Pergamon Altar, Ancient altar at Pergamon Museum, Germany.
The Pergamon Altar is a monumental marble structure housed at the Pergamon Museum in Berlin, Germany. The reconstructed sections include elaborately carved reliefs along the outer walls and a wide staircase leading to the upper platform.
Carl Humann led excavations starting in 1878 at the ancient city of Pergamon in present-day Turkey and brought the fragments to Berlin. The altar was built in the second century before the common era under King Eumenes the Second.
The friezes show battles between Olympian deities and giants, with Zeus and Athena at the center of the action. Visitors can walk around the structure and follow the narrative carved into the marble surfaces.
The north wing of the Pergamon Museum remains closed for renovation until 2027, but a temporary exhibition displays selected pieces nearby. Visitors should check current access options in advance, as the museum includes several halls across different sections.
The frieze extends over 100 meters (330 feet) and shows more than one hundred individual figures in detailed combat scenes. Many of the characters are labeled with inscriptions directly naming them, which is uncommon for ancient reliefs.
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