Pergamum and an anthrax epidemic under Antoninus Pius 

In the years 146-147 AD a terrible anthrax epidemic hit the province of Asia. Yet, in this painful situation, the city of Pergamum, home of the famous Asklepieion, became almost a symbol of resilience and was a place of exceptional meetings for the adolescent Galen: the physician and sophist Satyrus, the benefactor and consul Lucius Cuspius Pactumeius Rufinus, the rhetorician and ‘sick’ Publius Aelius Aristides. 

Keywords: Antoninus Pius, Pergamum, medicine, euergetism, disease.