Description
The Altar of Zeus stood on a terrace on the west side of the hill of Pergamum. In the 19th century, German excavators recovered many scattered remains of this altar and reconstructed it in the Pergamum Museum in Berlin.
The altar consisted of a monumental stairway leading up to a colonnaded court where an altar for burnt offerings was located. A frieze, depicting a mythological battle between Greek gods and giants, runs round the structure.
Superimposing a picture of this altar model on the site shows what an impressive building it was.
Some scholars have suggested that this monument, which was an important center of pagan religion, constituted the “Throne of Satan” (Revelation 2:13). However, as Christians were mainly persecuted because of their refusal to worship the emperor, this “Throne of Satan” appears rather to refer to the Roman seat of government which was also located in Pergamum.
