Attalus I.

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Bust of Attalus I, around 200 BC BC
( Pergamon Museum , Berlin )

Attalus I ( Soter , "savior") ( Greek ῎Ατταλος Áttalos ; * 269 ​​BC ; † 197 BC ) ruled over the Hellenistic Empire of Pergamon in what is now Turkey from 241 BC. BC to 197 BC He was the 2nd nephew of Eumenes I , was adopted by him and succeeded him on the Pergamene throne. He was the first ruler of the Attalid dynasty to assume the title of king.

Attalus won a major victory over the Galatians , a group of Celtic tribes who lived around 280 BC. They immigrated from Thrace to Asia Minor and plundered the surrounding areas or demanded tribute. As a result of this victory, Attalus assumed the title of king and was given the honorary name "Soter" ("Savior"). The success was celebrated with a victory monument in Pergamon, which probably included the famous statue of the Dying Gaul .

As an ally of the Romans , Attalus played an important role in the First and Second Macedonian Wars against Philip V. As a capable general, he led numerous military operations at sea throughout the Aegean .

Attalos died in 197 of a stroke while giving a speech to a congregation in Boeotia , at the age of 72 and shortly before the end of the Second Macedonian War. He had four sons, of whom the two eldest, Eumenes II and Attalus II , became kings of Pergamon in succession.

Origin and youth

Little is known about Attalos' life before his accession to the throne, like about the reign of his predecessor Eumenes I in general. His mother Antiochis was the daughter of Achaios . His father Attalus was the son of a brother of the same name of Philetairos ; he was honored with a monument as the winner of the chariot race in Olympia in Pergamon and appeared together with Philetairos and Eumenes as a benefactor in Delphi . He had been adopted by Philetairos and planned as his successor, but probably died before the death of Philetairos in 263, whereupon Eumenes came to power and adopted the later Attalus I.

Victory over the Galatians

The dying Gaul

Around the year 278 a large number of Celtic mercenaries had settled in central Asia Minor, whom the Greeks referred to as Γαλάται ("Galatians"). The surrounding states and cities were victims of numerous raids by the Galatians or had to pay tribute to them. The first Pergamene ruler, Philetairus, had fought against them; Eumenes I paid tribute. According to Livy , Attalus was the first ruler to refuse tribute to the Galatians. As a result, the Galatians attacked Pergamum. At the sources of the Kaikos River , Attalos won a decisive victory. Following the example of Antiochus I , he was then called “Savior” (σωτήρ soter ) and assumed the title of king. To commemorate this victory, he erected a large statue of the goddess in the sanctuary of Athena in Pergamon (parts of the base of the statue, including the dedicatory inscription , are still preserved). The victory brought Attalus great fame in Asia Minor and the Greek cities and finally established Pergamon as an independent Hellenistic empire.

Fight the Seleucids

A few years later, Pergamon was attacked again by the Galatians. They were allied with Antiochus Hierax , the younger brother of Seleucus II , who ruled over Asia Minor as Seleucid anti -king of Sardis . Attalus defeated the Galatians and Antiochus Hierax in several battles, the last one in 228 BC. In Caria in the south of Asia Minor.

To commemorate these victories, monuments were again erected in the Athena sanctuary of Pergamon: a statue of Attalus, consecrated by his general Epigenes, and a large consecration gift from Attalus himself, which probably carried the two famous statues of the "Great Gauls"; both monuments were created by the then court sculptor Epigonos.

With these victories Attalus conquered all Seleucid possessions in Asia Minor north of the Taurus Mountains and was able to use them against Seleukos III. hold, who was on a campaign against Attalus in 223 BC. Was murdered. His general Achaios was succeeded by Seleucus, Antiochus III. appointed governor in Asia Minor. He succeeded in recapturing the Seleucid territories and penetrating as far as Pergamon itself, which he was unable to capture. Since Achaios was proclaimed king, Antiochus III moved. 216 against him and was able to lock him up in Sardis. In 213, after a two-year siege, Achaios was captured and executed. Antiochus won back Asia Minor for the Seleucids. Pergamon's independence was preserved, even if Attalus had to give up the territorial gains since the wars against Antiochus Hierax.

The First Macedonian War

The Mediterranean basin 218 BC Chr.

Since the possibilities of the expansion of his empire to the east were limited due to the strengthened Seleucids, Attalus turned to the west. At an unknown time before the year 219 BC. BC he entered into an alliance with the Aetolian League , a union of cities in western Greece. When Philip V of Macedonia decided in 215 BC. . AD by an alliance with Carthage in the Second Punic War intervened, responded Rome 211 v. Chr. With a contract with the Aetolian League. Allies of the Aetolians could also join the treaty. Attalos took advantage of this opportunity and was elected one of the generals (" strategists ") of the league in the war against Philip. In 210 BC In BC Attalus was involved in the conquest of the island of Aegina , which remained in Pergamene possession and served him and his successors as a base of operations in Greece.

In the spring of 209 BC Chr. Marched Philipp in Greece and suggested the Aetolians under the commander Pyrrhias in two battles at Lamia . In July Attalos returned to Greece and met on Aegina with the Roman proconsul Publius Sulpicius Galba Maximus , who had spent the winter there. In the following year a fleet of 35 Pergamene and 25 Roman ships operated in the Aegean, but without lasting success.

At a meeting of the Aetolian League, Attalus and Sulpicius Galba convinced the Aetolians to continue the war. Attalus, however, soon had to return to Asia because Prusias I of Bithynia had allied himself with Philip and attacked Pergamon. The Romans also ended their operations in Greece shortly afterwards and concentrated on the war against Carthage, since they had achieved their goal of preventing Philip from supporting Hannibal . The Aetolians asked for peace, and in 205 BC Chr. The war with the peace of was Phoinike ended. Attalos kept the island of Aegina in his possession.

Second Macedonian War

Since he was prevented by the Treaty of Phoinike from further expansion to the east, Philip tried to expand his influence in the Aegean and Asia Minor. In the spring of 201 he captured Samos and the Ptolemaic fleet stationed there and then besieged Chios .

In response, Attalos, the sea power Rhodes and the cities of Byzantion and Kyzikos allied against Philip. A great sea battle at Chios did not bring any decisive result. Philip then invaded Pergamene territory, but could not conquer the well defended city and limited himself to devastating the surrounding area, including sanctuaries. Meanwhile, Attalus and the Rhodians sent envoys to Rome to present their complaints against Philip.

In 200 Attalos was directly involved in the Second Macedonian War . Macedonian allies invaded Attica , so that Athens , which had previously been neutral, looked for help. The Athenians invited Attalus, who was staying with his fleet on Aegina, to their city, where a Roman embassy was already staying. Attalus was enthusiastically received and was honored that a phyle was named after him.

At the instigation of the consul Sulpicius Galba, the Romans declared war on Philip and in the spring of 199, together with Attalus, began the sea war in the Aegean. They conquered Andros , with the Romans receiving the booty and Attalus taking control of the island. Further attempts at conquest were of little success; only the cities of Akanthos and Oreoi on Evia could be captured and plundered. After the end of the campaign, Attalus took part in the Mysteries of Eleusis in Athens and then returned to Pergamum after an absence of more than two years.

In the next year, Pergamener and Romans continued the conquest of Evia and were able to take control of the entire island except the city of Chalkis . After a failed attempt to take Corinth , the allied fleets separated again, and Attalus wintered in Attica.

In early 197, the Roman proconsul Titus Quinctius Flamininus called Attalos to Thebes to convince the Boeotians to go to war. Attalos was supposed to be the first to speak at the meeting, but suffered a stroke during his speech that partially paralyzed him. He was brought to Pergamon, where Attalus I died in the same year after a 44-year reign.

family

Attalus was married to Apollonis from Kyzikos , who was praised in antiquity as a prime example of a virtuous woman, queen and mother. They had four sons, of whom the two older, Eumenes and Attalus , also successively became kings of Pergamon, while the two younger, Philetairos and Athenaios, supported them in various functions. Also this - v. a. Remarkable compared to other Hellenistic dynasties - family unity contributed significantly to the stability of the Pergamene Empire.

Cultural policy

With various building projects, foundations, monuments and other measures, Attalos laid the foundation for the great cultural significance of the Pergamene court, which v. a. should reach its climax under his son and successor Eumenes II and the importance of Pergamons is still today. His representative buildings were v. a. in the service of glorifying his victories over the Galatians, and to a lesser extent over the Seleucids. In contrast, the Macedonian wars left little traces.

Around 235 Attalus celebrated his first Gaulish victory with the erection of the large circular monument in honor of Athena in the sanctuary of the goddess at the castle of Pergamon, which carried a large statue of the goddess. Around 220 he erected the so-called "Schlachtenanathem" in the same sanctuary, which commemorated his victories over the Gauls and Seleucids and probably carried the statues of the "Great Gauls". At the same time he began building a new sanctuary of Athena, the Nikephorion, in front of the city, which was richly decorated with works of art. In addition, he probably had the Zeus temple built on the Upper Agora and built a new aqueduct into the lower town. From the conquered areas, v. a. Aegina and Oreos (Euboea), Attalus had art treasures transported to Pergamon to beautify the city's residence and sanctuaries.

Outside Pergamon, Attalus also built buildings in various sanctuaries throughout Greece. a. in Delos and Delphi , which also had his Galatian victories on the subject.

The famous library of Pergamon, which later became - after Alexandria - the second largest in the ancient world, probably goes back to Attalus . His court attracted important artists and writers, including Antigonus of Karystos , Polemon of Ilion and Apollonios of Perge .

The cult image of the Magna Mater

In the disputes with Carthage and Macedonia, the Romans questioned the Sibylline Books and the Oracle of Delphi in 205 . Both replied that the Romans would win the war if they brought the "mother of Ida", the goddess Cybele from Asia Minor, to Rome. Since Attalus was the only ruler of Asia Minor with whom Rome had relations, an impressive delegation was sent to Pergamon. Attalus provided the Romans with the cult image of Cybele from Pessinus , which the delegation brought to Rome, where a cult was consecrated to him under the name Magna Mater . How exactly Attalos managed to get the cult image from the city that did not belong to his domain is not known.

Remarks

  1. ↑ Livius 33.21-22 writes that Attalus died in the consulate year of Cornelius and Minucius (197 BC) at the age of 72 years and after a reign of 44 years, supported by Polybios 18.41 . Strabo 13.4.2 names 43 years as the reign.
  2. ↑ Strabo 13.4.2 and Pausanias 1.8.1 call him the cousin of Eumenes; more recent research, however, is of the opinion that the two ancient authors skipped a generation: Hansen p. 26.
  3. ↑ Hansen p. 19; Schalles pp. 41–45: FdD III 1, p. 257 No. 432 (Proxenia for Philetairos, his son Attalus and Eumenes in Delphi); IvP 10-11 (monument of honor for Attalos' car victory).
  4. ↑ Livy 38:16.
  5. ↑ The inscription (IvP 20): “King Attalus, because he has triumphed over the Tolistoagic Gauls in the battle at the sources of the river Kaikos, dedicates this gift of thanks to Athena.” Usually it is assumed that it was at the statue a statue of Athena. Some on the other hand (e.g. Andreae, pp. 80–86) argue that the “Great Gauls” stood on the pedestal. On the other hand, see the analysis of Schalles pp. 69–79.
  6. ↑ Hansen p. 35.
  7. ↑ Consecration gift from Epigenes (IvP 29): “The King Attalus. Epigenes and the military leaders and the soldiers who fought in the battles against the Galatians and Antiochus, (consecrate) these gifts of thanks to Zeus and Athena. Work of Epigonus. ”The“ battle anathem ”with the Gauls statues (IvP 21-28):“ King Attalus (consecrates) the gifts of thanks for the fighting in the war of Athena. For the battle in the Hellespontic Phrygia against Antiochus. For the battle against the Tolistoagic and Tectosagic Gauls and Antiochus at Aphrodision. For the battle against the Tolistoagian Gauls at the sources of the Kaikos River. For the battle against ... (the city) Selge and Antiochus. For the battle of ... against Lysias and the other generals of Antiochus. For the battle of ... against Antiochus. For the battle ... in Caria against Antiochus. "
  8. ↑ The events of the war in Polybius 16 and Livius 31-33.
  9. ↑ Livy 33: 1-2; Summary characterization of Attalos' rule in Livius 33, 21.
  10. ↑ Polybios 22:20
  11. ↑ Radt pp. 242-243; the Nikephorion could not yet be located.
  12. ^ Radt p. 93; 149-150.
  13. ↑ Livy 29: 10-11.

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Commons : Attalos I.  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
predecessor Office successor
Eumenes I. King of Pergamon
241–197 BC Chr. 		Eumenes II
personal data
SURNAME Attalus I.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Attalos Soter
BRIEF DESCRIPTION King of Pergamon
DATE OF BIRTH 269 ​​BC Chr.
DATE OF DEATH 197 BC Chr.