Church Of Pergamum Flashcards
How far was Pergamum from Smyrna?
70 miles North and 15 miles inland
When was Pergamum an important city and when did it lose its status?
Pegamum was an important church in 85 BCE, but lost its status when they were on the wrong side of the war against the Romans
* They were defeated and were in despair for 100 years
In what ways was Pergamum comparable to Athens and Alexandria?
They were known as an intellectual centre
How many items did they have in their library?
They had over 200 000 items
What did scholars think was invented here?
Parchment writing
What God’s did they have temples for?
Athena and Asclepius (God of healing)
What stimulated the priests to exude human sacrifice 24/7 for weeks?
They built a forty foot high alter to Zeus in 230 BCE
Was Pergamum a leading religious centre in Asia?
Yes
Who chose the city of Pergamum as the site of his temple to honour himself in 29CE, and what was the benefit of this?
Augustus - and it put Pergamum on the map
Why was Pergamum the “Lourdes” of its day?
They had a renowned medical centre
What was really big in this town?
Emperor worship/loyalty
What happened when
Christians refused to participate in emporor worship?
They were persecuted - known as atheists for not worshiping the Roman God’s, and hater’s of humanity for not worshiping the Emporor
Why did Jews get by with secular behaviour?
they had a 2000 year old history - Christianity was brand new and fraught with superstitions
What did Pergamum do well?
- Hardworking
- Held fast to Christ’s name
- Has not denied faith
What did Pergamum need to fix?
Had false teachers, saying it was okay to mix between beliefs of the world and the church, specifically with their sexuality
