Pergamon
placeHellenistic city famed for its library, its medical centre, and the invention of parchment.
The Myth
Pergamon in Asia Minor rivalled Alexandria as a centre of learning. Its library held 200,000 scrolls, prompting Ptolemaic Egypt to ban papyrus exports. The Pergamenes responded by perfecting writing on animal skin — pergamene, which became "parchment." The city's Asclepion was among the ancient world's greatest healing centres, where Galen trained. The Great Altar of Pergamon, depicting the Gigantomachy, now stands reconstructed in Berlin.
Symbols
Fun Fact
The word "parchment" derives directly from Pergamon — every medieval manuscript written on animal skin carries this city's name.
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth:
Explore Further
Asclepius (God)
godAsclepius began as a mortal hero trained by Chiron who became so skilled at medicine that he could...
Acheron
placeThe Acheron was the River of Woe in the underworld, which the dead had to cross — in some...
Arcadia
placeArcadia was both a real mountainous region in the central Peloponnese and an idealised landscape of...
Argo (Ship)
placeThe Argo was the ship built by Argus for Jason's quest — the first long-voyage ship in Greek myth,...
Athens
placeAthens was the city sacred to Athena, birthplace of democracy, philosophy, drama, and Western...
Colchis
placeColchis was a kingdom at the eastern edge of the Greek world, on the shore of the Black Sea in...
Corinth
placeCorinth was a wealthy trading city on the narrow isthmus connecting mainland Greece to the...
Delos
placeDelos was a tiny island in the Cyclades, sacred as the birthplace of the twin gods Apollo and...
Delphi
placeThe most important oracle in ancient Greece, where the Pythia delivered Apollo's prophecies. The...
Eleusis
placeEleusis was a sacred city near Athens, home to the Eleusinian Mysteries — the most important secret...
Eleusis (Site)
placeThe Telesterion at Eleusis was the great hall where thousands were simultaneously initiated into...
Elysium
placeThe paradise at the edge of the world where heroes and the virtuous spent eternity in perfect...