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Attalids, consider the importance of pan-hellenic sanctuaries for major…
Attalids
Origins
Philetairos was the Attalid founder, and he was half-Greek at best, a eunuch, and his mother (named Boa) was perhaps a courtesan (Lucian Macr. 12.7)
after Alexander died, Philetairos became an officer of Antigonos Monophthalmos, then later joined his opponent Lysimachus
He was then stationed at Pergamon, in charge of the Thracian treasure of 9000 talents
in 238 Lysimachus murdered his own son, Agathocles - a number of Lysimachus' officers, including Philetairos, were upset and defected to Seleucus I
Philetairos managed to ingratiate himself with the Seleucids, achieving some autonomy for Pergamon, and meaning his nephew Eumenes I was able to succeed him without incident
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Attalus I
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when Attalus I beat Antiochus Hierax, he advertised this with a triumphal monument, the base of which was discovered in Pergamum
In 205 Rome consulted the Sibylline books that prophesised the Carthaginians would leave Italy if Rome introduced the cult of Magna Mater. Attalus I helped to transfer her sacred stone to Rome
supposedly married Apollonis for love and was faithful, contrasted the Ptolemaic sibiling-marriage
Eumenes II
noted his debt to Rome, but also acted independently in making his own wars and alliances
after the peace of Apameia (188), Eumenes II focused on a building programme, extended the sanctuary of Athena Nikephoros and expanding the library of Pergamon
in the late 180s, construction of the Great Altar of Pergamon began, with a Gigantomachy frieze and a Telephos frieze
Austin Sources
231
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Attalus I was the first to assume royal title, probably an action linked to these battles (cf. Suda dictionary entry)
233
literary portrait of Attalus I, by Polybius
"For it was by defeating the Galatians in battle... that he secured his position and first assumed the royal title"
"died in the midst of a most glorious campaign, while fighting for the freedom of the Greeks"
236
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but Attalids retain autonomy, as Eumenes notes that he has 'unchallenged possession' of the land, and the letter concerns granting Tyriaion polis status
239
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Eumenes was pro-Roman, like his father Attalus, but the Romans grew suspicious of him and the Senate snubbed him
Rome's hostility towards Eumenes increased his popularity in the Greek world, as seen by this letter to the Ionian league, in which Eumenes recounts their relations
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"you passed a resolution, in order that you might always be seen to be repaying worthy honours to your benefactors, to crown me with a gold crown for valour, and to set up a gold statue in any place in Ionia I wished"
240
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a decree of Hierapolis c. 167-159 lauds the queen primarily due to her 'piety towards the gods' and her dignified motherly love towards her 4 children
Polybius 22 echoes this, by adding that her sons, Attalus II and his brother were respected in Cyzicus because of their respect and devotion to their mother, likened to Cleobis and Biton (Hdt 1.31)
243
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"he received a kingdom from his father which was reduced to a very few insignificant towns and raised his power to rival that of the greatest dynasties of his time"
(the increase in size and power of kingdom was actually due to the Roman settlement after the defeat of Antiochus III)
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244
Attalus II to Attis, priest of Cybele, about the Galatians and Rome, 156
Attis was a Galatian priest but supported the Attalids. Attalus II here enlists him to help check the Galatians
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this letter concerns informing the Romans of this decision, so as to avoid 'hostile suspicion' and 'considerable danger'
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Administration
Eumenes II’s most radical innovation was the systematic co-option of local power-holders into the royal administration
Whilst the Seleucids had a centralised bureaucracy, the Attalids devolved political authority to regional officials such as city-governors (ho epi tes poleos) and district strategoi
For example, local "barons" like Sotas of Olbasa and Koteies of Tabai were appointed as governors or designated as "royal friends" (philoi) to secure their loyalty and military support
Treaty of Apamea 188
Difference in territory
in 190BC, under Attalus I, Attalid territory was about 10,000km squared
the treaty granted Eumenes II perhaps as much as 80,000km squared, or the entirety of the former Seleucid land
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The cistophorus
from around 167 BC down to the principate of Augustus, the main silver coins of western Asia Minor were the kistophoroi (basket-bearers)
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minted on their own epichoric weight standard with a cistophoric tetradrachm weighing 12.2 g - about three quarters of an Athenian tetradrachm at this time
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this coinage looks federal (names of various mints given in abbreviated form on the reverse) but it is actually royal Attalid coinage
surprising in how it does not indicate its Attalid origin, no royal iconography
this aligns with the ideology of late Attalid rule: large swathes of the kingdom had been a gift, so the Attalids could not claim military victory. Instead, Eumenes presented himself as a just benefactor of the Greeks, as a 'first among equals'
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Pergamon
The Great Altar
Altar to Zeus, now in Berlin
a new terrace had to be made for the site, providing new access and the creation of an important focal point
this terrace was built along the main road above the Agora, and it is a hekatompedos (100 footer)
the gigantomachy frieze:
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the features of the high relief spill onto the stairs, enter the viewers' personal space, present the Attalids as akin to the typical viewer, the common man
brought down to eye-level, whereas the precedent had been to have military friezes high up, such as the Parthenon, or Mausoleum at Halicarnassus
has an interesting emphasis on mother-son relations, and female deities outnumber the male ones 3:2
moreover, Hera, Apollonis' assumed avatar (as Hera was Queen of the Gods), dominates the Eastern side of the frieze
the Telephos frieze
smaller frieze, 90 m long
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here they link themselves to Heracles, and therefore all of Greece
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see more on this - aetolians war - 279 the gauls come through greece - and delphi defends themselves
