|
Greek city of
Pergamon
in Mysia under Roman Control
Regal Bronze Coinage of Pergamon
Bronze 12mm (1.73 grams) Struck circa 282-133 B.C.
Reference: Sear 7233
Head of Athena right, wearing crested Corinthian helmet.
ΦΙΛE TAIPOY above and beneath bow.
This issue is inscribed with the name of the dynasty’s founder, Philetairos, and
firm attributions
to particular reigns are not yet possible.
Situated in the Kaikos valley, about 15 miles from the coast, Pergamon was a
city of uncertain origin and of no great importance before the time of Alexander
the Great. In the 3rd century B.C. it became the center of the independent
kingdom ruled by the Attalid dynasty founded by Philetairos. The city was
extended and beautified as the prosperity of the kingdom increased, and by the
late Hellenistic times Pergamon ranked as one of the great cultural centers of
the Greek world. After the end of the kingdom, 133 B.C., Pergamon became capital
of the Roman province of Asia.
You are bidding on the exact item pictured,
provided with a Certificate of Authenticity and Lifetime Guarantee of
Authenticity.
The bow and arrow is a projectile
weapon
system (a bow with
arrows
) that predates
recorded history
and is common to most
cultures
.
Archery
is the art, practice, or skill of
applying it.
Description
A bow is a flexible arc which shoots aerodynamic projectiles called
arrows
. A string joins the two ends of the
bow and when the string is drawn back, the ends of the bow are flexed. When
the string is released, the potential energy of the flexed stick is
transformed into the velocity of the arrow.
Archery
is the art or sport of shooting
arrows from bows.
Today, bows and arrows are used primarily for
hunting
and for the sport of
archery
. Though they are still occasionally
used as weapons of war
, the development of
gunpowder
and
muskets
, and the growing size of armies,
led to their replacement in warfare several centuries ago in much of the
world.
Someone who makes bows is known as a
bowyer
, and one who makes arrows is a
fletcher
—or in the case of the manufacture
of metal arrow heads, an arrow smith.
History
Scythians
shooting with bows,
Panticapeum
(known today as
Kertch
,
Ukraine
), 4th century BCE.
The bow and arrow is among the oldest composite projectile weapons
invented; only
spear throwers
and
darts
may predate it, having been in use
since 30,000 BCE, with the oldest example from 17,500 BCE. However, despite
its ancient provenance, a number of cultures in historical times lacked the
bow and arrow, and in others
oral history
records a time before its
acquisition.
The earliest potential arrow heads date from about 64,000 years ago in
the South African
Sibudu Cave
, though their identification as
arrowheads (as opposed to
spear
or
dart
heads) is uncertain. The first actual
bow fragments are the Stellmoor bows from northern Germany. They were dated
to about 8,000 BCE but were destroyed in
Hamburg
during the Second World War, before
carbon 14 dating
was available; their age
is attributed by archaeological association. The oldest bows in one piece
are the elm
Holmegaard bows
from
Denmark
which were dated to 9,000 BCE. High
performance wooden bows are currently made following the Holmegaard design.
The bow and arrow are still used in tribal warfare in
Africa
to this day. An example was
documented in 2009 in
Kenya
when the
Kisii-tribe
and
Kalenjin-tribe
clashed resulting in four
deaths.
Construction
Polychrome small-scale model of the archer XI of the west
pediment of the
Temple of Aphaea
, ca. 505–500
BCE.
Parts of the bow
The basic elements of a bow are a pair of curved
elastic
limbs
, traditionally made from
wood
, joined by a riser. Both ends of the
limbs are connected by a string known as the
bow string
. By pulling the string backwards
the archer
exerts
compressive force
on the string-facing
section, or
belly
, of the limbs as well as placing the
outer section, or
back
, under
tension
. While the string is held, this
stores the energy later released in putting the arrow to flight.[citation
needed] The force required to hold the string
stationary at full draw is often used to express the power of a bow, and is
known as its draw weight, or weight. Other things being equal, a higher draw
weight means a more powerful bow, which is able to project arrows heavier,
faster, or a greater distance.
The various parts of the bow can be subdivided into further sections. The
topmost limb is known as the upper limb, while the bottom limb is the lower
limb. At the tip of each limb is a nock, which is used to attach the
bowstring to the limbs. The riser is usually divided into the grip, which is
held by the archer, as well as the arrow rest and the bow window. The arrow
rest is a small ledge or extension above the grip which the arrow rests upon
while being aimed. The bow window is that part of the riser above the grip,
which contains the arrow rest.
In bows drawn and held by hand, the maximum draw weight is determined by
the strength of the archer. The maximum distance the string could be
displaced and thus the longest arrow that could be loosed from it, a bow’s
draw length, is determined by the size of the archer.
A
composite bow
uses a combination of
materials to create the limbs, allowing the use of materials specialized for
the different functions of a bow limb. The classic composite bow uses wood
for lightness and dimensional stability in the core, horn to store energy in
compression, and
sinew
for its ability to store energy in
tension. Such bows, typically Asian, would often use a stiff end on the limb
end, having the effect of a recurve.[16]
In this type of bow, this is known by the Arabic name ‘siyah’.
Modern construction materials for bows include
laminated
wood,
fiberglass
,
metals
, and
carbon fiber
components.
Arrows
An arrow usually consists of a shaft with an arrowhead attached to the
front end, with fletchings and a nock at the other. Modern arrows are
usually made from carbon fibre, aluminum, fiberglass, and wood shafts.
Carbon shafts have the advantage that they do not bend or warp, but they can
often be too light weight to shoot from some bows and are expensive.
Aluminum shafts are less expensive than carbon shafts, but they can bend and
warp from use. Wood shafts are the least expensive option but often will not
be identical in weight and size to each other and break more often than the
other types of shafts. Arrow sizes vary greatly across cultures and range
from very short ones that require the use of special equipment to be shot to
ones in use in the
Amazon River
jungles that are 8.5 feet (2.6
metres) long. Most modern arrows are 22 inches (56 cm) to 30 inches (76 cm)
in length.
Arrows come in many types, among which are breasted, bob-tailed,
barrelled, clout, and target. A breasted arrow is thickest at the area right
behind the fletchings, and tapers towards the nock and head. A bob-tailed
arrow is thickest right behind the head, and tapers to the nock. A barrelled
arrow is thickest in the centre of the arrow. Target arrows are those arrows
used for target shooting rather than warfare or hunting, and usually have
simple arrowheads.
Arrowheads
The end of the arrow that is designed to hit the target is called the
arrowhead. Usually, these are separate items that are attached to the arrow
shaft by either tangs or sockets. Materials used in the past for arrowheads
include flint, bone, horn, or metal. Most modern arrowheads are made of
steel, but wood and other traditional materials are still used occasionally.
A number of different types of arrowheads are known, with the most common
being
bodkins
, broadheads, and piles. Bodkin
heads are simple spikes made of metal of various shapes, designed to pierce
armour. A broadhead arrowhead is usually triangular or leaf-shaped and has a
sharpened edge or edges. Broadheads are commonly used for hunting. A pile
arrowhead is a simple metal cone, either sharpened to a point or somewhat
blunt, that is used mainly for target shooting. A pile head is the same
diameter as the arrow shaft and is usually just fitted over the tip of the
arrow. Other heads are known, including the blunt head, which is flat at the
end and is used for hunting small game or birds, and is designed to not
pierce the target nor embed itself in trees or other objects and make
recovery difficult. Another type of arrowhead is a barbed head, usually used
in warfare or hunting.
Bowstrings
Bowstrings may have a nocking point marked on them, which serves to mark
where the arrow is fitted to the bowstring before firing. The area around
the nocking point is usually bound with thread to protect the area around
the nocking point from wear by the archer’s hands. This section is called
the serving. At one end of the bowstring a loop is formed, which is
permanent. The other end of the bowstring also has a loop, but this is not
permanently formed into the bowstring but is constructed by tying a knot
into the string to form a loop. Traditionally this knot is known as the
archer’s knot, but is a form of the
timber hitch
. The knot can be adjusted to
lengthen or shorten the bowstring. The adjustable loop is known as the
“tail”.
Bowstrings have been constructed of many materials throughout history,
including fibres such as
flax
,
silk
, and
hemp
. Other materials used were animal
guts
, animal
sinews
, and
rawhide
. Modern fibres such as
Dacron
or
Kevlar
are now used in bowstring
construction, as well as steel wires in some compound bows.
Compound bows
have a mechanical system of
pulley cams over which the bowstring is wound.
Types of bows
There is no one accepted system of classification of bows. Some systems
classify bows as either longbows or composite bows. In this system, a
longbow is any bow that is made from one material. Composite bows are made
from two or more layers of different materials. Other classifications divide
bows into three types — simple, backed, and composite. In this scheme,
simple bows are made of one material, backed bows are made of two layers,
which could be similar or different materials. Composite bows are made of
three different layers, usually different materials, but occasionally two of
the layers are made from the same material.
Common types of bow include
-
Recurve bow
: a bow with the tips
curving away from the archer. The curves straighten out as the bow is
drawn and the return of the tip to its curved state after release of the
arrow adds extra velocity to the arrow.
-
Reflex bow
: a bow that curves
completely away from the archer when unstrung. The curves are opposite
to the direction in which the bow flexes while drawn.
- Self bow
: a bow made from one piece of
wood.
- Longbow
: a self bow that is usually
quite long, often over 5 feet (1.5 metres) long. The traditional
English longbow
was usually made of
yew
wood, but other woods are used
also.
-
Composite bow
: a bow made of more than
one material
-
Compound
: a bow with mechanical aids to
help with drawing the bowstring. Usually, these aids are pulleys at the
tips of the limbs.
Crossbow
In a crossbow
, the limbs of the bow, called a
prod, are attached at right angles to a crosspiece or
stock
in order to allow for mechanical
pulling and holding of the string. The mechanism that holds the drawn string
has a release or trigger that allows the string to be released. A crossbow
shoots a “bolt” rather than an arrow.
Helmeted Athena with the cista and Erichthonius in his serpent form.
Roman, first century (Louvre
Museum) In
Greek religion
and
mythology
, Athena or Athene, also
referred to as Pallas Athena/Athene , is the goddess of wisdom, courage,
inspiration, civilization, law and justice, just warfare, mathematics, strength,
strategy, the arts, crafts, and skill.
Minerva
is the
Roman goddess
identified with
Athena.
Athena is also a shrewd companion of
heroes and is the
goddess
of heroic endeavour. She is the
virgin
patroness of
Athens
. The Athenians founded the
Parthenon
on the Acropolis of her namesake
city, Athens (Athena Parthenos), in her honour.
Athena’s veneration as the patron of Athens seems to have existed from the
earliest times, and was so persistent that archaic myths about her were recast
to adapt to cultural changes. In her role as a protector of the city (polis),
many people throughout the Greek world worshiped Athena as Athena Polias
(Ἀθηνᾶ Πολιάς “Athena of the city”). The city of
Athens
and the goddess Athena essentially bear
the same name, “Athenai” meaning “[many] Athenas”.
Patroness
Athenian
tetradrachm
representing the
goddess Athena
Athena
as the goddess of philosophy became an aspect of the cult in Classical Greece
during the late 5th century B.C. She is the patroness of various crafts,
especially of weaving
, as Athena Ergane, and was
honored as such at festivals such as
Chalceia
. The metalwork of weapons also fell
under her patronage. She led battles (Athena
Promachos or the warrior maiden Athena Parthenos) as the
disciplined, strategic side of war, in contrast to her brother
Ares, the patron of violence, bloodlust and slaughter—”the raw force
of war”. Athena’s wisdom includes the cunning intelligence (metis) of
such figures as Odysseus
. Not only was this version of Athena
the opposite of Ares in combat, it was also the polar opposite of the serene
earth goddess version of the deity, Athena Polias.
Athena appears in Greek mythology as the patron and helper of many heroes,
including Odysseus
,
Jason
, and
Heracles
. In
Classical Greek
myths, she never consorts with
a lover, nor does she ever marry,earning the title Athena Parthenos. A
remnant of archaic myth depicts her as the adoptive mother of
Erechtheus
/Erichthonius
through the foiled rape by
Hephaestus
. Other variants relate that
Erichthonius, the serpent that accompanied Athena, was born to
Gaia
: when the rape failed, the semen landed on
Gaia and impregnated her. After Erechthonius was born, Gaia gave him to Athena.
Though Athena is a goddess of war strategy, she disliked fighting without
purpose and preferred to use wisdom to settle predicaments.The goddess only
encouraged fighting for a reasonable cause or to resolve conflict. As patron of
Athens she fought in the Trojan war on the side of the Achaeans.
Mythology
Lady of Athens
Athena competed with
Poseidon
to be the patron deity of Athens,
which was yet unnamed, in a version of one
founding myth
. They agreed that each would give
the Athenians one gift and that the Athenians would choose the gift they
preferred. Poseidon struck the ground with his
trident
and a salt water spring sprang up; this
gave them a means of trade and water—Athens at its height was a significant sea
power, defeating the
Persian
fleet at the
Battle of Salamis
—but the water was salty and
not very good for drinking.
Athena, however, offered them the first domesticated
olive tree
. The Athenians (or their king,
Cecrops
) accepted the olive tree and with it
the patronage of Athena, for the olive tree brought wood, oil, and food.
Robert Graves
was of the opinion that
“Poseidon’s attempts to take possession of certain cities are political myths”
which reflect the conflict between matriarchal and patriarchal religions.
Other sites of cult
Athena also was the patron goddess of several other Greek cities, notably
Sparta, where the archaic cult of
Athena Alea
had its sanctuaries in the
surrounding villages of
Mantineia
and, notably,
Tegea
. In Sparta itself, the temple of Athena
Khalkíoikos (Athena “of the Brazen House”, often
latinized
as Chalcioecus) was the
grandest and located on the Spartan acropolis; presumably it had a roof of
bronze. The forecourt of the Brazen House was the place where the most solemn
religious functions in Sparta took place.
Tegea was an important religious center of ancient Greece, containing the
Temple of Athena Alea
. The temenos was founded by
Aleus
,
Pausanias
was informed. Votive bronzes at the
site from the Geometric and Archaic periods take the forms of horses and deer;
there are
sealstone
and
fibulae
. In the Archaic period the nine
villages that underlie Tegea banded together in a
synoecism
to form one city. Tegea was listed in
Homer
‘s
Catalogue of Ships
as one of the cities that
contributed ships and men for the
Achaean assault on Troy
.
Judgment of Paris
Aphrodite is being surveyed by Paris, while Athena (the leftmost
figure) and Hera stand nearby.
El Juicio de Paris
by
Enrique Simonet
, ca. 1904
All the gods and goddesses as well as various mortals were invited to the
marriage of Peleus
and
Thetis
(the eventual parents of
Achilles
). Only
Eris
, goddess of discord, was not invited. She
was annoyed at this, so she arrived with a golden apple inscribed with the word
καλλίστῃ (kallistēi, “for the fairest”), which she threw among the goddesses.
Aphrodite, Hera, and Athena all claimed to be the fairest, and thus the rightful
owner of the apple.
The goddesses chose to place the matter before Zeus, who, not wanting to
favor one of the goddesses, put the choice into the hands of Paris, a
Trojan prince. After bathing in the spring of
Mount Ida
(where Troy was situated), the
goddesses appeared before Paris. The goddesses undressed and presented
themselves to Paris naked, either at his request or for the sake of winning.
Paris is awarding the apple to Aphrodite, while Athena makes a face.
Urteil des Paris by
Anton Raphael Mengs
, ca. 1757
Still, Paris could not decide, as all three were ideally beautiful, so they
resorted to bribes. Hera tried to bribe Paris with control over all
Asia and Europe
, while Athena offered wisdom, fame and
glory in battle, but Aphrodite came forth and whispered to Paris that if he were
to choose her as the fairest he would have the most beautiful mortal woman in
the world as a wife, and he accordingly chose her. This woman was
Helen
, who was, unfortunately for Paris,
already married to King
Menelaus
of
Sparta
. The other two goddesses were enraged by
this and through Helen’s abduction by Paris they brought about the
Trojan War
.
The Parthenon
, Temple of Athena
Parthenos
Masculinity and
feminism
Athena had an “androgynous compromise” that allowed her traits and what she
stood for to be attributed to male and female rulers alike over the course of
history (such as Marie de’ Medici, Anne of Austria, Christina of Sweden, and
Catherine the Great)
J.J. Bachofen advocated that Athena was originally a maternal figure stable
in her security and poise but was caught up and perverted by a patriarchal
society; this was especially the case in Athens. The goddess adapted but could
very easily be seen as a god. He viewed it as “motherless paternity in the place
of fatherless maternity” where once altered, Athena’s character was to be
crystallized as that of a patriarch.
Whereas Bachofen saw the switch to paternity on Athena’s behalf as an
increase of power, Freud on the contrary perceived Athena as an “original mother
goddess divested of her power”. In this interpretation, Athena was demoted to be
only Zeus’s daughter, never allowed the expression of motherhood. Still more
different from Bachofen’s perspective is the lack of role permanency in Freud’s
view: Freud held that time and differing cultures would mold Athena to stand for
what was necessary to them.
Pergamon, Pergamum or Pérgamo (in
Greek
, Πέργαμος) was an ancient
Greek
city in modern-day
Turkey
, in
Mysia
, today
located 16 miles (26 km) from the
Aegean Sea
on a promontory
on the north side of the river
Caicus
(modern day
Bakırçay
),
that became the capital of the
Kingdom of Pergamon
during the
Hellenistic period
, under the
Attalid dynasty
, 281–133 BC. Today, the main sites of ancient Pergamon are
to the north and west of the modern city of
Bergama
.
//
History
The
Kingdom of Pergamon
(colored olive), shown at its
greatest extent in
188 BC
The
Attalid
kingdom was the
rump state
left after the collapse of the
Kingdom of Thrace
.
The Attalids, the descendants of Attalus, father of
Philetaerus
who came to power in 281 BC following the collapse of the
Kingdom of Thrace, were among the most loyal supporters of
Rome
in the Hellenistic world. Under
Attalus I
(241-197 BC), they allied with Rome against
Philip V of Macedon
, during the
first
and
second
Macedonian Wars
, and again under
Eumenes II
(197-158 BC), against
Perseus of Macedon
, during the
Third Macedonian War
. For support against the
Seleucids
, the
Attalids
were rewarded with all the former Seleucid domains in
Asia Minor
.
The Attalids ruled with intelligence and generosity. Many documents survive
showing how the Attalids would support the growth of towns through sending in
skilled artisans and by remitting taxes. They allowed the Greek cities in their
domains to maintain nominal independence. They sent gifts to Greek cultural
sites like Delphi
,
Delos
, and
Athens
. They
defeated the invading Celts
. They remodeled the
Acropolis of Pergamo
after the
Acropolis
in Athens. When
Attalus III
(138-133 BC) died without an heir in 133 BC he bequeathed the
whole of Pergamon to Rome, in order to prevent a civil war.
According to Christian tradition, the first bishop of Pergamon,
Antipas
, was martyred there in ca. 92 AD. (Revelation
2:13)
The
Ottoman
Sultan
Murad III
had two large alabaster
urns transported from the ruins of Pergamon and placed on two
sides of the nave in the
Hagia
Sophia
in Istanbul
.
Notable
structures
Upper
Acropolis
The Great Altar of Pergamon, on display in the
Pergamonmuseum
in
Berlin
,
Germany
Model of the Acropolis in the Pergamonmuseum in Berlin
The
Great Altar of Pergamon
is in the
Pergamon Museum
, Berlin. The base of this altar remains on the upper part of
the Acropolis. It was perhaps to this altar, believed dedicated to Zeus, that
John of Patmos referred to as “Satan’s Throne” in his Book of Revelation
(Revelation 2:12-13).
Other notable structures still in existence on the upper part of the
Acropolis include:
Pergamon’s library on the Acropolis (the ancient
Library of Pergamum
) is the second best in the ancient Greek civilization.[4]
When the
Ptolemies
stopped exporting
papyrus
,
partly because of competitors and partly because of shortages, the Pergamenes
invented a new substance to use in
codices
, called
pergaminus or pergamena (parchment)
after the city. This was made of fine
calfskin
, a
predecessor of
vellum
. The library at Pergamom was believed to contain 200,000 volumes,
which Mark Antony
later gave to
Cleopatra
as a wedding present.
Lower
Acropolis
The lower part of the Acropolis has the following structures:
- the Upper Gymnasium
- the Middle Gymnasium
- the Lower Gymnasium
- the Temple of
Demeter
- the Sanctuary of
Hera
- the House of Attalus
- the Lower Agora and
- the Gate of
Eumenes
Sanctuary
of Asclepius
Three kilometers south of the Acropolis, down in the valley, there was the
Sanctuary of Asclepius
(also known as the
Asclepieion
), the god of healing. In this place people with health problems
could bathe in the water of the sacred spring, and in the patients’ dreams
Asclepius would appear in a vision to tell them how to cure their illness.
Archeology has found lots of gifts and dedications that people would make
afterwards, such as small terracotta body parts, no doubt representing what had
been healed. Notable extant structures in the Asclepieion include:
- the Roman theater
- the North Stoa
- the South Stoa
- the Temple of Asclepius
- a circular treatment center (sometimes known as the Temple of
Telesphorus)
- a healing spring
- an underground passageway
- a library
- the Via Tecta (or the Sacred Way, which is a colonnaded street leading
to the sanctuary) and
- a
propylon
.
Serapis
Temple
Pergamon’s other notable structure is the
Serapis
Temple (Serapeum)
which was later transformed into the Red Basilica complex (or Kizil Avlu in
Turkish), about one kilometer south of the Acropolis. It consists of a main
building and two round towers. In the first century AD, the
Christian
Church at Pergamon inside the main building of the Red Basilica
was one of the
Seven Churches
to which the
Book of Revelation
was addressed (Revelation
2:12). The forecourt is still supported by the 193 m wide
Pergamon Bridge
, the largest bridge substruction of antiquity.[5]
|
