{"id":134559,"date":"2025-03-15T05:46:19","date_gmt":"2025-03-15T05:46:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/entertainment\/art\/altar-of-zeus-from-pergamon-museum-and-more\/"},"modified":"2025-03-15T05:46:19","modified_gmt":"2025-03-15T05:46:19","slug":"altar-of-zeus-from-pergamon-museum-and-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=134559","title":{"rendered":"Altar of Zeus from Pergamon Museum and more"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Being in lockdown has been a great time to revisit photographs of places and museums from my years living in Paris (2004-2010). One of the most memorable things I saw during a winter trip to Berlin was the Altar of Zeus from Pergamon.\u00a0It\u2019s an ancient architectural wonder, and amazing to see in person, but does it belong in Europe? Before delving into that issue and just scratching the surface of questions of restitution, here are some other things from Berlin that were enjoyable.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Around Berlin<\/h2>\n
\"Altar\"Altar\n<\/picture>\n
Berlin street scene (all uncredited photos are mine)<\/figcaption>
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A December visit to Berlin, Germany with friends was punctuated with many adventures including shopping at Christmas markets, a late-night visit into an artist squat (the now-defunct Kunsthaus Tacheles<\/a>) as well as the Pergamon Museum.<\/p>\n

\"Altar\"Altar\n<\/picture>\n
Photo by Shaun7777777<\/a>\u00a0<\/figcaption>
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Visiting Tacheles was like stepping into another world. It was a graffiti-covered apartment block where you could simply wander from room to room. It was perfectly safe, with a restaurant\/cafe and artists studios, but it definitely felt out of my comfort zone and still remains one of the most unique places I visited in Europe.<\/p>\n

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\"Pergamon\"Pergamon\n<\/picture>\n
A friend checking out art inside Tacheles<\/figcaption>
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Seeing the Berlin Wall, as a child of the Cold War years, having watched the wall fall live on TV, was also exceptional.<\/p>\n

\"Pergamon\"Pergamon\n<\/picture>\n
The Berlin Wall: much has been removed. There\u2019s only a small section for tourists left<\/figcaption>
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The Pergamon Museum<\/h2>\n

The true intent of this post, however, is a meditation on The Pergamon Museum, on Berlin\u2019s Museum Island. The largest and most frequented museum in Germany, it was one of the most memorable places visited, mostly because it houses enormous and stunning pieces of ancient architecture. According to Google Arts & Culture it is quite literally the host of largest monumental works in a museum around the world.<\/p>\n

\"Altar\"Altar\n<\/picture>\n<\/figure>\n

I have many issues with antiquities being brought to Europe from their places of origin<\/a>, and this post will examine both the pieces on view as well as give a bit of information on how they arrived there. It will not be a treatise of the ethics of their removal, although know that it makes me uncomfortable \u2013 despite the fact that the practice most likely \u201csaved\u201d certain items from reuse or continued oblivion.<\/p>\n

Interestingly, Atlas Obscura<\/a> suggests that while many rightly imply Germany should return any\/all looted works to Turkey, many pieces originally in the Pergamon Museum are actually twice-looted. During World War II the museum was significantly damaged and Red Army soldiers collected many loose pieces for \u201csafekeeping\u201d. While many were returned, some ended up back in Russia and are now housed at the Pushkin Museum and the Hermitage. This leads one to wonder: should such pieces be sent directly back to Turkey? Or back to Germany to then be sent back to Turkey?<\/p>\n

Altar of Zeus<\/h2>\n

Of all the pieces in the museum, the Altar of Zeus was found at the namesake location of the institution. This enormous altar was excavated from the town of Pergamon (now called Bergama, Turkey) in the 1870s and 1880s by German engineer Carl Humann. The goal was to rescue the friezes and reveal the foundations. An agreement was made (most likely as payment for the excavation) where the frieze fragments (and it seems some of the structure itself) became property of the Berlin museums.<\/p>\n

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\"Altar\"Altar\n<\/picture>\n

Altar of Zeus from Pergamon Museum<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The altar<\/figcaption>
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Unique in the Ancient World, construction of the Altar took some twenty years. Its architectural and artistic richness is unequaled, and with a floor area of 1200 m\u00b2 it was of an impressive size. Its base was ornamented all round with a unique two-and-a-half meter high frieze.<\/p>\n


\n-Google Arts & Culture<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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\"Altar\"Altar<\/p>\n

Altar of Zeus from Pergamon Museum, detail<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

A closeup<\/figcaption>
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\"Altar\"Altar\n<\/picture>\n

Altar of Zeus from Pergamon Museum, bits of a frieze<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Another view<\/figcaption>
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The dramatic poses, sculpted muscles and imposing size of the altar are impressive. One can have an \u201cimmersive\u201d experience of the Pergamon Museum via \u201cGoogle Arts & Culture<\/a>\u201c.<\/p>\n

The beauty of the items demonstrates the facility of the ancients with marble sculpting, but one cannot help but think of the Elgin Marbles<\/a>. Both the British Museum and the Pergamon find themselves in a situation where the original country of origin could benefit from the return of these pieces.<\/p>\n

Interestingly, an individual usually strongly in favor of the return of looted pieces of artwork, Ozgen Acar, is quoted as being happy items such as the Elgin Marbles and the Pergamon were removed from their homes in the 18th and 19th century. But don\u2019t let that fool you: he wants them back. He just recognizes that the removal may have allowed the pieces to be saved.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI\u2019m very happy these pieces were carried away in the eighteenth or nineteenth centuries\u2026 If not, piece by piece, those marbles would have been used to build mosques or churches. Luckily they were taken away and protected on behalf of mankind. But today we live in the modern world\u2026 The Elgin Marbles and the Altar of Zeus will return home. They must return and be displayed in their original places. But for today let\u2019s keep them where they are.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nOzgen Acar, quoted in Loot: The Battle over the Stolen Treasures of the Ancient World
By Sharon Waxman<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

So what will be the timeline for this work to be returned? That remains to be seen. When will Europe (and the US, and other former colonial powers) loosen their grip on these monuments to humanity\u2019s rich cultural heritage?<\/p>\n

Ishtar Gate<\/h2>\n
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\"Altar\"Altar\n<\/picture>\n

Ishtar Gate, Pergamon Museum Berlin<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


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The Processional Way and the Ishtar Gate from ancient Babylon dating from the 6th Century B.C.E. are also housed in the museum under skylights that allow natural light to filter down.<\/p>\n

\"Pergamon\"Pergamon\n<\/picture>\n
The colorful glazed bricks<\/figcaption>
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\"Pergamon\"Pergamon\n<\/picture>\n
Beautiful bas-relief lions in the Procession Way, lit by the sun<\/figcaption>
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The gate was originally excavated brick by brick (or fragment thereof) in a project overseen by Robert Koldewey \u2013 a German archaeologist. More than 200 people worked daily on the site, year round, for fifteen years (1) Let us note here that the efforts by locals were not recorded or lauded \u2013 only that of the European overseeing the project.<\/p>\n

\"Pergamon\"Pergamon\n<\/picture>\n
Photo credit: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA \u2013 Library of Congress, Public Domain, https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/w\/index.php?curid=2020755<\/a><\/figcaption>
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This was such an enormous palace (and excavation project) that pieces of it reside in museums around the world:<\/p>\n