without a temple which is unusual. The altar which is a marble offering-table is on a huge stone plinth which also supports the double colonnade of Ionic columns.It was built of marble.



 What Our Clients Are Saying - 

Absolutely the best tour option for Ephesus if you want to see it properly
Chris, Mehmet and Mete, thank-you for the most fantastic day at Ephesus. I research many options online in advance of my holiday bookings to find the best options for us and I wanted the Ephesus experience that would give us the most time at the archeological site seeing the things we wanted to see. We got that with a really engaging driver (Mehmet) and guide (Mete) as well. We were met at the ferry port terminal right on time and Mehmet and Mete were waiting for us as promised. Mete is the best guide - so engaging and knowledgable about his subject matter, and just such a genuine person too - so wonderful to talk to over lunch. We loved seeing the Terrace Houses at the site - don't miss this as it really gives you a perspective on life during the peak time in Ephesus. We did the trip as a day trip from Samos in Greece where we were staying. In the end it was easy but no one can confirm the ferry times from Samos until the end of May (for the summer season), so don't even try organising it before then if you are trying to do it from Samos. If you are intending on doing it from Samos, once the ferry times are confirmed, it was very easy to do. The trip took a bit over one hour from Samos. Both ferries out and back were on time.

The booking process for our Ephesus tour was made very easy by Chris (who is a native English speaker) and all communication was really clear and prompt. We would love to come back and see more of Turkey and we would definitely use No Frills again (and perhaps get to meet Ted the dog next time!). We are generally independent travellers but found that the quality of the guide with No Frills really made the day great for us at Ephesus and added to the quality of the experience. I'm not sure why anyone would use any other company for their Ephesus Tour. They are very professional, friendly, do what they promise, and the guide is top quality.

Visited October 5, 2017

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No Frills Ephesus Tours Location
Selcuk, Ephesus, Turkey