Great Altar of Pergamon ('Satan's Throne')

The monumental Zeus altar many link to Revelation's 'where Satan's throne is'

The Apostles & the Early Believers · temple / altar, relief · Debated · found 1878

How Great Altar of Pergamon ('Satan's Throne') was found

Humann, building roads for the Ottoman government, noticed relief slabs being burned for lime; his excavations on the acropolis recovered most of the great frieze, which was shipped to Berlin by agreement with the Ottoman state.

What it is

A horseshoe-shaped altar platform about 36 by 34 metres, with a 113-metre marble frieze showing the gods battling the giants (the Gigantomachy), the largest surviving Hellenistic sculpture. A broad stairway leads up to a colonnaded court around the altar table.

Why it matters for the Bible

Revelation 2:13 tells the believers at Pergamum, 'I know where you dwell, where Satan's throne is.' The altar, shaped like a giant throne on the hillside and dedicated to Zeus, is the most popular candidate, though others propose the temple of the emperor cult (Pergamum was first in Asia to build one, 29 BCE) or the Asclepion's serpent-god. The altar shows the scale of pagan worship the assembly faced and the martyrdom of Antipas mentioned in the same verse.

The Hebrew word: kee-SEH hah-sah-TAHN

כִּסֵּא הַשָּׂטָן

כִּסֵּא הַשָּׂטָן is pronounced kee-SEH hah-sah-TAHN and means throne of Satan (Greek thronos tou Satana) (Strong's H3678 + H7854 / G4567).

People this discovery connects to

• John — יוֹחָנָן (yo-chah-NAHN) — YHVH is gracious (Greek Ioannes)
• Antipas — אַנְטִיפַּס (ahn-TEE-pahs) — Greek Antipas, martyr at Pergamum

Places

• Pergamum — פֶּרְגָמוֹן (PER-gah-mon) — Greek Pergamon

Events

Message to Pergamum · Martyrdom of Antipas

Great Altar of Pergamon ('Satan's Throne') in Scripture

Revelation 1:11 One of only 2 verses that name Pergamos.

Revelation 2:12 The message to the assembly at Pergamum.

Questions people ask

What is Great Altar of Pergamon ('Satan's Throne')?
A horseshoe-shaped altar platform about 36 by 34 metres, with a 113-metre marble frieze showing the gods battling the giants (the Gigantomachy), the largest surviving Hellenistic sculpture. A broad stairway leads up to a colonnaded court around the altar table.

When was Great Altar of Pergamon ('Satan's Throne') discovered?
It was found in 1878 by Carl Humann, German engineer, with the Berlin Museums (excavations 1878–1886), at Acropolis of Pergamon (Bergama).

Where is Great Altar of Pergamon ('Satan's Throne') today?
Pergamon Museum, Berlin (reconstructed west front and frieze); foundations in situ at Bergama.

Which Bible verses does Great Altar of Pergamon ('Satan's Throne') relate to?
Revelation 1:11, Revelation 2:12.

Is Great Altar of Pergamon ('Satan's Throne') authentic?
The altar is certain; its identification with 'Satan's throne' is a widely held but unprovable interpretation with strong rival candidates.

Related discoveries

• פּוֹשֵׁר
  Laodicea: Lukewarm Water and the Early Church
  Calcified pipes, the Hierapolis hot springs, and a 4th-century church in the city that was 'neither hot nor cold'
• אֱלִילִים
  Red Basilica (Temple of the Egyptian Gods), Pergamon
  Hadrian's giant brick temple to Serapis and Isis, later a church of St John
• סְפָרַד
  Sardis Synagogue
  The largest ancient synagogue ever found, in the heart of a city of Revelation
• אַרְגָּמָן
  Thyatira Dyers' Guild Inscriptions
  Stones naming the purple-dyers of Lydia's home city
• כִּסֵּא
  Acropolis of Pergamon: Trajaneum, Library and Theatre
  The hill-top of imperial cult and learning above 'Satan's throne'
• הִתְגַּלּוּת
  Patmos and the Cave of the Apocalypse
  The exile island of Revelation and its traditional grotto of vision

Sources

• Wikipedia, 'Pergamon Altar'
• S. J. Friesen, Imperial Cults and the Apocalypse of John (2001)

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