Leaving Troy we drove to the modern town of Bergama for lunch. The town is dominated by the ruins of the ancient acropolis of Pergamon (or Pergamum). This was settled by Aeolian Greeks in the 8th century BC and later was bequeathed to Rome in 133 BC becoming the capital of the Roman province of Asia. The most impressive part of the ruins is the white marble temple in honour of the Roman Emperor Trajan. The city at one time had a famous library reputedly containing 200,000 parchments but much of this was presented to the library in Alexandria by Mark Anthony as a wedding gift to Cleopatra.
At a lower elevation is the Asclepeion. This was one of a number of medical centre in the ancient world named after the god Asclepius. Pilgrims flocked to asclepieia to be healed. The cures were often more psychological than physical and involved visits to the baths or a gymnasium. Since snakes were sacred to Asclepius, they were often used in healing rituals. Some underground tunnels still exist at the Asclepeion site where the patients would be induced into a trance like state by vapours and sounds of water and music. The famous physician Galen was born in Pergamon is 129 AD and studied at the Asclepeion before settling in Rome, where he served prominent members of Roman society and eventually was given the position of personal physician to several emperors.