Pergamon

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An ancient city located in modern-day Turkey, known for its significant cultural and political influence during the Hellenistic period
2. A historical center of learning and art, renowned for its library which was one of the largest in the ancient world
3. A site associated with various archaeological discoveries, including the famous Altar of Zeus and extensive ruins that reflect its grandeur

Etymology: The word is the Ancient Greek name of a city in western Anatolia, today the site of Bergama in Turkey, and it reached English as a place name before it became a common noun. The city's name is generally linked to "pergamos," a Greek word for a citadel or fortified height, and the hilltop city rose above the Caicus valley on a steep acropolis. Its kings, the Attalids, built a famous library there in the 3rd and 2nd centuries BCE, rivalling the library at Alexandria. The most striking detail is what happened to the name. Because the library was so celebrated, "pergamon" became a word for a centre of learning, and the meaning now carried by the English noun grew from that reputation rather than from any feature of the Greek original. The modern sense is therefore a transfer from a place to what the place came to stand for.

Synonyms: Pergamum, Bergama