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| The Temple of Saint Antipas as it was from 1919-1922. |
In the Book of Revelation we are first introduced to Saint Antipas, who Christ reveals to Saint John the Evangelist and Theologian as one of His faithful martyrs in Pergamum. It is believed that Saint Antipas was the first Bishop of the city of Pergamum, which in his time was described in Revelation as "where Satan dwells," due to its deep roots in paganism.
To the west of the Acropolis, the Selinus River (modern Bergamaçay) flows through the city, and in his biography we are told that it was from this river that the martyred body of Saint Antipas was found by Christians after being roasted in a bronze bull, and they buried him with honors.
Not many years later, a huge cult complex known as the Serapeum was built at the foot of the Acropolis to the Egyptian gods during the time of Emperor Hadrian (117-138), a gift to the city of Pergamum, which Rome conquered peacefully. The last King of Pergamum, Attalus III, called Philometor, reigned for five years from 138 to 133 BC. He was the son of Eumenes II Soter and Stratonice and during his tenure he distinguished himself more as a botanist than as a king. When he died, he was childless and bequeathed his territory to the Roman state on the condition that Pergamum's autonomy be maintained.
Archaeological research has concluded that in the middle of the complex was the Temple of Serapis and the two towers in honor of Isis and Osiris.
As Christianity became established, the place “where Satan dwells”, namely the great altar of Zeus there on the Acropolis, was demolished. And his “throne”, the sanctuary of the great gods, was transformed into a place of Christian worship. Within the Serapeum a temple dedicated to Saint John the Theologian was built to drive away pagan worship from the city. The Temple of Isis to the south was transformed into a temple of the four Saints of Pergamum - Carpus, Papyrus, Agathonike and Agathodoros. And a Temple of Saint Antipas, which contained his tomb, functioned in the other tower of the complex to the north, the one where Osiris was worshiped. All this lasted until the 15th century AD, when Tamerlane conquered Pergamum and made everything the way it is today.
Only the memory of the tomb of Saint Antipas remained for centuries in the area that was named “Sigir Alani”, where the domestic cows of the Pergamenes grazed among the ruins until the evening.
The tower of Osiris was initially reused in the period from the late 19th century to 1915 as the Temple of Saint Antipas, repaired as such by the Society of Pergamenes "Saint Antipas". And then also in the three years 1919-1922. It was converted into a mosque (kurtoulos tzami = mosque of liberation) after the Asia Minor catastrophe. Recently, conservation work has been carried out on the mosque as well as on the entire archaeological site.
The Greek grandmothers of Pergamum, when they visited the city, for years, would point out to the ruins, a mound of earth, saying: "It was said to be the tomb of Saint Antipas." They would kneel and light candles that they carried with them from their homes, the "refugees", as they called them, in memory of the disciple of Saint John. Though the city had been lost, nothing is lost if we do not forget it.
Not many years later, a huge cult complex known as the Serapeum was built at the foot of the Acropolis to the Egyptian gods during the time of Emperor Hadrian (117-138), a gift to the city of Pergamum, which Rome conquered peacefully. The last King of Pergamum, Attalus III, called Philometor, reigned for five years from 138 to 133 BC. He was the son of Eumenes II Soter and Stratonice and during his tenure he distinguished himself more as a botanist than as a king. When he died, he was childless and bequeathed his territory to the Roman state on the condition that Pergamum's autonomy be maintained.
Archaeological research has concluded that in the middle of the complex was the Temple of Serapis and the two towers in honor of Isis and Osiris.
As Christianity became established, the place “where Satan dwells”, namely the great altar of Zeus there on the Acropolis, was demolished. And his “throne”, the sanctuary of the great gods, was transformed into a place of Christian worship. Within the Serapeum a temple dedicated to Saint John the Theologian was built to drive away pagan worship from the city. The Temple of Isis to the south was transformed into a temple of the four Saints of Pergamum - Carpus, Papyrus, Agathonike and Agathodoros. And a Temple of Saint Antipas, which contained his tomb, functioned in the other tower of the complex to the north, the one where Osiris was worshiped. All this lasted until the 15th century AD, when Tamerlane conquered Pergamum and made everything the way it is today.
Only the memory of the tomb of Saint Antipas remained for centuries in the area that was named “Sigir Alani”, where the domestic cows of the Pergamenes grazed among the ruins until the evening.
The tower of Osiris was initially reused in the period from the late 19th century to 1915 as the Temple of Saint Antipas, repaired as such by the Society of Pergamenes "Saint Antipas". And then also in the three years 1919-1922. It was converted into a mosque (kurtoulos tzami = mosque of liberation) after the Asia Minor catastrophe. Recently, conservation work has been carried out on the mosque as well as on the entire archaeological site.
The Greek grandmothers of Pergamum, when they visited the city, for years, would point out to the ruins, a mound of earth, saying: "It was said to be the tomb of Saint Antipas." They would kneel and light candles that they carried with them from their homes, the "refugees", as they called them, in memory of the disciple of Saint John. Though the city had been lost, nothing is lost if we do not forget it.
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| An 18th century engraving of the ancient cult complex turned place of Christian worship. |
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| ...at the end of the 19th century. |
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| ...at the beginning of the 20th century. |
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| ...today. |
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| The door to the Temple of Saint Antipas; left as it was in 1910 and right as it was in 1919. |
