Philetaerus
Philetaerus | |
---|---|
Attalid dynasty | |
Father | Attalus |
Mother | Boa |
Religion | Greek polytheism |
Philetaerus (
Early life and career under Lysimachus
Philetaerus was born in
After the death of
Ruler of Pergamon
Philetaerus served Lysimachus until 282 BC, when, perhaps because of conflicts involving the court intrigues of
Though nominally under
During his nearly forty year rule, he constructed the temple of Demeter on the acropolis of Pergamon, and the temple of Athena (Pergamon's patron deity), and Pergamon's first palace, and he added considerably to the city's fortifications.[10]
Philetaerus was a
- "Philetaerus of Tieium, 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 nephew Eumenes 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 of Eumenes II, all future Attalid rulers depicted the bust of Philetaerus on their coins, paying tribute to the founder of their dynasty.
Notes
- ^ Strabo, 12.3.8.
- ^ ISBN 0-88401-091-0.
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.
- ^ a b Strabo, 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, 13.4.1 and Pausanias, 1.8.1 state that he was a eunuch, according to Strabo, as the result of a childhood accident.
- ^ Strabo, 13.4.2.
References
- Hansen, Esther V. (1971). The Attalids of Pergamon. Ithaca, New York: ISBN 0-8014-0615-3.
- Kosmetatou, Elizabeth (2003) "The Attalids of Pergamon," in Andrew Erskine, ed., A Companion to the Hellenistic World. Oxford: Blackwell: pp. 159–174. ISBN 1-4051-3278-7. text
- ISBN 0-674-99104-4.
- ISBN 0-674-99246-6.