Philetaerus
| Philetaerus | |
|---|---|
 Marble bust of Philetaerus. Roman copy from 1st century AD of the Greek original.Naples National Archaeological Museum. | |
| King of Pergamon | |
| Reign | 282–263 BC |
| Predecessor | part ofLysimachuskingdom |
| Successor | Eumenes I |
| Born | c. 343 BC Tieium (modern-dayFilyos,Zonguldak,Turkey)[1] |
| Died | 263 BC |
| Greek | Φιλέταιρος |
| Dynasty | Attalid dynasty |
| Father | Attalus |
| Mother | Boa |
| Religion | Greek polytheism |
Philetaerus(/ˌfɪlɪˈtiːrəs/;Ancient Greek:Φιλέταιρος,Philétairos,c. 343 –263 BC) was the founder of theAttalid dynastyofPergamoninAnatolia.[2]
Early life and career under Lysimachus[edit]
Philetaerus was born inTieium(Greek:Tieion),[3]a small town on theBlack Seacoast inAnatolia.[2]His father Attalus (Greek:Attalos) wasGreek[2]and his mother Boa was fromPaphlagonia.[4]
After the death ofAlexander the Greatin 323 BC, Philetaerus became involved in theWars of the Diadochiamong Alexander's regional governors,AntigonusinPhrygia,LysimachusinThrace,andSeleucusinBabylonia(among others). Philetaerus first served under Antigonus. He then shifted his allegiance to Lysimachus, who, after Antigonus was killed at theBattle of Ipsusin 301 BC, made Philetaerus commander of Pergamon, where Lysimachus kept a treasury of nine thousandtalentsof silver.[5]
Ruler of Pergamon[edit]
Philetaerus served Lysimachus until 282 BC, when, perhaps because of conflicts involving the court intrigues ofArsinoë,Lysimachus' third wife, Philetaerus deserted Lysimachus, offering himself and the important fortress of Pergamon, along with its treasury, to Seleucus,[6]who subsequently defeated and killed Lysimachus[7]at theBattle of Corupediumin 281 BC. Seleucus himself was killed byPtolemy Ceraunus,a brother of Arsinoë atLysimachiaa few months later.[8]
Though nominally underSeleucidcontrol, Philetaerus, especially after the death of Seleucus, had considerable autonomy and was able with the help of his considerable wealth to increase his power and influence beyond Pergamon. There are numerous records of Philetaerus as benefactor to neighboring cities and temples, including the temples atDelphiandDelos.He also contributed troops, money and food to the city ofCyzicusfor defense against the invadingGauls.As a result, Philetaerus gained prestige and goodwill for himself and his family.[9]
During his nearly forty year rule, he constructed the temple ofDemeteron theacropolisof Pergamon, and the temple ofAthena(Pergamon's patron deity), and Pergamon's first palace, and he added considerably to the city's fortifications.[10]
Philetaerus was aeunuch,though scholars differ on the reason for his castration.Attalus I,the firstAttalidking ofPergamon,explained that when Philetaerus was a baby, he was brought into a crowd where he was pressed upon and his testicles were crushed.
- "Philetaerus ofTieium,was a eunuch from boyhood; for it came to pass at a certain burial, when a spectacle was being given at which many people were present, that the nurse who was carrying Philetaerus, still an infant, was caught in the crowd and pressed so hard that the child was incapacitated. He was a eunuch, therefore, but he was well trained and proved worthy of this trust. "[5]
Philetaerus never married and, since he was a eunuch, had no children.[11]He adopted his nephewEumenes I(the son of Philetaerus' brother also named Eumenes), who succeeded him as ruler of Pergamon, upon his death in 263 BC.[12] With the exception ofEumenes II,all future Attalid rulers depicted the bust of Philetaerus on their coins, paying tribute to the founder of their dynasty.
Notes[edit]
- ^Strabo,12.3.8.
- ^abcRenée Dreyfus, Ellen Schraudolph (1996).Pergamon: The Telephos Frieze from the Great Altar.University of Texas Press. p. 24.ISBN0-88401-091-0.
Philetairos of Tios on the Black Sea, son of a Greek father and a Paphlagonian mother, a high-ranking officer in the army of King Lysimachos and also his confidant, was the actual founder of Pergamon.
- ^Strabo,12.3.8.
- ^Hansen, p. 15.
- ^abStrabo,13.4.1.
- ^Pausanias,1.10.3, 4;Strabo,13.4.1.
- ^Pausanias,1.10.5.
- ^Junianus Justinus,17.2;Strabo,13.4.1.
- ^For a more detailed account of the benefactions of Philetaerus, including sources, see Hansen, pp. 18–19; see also Strabo,13.4.1.
- ^Hansen, pp. 17, 18.
- ^Both Strabo,13.4.1and Pausanias,1.8.1state that he was a eunuch, according to Strabo, as the result of a childhood accident.
- ^Strabo,13.4.2.
References[edit]
- Hansen, Esther V. (1971).The Attalids of Pergamon.Ithaca, New York:Cornell University Press;London: Cornell University Press Ltd.ISBN0-8014-0615-3.
- Kosmetatou, Elizabeth (2003) "The Attalids of Pergamon," in Andrew Erskine, ed.,A Companion to the Hellenistic World.Oxford: Blackwell: pp. 159–174.ISBN1-4051-3278-7.text
- Junianus Justinus,Epitome of thePhilippic Historyof Pompeius Trogus, translated, with Footnotes, by the Rev. John Selby Watson; London: Henry G. Bohn, York Street, Convent Garden (1853).
- Pausanias,Description of Greece,Books I-II, (Loeb Classical Library) translated by W. H. S. Jones; Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. (1918)ISBN0-674-99104-4.
- Strabo,Geography,(Loeb Classical Library) translated by Horace Leonard Jones; Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, Ltd. (1924) Books 10–12,ISBN0-674-99233-4;Books 13–14,ISBN0-674-99246-6.
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