Pergamon and Rome

Abstract From their establishment of ‘friendship’ in the late third century bce, the fates of Pergamon and Rome were closely intertwined. The two cities are often thought to have shared a ‘special relationship’, emblematized by the transferral of the Magna Mater in 205 bce and the later visit to Rome by the Pergamene grammarian Crates of Mallos. Chapter 1 initiates the volume’s reconsideration of the nature and extent of this ‘special relationship’: our evidence is limited and often skewed by later Roman sources; moreover, it is frequently very difficult to identify and define cultural features that are distinctively ‘Pergamene’. There was certainly an important relationship between these two cities, but what was its precise nature, scope, and extent? To start addressing these questions, this chapter frames the key themes and topics of the volume and summarizes the contributions of each chapter, before closing with a conclusion that draws together its various threads and lays out a path for future research.