Pergamum could be one of the ancient cities in Turkey; situated 16 km from the Aegean Sea. Pergamum became the ancient capital of the Pergamom kingdom. History indicates that Pergamum existed in the 5th century and only came to be of great importance to the people around the Hellenistic Age (Tribus 2016). During this age, Pergamum served as the residence to the Attalids dynasty. The Attalids controlled most of the civic governing extending the kingdom to Lydia, Lycaonia, and Pisidia. Thereby controlling most of these areas and by 118 BC, Pergamum occupied 52 acres. The Attalids intended to expand the kingdom and hence, brought great artisans to construct major buildings of the city.

Pergamum contained various buildings that Attalus erected while in power, the Acropolis, both upper and lower that have different structures. For instance, the upper acropolis which served as the great altar of Pergamum contains structures such as; the library of Pergamum, the royal places, the temple, the sanctuary of Athena, the Hellenistic theater, and the Roman bath complex (Bruce & Clark (2013). The Pergamum was the second best library in the entire Roman Empire, and the town served as the parchment production sector. 

On the other hand, the lower acropolis contains the following structures; the gate of  Eumenes, all the Gymnasium,;  Upper, Middle and Lower Gymnasium, Temple of Demeter,  Sanctuary of Hera, House of Attalus and Lower Agora.  There is also a town down the acropolis sanctuary of Asclepius that also form part of the Pergamum city. Sanctuary of Asclepius referred to a god of healing where people with illnesses could come here and bath from the water of sacred healing. People would dedicate different gifts to these place when they were coming to receive the healing. The main structures in this place include; Roman theater, North and South Stoa, the Temple of Asclepius, a healing spring and an underway passage (Rao 2013). 

The library of Pergamum takes account of the events and major materials used in building most of the buildings. For instance, the library making comprised of decorated paintings and decorations from the artist who built it. More so, the library had big reading room and shelves that contained perched papyrus (Bruce & Clark (2013). Besides, the architects left space between the outer walls and the shelves to allow air circulation; to create an enabling atmosphere for the preservation of the information materials.

Besides, there are various statues present in this city that represent the early rulers of the kingdom such as the statue of Athena, the goddess of wisdom. The altar in Pergamum depicts the different materials used in the construction of most of the buildings in Pergamum (Rao 2013). The building exhibit marble composition that the Attalus used in the construction of these buildings.

References

Tribus, M. (2016). Rational Descriptions, Decisions and Designs: Pergamon Unified Engineering Series. Elsevier

Rao, S. S. (2013). The Finite Element Method in Engineering: Pergamon International Library of Science, Technology, Engineering and Social Studies. Elsevier.

Bruce, J. P., & Clark, R. H. (2013). Introduction to Hydrometeorology: Pergamon International Library of Science, Technology, Engineering and Social Studies. Elsevier.