of the Hellenising Attalids over their real and potential enemies, the Galatai and
Persians. The frieze can be regarded as a powerful assertion not only of national and
cultural identity but part of a greater design in the buildings of the extensive acropolis,
including a royal palace, that represented the self-confident pride of monarchical
power. The project was unfinished when Attalus III died and bequeathed his kingdom
to the Romans.
264 THE GREEKS
FIGURE 68 Pergamum altar, Berlin