086: The Attalid Kingdom of Pergamon

Hi there. You're listening to The Hellenistic Age Podcast. Episode 86, The Adalid Kingdom of Pergamon. For the past five years, our show has been fixated on the main three dynasties of the Hellenistic Age, namely the Antigonids, the Seleucids, and the Ptolemies. By the end of the 3rd century, a new player emerged on the scene to shake up the established balance of power. I am, of course, referring to the Adalid dynasty, who ruled from the city of Pergamon in northwestern Asia Minor from 281 until 133 BC. Perhaps they aren't as famous as their rivals, but the Adalids were central figures in the affairs of the 3rd and 2nd centuries, chiefly through their involvement with the Roman Republic. They were Hellenistic monarchs par excellence, with evidence of their patronage in kingly activities well documented in the archaeological record, and Pergamon became one of the most important cities in the cultural fabric of the ancient world. In this episode, let us discuss the history of the Pergamene Kingdom down to the Roman intervention in Greece, but we can also look at the activities of the Adalid kings to see how they managed to assert their authority and identity in the face of fierce competition. I also strongly encourage you to look through the episode transcript, which contains a large number of supplementary materials. Many of the photos I've included were taken during my travels in Greece and Italy, and I've been recently trying to beef up the transcripts to better aid in your understanding. Please do check those out, but for now, let us continue. Pergamon's history dates back to the very beginning of the Hellenistic period. Situated adjacent to the modern city of Bergama in western Turkey, approximately 70 kilometers north of Izmir, known in antiquity as the region of Mycenae, it was host to a settlement that existed prior to the Macedonian conquest. Control of the city fell to the successors of Alexander following his death, and was initially overseen by Antigonus Monophthalmus, before it was betrayed to Antigonus' commander Docimus to Lysimachus prior to the Battle of Ipsus in 301 BC, who turned Pergamon into his personal treasury. One of Docimus' staff members that defected along with him to Lysimachus was Philotyrus, the son of a Macedonian named Attalus, an Apathogonian woman from the city of Teos. This man is the founder of the Attala dynasty, though his origins are extremely unusual. It is said that as a small child, Philotyrus was caught up in a crowd crush that resulted in severe damage to his genitals, leaving him a eunuch. How this affected his life can only be speculated on, but given that the Greeks generally viewed eunuchs with scorn or ridicule, it was probably a tougher upbringing. The name Philotyrus means the lover of friends, which probably reflects his social status as a eunuch considering his brothers Attalus and Eumenes bore traditional masculine names. Despite this, Lysimachus trusted Philotyrus enough to appoint him as overseer of Pergamon and therefore his vast stores of bullion. Their working relationship was amicable for the next few decades, at least until the late 280s. According to historians, Philotyrus was at odds with the king's young Ptolemaic wife, Arsinoe II, who was accused of stirring up trouble in Lysimachus' family to further her own ends. This internal strife led to a final confrontation between Lysimachus and Seleucus I Nicator at the Battle of Coropedium in 281, which concluded with Lysimachus' defeat and death. Strabo claims that Philotyrus rebelled from Lysimachus and proclaimed himself master of the city during the strife, while Pausanias states that he defected over to the Seleucid side on the eve of the battle, which took place not far from Pergamon. It is possible that both stories are true, where Philotyrus declared independence from Lysimachus before allying with Seleucus, as evidence does suggest a favorable relationship with the Seleucid house. After Seleucus was murdered by his former ally Ptolemy Karinus shortly following the victory at Coropedium, Philotyrus stepped in to offer Ptolemy enough cash to buy back the body, and after performing a proper cremation, he sent the king's ashes to his son Antiochus for interment in Syria. With both Lysimachus and Seleucus out of the picture, Philotyrus was now the ruling dynast of Pergamon, a king in all but name for the next 18 years. An inscription from Delphi honored him and his household for some kind of donation to the sanctuary, and there are letters from the nearby city of Kyme thanking him for the contribution of 600 shields for their defense, a sort of euregetism that was typical for any self-styled Greek ruler. Asia Minor itself was quite unique in its political structure though, for we find many examples of local strongmen acting with the power of a monarchy but still serving the interests of the larger Hellenistic kingdoms. Pergamon was almost certainly a vassal state to the Seleucid Empire, as there are coins minted by Philotyrus with his name but bearing the portrait of Seleucus I. Later on, we find Philotyrus's portrait on them as well, but the ability to mint coins under similar circumstances was a phenomenon that could be found in the other client kings of the Seleucids, such as the Diodotids of Bactria or the Arsochids of Parthia. By offering these royal privileges, the Seleucids would expect these local rulers to oversee the defense of their territory and contribute to the Empire's military without the additional strain on the central government. Given his inability to have any children of his own, Philotyrus adopted his nephew Eumenes, who took over rule of Pergamon after Philotyrus's death in 263. While the Seleucids may have accepted Philotyrus's position, they seem to have been less keen on his appointed heir, as Eumenes appears to have taken liberties by expanding his privileges further, such as the founding of military colonies named Adelaia and Philotyria. According to Strabo, this was enough of a concern for Seleucus's son Antiochus I to warrant his direct intervention. A battle was fought between Eumenes and Antiochus at nearby Sardis, but the Pergamene ruler was able to best the Syrian king's army. This clash is often taken to be the point at which the Adelaide dynasty broke away from Seleucid control, but the extent of the fighting seems to have been very small in scale, and it seems improbable that Pergamon could muster enough of an army to contend with the massive numbers of the Empire. It was likely a test of Seleucid authority, one which ultimately allowed Eumenes to retain his position and expanded autonomy, and his victory, small though it may have been, was enough to be celebrated by Adelaide port historians thereafter. We have little information about Eumenes' activities from 263 to 241 beyond his brief conflict with Antiochus, but an inscription from Pergamon records a series of concessions made for his mercenaries, who might have revolted early in his reign. Like his predecessor, Eumenes did not have any children of his own, instead passing the throne to his nephew, Attalos I. Attalos is the longest ruling and perhaps the greatest of the Adelaide kings. His father was Eumenes' first cousin, but his mother was Antiochus, the daughter of a local dynast named Achaios the Elder, who was intimately tied up in the Seleucid royal family. Along with being linked to two important houses of Asia Minor, historians record omens and stories about his early life. As a young man, he consulted the Oracle of Delphi, and he was said to have received the following advice, quote, Courage, O bull-horned one, you will have regal honors, and the son of your son will have them too, but your great-grandsons will not, end quote. By the beginning of his career in 241, the rules of Pergamon had yet to acquire the title of kings in their own right, but an opportunity soon presented itself that allowed Attalos to make the bid for the diadem. Since the days of Philotyrus, Asia Minor had perpetually dealt with ongoing attacks from a group known as the Galatians. These were the descendants of Celtic tribes that came from Central Europe and crossed the Bosporus into Asia Minor during the early 270s, causing severe havoc throughout Greece and Asia Minor. Antiochus I managed to best them in the famous Battle of the Elephants in roughly 275-274, whereupon they were settled in Central Anatolia, a region generally known as Galatia thereafter. In spite of their defeat in settlement, these tribes would launch raids against their neighbors, including Pergamon. Philotyrus fought them at least once, and we know that his donation of shields to Kime was intended to help defend against Galatian attacks. In approximately 239, one of the Galatian tribes known as the Tolustobogii invaded Pergamon territory, before being driven back and defeated by Attalos near the Kykos River. Attalos used this victory to take the title of king and adopt the epithet Soter, Savior, an event which he immortalized through a series of inscriptions on his altar to victory. The Galatians were seen as the antithesis of Greek civilization, having terrorized much of Asia Minor for over two decades, and their defeat enabled Attalos' claim of kingship. The association of Attalos with Delphi was no coincidence. The Holy Sanctuary was famously the target of the initial Gallic invasion of 278, and many Hellenistic kings wanted to paint themselves as the avenger of Delphi, and by extension, the god Apollo, by celebrating their victories over the Celts. Attalos was arguably the most successful of these propagandists, and Pausanias records a prophecy allegedly recited during the time of the invasion, nearly twenty years before the Pergamon king was even born. Look, the deathly army of the Gauls at Hellespont, leaping the narrow roads, roaring for battle in the sack of Asia. A little while, the god shall put worse shame on you who live beside the sea's beaches, and Zeus shall raise you a swift ally. The loved son of the god-nourished bull will set a day of destruction for all Gaul. With the Galatians defeated, and now formally wearing the title of king, Attalos ought to have expected some form of retaliation from the new Seleucid ruler, Seleucus II Callinicus. However, the neighboring empire was experiencing its own turmoil, for having just recovered from disastrous Third Syrian War, Seleucus' younger brother, Antiochus Hyrax, snatched much of Asia Minor in his own bid for power immediately afterwards. The so-called War of the Brothers concluded with an uneasy peace in 239, but Antiochus looked to flex his newfound authority from his capital at Sardis. What follows is a poorly documented period of about fifteen years. According to Attalos' own inscriptions, he fought at least three battles against Antiochus and his Galatian allies between 239 and 228. The final battle resulted in Attalos driving out Hyrax from Asia Minor altogether by 227, who was killed shortly afterwards in an unrelated incident. Though the Pergamene Kingdom had managed to capture some of the westernmost portions of Seleucid Anatolia during the wars against Antiochus Hyrax, Attalos was still limited from expanding much further than beyond the borders that were overseen by his predecessors. Seleucus II died shortly after Antiochus Hyrax, and was replaced with Seleucus III Tyranus in 225, who planned a reconquest of Asia Minor. Skirmishes between the Pergamene King and Seleucid officials are recorded, but the expedition was cut short when Seleucus III was murdered by one of his commanders in 223. The new young ruler Antiochus III was left to manage a crumbling empire, and in Asia Minor a new threat arose once again, Achaeus the Younger, a cousin of both Antiochus III and Attalos by way of the eponymous Achaeus the Elder. Like Antiochus Hyrax, Achaeus declared himself king and sought mastery over Anatolia. Once again, Pergamon was in the sights of an upstart Seleucid rebel. War broke out almost immediately between the two, but Attalos did not fare as well against Achaeus as he did Hyrax. Achaeus seems to have retaken much of Attalos' territorial gains, and drove the Pergamene King back to his city around 222. During the interim of 222-218, Achaeus busied himself with the affairs of other local powers like Bithynia and Byzantium, while Attalos made a personal visit to the cities of the Ionian coastline to try and win over their alliance. He even tried to bolster his military forces by hiring a large group of Galatian warriors, but his efforts to try and launch a counterattack ended in failure when the Celts were convinced by an eclipse that it was unwise to do so. Rather than just have them turn to Achaeus as a paymaster, he was forced to settle these tribesmen on Pergamene farmland. By 217, the future of Attalos looked grim. An unexpected windfall came into his lap, however, when a message from Antiochus III arrived at his court at the end of that year, seeking an alliance. The Seleucid ruler had returned from his war against Egypt, only to immediately launch a campaign of reconquest to destroy Achaeus and restore the empire to its former glory. Certainly, the two dynasties had their disagreements, but this usurper was an existential threat to both of them, and they could easily set aside their differences to unite against a common foe. From the start of 216, the pair coordinated in a joint campaign to strike at the holdings of Achaeus, who was eventually captured and summarily executed following the siege of Sardis in 213. With Achaeus now dead, the Syrian king departed for the east, not to return to Asia Minor for another ten years. Presumably, he and Attalos came to a mutual understanding, and much like their predecessors, the Pergamene ruler was probably left in a semi-autonomous position that was nominally allied with the Seleucids, albeit with much greater independence than his forebears. It was in Antiochus' best interest for someone to protect his western borders, given that he was going to be spending the next decade campaigning in Iran and Central Asia, though we know that he appointed one of his top officials named Zeuxis to act as his representative in Anatolia, lest the Adelaide king get any funny ideas. Though this uneasy coexistence would only last throughout the rest of Attalos' lifetime, it also meant that he was unable to expand his kingdom any further into Asia Minor. Therefore, it was only fitting that he would look westward across the Aegean. Philip V of Macedon, the leading figure in Greece, kickstarted the war with the rising power of the Roman Republic in 215 by allying with Hannibal Barca of Carthage. The First Roman-Macedonian War gradually escalated in scale, and almost the entire peninsula was dragged into the conflict, with the Romans allying with the Aetolian League against Philip and the Achaean League. Other players eventually got involved, and Pergamon was one of them. It seems that Rome courted for an alliance with Attalos, who accepted the proposal and joined the war in 209. Attalos' responsibility was to provide money and manpower to the Aetolian League, who oversaw most of the fighting, but honored the king with the position of strategos. Much of his personal involvement was rather limited, though we know that he was almost captured by Philip when the Macedonians interrupted their invasion of Euboea. Shortly after this defeat came the news that his neighbor, King Prusias of Bithynia, led a campaign into Mycenae and directly threatened Pergamon in 207, forcing him to abandon his Greek expedition. Though his time in the war was brief, this was a major turning point for the history of the Attalid Kingdom. It was their first foray outside of Asia Minor, and their involvement in the wider Hellenistic world would only continue to increase over the next 75 years. To encourage his assistance against Philip, the Roman Republic sold to Attalos the island of Aegina, situated only 30 kilometers south of Athens for a relatively small sum of 30 talents, and it became the first overseas territory and hub for Pergamon's developing navy. It also marked the beginning of their long relationship with the Roman Republic, which would directly impact the kingdom's history down to its very last days. Attalos was the first ruler of Asia to formally extend his friendship to Rome, though their earliest dealings were almost entirely transactional, and limited to the duration of the First Macedonian War. Yet in 205, the Roman Senate sent an embassy to Attalos' court, requesting his assistance once again. An oracle from the Sibylline Books foretold that the Romans would be able to drive out the invaders of Italy if the Great Mother was brought from Pessinus in Asia Minor back to Rome. This Great Mother was an Anatolian Mother Goddess, known to the Greeks as Kybele and Magna Mater in Latin, and it appears that the Romans were looking to acquire a large black stone, perhaps a meteorite, that was her most sacred totem. Attalos honored their past friendship, and assisted the grateful Romans in its retrieval. The connections between Pergamon and Rome would become increasingly complex as the dramatic shake-ups of the next 15 years, namely the Second Macedonian War and the Syrian War, would lead to Attalos and his successors allying further with the expanding power of the Republic, so they could strengthen their own position. While Attalos I will continue to feature as a key figure, I want to hold off on discussing the rest of the Attalid Dynasty until we move forward with the overall narrative, since they are so tightly wound up in affairs of the 2nd century. Why don't we instead take a closer look at the Pergamon Kingdom, and see how the Attalids were able to turn their small dominion into one of the most culturally and economically vibrant realms of the ancient world. After being scored, we decide whether they get to party it out in the Kremlin, or get sent straight to the Gulag. Those who make it to the Kremlin will need to duke it out for the You can find us on any podcast host as TsarPower, on Twitter at TsarPowerPod, and on Facebook as TsarPower. That's Tsar spelled T-S-A-R. Now, back to your regularly scheduled podcast. The Attalids are simultaneously one of the most unorthodox dynasties of the time, yet operated within much of the same paradigms as their contemporary monarchs. Alongside the Diodids and Euthydemids of Bactria, the Attalids were one of the first Greek families to establish themselves as kings in the Hellenistic period outside of the successor dynasties, who traced their lines back to the generals of Alexander. Though his family was of humbler origins than the Macedonian aristocracy, Attalus was the first to officially take the title of king after his military victory over the Galatians, a practice that was seen as an acceptable form of legitimacy. As a military monarchy, the Attalids personally led their armies and campaigns throughout Western Asia. Their more hostile neighbors included the Greco-Thracian kingdom of Bithynia to the north, the Iranian kingdom of Pontus, the fierce Celtic tribes of Galatia, independent dynasts like Antiochus Hyrax and Achaeus the Younger, and eventually the Antigonids and Seleucids. As we shall see in a moment, the Attalids emphasized their role as the saviors of the Greeks from the barbarian menace, and played it up to full capacity. This was certainly a smarter idea than trying to use victories against any Seleucid ruler as the basis of their authority, given the relationship that they shared for much of the third century, and the possible retaliation of a full-on invasion. This doesn't mean that they weren't above recruiting from these same barbarians, as it is unlikely that the Attalids could draw upon the of Greco-Macedonian settlers like Ptolemies of the Seleucids, so their armies were a collection of mercenaries of diverse origins and local communities in Western Asia. They were also pragmatists, or hypocrites, as they willingly hired Galatian warriors to make full use of their skill in battle, or perhaps out of a desire to redirect the Celts' zeal for raiding to their neighbors rather than Pergamon. In comparison to the other Hellenistic dynasties, succession among the Attalid rulers was very unusual, given how harmonious the family dynamics were. As I mentioned earlier, the dynasty's honored founder Philotyrus was a eunuch, and unable to have children, and so his position went to his nephew-turned-adopted son Eumenes I. Eumenes in turn passed it to another nephew, Attalus I Soter, and it became more straightforward as the rest of the rulers were his direct descendants. At the time of his death, he had two adult sons named Eumenes and Attalus, which would normally invite civil war in almost any other circumstance, but the younger Attalus deferred to his older brother's appointment and served as a valuable ally, a move which probably helped earn him the epithet Philadelphus, one who loves his brother. A famous incident took place during the Third Macedonian War where false rumors of Eumenes' assassination led Attalus to taking the Pergamene throne, only to voluntarily return it when his brother proved to be alive and well. When Eumenes actually died, the newly crowned Attalus II married his sister-in-law and ruled in place for his young nephew Attalus III, but refused to have any children who could challenge his legitimacy. It is quite likely that the Attalids were keen to circulate these stories, staged or otherwise, to emphasize the unity of their family over the violence that gripped the Seleucid and Ptolemaic houses. Attalid royal women are less understood, but clearly played an important role in the family's presentation as a unified body. The most interesting is Apollonis, wife of Attalus I, who was apparently a commoner from the nearby city of Kyzicus, that was married and elevated to the royal position. Polybius gives high praises to Apollonis, describing her as a virtuous woman who never forgot her humble origins, and an excellent mother to her sons. In a very publicized display of familial values, Attalus II and Eumenes II brought Apollonis back to Kyzicus and walked hand in hand with her to visit each of the city's temples, as the citizens cheered out of admiration. This piety between mother and sons is a common theme in Attalid propaganda, and even kings like Attalus III are known by the epithet Philometor, one who loves his mother. There is evidence of a royal cult centered around the Attalid household. An inscription honors a Pergamene resident named Menodoros, who served as a councilman and priest of Philotyrus, hence suggesting an official body dedicated to the veneration of the kings. Attalus I received the epithet Soter for his victories over the Galatians, cult statues of the rulers replaced in various temples throughout the Greek-speaking world, and queens like Apollonis were also deified upon their deaths. Festivals like the Atalaia and Nikephoria were sponsored and celebrated much like the Panhellenic Games of other Hellenistic monarchs. These institutions must have been developing during the early history of the kingdom, but it is likely that the Attalids were able to expand their more ceremonial roles as the traditional Hellenistic dynasties began to decline in power. The collapse of Seleucid authority in Asia Minor following the Treaty of Apamea in 188 allowed the Attalid kingdom to grow tremendously rich and the region they cultivated was the wealthiest province of the Roman Republic until the conquest of Egypt. One of the most dramatic changes was the introduction of a closed monetary economy sometime in the early 3rd century. Like Ptolemaic Egypt, the Attalids minted a series of coins that were to be exclusively used within the borders of their kingdom, and in order to do business, any prospective traders had to exchange their own currency for Pergamene coinage, often at high rates. Many of the dynasty's earlier coins bore images of those like Philotyrus, Attalus, or even Alexander the Great, but the emphasis on royal portraits declined during the latter half of the kingdom's existence. Eumenes II had authorized the creation of a brand new coin type, the Kistophoros, which removed much of the standard Hellenistic portraiture in favor of Dionysian images of writhing serpents surrounding a bow case. Most silver coins in the Hellenistic world were minted on or near the Attic standard, about 4.31 grams for a drachma and about 17.26 grams for a tetradrachm. By contrast, the Kistophoros was only the weight of three Attic drachmae, but possessed a value within the kingdom equivalent to a tetradrachm, a 25% overvaluation. These were exclusively used in the closed currency system of the later Attalid rulers, and scholars have hypothesized a number of factors for this change. After the Treaty of Appamea, the kingdom had greatly expanded from the Bosporus to the Taurus Mountains in a very short amount of time. A smaller denomination would enable faster production of coins to better integrate the newer territories into the Pergamene economy and administration. If the kings could also get the same result but use fewer precious metals per strike, then that would go hand in hand with the closed currency system that prevented the supply of silver from being circulated abroad. It has also been suggested that the decision to de-emphasize the militarism of royal figures on the coinage may be due to the growing influence of Rome, who could have frowned upon an ally expressing themselves in such ambitious terms, but this is only speculative. The system was extremely successful, and Attalus III posthumously bequeathed to the Romans an enormously wealthy province. Cicero would refer to the tax revenues brought in from the former Pergamene kingdom as the sinews of the Republic, a colourful description of what clearly was one of the most important sources of income for the developing Roman Empire. Given their newfound wealth, they allocated much of their surplus silver to sponsor extensive construction projects in both their capital and other cities across the Greek world. Pergamon itself possessed a magnificent acropolis, and its most striking surviving feature is the theatre, the steepest in antiquity. Its highest row is situated nearly 36 meters, or about 118 feet, above the orchestra, and could perhaps hold up to 10,000 spectators. We know that queens like Apollonis were benefactresses in Pergamon as well, such as the renovation of temples to goddesses like Demeter and Kore. Like the Ptolemaic rulers of Alexandria, Eumenes II endeavoured to build a library, which became one of the great storehouses of knowledge in antiquity. According to Pliny the Elder, the Ptolemies were so concerned about the Alexandrian library being eclipsed by that of Pergamon, that they banned the export of papyrus outright, hoping that it would slow down their rival's copyists. In response to the sudden shortage of writing materials, the Pergamene scholars are said to have created parchment, a sort of paper-like material made from untanned and split animal skins. While the invention of parchment most likely predates the 2nd century BC, it is very possible that its production expanded rapidly under the Adelaide rulers, and became associated with the region. The word parchment is a derivation of the medieval Latin Pergamentum, the classical Latin Pergamena, and the Greek Pergamenos, which essentially means of Pergamon. Mark Antony was said to have gifted Cleopatra 200,000 scrolls from the city's library, perhaps intending to restock the Alexandrian library after it was damaged in the fire that broke out during Julius Caesar's siege, and it is likely that the Pergamene library never recovered from this act. Looking outside of their immediate kingdom, Athens is one of the most well-attested recipients of Adelaide Uruguitism. On the southern slopes of the Acropolis and adjacent to the ancient theater are the scant remains of a stoa, a covered walkway intending to provide shade for passerby. This one was commissioned by Eumenes II to offer shelter for theatergoers, but little of it survives. By contrast, we can see another stoa in its full splendor in the city's ancient Agora, known as the Stoa of Adelaide II. The building itself is a modern reconstruction based upon the original foundations, acting as a museum to house many artifacts discovered in the area, and contains a surviving inscription recording the dedication by Attalus and his queen Apollonius. The Athenians, meanwhile, honored the Attalids with cult statues in the enrollment of new tribes such as the Attalis and Apollonius. Delphi also held a special relationship with Pergamon. Court historians made a conscious effort to paint Attalus I as the avenger of Delphi from their attack by the Celts, and weave his early life with the Pythia's prophecies. Inscriptions show that the Attalids sponsored a large educational endowment for the sanctuary's residents, and the Delphians in turn set up equestrian statues as a gesture of appreciation. The wealth of the Attalids also attracted groups of artists to their capital, generally referred to by modern art historians as the Pergamene School. These master craftsmen were renowned for their sculpture work, which imbued their friezes and statues with a degree of emotion that was nearly unrivaled during the time, and the most famous pieces were centered around the achievements of the Attalid dynasty. Following his victories over the Celts and his self-declaration as king, Attalus I commissioned a victory monument with the centerpiece showing these Galatian warriors in various states of While the original bronzes are lost, marble reproductions of Roman origin have been found. Perhaps the most famous is the Dying Gaul, currently housed in the Capitoline Museum, which shows a Galatian warrior laying wounded, his face etched with grim resignation to his impending death. The emphasis on the defeat of the Galatians is a central element in Attalid propaganda, where those like Attalus are the defenders of civilization against the barbarian forces bent on destroying it. It is unsurprising then that the Romans would be so interested in appropriating this imagery, given their own dealings with the Celts and self-stylization as the protectors of civilization. But perhaps the most spectacular artistic work to be sponsored by the Attalids was their famous Altar of Zeus. The original altar was built on the Pergamene Acropolis in the time of Eumenes II, but German archaeologists in the late 19th century excavated and brought many of the surviving pieces back to Berlin. A recreation stands in the now famous Pergamon Museum, and in some eyes it is the height of Hellenistic art. Adorning it are several enormous friezes depicting scenes of the Gigantomachae, the battles between the Olympian gods and the wild giants for control of the universe. The details on these reliefs are incredible, but it is not merely a straightforward recreation of mythical stories. The Attalids were drawing explicit comparisons between themselves and the Olympic pantheon as bringers of order and civilization, contrasting them with the barbarian-like giants. Inserted into the designs are more contemporary images like Galatian warriors, a shield bearing the Macedonian star of Vergina, and Seleucid cataphract armor, all having been at one point defeated foes of the Pergamene Kingdom. The Altar of Zeus celebrated the last hurrah of Pergamene military power, as the long shadow of Rome extended ever further across Asia. The relationship between Pergamon and the Roman Republic is a complicated subject, and one that will be fully explored over the next several episodes, but they certainly profited off their involvement in the great clashes that marked the turn of the third century. However, like the Macedonians, the Pergamene Kingdom would eventually be absorbed by the Roman Republic as the province of Asia. Rather than a straightforward conquest, its last king, Attalus III, willed his realm to the Roman Senate upon his death in 133 BC. To some, this was seen as an act of mercy for his subjects, as the childless Attalus might have hoped to avoid the bloodshed of civil war, or the inevitable arrival of Roman legions. To others, it may have been a last act of spite to his enemies in Galatia, Bithynia, and Pontus, who otherwise may have preyed upon the vacant throne, but now would have the Republic's agents on their back doorstep. Either way, one cannot say that the Attalids of Pergamon were anything but complicated.