The Church of the Apostle John in Pergamum (AD 400s)

During the reign of emperor Hadrian (117-138), the Romans built a massive twin-towered temple dedicated to the worship of Egyptian gods, in the lower city of Pergumum (modern Bergama). The entire temple was built over the River Selinus. Because the temple was so large, a church dedicated to the apostle John was built inside it by adding an apse (semicircle) to its eastern end, around the mid-400s. The church’s foundations are still visible. Today, the church is called “Red Basilica.”