Attalus III.

Attalus III. Philometor Euergetes (* 171 BC ; † 133 BC ) was king of Pergamon . As the son of Eumenes II and Stratonike , he followed in 138 BC. Chr. Attalus II. , Who after the death of his father from 159 BC. His guardian was on the throne.

As early as 153 BC BC he was presented to the Roman Senate , received there according to his age and rank and also confirmed in his own name the connection and friendship of the Pergamene royal family with Rome. Even during the reign of Attalus II, he was involved in the distribution of priesthoods, including the priesthood for Dionysus Kathegemos, which was important for the Attalids .

Ancient tradition paints the picture of an isolated loner who obscured the reputation of the Pergamene royalty through a series of murders of relatives and friends whom he blamed for the deaths of his mother and fiancée Berenike . Instead of devoting himself to state affairs, he occupied himself with agriculture, horticulture and plant breeding, especially poisonous plants, and made studies on poison and antidotes. He was therefore also referred to by Pliny as Attallus medicus . Galenus mentions medicinal preparations made by the Pergamene king and claimed that Attalus had tried poisons on slaves.

According to Strabo , Attalus III died. after five years of reign from an illness. Justin adorns the circumstances of death abundantly and reports that the king died as a result of a sunstroke that he suffered while he - a skilled dilettante in the manufacture of wax models and bronze portraits - was working on a memorial for his mother.

Attalus III. decreed that in the event of his death, Rome would inherit the kingdom and royal treasures, but the Greek cities of his empire, especially Pergamon, should remain free. The Roman Senate confirmed in a Senatus consultum all regulations of Attalus III. Tiberius Gracchus suggested using the inheritance for agrarian reform . Before assuming the inheritance, Rome first had to put down the revolt of Aristonikos , who claimed the throne as the illegitimate son of Eumenes II and was named Eumenes III. took over the affairs of state.

literature

• Peter Reuter: Attalus. In: Johannes Irmscher , Renate Johne (Hrsg.): Lexikon der Antike . Bibliographisches Institut, Leipzig 1990, ISBN 3-323-00026-9 .
• Hermann Bengtson : Roman History. Republic and Imperial Era until 284 AD. Special edition. Beck, Munich 2001, ISBN 3-406-02505-6 .
• Klaus Bringmann : History of the Roman Republic. From the beginning to Augustus. Beck, Munich 2002, ISBN 3-406-49292-4 .
• Ulrich Wilcken : Attalos 11 . In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume II, 2, Stuttgart 1896, Col. 2175-2177.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Polybios 33, 18, 1-3 .
2. ^ OGIS 331 ( Orientis Graeci inscriptiones selectae ); s. also Ulrich Huttner : The political role of the figure of Herakles in Greek rulership . F. Steiner, Stuttgart 1997, ISBN 3-515-07039-7 , p. 186 (Historia. Einzelschriften. Vol. 112).
3. ↑ Justin 36, 4, 1 .
4. ↑ Varro , De re rustica 1, 1, 8 ; Pliny , Naturalis historia 18, 5, 22 ; Plutarch , Demetrius 20, 2 ; Justice 36, 4, 1 ; Diodorus 34, 3.
5. ^ Wolfgang Wegner: Attalus III. Philometor. In: Werner E. Gerabek , Bernhard D. Haage, Gundolf Keil , Wolfgang Wegner (eds.): Enzyklopädie Medizingeschichte . De Gruyter, Berlin 2005, ISBN 3-11-015714-4 , p. 116.
6. ↑ Strabon 13, 4, 2 .
7. ↑ Justin 36: 4, 4
8. ↑ OGIS 338 ; Livy , periochae 58, 59 ; Velleius 2, 4 ; Appian , Mithridatius 62 ; Plutarch, Tib. Gracchus 14 ; Florus 2, 20.
9. ↑ OGIS 435 .
10. ↑ Plutarch, Tib. Gracchus 14

predecessor	Office	successor
Attalus II	King of Pergamon 138-133 BC Chr.	---