35 Facts About Attalus I

Attalus I was the son of Attalus and his wife Antiochis.

The victory was celebrated with a triumphal monument at Pergamon and Attalus I taking the surname "Soter" and the title of king.

Attalus I participated in the first and second Macedonian Wars against Philip V of Macedon as a loyal ally of the Roman Republic, although Pergamene participation was ultimately rather minor in these wars.

Attalus I conducted numerous naval operations throughout the Aegean, gained the island of Aegina for Pergamon during the first war and Andros during the second, twice narrowly escaping capture at the hands of Philip V During his reign, Pergamon repeatedly struggled with the neighboring Seleucid Empire to the east, resulting in both successes and setbacks.

Attalus I styled himself as a protector of the freedoms of the Greek cities of Anatolia as well as the champion of Greeks against barbarians.

Attalus I funded art and monuments in Pergamon and in Greek cities he sought to cultivate as allies.

Attalus I was succeeded as king by his son Eumenes II.

Attalus I was Greek and the son of Attalus and Antiochis.

Attalus I's father won fame as a charioteer, winning at Olympia, and was honored with a monument at Pergamon.

The younger Attalus I was adopted by Eumenes I, the incumbent dynast.

Attalus I however refused to pay them, being the first such ruler recorded to do so.

Attalus I met them near the sources of the river Caicus and decisively won the resulting Battle of the Caecus River.

The prestige gained by the victory caused Attalus to take the surname of Soter, "savior", following the example of Antiochus I He declared himself basileus, king.

Attalus I presented himself as the victorious champion of Greeks against barbarians, and commissioned much artwork and sculptures commemorating himself and the Pergamene victory.

Attalus I defeated the Gauls and Antiochus at the Battle of Aphrodisium and again at a second battle in the east.

Attalus I was able to hold on to these gains in the face of repeated attempts by Seleucus III Ceraunus, eldest son and successor of Seleucus II, to recover the lost territory.

Attalus I was offered and refused the kingship in favor of Seleucus III's younger brother Antiochus III the Great, who then made Achaeus governor of Seleucid Asia Minor north of the Taurus.

Attalus I helped fund the fortification of Elaeus, an Aetolian stronghold in Calydonia, near the mouth of the river Acheloos.

Attalus I sought to burnish his regional reputation, more so than many of his contemporary rulers.

The spoils from Oreus had been reserved for Sulpicius, who returned there, while Attalus I stayed to occupy and collect the spoils from Opus.

Attalus I now returned to Asia to meet them, although the details of this conflict are largely unrecorded.

Attalus I was included as an adscriptus on the side of Rome.

Attalus I retained Aegina, but had accomplished little else; Pergamene participation in the war was ultimately "rather ineffective".

Whether this was an error in Roman sources unfamiliar with the geography of Asia Minor, or Attalus I was on friendly terms with the local Gallic tribes in central Asia Minor in this time period, is unclear.

Finally they voted him such high honors as they had never without great hesitation voted to any of their former benefactors: for, in addition to other compliments, they named a tribe after Attalus I, and classed him among their eponymous heroes.

Two of the Athenian tribes named after Macedonians had recently been abolished, perhaps as recently as weeks before Attalus I' visit, so the naming of these areas was open.

Sulpicius Galba, now consul, convinced Rome to declare war on Philip and asked Attalus I to meet up with the Roman fleet and again conduct a naval campaign, harassing Macedonian possessions in the Aegean.

Attalus I refused, citing the Aetolians' own refusal to honor Attalus' request to attack Macedonia during Philip's attack on Pergamon two years earlier.

The campaigning season now over, Attalus I attended the Eleusinian Mysteries and then returned to Pergamon having been away for over two years.

Attalus I won the support of the Sicyonians after purchasing land sacred to Apollo for them, and they erected a colossal statue of him in their market place.

Attalus I led his army from Cenchreae through the Isthmus and besieged Corinth from the north, controlling the access to Lechaeum, the Corinthian port on the Gulf of Corinth.

At the council Attalus I spoke first, reminding the Boeotians of the many things he and his ancestors had done for them, but during his address he stopped talking and collapsed, with one side of his body paralyzed.

Attalus I was taken back to Pergamon to live out the remaining months of his life.

Attalus I died around the time of the Battle of Cynoscephalae, which brought about the end of the Second Macedonian War.

Attalus I's claims upon a favourable recollection are that, though born of a private family, she became a queen, and retained that exalted rank to the end of her life, not by the use of meretricious fascinations, but by the virtue and integrity of her conduct in private and public life alike.