Trajaneum
The Trajaneum was a temple built on the highest point of the Acropolis of Pergamon for the Roman Emperor Trajan and Zeus Philios.
The area for the construction of the Trajaneum was gained by a massive substructure in the south of the area. The area was expanded with vaulted structures that come up against a 70 meter long retaining wall facing the valley to the south . The deepest point on which the retaining wall had to be based was around 22 meters below the level of the sanctuary.
On the terrace prepared in this way, the temple rose in the middle on a 2.90 meter high podium accessible from the south via an outside staircase . The temple itself was a peripteros of Corinthian order about 18 meters wide with 6 × 10 columns and two column positions between the ante . In the north, the area was closed off by an elevated columned hall , while the east and west sides were only delimited by simple ashlar walls. All of this is part of a first phase of construction, the beginning of which can be dated to the time of Trajan, but which was only completed in Hadrianic times. The original structure was changed as early as the time of Hadrian: The ashlar walls were replaced by columned halls, each of which received adjoining head buildings in the south. For this purpose, the retaining wall, which opened up to the valley with arched openings, was extended to the east and west accordingly.
During the excavations, fragments of statues of Trajan and Hadrian were found in the rubble of the cella , especially the portrait heads , which allow a reconstruction of portraits about 4.80 meters high. Based on these finds, which can be interpreted as the cult images of the two emperors displayed in the temple, it can be assumed that Hadrian was included in the imperial cult . In the 1990s, it was also possible to assign further statue fragments to the cult statue of Zeus Philios.
The exact start of construction of the temple is not certain. Whether the award of the second neocoria to the city by Trajan in 113/114 AD is to be interpreted as the start of construction or as a reaction to the completion and inauguration of the temple remains uncertain.
literature
- Klaus Nohlen : A temple for the imperial cult - The Trajaneum of Pergamon. In: Ralf Grüßinger, Ingrid Geske, Andreas Scholl (eds.): Pergamon. Panorama of the ancient metropolis. State Museums zu Berlin and Michael Imhof Verlag, Berlin 2011, ISBN 978-3-86568-693-0 , pp. 158–166.
- Jens Rohmann: The capital production of the Roman Empire in Pergamon. (= Pergamene research . Vol. 10). de Gruyter, Berlin - New York 1998, ISBN 3-11-01555-59 , pp. 8-38.
- Hermann Stiller : The Traianeum. (= Antiquities of Pergamon. Vol. 5, 2). de Gruyter, Berlin 1895 ( digitized version ).
Coordinates: 39 ° 7 '58.8 " N , 27 ° 10' 59.6" E