Pergamon
Pergamon lies on the north edge of the Caicus plain in the historic region of Mysia in the northwest of Turkey. The Caicus river breaks through the surrounding mountains and hills at this point and flows in a wide arc to the southwest. At the foot of the mountain range to the north, between the rivers Selinus and Cetius, there is the massif of Pergamon which rises 335 metres above sea level. The site is only 26 km from the sea, but the Caicus plain is not open to the sea, since the way is blocked by the Karadağ massif. As a result, the area has a strongly inland character. In Hellenistic times, the town of Elaia at the mouth of the Caicus served as the port of Pergamon. The climate is Mediterranean with a dry period from May to August, as is common along the west coast of Asia Minor.
Pergamon Altar
The Gigantomachy frieze on the outside walls of the Pergamon altar avoids to a great extent any direct references to contemporary military campaigns — except for the "Star of Macedonia" on the round shield of one of the Giants on the eastern frieze, or a Celtic oblong shield in the hand of a god on the northern frieze. The struggle of the Olympian gods, supported by Heracles, the astrological deities governing the days and hours and originating in the ancient race of the Titans, personifications of the forces of war and fate, sea creatures, and Dionysus with his followers, appears much rather to be a cosmological event of general ethical relevance. It can perhaps be interpreted in the sense of stoicism, and was certainly not designed without political considerations, as was the case with all artistic image metaphors depicting the struggle between the good and just principle — the Olympian gods and their helpers — and evil — the chaotic forces of nature in the form of the earthbound Giants. The scanty remnants of the dedicatory inscription also seem to indicate that the altar was consecrated to the gods because of "favors" they had bestowed. The divine addressees could be especially Zeus, father of the gods, and his daughter Athena, since they appear in prominent locations of the Gigantomachy frieze. An important dating criterion is also the incorporation of the altar from the perspective of city planning. As the most important marble edifice of the Hellenistic residence and indeed erected in a prominent position, it was assuredly not begun only at the conclusion of numerous initiatives to upgrade the acropolis of Pergamon under Eumenes II.