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
Pergamon, which traced its founding back to Telephus, the son of Heracles, is not mentioned in Greek myth or epic of the archaic or classical periods. However, in the epic cycle the Telephos myth is already connected with the area of Mysia. He comes there following an oracle in search of his mother, and becomes Teuthras' son-in-law or foster-son and inherits his kingdom of Teuthrania, which encompassed the area between Pergamon and the mouth of the Caicus. Telephus refused to participate in the Trojan War, but his son Eurypylus fought on the side of the Trojans. This material was dealt with in a number of tragedies, such as Aeschylus' "Mysi", Sophocles' "Aleadae", and Euripides' "Telephus" and "Auge", but Pergamon does not seem to have played any role in any of them. The adaptation of the myth is not entirely smooth.