Attalus III () Philometor Euergetes ( – 133 BC) was the last Attalid king of

Pergamon Pergamon or Pergamum ( or ; ), also referred to by its modern Greek form Pergamos (), was a rich and powerful ancient Greece, ancient Greek city in Aeolis. It is located from the modern coastline of the Aegean Sea on a promontory on the north s ...

, ruling from 138 BC to 133 BC.

Biography

Attalus III was the son of king Eumenes II and his queen Stratonice of Pergamon, and he was the nephew of Attalus II, whom he succeeded. "Philometor Euergetes" means "Loving-his-Mother, Benefactor" in Greek; he was so-called because of his close relationship with his mother Stratonice. He is the likely addressee of a fragmentary hymn by the poet

Nicander Nicander of Colophon (; fl. 2nd century BC) was a Greece, Greek poet, physician, and grammarian. The scattered biographical details in the ancient sources are so contradictory that it was sometimes assumed that there were two Hellenistic authors ...

which celebrates his heritage. According to

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding i ...

, Attalus III had little interest in ruling Pergamon, devoting his time to studying

medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

botany Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

gardening Gardening is the process of growing plants for their vegetables, fruits, flowers, herbs, and appearances within a designated space. Gardens fulfill a wide assortment of purposes, notably the production of Aesthetics, aesthetically pleasing area ...

, and other pursuits. He had no male children or heirs of his own, and in his

will Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will ...

he left his kingdom to the

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( ) was the era of Ancient Rome, classical Roman civilisation beginning with Overthrow of the Roman monarchy, the overthrow of the Roman Kingdom (traditionally dated to 509 BC) and ending in 27 BC with the establis ...

, believing that if he did not then Rome would take the kingdom anyway and this way would avoid bloodshed.Asimov, I. and F. White, '' The March of the Millennia'' (1991), p. 74

Tiberius Gracchus Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus (; 163 – 133 BC) was a Roman politician best known for his agrarian reform law entailing the transfer of land from the Roman state and wealthy landowners to poorer citizens. He had also served in the ...

requested that the treasury of Pergamon be opened up to the Roman public, but the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

refused this. Not everyone in Pergamon accepted Rome's rule. In 131 BC Aristonicus, who claimed to be Attalus' brother as well as the son of Eumenes II, an earlier king, led a popular uprising with the help of the Roman philosopher Blossius. He ruled as ''Eumenes III''. The revolt was put down in 129 BC, and Pergamon was divided among Rome, Pontus, and

Cappadocia Cappadocia (; , from ) is a historical region in Central Anatolia region, Turkey. It is largely in the provinces of Nevşehir, Kayseri, Aksaray, Kırşehir, Sivas and Niğde. Today, the touristic Cappadocia Region is located in Nevşehir ...

Notes

References

* Hansen, Esther V. (1971). ''The Attalids of Pergamon''. Ithaca, New York:

Cornell University Press The Cornell University Press is the university press of Cornell University, an Ivy League university in Ithaca, New York. It is currently housed in Sage House, the former residence of Henry William Sage. It was first established in 1869, maki ...

; London: Cornell University Press Ltd. . * Kosmetatou, Elizabeth (2003) "The Attalids of Pergamon," in Andrew Erskine, ed., ''A Companion to the Hellenistic World''. Oxford: Blackwell: pp. 159–174.
textNelson, T.J. (2020) ‘Nicander’s ''Hymn to Attalus'': Pergamene Panegyric’, ''CCJ'' 66, 182–202
*Simon Hornblower and Tony Spawforth, Who's Who (Classical World), pg. 61. {{DEFAULTSORT:Attalus 03 Kings of Pergamon People from Pergamon Ancient Greek botanists Ancient Greek writers 2nd-century BC Greek people 2nd-century BC monarchs in Asia Year of birth unknown 133 BC deaths