Since the day of its discovery (1878) the Great Altar of Pergamon has been evaluated for its aesthetic and stylistic contribution to Greek art. The aim of this thesis is to study the monument not merely from an art-historical point of view but within its historical and cultural context. The intention is to view the Pergamene monument as a characteristic example of the Hellenistic age and in relation to the Attalids as Hellenistic rulers. It is divided into five chapters. The first deals with the monument itself and the various theories regarding the date of its inception, the number of sculptor/s employed and the theories of interpretation so far suggested. The second chapter examines certain aspects of Attalid policies such as: military history and foreign relations, coinage, cults and festivals, ruler-cult, art and building programme, and finally patronage of learning. The third and fourth chapters deal with the friezes of the monument - the Gigantomachy and Telephos frieze respectively. They examine the iconographic tradition of the myths depicted, the current literature on the style of the friezes, some difficulties with currently accepted theories are noted and new theories advanced. The fifth and final chapter is divided into two parts. The first part points out the elements of the artist's technique that make the monument a characteristic example of the Hellenistic Aesthetic. The second part examines how the imagery on the monument was manipulated by the Attalid kings in their search for self-definition. Their case is examined against the examples of 5th century BC Athens and 1st century BC Augustan Rome