Sunday, January 11, 2026

Day 5: Acropolis and Asklepion

 By: Kendall Lewis

Merhaba everyone! Welcome back to the blog! It’s day five of the course, and today, we visited Acropolis and Asklepion, reminiscing on rituals, practices, and traditions that shaped the ancient world. Although the day was rainy, the sites in all their splendor shown through.


We started off the morning bright and early at 7:30. We had to get on the road for our journey to Pergamon, and it was important to be on time. The bus ride was roughly four hours, with a stop in between. We visited a shop that had coffee, oils, and perfumes, which smelled wonderful. Our bus also got washed, so it looked pristine on our way to Pergamon. Once we arrived there, we took a cable car ride up to the site of Acropolis. It sits on a hill, so the ascent was steep. 



Figure 1: View of the Temple of Diosynus and the Agora (marketplace)


For context, Pergamon was a large city that rivaled Athens in its cultural importance. The city of Pergamon and the Roman Empire shared a close relationship, where Pergamon often sent resources to Rome (but didn’t have to pay taxes :D)! Galen, a physician that is known as the father of ancient medicine, was born and raised in the city of Pergamon (more to come on him later). The city sprawled over the hills, showcasing the splendor of ancient Greek and Roman architecture. It is important to note that although Pergamon was a city close with the Roman empire, the people there were Greek. The crossroads between Roman and Greek culture can be exemplified expertly here, as we see that the people took on attributes and traditions of both cultures. A lot of the architecture in the city is in the Roman style, but the temples erected were to Greek gods. Pergamon illustrates a fusion of Roman and Greek culture in a city where its inhabitants thrived culturally. 


Another spectacular sight was the theater, pictured below. The theater was thought to have sat hundreds of people, and was used for entertainment. The people of the city could come to the theater to see a show or vocal performance. Seating was based entirely on class and status - wealthier citizens were able to be closer to the stage, while lower-class citizens inhabited the higher rows (much like the price of seats in performances



Figure 2: The Theater of Pergamon


As we continued along, we saw the hub of the city - the marketplace, or Agora, that was pictured in Figure 1. The people of the city would often gather in the large square to set up shop, selling items such as clothes, meat, and crops. This was a lively part of the city where culture was able to thrive and develop. Pictured next to the large square, we can see a stone structure. This is thought to be the place where the Temple to Dionysus, the God of wine stood. Rituals took place here, where animals would be sacrificed to Dionysus, and then sold in the market. Rituals were an important tradition in both Greek and Roman culture, requiring the animal to consent (willingly approach the altar) before they took place. Additionally, rituals like these underscored the client-patron system we see in ancient culture. The gods were seen as patrons, whereas the people were clients who gave sacrifices in return for things they wanted. This client-patron system can also be extrapolated to the relationship between the emperor and the people. The emperor was highly revered, as they built things for the people to enjoy (the theater, marketplace, etc). The citizens believed then that their emperor was a patron, and they were clients, working to produce things for the emperor who had given so much to them.


It is important to note that the beauty of the city comes with cruelty. Most of these buildings, if not all, were built by slaves of the empire. This was a system of chattel slavery, where people were treated like animals and forced to work in dehumanizing conditions. Although the city can be appreciated for what it is, the methods in how the city was constructed must be understood.


We left Pergamon and stopped at a local spot for lunch. The owner, Mehmet, gave us a show of the food options and took our orders personally. I got a spicy kebab that was excellent, and others got a pide (pizza) that I heard was equally as good. Once our meal was finished, Mehmet provided us with a song.



Figure 3: Spicy Kebab Plate


After lunch, we journeyed to Asklepion, one of the ancient healing centers in the area. Asklepion showcased the ancient understanding of medicine brought about by Galen, the physician I talked about above. Galen believed in the four humors, or substances of the body: yellow bile, black bile, phlegm, and blood. Galen thought that if any of these were out of balance, sickness would occur, and the only way to be cured was by balancing the humors back out. Asklepion fortifies this idea, as it manages health holistically. There were numerous baths around Asklepion, used to wash off bad spirits and promote hygiene. Additionally, there were tunnels that the sick would go through and have positive affirmations shouted at them from above, as a way of promoting emotional wellbeing. 



Figure 4: Affirmation Tunnels


Asklepion also had a large theater for performing. Attendees could sit and listen to singing and watch shows, similar to the theater in Pergamon. Nowadays, the theater is used for doctors in Türkiye to have presentations in. Asklepion promotes the idea of holistic healthcare, something ancient societies treasured and a value that often gets lost in society today.


The ancient sites visited today remind us of the ideas that we can still see present in our society today. We don’t have temples to our leaders, but we often have a sense of responsibility to them for the things they provide us (infrastructure, money, etc). Additionally, we know that people claim lots of different cultural backgrounds, and a lot of things in the world are fusions of the different identities presented by people. Asklepion focused on holistic healthcare, a concept that is coming back rapidly in society today (spas, meditation, therapy, etc). 


The past couple of days have been so much fun, and we are all so grateful for the experiences we get to share. That’s all for now - thanks for reading!

1 comment:

  1. Wow!! What a beautiful experience! Thank you for being so detailed in your descriptions.

    ReplyDelete

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