Attalus I Attalus I ( ) , surnamed Soter ( , " Savior " ; 269 – 197 BC ) ruled Pergamon , an Ionian Greek polis ( what is now Bergama , Turkey ) , first as dynast , later as king , from 241 BC to 197 BC . He was the second cousin and the adoptive son of Eumenes I , whom he succeeded , and was the first of the Attalid dynasty to assume the title of king in 238 BC . He was the son of Attalus and his wife Antiochis . Attalus won an important victory over the Galatia ns , newly arrived Celtic tribes from Thrace , who had been , for more than a generation , plundering and exacting tribute throughout most of Asia Minor without any serious check . This victory , celebrated by the triumphal monument at Pergamon ( famous for its Dying Gaul ) and the liberation from the Gallic " terror " which it represented , earned for Attalus the name of " Soter " , and the title of " king " . A courageous and capable general and loyal ally of Rome , he played a significant role in the first and second Macedonian Wars , waged against Philip V of Macedon . He conducted numerous naval operations , harassing Macedonian interests throughout the Aegean , winning honors , collecting spoils , and gaining for Pergamon possession of the Greek islands of Aegina during the first war , and Andros during the second , twice narrowly escaping capture at the hands of Philip . Attalus was a protector of the Greek cities of Anatolia and viewed himself as the champion of Greeks against barbarians . During his reign he established Pergamon as a considerable power in the Greek East . He died in 197 BC , shortly before the end of the second war , at the age of 72 , having suffered an apparent stroke while addressing a Boeotian war council some months before . He enjoyed a famously happy domestic life , shared with his wife and four sons . He was succeeded as king by his son Eumenes II . Early life . Little is known about Attalus ' early life . He was born a Greek , the son of Attalus , and Antiochis . The elder Attalus was the son of a brother ( also called Attalus ) of both Philetaerus , the founder of the Attalid dynasty , and Eumenes , the father of Eumenes I , Philetaerus ' successor ; he is mentioned , along with his uncles , as a benefactor of Delphi , won fame as a charioteer , winning at Olympia , and was honored with a monument at Pergamon . Attalus was a young child when his father died , sometime before 241 BC , after which he was adopted by Eumenes I , the incumbent dynast . Attalus ' mother , Antiochis , was related to the Seleucid royal family ( being a granddaughter of Seleucus I Nicator ) with her marriage to Attalus ' father likely arranged by Philetaerus to solidify his power . This would be consistent with the conjecture that Attalus ' father had been Philetaerus ' heir designate , but was succeeded by Eumenes , since Attalus I was too young when his father died . Defeat of the Galatians . According to the 2nd century AD Greek writer Pausanias , " the greatest of his achievements " was the defeat of the " Gauls " ( ) . Pausanias was referring to the Galatians , immigrant Celts from Thrace , who had recently settled in Galatia in central Asia Minor , and whom the Romans and Greeks called Gauls , associating them with the Celts of what is now France , Switzerland , and northern Italy . Since the time of Philetaerus , the first Attalid ruler , the Galatians had posed a problem for Pergamon , indeed for all of Asia Minor , by exacting tributes to avoid war or other repercussions . Eumenes I had ( probably ) , along with other rulers , dealt with the Galatians by paying these tributes . Attalus however refused to pay them , being the first such ruler to do so . As a consequence , the Galatians set out to attack Pergamon . Attalus met them near the sources of the river Caïcus and won a decisive victory , after which , following the example of Antiochus I , Attalus took the name of Soter , which means " savior " , and claimed the title of king . The victory brought Attalus legendary fame . A story arose , related by Pausanias , of an oracle who had foretold these events a generation earlier : Pausanias adds that by " son of a bull " the oracle " meant Attalus , king of Pergamon , who was styled bull - horned " . On the acropolis of Pergamon was erected a triumphal monument , which included the famous sculpture the " Dying Gaul " , commemorating this battle . Conquests in Seleucid Asia Minor . Several years after the first victory over the Gauls , Pergamon was again attacked by the Gauls together with their ally Antiochus Hierax , the younger brother of Seleucus II Callinicus , and ruler of Seleucid Asia Minor from his capital at Sardis . Attalus defeated the Gauls and Antiochus at the battle of Aphrodisium and again at a second battle in the east . Subsequent battles were fought and won against Antiochus alone : in Hellespontine Phrygia , where Antiochus was perhaps seeking refuge with his father - in law , Ziaelas the king of Bithynia ; near Sardis in the spring of 228 BC ; and , in the final battle of the campaign , further south in Caria on the banks of the Harpasus , a tributary of the Maeander . As a result of these victories , Attalus gained control over all of Seleucid Asia Minor north of the Taurus Mountains . He was able to hold onto these gains in the face of repeated attempts by Seleucus III Ceraunus , eldest son and successor of Seleucus II , to recover the lost territory , culminating in Seleucus III himself crossing the Taurus , only to be assassinated by members of his army in 223 BC . Achaeus , who had accompanied Seleucus III , assumed control of the army . He was offered and refused the kingship in favor of Seleucus III ' s younger brother Antiochus III the Great , who then made Achaeus governor of Seleucid Asia Minor north of the Taurus . Within two years Achaeus had recovered all the lost Seleucid territories , " shut up Attalus within the walls of Pergamon " , and assumed the title of king . After a period of peace , in 218 BC , while Achaeus was involved in an expedition to Selge south of the Taurus , Attalus , with some Thracian Gauls , recaptured his former territories . However Achaeus returned from victory in Selge in 217 BC and resumed hostilities with Attalus . Under a treaty of alliance with Attalus , Antiochus crossed the Taurus in 216 BC , attacked Achaeus and besieged Sardis , and in 214 BC , the second year of the siege , was able to take the city . However the citadel remained under Achaeus ' control . Under the pretense of a rescue , Achaeus was finally captured and put to death , and the citadel surrendered . By 213 BC , Antiochus had regained control of all of his Asiatic provinces . First Macedonian War . Thwarted in the east , Attalus now turned his attention westward . Perhaps because of concern for the ambitions of Philip V of Macedon , Attalus had sometime before 219 BC become allied with Philip ' s enemies the Aetolian League , a union of Greek states in Aetolia in central Greece , having funded the fortification of Elaeus , an Aetolian stronghold in Calydon ia , near the mouth of the river Acheloos . Philip ' s alliance with Hannibal of Carthage in 215 BC also caused concern in Rome , then involved in the Second Punic War . In 211 BC , a treaty was signed between Rome and the Aetolian League , a provision of which allowed for the inclusion of certain allies of the League , Attalus being one of these . Attalus was elected one of the two " strategoi " ( generals ) of the Aetolian League , and in 210 BC his troops probably participated in capturing the island of Aegina , acquired by Attalus as his base of operations in Greece . In the following spring ( 209 BC ) , Philip marched south into Greece . Under command of Pyrrhias , Attalus ' colleague as strategos , the allies lost two battles at Lamia . Attalus himself went to Greece in July and was joined on Aegina by the Roman proconsul P . Sulpicius Galba who wintered there . The following summer ( 208 BC ) the combined fleet of thirty - five Pergamene and twenty - five Roman ships failed to take Lemnos , but occupied and plundered the countryside of the island of Peparethos ( Skopelos ) , both Macedonian possessions . Attalus and Sulpicius then attended a meeting in Heraclea Trachinia of the Council of the Aetolians , at which the Roman argued against making peace with Philip . When hostilities resumed , they sacked both Oreus , on the northern coast of Euboea and Opus , the chief city of eastern Locris . The spoils from Oreus had been reserved for Sulpicius , who returned there , while Attalus stayed to collect the spoils from Opus . With their forces divided , Philip attacked Opus . Attalus , caught by surprise , was barely able to escape to his ships . Attalus was now forced to return to Asia , for he had learned at Opus that , at the instigation of Philip , Prusias I king of Bithynia , related to Philip by marriage , was moving against Pergamon . Soon after , the Romans also abandoned Greece to concentrate their forces against Hannibal , their objective of preventing Philip from aiding Hannibal having been achieved . In 206 BC the Aetolians sued for peace on conditions imposed by Philip . A treaty was drawn up at Phoenice in 205 BC , formally ending the First Macedonian War . Attalus was included as an " adscriptus " on the side of Rome . He retained Aegina , but had accomplished little else . Since Prusias was also included in the treaty , the war between Attalus and Prusias must also have ended by that time . Introduction of the cult of the Magna Mater to Rome . In 205 BC , following the " Peace of Phoenice " , Rome turned to Attalus , as its only friend in Asia , for help concerning a religious matter . An unusual number of meteor showers caused concern in Rome , and an inspection was made of the Sibylline Books , which discovered verses saying that if a foreigner were to make war on Italy , he could be defeated if the " Magna Idaea " , the Mother Goddess , associated with Mount Ida in Phrygia , were brought to Rome . Hoping to bring about a speedy conclusion to the war with Hannibal , a distinguished delegation , led by M . Valerius Laevinus , was dispatched to Pergamon , to seek Attalus ' aid . According to Livy , Attalus received the delegation warmly , and " handed over to them the sacred stone which the natives declared to be ' the Mother of the Gods ' , and bade them carry it to Rome . " In Rome the goddess became known as the Magna Mater . Macedonian hostilities of 201 BC . Prevented by the treaty of Phoenice from expansion in the east , Philip set out to extend his power in the Aegean and in Asia Minor . In the spring of 201 BC he took Samos and the Egyptian fleet stationed there . He then besieged Chios to the north . These events caused Attalus , allied with Rhodes , Byzantium and Cyzicus , to enter the war . A large naval battle occurred in the strait between Chios and the mainland , just southwest of Erythrae . According to Polybius , fifty - three decked warships and over one hundred and fifty smaller warships , took part on the Macedonian side , with sixty - five decked warships and a number of smaller warships on the allied side . During the battle Attalus , having become isolated from his fleet and pursued by Philip , was forced to run his three ships ashore , narrowly escaping by spreading various royal treasures on the decks of the grounded ships , causing his pursuers to abandon the pursuit in favor of plunder . The same year , Philip invaded Pergamon ; although unable to take the easily defended city , in part due to precautions taken by Attalus to provide for additional fortifications , he demolished the surrounding temples and altars . Meanwhile , Attalus and Rhodes sent envoys to Rome , to register their complaints against Philip . Second Macedonian War . In 200 BC , Attalus became involved in the Second Macedonian War . Acarnania ns with Macedonian support invaded Attica , causing Athens , which had previously maintained its neutrality , to seek help from the enemies of Philip . Attalus , with his fleet at Aegina , received an embassy from Athens , to come to the city for consultations . A few days later , he learned that Roman ambassadors were also at Athens , and decided to go there at once . His reception at Athens was extraordinary . Polybius writes : Sulpicius Galba , now consul , convinced Rome to declare war on Philip and asked Attalus to meet up with the Roman fleet and again conduct a naval campaign , harassing Macedonian possessions in the Aegean . In the spring of 199 BC , the combined Pergamon and Roman fleets took Andros in the Cyclades , the spoils going to the Romans and the island to Attalus . From Andros they sailed south , made a fruitless attack on another Cycladic island , Kithnos , turned back north , scavenged the fields of Skiathos off the coast of Magnesia , for food , and continued north to Mende , where the fleets were wracked by storm . On land they were repulsed at Cassandrea , suffering heavy loss . They continued northeast along the Macedonian coast to Acanthus , which they sacked , after which they returned to Euboea , their vessels laden with spoils . On their return , the two leaders went to Heraclea to meet with the Aetolians , who under the terms of their treaty , had asked Attalus for a thousand soldiers . He refused , citing the Aetolians ' own refusal to honor Attalus ' request to attack Macedonia during Philip ' s attack on Pergamon two years earlier . Resuming operations , Attalus and the Romans attacked but failed to take Oreus and , deciding to leave a small force to invest it , attacked across the straight in Thessaly . When they returned to Oreus , they again attacked , this time successfully , the Romans taking the captives , Attalus the city . The campaigning season now over , Attalus attended the Eleusinian Mysteries and then returned to Pergamon having been away for over two years . In the spring of 198 BC , Attalus returned to Greece with twenty - three quinquereme s joining a fleet of twenty Rhodian decked warships at Andros , to complete the conquest of Euboea begun the previous year . Soon joined by the Romans , the combined fleets took Eretria and later Carystus . Thus , the allies controlled all of Euboea except for Chalcis . The allied fleet then sailed for Cenchreae in preparation for an attack on Corinth . Meanwhile , the new Roman consul for that year , Titus Quinctius Flamininus , had learned that the Achaean League , allies of Macedon , had had a change in leadership which favored Rome . With the hope of inducing the Achaeans to abandon Philip and join the allies , envoys were sent , including Attalus himself , to Sicyon , where they offered the incorporation of Corinth into the Achaean League . Attalus apparently so impressed the Sicyonians , that they erected a colossal statue of him in their market place and instituted sacrifices in his honor . A meeting of the League was convened and after a heated debate and the withdrawal of some of delegates the rest agreed to join the alliance . Attalus led his army from Cenchreae ( now controlled by the allies ) through the Isthmus and attacked Corinth from the north , controlling the access to Lechaeum , the Corinthian port on the Gulf of Corinth , the Romans attacked from the east controlling the approaches to Cenchreae , with the Achaeans attacking from the west controlling the access to the city via the Sicyonian gate . However the city held , and when Macedonian reinforcements arrived , the siege was abandoned . The Achaeans were dismissed , the Romans left for Corcyra , while Attalus sailed for Piraeus . Early in 197 BC , Flamininus , summoned Attalus to join him at Elateia ( now in Roman hands ) and from there they traveled together to attend a Boeotian council in Thebes to discuss which side Boeotia would take in the war . At the council Attalus spoke first , reminding the Boeotians of the many things he and his ancestors had done for them , but during his address he stopped talking and collapsed , with one side of his body paralyzed . Attalus was taken back to Pergamon , where he died around the time of the Battle of Cynoscephalae , which brought about the end of the Second Macedonian War . Family . Attalus married Apollonis , from Cyzicus . They had four sons , Eumenes , Attalus , Philetaerus and Athenaeus ( after Apollonis ' father ) . Polybius describes Apollonis as " a woman who for many reasons deserves to be remembered , and with honor . Her claims upon a favourable recollection are that , though born of a private family , she became a queen , and retained that exalted rank to the end of her life , not by the use of meretricious fascinations , but by the virtue and integrity of her conduct in private and public life alike . Above all , she was the mother of four sons with whom she kept on terms of the most perfect affection and motherly love to the last day of her life . " The filial " affection " of the brothers as well as their upbringing is remarked on by several ancient sources . A decree of Antiochus IV praises " king Attalus and queen Apollonis … because of their virtue and goodness , which they preserved for their sons , managing their education in this way wisely and well . " An inscription at Pergamon represents Apollonis as saying that " she always considered herself blessed and gave thanks to the gods , not for wealth or empire , but because she saw her three sons guarding the eldest and him reigning without fear among those who were armed . " When Attalus died in 197 BC at the age of 72 , he was succeeded by his eldest son Eumenes II . Polybius , describing Attalus ' life says " and what is more remarkable than all , though he left four grown - up sons , he so well settled the question of succession , that the crown was handed down to his children ' s children without a single dispute . "