I Know Thy Works
Today the city is known by its Turkish corrupted name Bergema, but in antiquity it was known as Pergamon. Pergamon (Pergamos) is found in Strong’s Concordance meaning “height or elevation,” yet is also a derivative of the Greek word purgos (πύργος) meaning “tower.”
Indeed, the city of Pergamon sat on the mountain overlooking the plains towards the Aegean Sea and it had its own form of a “tower” replicated in the altar of Zeus, generally recognized as “Satan’s Throne.”
The population of Pergamon in the Roman era is estimated at 150,000 residents. The first stop was the public bath, a requirement of anyone entering the city in an effort to control disease. After the fall of Athens, Pergamon became the leading center of culture. The library at Pergamon held 200,000 volumes and was the second largest in antiquity—second only to Alexandria, Egypt. The supply of papyrus from the Nile region was being depleted by the great demand for a writing product.
Pharaoh Ptolemy V was jealous of the cultural acknowledgements of Pergamon and the status afforded to the city because of the knowledge source in the library; therefore, he refused to sell anymore papyrus to the king in Pergamon. So, the king ordered a replacement to be found for papyrus, and his learned and skilled court found a substitute in the product of parchment. In fact, parchment and Pergamon have the same word base in Greek. Parchment is known as “Charta Pergamena” and is sometimes called vellum.
Not only was Pergamum a literary center, but is was also a religious center. The first temple built to the Caesar cult was built at Pergamon. It was among many other pagan temples on the acropolis. There was a temple to Zeus, one to Athena, and yet another to Asklepios as the god of healing.
After the time John received the Revelation of Jesus Christ, many other temples were built on the acropolis, but when the letter was penned, the temples to Zeus, Athena, Asklepios, and Caesar were the primary cult worship centers. When Christianity was introduced to Pergamon, many of the ancient temples to paganism were converted to basilicas for Christian worship.
The ancient theater at Pergamon was the steepest ever constructed. It was built on the steep slope of the mountainside facing toward the middle city. As one approached the acropolis of Pergamon, the theater appears as though it were platforms of steps leading to the ominous altar of Zeus, the throne of Satan.
Another word related to the city of Pergamon is the Greek word gamos (γάμος) which means marriage. From the word for marriage we also receive the words for bigamy and polygamy, which appropriately fits the morale code for this time in Pergamon. Sexual immorality was an accepted practice and the letter to the church in Pergamon identifies fornication as one of the problems in the church.
Indeed, the city of Pergamon sat on the mountain overlooking the plains towards the Aegean Sea and it had its own form of a “tower” replicated in the altar of Zeus, generally recognized as “Satan’s Throne.”
The population of Pergamon in the Roman era is estimated at 150,000 residents. The first stop was the public bath, a requirement of anyone entering the city in an effort to control disease. After the fall of Athens, Pergamon became the leading center of culture. The library at Pergamon held 200,000 volumes and was the second largest in antiquity—second only to Alexandria, Egypt. The supply of papyrus from the Nile region was being depleted by the great demand for a writing product.
Pharaoh Ptolemy V was jealous of the cultural acknowledgements of Pergamon and the status afforded to the city because of the knowledge source in the library; therefore, he refused to sell anymore papyrus to the king in Pergamon. So, the king ordered a replacement to be found for papyrus, and his learned and skilled court found a substitute in the product of parchment. In fact, parchment and Pergamon have the same word base in Greek. Parchment is known as “Charta Pergamena” and is sometimes called vellum.
Not only was Pergamum a literary center, but is was also a religious center. The first temple built to the Caesar cult was built at Pergamon. It was among many other pagan temples on the acropolis. There was a temple to Zeus, one to Athena, and yet another to Asklepios as the god of healing.
After the time John received the Revelation of Jesus Christ, many other temples were built on the acropolis, but when the letter was penned, the temples to Zeus, Athena, Asklepios, and Caesar were the primary cult worship centers. When Christianity was introduced to Pergamon, many of the ancient temples to paganism were converted to basilicas for Christian worship.
The ancient theater at Pergamon was the steepest ever constructed. It was built on the steep slope of the mountainside facing toward the middle city. As one approached the acropolis of Pergamon, the theater appears as though it were platforms of steps leading to the ominous altar of Zeus, the throne of Satan.
Another word related to the city of Pergamon is the Greek word gamos (γάμος) which means marriage. From the word for marriage we also receive the words for bigamy and polygamy, which appropriately fits the morale code for this time in Pergamon. Sexual immorality was an accepted practice and the letter to the church in Pergamon identifies fornication as one of the problems in the church.
posted by ~serapha~ at 8:11 PM
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