Pergamum, the Worldly Church Revelation 2:12–17

Pergamum was noted for its pagan religions and many heathen temples. Among others, they worshiped Dionysus, the god of vegetation, and Aesculapius, the god of healing. A medical school was attached to this pagan cult, and the well-known symbol of the medical profession—a serpent twined around a staff—first appeared there. The great altar dedicated to the chief Greek savior-god, Zeus Olympus, w