Image Details

Vanni/Art Resource, N.Y.

A METROPOLIS OF TEMPLES. The oldest structures in Pergamon are clustered atop the city’s acropolis. The Great Altar occupied a terrace along the southern slope of the acropolis, just above the city’s upper agora, or public meeting place and market. The remains of a theater are still well preserved north of the altar; to the north and east of the theater are a temple dedicated to the Roman emperor Trajan and a sanctuary to Athena, the daughter of Zeus and the Greek goddess of wisdom. A portion of the entryway to the Athena temple has been reconstructed in the Berlin State Museum.