the public buildings. The lower slopes were
probably occupied in ancient times, as at present, by the houses of the
citizens.

These magnificent structures, which won for Pergamon the distinction of
being "by far the noblest city in Asia minor[16]," were in the main due to
Eumenes the Second, who, during his reign of nearly forty years (B.C.
197-159), was enabled, by the wise policy of supporting the Romans, to
transform his petty state into a powerful monarchy. The construction of a
library is especially referred to him by Strabo[17], and from the
statement of Vitruvius that it was built for the delight of the world at
large (_in communem delectationem_), we may infer that it was intended to
be public[18]. That he was an energetic book-collector, under whose
direction a large staff of scribes was perpetually at work, may be
gathered from the well-known story that his bibliographical rival at
Alexandria, exasperated by his activity and success, conceived the
ingenious device of crippling his endeavours by forbidding the exportation
of papyrus. Eumenes, however, says the chronicler, was equal to the
occasion, and defeated the scheme by inventing parchment[19]. It is
probable that Eumenes not only began but completed the library, for in
less than a quarter of a century after his death (B.C. 133) the last of
his descendants bequeathed the city and state of Pergamon to the Romans.
It is improbable that they would do much to increase the library, though
they evidently took care of it, for ninety years later, when Mark Antony
is said to have given it to Cleopatra, the number of works in it amounted
to two hundred thousand[20].

[Illustration: Fig. 2. Plan of the temple and precinct of Athena,
Pergamon; with that of the Library and adjacent buildings.]

The site of the acropolis of Pergamon was thoroughly explored between 1878
and 1886 at the expense of the German Government; and in the course of
their researches the archeologists employed discovered certain rooms which
they believe to have been originally appropriated to the library. I have
had the accompanying ground-plan (fig. 2) reduced from one of their
plates, and have condensed my description of the locality from that given
in their work[21]. I have also derived much valuable information from a
paper published by Alexander Conze in 1884[22].

Of the temple of Athena only the foundations remain, but its extent and
position can be readily ascertained. The enclosure, pa