Temple of Trajan

The Trajaneum was a temple erected on the highest point of the Acropolis of Pergamon for the Roman emperor Trajan and Zeus Philios.

The site for the layout of the Trajaneum was obtained by a massive substruction in the south of the area. With vaulted constructions that meet a 70 meter long retaining wall towards the valley to the south, the area was expanded. The lowest point where the retaining wall had to be founded lay about 22 meters below the sanctuary level.

On the prepared terrace the temple rose centrally on a podium 2.90 meters high, accessible from the south by a flight of steps. The temple itself was a peripteral Corinthian order about 18 meters wide with 6 × 10 columns and two column positions between the antae. In the north the area was closed by an elevated standing colonnade, while the east and west sides were bounded only by simple quadrate walls. All this belongs to a first building phase, whose beginning is dated to the time of Trajan, but which was only completed in Hadrianic times. Already in the time of Hadrian the original layout was altered: the quadrate walls were replaced by colonnades, each receiving a superstructure attached to the south. For this the retaining wall, which opened towards the valley with arch openings, was accordingly extended to the east and west.

During the excavations, statue fragments of Trajan and Hadrian were found in the debris of the Cella, especially the portrait heads, which allow a reconstruction of about 4.80 meter high images. Based on these finds, which are to be interpreted as the cult statues of the two emperors erected in the temple, it can be assumed that Hadrian was incorporated into the imperial cult. In the 1990s, the attribution of further statue fragments to the cult statue of Zeus Philios was also achieved.

The exact beginning of construction of the temple is not secured. Whether the granting of the second neocorate to the city by Trajan in the year 113/114 AD is to be interpreted as the start of construction or as a reaction to the completion and dedication of the temple remains uncertain.