Mysia – Pergamon

Mysia – Pergamon

Pergamon (Greek: Πέργαμον or Πέργαμος), or Pergamum, was an ancient Greek city in modern-day Turkey, in Mysia, that became the capital of the Kingdom of Pergamon during the Hellenistic period, under the Attalid dynasty, 281–133 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 Pergamon 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.

Aiolis - Lesvos

Aiolis - Lesvos

Lesbos is after Crete and Euboea the largest of the Aegean islands, with a maximum length of 43 ½ m., a width extending to 28 m., and an area of 630 sq. miles. It lies close to Asia Minor, its Northeast coast facing the Gulf of Edremit (Adramyti), and is 187 m. from Athens. To the North is Lemnos and to the South Khios.

Its geographical situation and its many harbors made Lesbos a center for trade and communications from the earliest times and it is only recently that the division between Greece and Turkey has, by severing its connections with Asia Minor, frustrated its natural role as an intermediary between the mainland and the Aegean. Prehistoric remains indicating occupation from c. 3300 B.C. until destruction by fire at the end of the Mycenean period relate closely to those at ancient Troy. According to Homer, Lesbos, siding with Troy, was invaded by both Achilles and Odysseus. The inhabitants were probably Pelasgian, but in the 10th century B.C., the island and the mainland opposite were colonized by Aiolians under the leadership of the Penthelides, the last of whom was murdered in 659 B.C. A struggle developed between Methymna and Mytilene for the leadership of the island, and although Mytilene won and has remained the capital, a tradition of independent resistance was fostered in the West part of the island, which was to recur at critical moments. Lesbos was governed oligarchically with increasing chaos until Pittacus, one of the Seven Sages (589-579), calmed the island and as Aesymnetes (dictator) gave it its period of greatest prosperity and cultural importance. A large fleet and wide mercantile interests (especially in Egypt) were combined with a high standard of education and a comparative freedom for women, two traditions still noticeable today. Terpander, the father of Greek music, and Arion, who invented dithyrambic poetry, had already made Lesbos famous in the 7th century, but it was with Alcaeus and Sappho, both aristocrats and enemies of Pittacus, that the island reached its cultural climax. In 527 Lesbos fell under Persian domination and was not freed until 479, when it joined the Athenian League.

In 428 soon after the Peloponnesian war started, Mytilene tried to break away with Spartan help, but the plan was betrayed by Methymna to Athens. The Mytileneans were severely punished. This was the dramatic occasion when a second galley with a reprieve was sent after the first had left with orders for wholesale massacre, and arrived in time.

In 405 Lesbos fell to the Spartans and thereafter changed hands frequently, being ruled by Persia, Maedonia, and the Ptolemies until Mithridates occupied it (in 88-79 B.C.)

Ionia - Chios

Ionia - Chios

Chios (Greek: Χίος, pronounced çios alternative transliterations Khíos and Híos) is the fifth largest of the Greek islands, situated in the Aegean Sea, seven kilometres (five miles) off the Asia Minor coast. The island is separated from Turkey by the Chios Strait.Chios was one of the original twelve member states of the Ionian League. As a result, Chios, at the end of the 7th century BC, was one of the first cities to strike or mint coins, establishing the sphinx as its specific symbol. A tradition it maintained for almost 900 years.


In the 6th century BC Chios’ government developed democratic elements with a voting assembly and people’s magistrates called damarchoi.
In 546 BC Chios became subject to the Persian Empire. Chios joined the Ionian Revolt against the Persians in 499 BC. The naval power of Chios during this period is demonstrated by the fact that the Chians had the largest fleet of all the Ionians at the Battle of Lade in 494 BC (100 ships). At Lade the Chian fleet continued doggedly fighting the Persian fleet even after the defection of the Samians and others but ultimately the Chians were forced to retreat and were again subject to Persian domination.
The defeat of Persia at the Battle of Mycale in 479 BC meant the liberation of Chios from Persian rule. When the Athenians formed the Delian League Chios joined as one of the few members who did not have to pay tribute but instead supplied ships to the alliance.
By the fifth to 4th centuries BC, the island had grown to an estimated population of over 120,000 (two to three times the estimated population in 2005), and based on the huge necropoli at the main city of Chios, the asty, it is thought the majority lived in that area.
In 412 BC during the Peloponnesian War Chios revolted against Athens and the Athenians besieged Chios. Relief only came the following year when the Spartans were able to raise the siege. In the 4th Century BC Chios was a member of the Second Athenian Empire but revolted against Athens during the Social War (357–355 BC) and Chios became independent again until the rise of Macedonia.