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Rachel Bacchus

Dr. Jeffrey Collins

Ancient Art

15 December 2019

Altar of Pergamon: Construction and Hellenistic Innovation

When human life lay foul for all to see

Upon the earth, crushed by the burden of religion,

Religion which from heaven’s firmament

Displayed its face, its ghastly countenance,

Lowering above mankind, the first who dared

Raise mortal eyes against it…

And us his victory has made peers of heaven.

-Lucretius

This poem was written by Lucretius, a Hellenistic inspired author. In this excerpt, he

writes about the battle between the Greek gods of Olympia and the encroaching giant forces. His

writing exemplifies the ideas belonging best to the Hellenistic Period—a time of emotion,

especially anger—and rejection of the ideal image created in Classical Greece. When thinking of

the Hellenistic Period, the Altar of Pergamon is the best example of everything this era aimed to

display. From the Great Altar’s construction and structural design, detailed friezes, and intricate

history, the culture surrounding Pergamon and the ancient western world is revealed. Truly

architecture leading the way in novelty and recasting, this piece’s many parts make up the

essence of Hellenism and the modernism of the ancient time.

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In order to understand the significance of the styling in the Altar of Pergamon, Hellenistic

art must be defined in relation to its preceding Classical Greek art. Classical art was devoted to

defining the “ideal” both in humans and in gods (Sakoulas). With regard to humanity, Classical

Greek sculpture includes that of the Kritios Boy (Figure 1), an ideal athlete for young boys to

look up to and admire. For the gods, they remained serious and stoic, distant from the people;

one example is the bronze sculpture Zeus (Figure 2) that stands larger than life and displays

exaggerated muscles and form. During the transition to Hellenistic art, the subjects became more

emotional expressing the emotions of anger, sorrow, and humor especially. This is evident in the

sculpture of Aphrodite Slapping Pan; Aphrodite, a Greek goddess is sculpted nude and laughing

while swatting Pan’s advances. Over her shoulder, Cupid, another deity assists her in pulling Pan

from her. This sculpture is significant for the Hellenistic age as it displays humor amongst the

gods as well as humanizes Aphrodite; gods and goddesses have no need for sandals but are seen

with them in multiple works of art. Alternatively, Laocoõn and His Sons (Figure 4) demonstrates

the newfound style of sculpting agony and emotion onto public art.

Meanwhile, Hellenistic architecture brought on innovative ideas that translated and were

later applied to the Altar of Pergamon. Thomas Sakoulas, scholar in Greek art and author of the

article, “History of Greek: [The] Hellenistic”, sufficiently describes the most distinct differences

in the two eras:

In Architecture, the Classical styles were further refined and augmented with new

ideas like the Corinthian order which was first used on the exterior of the Temple

of Olympian Zeus in Athens (Figures 5-A and 5-B). [During introduction of the

Hellenistic styles], public buildings and monuments were constructed on larger

scale in more ambitious configuration and complexity. The Mausoleum of

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Pergamum (Figure 6) merged architectural space and sculpture by the placement

of heroic sculptures in the close proximity of a grand staircase (Sakoulas).

It is the grand architecture that allows Pergamum to enter Greece as a major city and

major power. Hellenistic architects sought to employ “greater decorative interest and

variety” (Winter 66). In Classical structure, experimentation was discouraged; art and

architecture needed to hold perfect ratios and meaningful colonnades, such as the Doric

temples like the Parthenon (Figure 7). With these architectural transitions, the Altar of

Pergamon was given the ability to take its shape and represent the epitome of the

Hellenistic world.

The state of the world and the audience to the author are telling contexts for the

interpretation of the altar. The Altar of Pergamon, sometimes also referred to as the Great Altar

of Zeus, was built in the beginning of the second century BCE. A monument to mythology, the

occasion for construction is uncertain. Having been erected sometime around 197-159 BCE, it

could have been a work of commission under Attalus II or Eumenes II, two major kings of

Pergamon (Staine). With the altar’s references to war and victory, it is more likely to be a

commission belonging to Eumenes II who led Pergamon to a victory against the Gauls in 167

BCE. Around the world, Rome had become a formidable power on the rise and unconquerable

by anyone (Sakoulas). Wars were frequent and unavoidable on some level. This altar was

originally found in the ancient city of Pergamum located in Asia Minor (Figure 8), but today, a

scale replica stands in the Pergamon Museum in Berlin. While the altar was a public monument

and meant for public viewing, only the elite were allowed access inside; this included high

priests, royalty, and “illustrious foreign guests” (Staine). This regulation came from the sacred

nature of the reliefs--depicting the venerated war of gods and giants.

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Gigantomachy is known as the epic battle between the gods of Olympia and the giants,

and it acts as the subject for the high relief friezes surrounding the Great Altar. The famous and

well-known mythological battle was fought over the dominion for the cosmos. The story of the

Gigantomachy goes, 

The Giants attacked the gods, but the Olympians learned [by oracle] that they

could only emerge victorious if a mortal helped them. The gods therefore called

Heracles [son of Zeus and a mortal woman] to aid them, and they won the

battle…Zeus, Heracles, Poseidon, and later Athena were the main protagonists

fighting against the Giants in representations of this epic battle … represented as

warriors, madmen, or snake monsters (Bauer).

The giants represent outside and barbarian forces that threaten the power of Greece (Bauer). In

this way, to the people of Pergamon, the war scenes allude to their victory and struggles with the

Gauls. In the Altar of Pergamon, the order of Olympians serves to reject chaos of the

surrounding world in pursuit of eternal dominion belonging to the gods forever.

The function of the Great Altar remains uncertain, but by looking at the ancient

inscriptions and original floor plans, the purpose can be assumed to be one belonging to

sacrificial and votive nature. Due to the exclusivity of those allowed inside the altar and very few

records of the goings on, one cannot be sure of the actions performed. Inscriptions on the altar

have not been preserved in their entirety nor completely translatable, but fragments on the

architrave translate to “the queen” and “good” (Ridgway 22-23). The first fragment when in full

form likely reveals the kingly dedication or commission assigned to the altar, as kings were

referred to under the names of both their paternal and maternal lineage. The queen in question

could be a reference to a queen over the cosmos, or a goddess to whom the altar may be
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dedicated. The second fragment’s meaning is more clouded as it could belong to several

possibilities such as good events, good kings, good gods, etc. While the inscriptions disclose

very little of the altar’s purpose besides the idea that it was an offering to someone belonging to a

queenly title after something “good”, the floor plans publicize some intent for the usage of the

altar (Figure 9). After ascending the grand staircase to the altar’s interior, what surrounds is a

colonnade of ionic columns and free-standing statuary enclosing a perimeter around a sole

sacrificial table (Ridgway 26-27). With this information, the function of the altar can be inferred

as just a place for offerings, both votive and sacrificial, to the gods that saved Olympus and

Greece from the dominion of the giants, or the barbarian forces. The design of the Great Altar

speaks loudly over how significant it became for Hellenistic art and influence.

Adding to the grandiose of the myth and structure, the intricacy of the building prompted

the environment to match in magnificence. As the largest known Greek altar, the Pergamon Altar

measure 36.4 meters by 34.2 meters while the stairs alone measure at 20 meters wide; the

collection of friezes wrap around the altar totaling over 100 meters long (“The Altar of Zeus in

Pergamon”). This marble altar was massive to reflect the massive emanation of the Olympian

gods. Though found in ruins by C. Humann in 1871 (Figure 10), the remains excavated total to

75% of the original frieze (Smith 157-160). With multiple damages and scuffs, a recreation was

possible and achieved in Berlin, Germany; much was restored, but plenty of damages were left to

express accuracy over how the altar was found and naturally preserved. Though there is no

certain evidence, due to the culture and tradition in Greek art and architecture, the Great Altar

was likely covered in paint originally (Figure 11). For the sake of restorative copies, the paint is

left off since the colors and exact art style and composure is unknown.
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In order to understand the Hellenistic innovation of the frieze artwork on the Great Altar

of Pergamon, one must examine the scenes of Gigantomachy starting with the north frieze

(Figure 12). On the left corner, Aphrodite starts this frieze while a winged giant has fallen to her

feet, head first, heeding her victory; she stands next to a tense and struggling Eros, yet he stands

victorious as well with several anonymous giants fallen to the ground under his strength (Figure

13-A). Aphrodite appears to be stepping on the face of the giant she has just overcome—a

humorous and demeaning act deemed upon her adversary. Meanwhile, further down, a headless

figure is being held above the ground by a giant strangling his chest and biting into his arm

(Figure 13-B). The strangled god is presumed to be Castor, twin brother to Polydeuces, who is

lurching to his aid. The high-relief style of the giant biting Castor’s arm was likely inspired by

the pediment frieze on the earlier Hellenistic Zeus Temple of Olympia (Figure 14). Continuing

from left to right, the three Fates goddess, Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos are shown entering the

battle as well (Lahanas). They are known for weaving life, measuring life, and finally ending

life; Atropos, the one designated to figuratively cut the thread of life, is depicted in the north

frieze hanging onto the cloth of another goddess as if literally hanging on by the thread of life in

the epic Gigantomachy. Lastly, reaching the right edge of the north frieze, goddess Keto and her

father Pontos ride into the battles on a lion while Poseidon summons his sea-monsters to fight on

the side of Olympia (Lahanas). The sea-monster is a Hellenistic symbol of danger, adding to the

altar’s innovative design and conception.

On the back of the structure, the east frieze (Figure 15), this would have been the first

side seen by visitors as they entered the altar space; though the relief panel has barely survived,

what remains the narrative of the beginning of the Gigantomachy war scene. On the left edge, the

half giant, half serpent, Klytios is preparing to throw a stone onto the goddess Hecate (Lahanas).
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Hecate was a three-headed goddess meant to symbolize coming to a crossroad. While Klytios

was the son of the gods, he still was a giant; by fighting Hecate, it represents the crossroad of

emotion Klytios is going through. He has to choose between betraying his family and paternal

lineage or betraying his own clan of giants; he works to defeat both the gods and the crossroads

in attacking Hecate. Meanwhile, this frieze holds the first appearance of Heracles: the demi-god

predicted to win the battle (Lahanas). Apollo and Heracles join together to take down the giant

Ephialtes, fulfilling the prophecy of the oracles. One of the most impressive and emotional

pieces of this relief is that of Athena destroying all the giants that stand in her way, her hand

firmly grips them by their hair. Meanwhile, Nike, the Winged Victory of Olympia and symbol of

Hellenistic art, crowns Athena with a laurel wreath—signaling her great victory as “the most

impressive warrior” and earning the title, “slayer of the giants” (Lahanas). Arguably most

important though, is the detail of the giants’ faces as they are being destroyed by the Olympian

gods. Alkyoneous, the most powerful of the giants, is seen snake-bitten and under Athena’s

control (Figure 16). True to the Hellenistic style and innovation, his face displays pain and

agony as he dies. His neck twists and tilts back while he falls to his knees, the rest of his body

tense and contorted from pain. It is this style that is seen throughout the Altar of Pergamon and

makes it one of the greatest examples of Hellenistic influence.

Moving onto the south side of the altar (Figure 17), what stands out on this side is the

usage of animal imagery as symbolism as well as showing of Hellenistic skill in sculpting

intricate textures. Beginning with the left edge, cloven-hoofed horses stomp across giants from

both sides; the goddess Selene rides a horse as goddess of the moon (Lahanas). Further along,

more horses appear alongside wild dogs, lions, and various hoofed animals. This myriad of
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beasts and creatures are just a few examples of the textures exhibited in Hellenistic high-relief

sculpture, as described by Roland Smith, expert on Hellenistic sculpture:

The Gigantomachy sculptors represented an extraordinary and skillful variety of

surface textures, such as animal-skins, fish-skins, and bird-feathers. This kind of

detailing, usual in large bronzes, is here self-consciously reproduced in marble as

a display of virtuosity. The high-pitched baroque style of the figures is employed

to express the superhuman: the tremendous power of the conquering Olympians

and the tumultuous struggle of the attacking Giants (Smith 161).

For the Altar of Pergamon’s sculptors, the inclusion of animal textures is a tool used to

show off their ability further. They have already won the war against the Gauls because

they are favored by the gods, who also won their war against the giants; now the favors of

the deities stretch from war victory to the arts.

Finally, the frieze wraps around to the west side (Figure 6); this side is what makes the

Great Altar iconic as Hellenistic blend of architecture and reality. While the west side is mostly

made up of the grand staircase leading up to the stoic colonnade, the risalits curl the frieze panels

around to the entrance and up the stairs. On the left risalit, the seafaring gods appear together:

Triton, Amphitrite, and Nereus among other nymphs (Lahanas). With the giants come at them

with lion body parts, the sea gods and goddesses equip the use of serpent tentacles that can wrap

around the giants and trip them onto the floor. The goddess wife of Poseidon, Amphitrite, wears

draping cloth that twists around her fighting form (Figure 18). On the right risalit, most of the

frieze panels have come apart leaving only slim fragments; however, the left risalit facing the

stairs reveals an interesting detail: the falling giants fall out of the frame and onto the stairs:
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Muscles swell in great hard knots, eyes bulge beneath puckered brows, teeth are

clenched in agony. The writhing, overpowering figures seem contorted, stretched,

almost racked, into an apparently endless, uncontrolled (in fact, very carefully

calculated) variety of strenuous, coiling postures to which the dynamic integration

of the whole composition is due. Rhythmic sense is felt very strongly a plastic

rhythm so compelling that the individual figures and complex groups are all fused

into a single system of correspondences throughout the whole design. Deep

cutting and under-cutting produce strong contrasts of light and dark which

heighten the drama. The naturalism is extreme and is taken to such lengths that

some of the figures break out of their architectural frame altogether and into the

spectator's space (Whitcombe).

They invade the space belonging to the viewer. On one level, this was a genius way of fitting

figures into the leftover frame as the stairs incline. On another level, it is an artistic expression of

how the giants represent foreign invaders, barbarians. The stairs to the altar should belong to

those there to give an offering, but instead the giants reclaim that space as their own, unable to

stay in line inside their frame. Hellenistic sculpture and architecture produce content of what is

real, it is vulgar and cannot hold back from the real threats of war surrounding Pergamon.

After viewing the impressive epic and high-relief friezes surrounding the altar, the stairs

lead to an Attica collection of Ionic columns that surround the Telephus Frieze (Figure 19). The

Telephus Frieze did not adhere to the altar’s architectural ensemble, so it went to the top tier as a

second level to the altar (Heilmeyer 28). The panels of the frieze were placed into the open space

around the sacrificial table in an unorganized fashion. The panels today are broken and in pieces,

sometimes not even making it into exhibitions in museums, but the reason for the creation tells
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an important narrative. In mythology, Telephus was the founder of Pergamon. The altar could

possibly be dedicated to him with all offerings being in his honor or in thanks for his foundation.

Alternatively, the altar could be a monument to his struggle and victory in the Trojan War

(Heilmeyer 29). Nearly 50 panels of friezes go through the story of his birth into his adulthood,

detailing his many battles, wars, triumphs, and injuries. His panel friezes stand just over seven

feet tall, a more modest height than below friezes of the Gigantomachy.

The architectural design of the Great Pergamon Altar displays Hellenistic innovation for

altars and temples that contrast with the Classical architecture and exemplify the transition of

ancient Greek eras. In earlier, Classical Greek temples, a small set of stairs would run the

perimeter of the structure leading up to a base supporting Doric columns (Figure 7). On top of

the columns would stand alternating triglyphs and metopes (Figure 20-A) underneath a pediment

of sculptures, reliefs, and friezes (Figure 20-B), such as in the Aphaia Temple on Aegina Island.

The pediment rests over the colonnade providing the foundation for the roofing. After the

transition to the Hellenistic Period, temples and altars shift in form. The Altar of Pergamon

abandons the surrounding stairs for a large-scale staircase on the west side of the altar. The west

side was actually the back of the altar; as people approached, they would need to circle the

building and walk by each of the friezes to reach the entrance to the second level (Whitcombe).

Most unusual about the Altar of Pergamon is its reversal of relationship between the pediment

and the columns. While in the Classical Period, fluted Doric columns supported the pediment of

friezes and sculpture, the Hellenistic Period swaps their roles and places the columns on top of

the supporting pediment. This creates the need for the larger staircase while eliminating the need

for an overhead covering or roof. The Altar of Pergamon’s colonnade was uncovered, perfect for

an altar in which burnt offerings and sacrificial ritual would take place. With these architectural
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adjustments, the Hellenistic altars managed to be constructed much bigger—this is reflected by

the grand staircase and the giant line of frieze panels. The builders wanted the Altar of Pergamon

to reflect the events of the reliefs; for an event so grandiose and epic, the altar needed to match in

its own massive size.

By examining the Great Altar of Pergamon from its construction, the innovation of the

Hellenistic Period is revealed. Architecture shifted dramatically between the Classical Age and

the Hellenistic; altars grew in size and grandeur, and as the Greek world flipped upside-down, as

did the temple structure. The various friezes that decorate both the interior and, more

impressively, the exterior tell stories of the gods; these stories are not distant from the Pergamene

people like the would have been in Classical Greece. Instead, the gods become more human-like,

expressing the same emotions the people understood themselves: pain, agony, strife, humor, etc.

The Gigantomachy high relief frieze represents more than just the battle between the Olympians

and the giants, but it also shows the state of the Greek world; there is fighting, war, and tension

between nations. The art and architecture of this era begins to display the real feelings of the

people. The “ideal man” has been forgotten, and Greece can now front run their pain and

emotions into reality; that is what the Altar of Pergamon represents.

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I pledge that I have acted honorably.

Rachel Bacchus
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Works Cited

“The Altar of Zeus in Pergamon.” Vision Roma, 13 Mar. 2017,

www.visionpubl.com/en/cities/pergamon/the-altar-of-zeus/.

Bauer, Amanda. “Gigantomachy.” Archaeologies of the Greek Past, Joukowsky Institute for

Archaeology, 2007,

www.brown.edu/Departments/Joukowsky_Institute/courses/greekpast/4816.html.

Heilmeyer, Wolf-Dieter. Pergamon: The Telephos Frieze from the Great Altar. Vol. 1,

University of Texas Press, 1996.

Lahanas, Michael. “The Pergamon Zeus Altar and the Gigantomachy - Friezes.” The Pergamon

Zeus Altar and the Gigantomachy - North Frieze, 2011,

www.hellenicaworld.com/Greece/Art/Ancient/en/ZeusAltarN.html.

Ridgway, Brunilde Sismondo. Hellenistic Sculpture II: The Styles of Ca. 200-100 B.C.

University of Wisconsin Press, 2002.

Sakoulas, Thomas. “History of Greece: Hellenistic.” History of Greece, 2002, ancient-

greece.org/history/helleninstic.html.

Smith, Roland R. R. Hellenistic Sculpture: A Handbook. Thames and Hudson, 1991.

Staine, Lewin Ernest. “Imagery Location of The Great Altar at Pergamon.” Pleiades, Creative

Commons Attribution, 2018, pleiades.stoa.org/places/2604669/the-great-altar-at-

pergamon.
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Whitcombe, Christopher. “The Great Altar.” Greek Art & Architecture: Hellenistic Architecture:

Pergamon, Whitcombe L.C.E., 2016.

Winter, Frederick E. Studies in Hellenistic Architecture. University of Toronto Press., 2006.

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Appendix

Figure 1
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Figure 2

Figure 3
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Figure 4

Figure 5-A and Figure 5-B

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Figure 6

Figure 7
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Figure 8

Figure 9
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Figure 10

Figure 11
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Figure 12

Figure 13-A and Figure 13-B

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Figure 14

Figure 15

Figure 16
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Figure 17

Figure 18
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Figure 19

Figure 20-A and Figure 20-B