Temple of Athena
About
Pergamon's rulers built this Doric temple on a terrace above the great theatre around 300 BCE, the oldest sanctuary standing on the acropolis. Philetaerus and his Attalid successors dedicated it to Athena Polias Nikephoros, 'bringer of victory,' and lined its stoas with captured Galatian shields as war trophies. The Library of Pergamon rose directly beside it, so scholars worked within sight of the goddess's own shrine. By 117 CE the sanctuary had anchored Pergamon's religious life for roughly four centuries, its columns among the oldest stonework on the hill.
What happened here
The building itself is a house for the god, and most people never go inside. Everything public happens on the steps and at the altar in front: an animal led up, examined, killed cleanly, its organs read, the meat divided and eaten. The priest covers his head and a flute player keeps up a noise so no ill-omened word is heard. Worshippers leave what they can afford — a terracotta figure, a coin, a model of the body part they want healed — and the accumulated clutter is periodically cleared and buried on site. On festival days the doors are opened and the cult statue is dressed, garlanded, and sometimes carried out through the streets. The temple also holds money, which is why towns keep their treasury in one.
Sources
Nearby
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