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Gauls from western Europe who established the state of
Galatia.
The psychological boost which this achievement lent to the Hellenic
civilisation
of the Aegean was more significant than any strategic gain.
The day before the decisive battle Attalus treated his army to a feast of
sheep’s livers from
hundreds of animals sacrificed to Athena, patron
goddess of Peigamum.
It is said that the soldiers were amazed to read the
word ‘victory” on the liver.
Shouts of joy rang through the air at
this sign sent by the goddess.
The next day they soundly defeated the Gauls. Attalus then turned on the
Seleucids and drove them southwards
beyond the Toros mountains.
Pergamum's most splendid monuments date from
this period, including the
celebrated Altar of Zeus which became one of
the seven wonders of the world.
Attalus
I was succeeded by his eldest son Eumenes II, who maintained the
kingdom
at its powerful and wealthy height. Next to the enormous Temple of
Athena
with its Doric and Ionic columns was the two storey library containing
two
hundred thousand papyrus scrolls stored on damp proof shelves in the
care
of trained librarians. This library rivaled the legendary Alexandrian
Library established by Cleopatra, who in annoyance forbade the export of
papyrus reeds. However this ban only galvanised the creative powers of the
Pergamenes, who promptly invented parchment as a more than adequate
substitute. The word parchment itself is a corruption of Pergamum.
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