Attalus I in the context of "Soter"

The Dying Gaul, also called The Dying Galatian (Italian: Galata Morente) or The Dying Gladiator, is an ancient Roman marble semi-recumbent statue now in the Capitoline Museums in Rome. It is a copy of a now lost Greek sculpture from the Hellenistic period (323–31 BC) thought to have been made in bronze. The original may have been commissioned at some time between 230 and 220 BC by Attalus I of Pergamon to celebrate his victory over the Galatians, the Celtic or Gaulish people of parts of Anatolia. The original sculptor is believed to have been Epigonus, a court sculptor of the Attalid dynasty of Pergamon.

Until the 20th century, the marble statue was usually known as The Dying Gladiator, on the assumption that it depicted a wounded gladiator in a Roman amphitheatre. However, in the mid-19th century it was re-identified as a Gaul or Galatian and the present name "Dying Gaul" gradually achieved popular acceptance. The identification as a "barbarian" was evidenced for the figure's neck torc, thick hair and moustache, weapons and shield carved on the floor, and a type of Gallic horn, a carnyx, between his legs.

The First Macedonian War (214–205 BC) was fought by Rome, allied (after 211 BC) with the Aetolian League and Attalus I of Pergamon, against Philip V of Macedon, contemporaneously with the Second Punic War (218–201 BC) against Carthage. There were no decisive engagements, and the war ended in a stalemate.

During the war, Macedon attempted to gain control over parts of Illyria, but without success. It is commonly thought that these skirmishes in the east prevented Macedon from aiding the Carthaginian general Hannibal in the war with Rome. The Peace of Phoenice (205 BC) formally ended the war.

The Battle of the Caecus River or Battle of the Kaikos was a battle between an army of the Kingdom of Pergamon commanded by Attalus I, and the Galatian tribes who resided in Anatolia (Asia Minor). The battle took place near the source of the Caecus River (Ancient Greek: Κάϊκος, romanized: Káïkos) and resulted in a victory for the Kingdom of Pergamon.

The exact date of the battle is unknown, but it seems to have taken place early in the reign of Attalus I. Attalus I celebrated it as a great victory and as establishing his legitimacy as ruler early in his reign, and used it as a reason to dub himself Soter, Savior, and to take the title of basileus, king. R. E. Allen suggests the early 230s (238 to 235 BC) as the best guess of the date.

Achaeus (Ancient Greek: Ἀχαιός, Achaiós; died 214 BC) was a general and later a separatist ruler of part of the Greek Seleucid kingdom. He was the son of Andromachus, whose sister Laodice II married Seleucus II Callinicus, the father of Antiochus III the Great. He accompanied Seleucus III Ceraunus, the son of Callinicus, in his expedition across mount Taurus against Attalus I, and after the assassination of Seleucus III Ceraunus revenged his death; and though he might easily have assumed the royal power right then, he remained faithful to Antiochus III, brother of Seleucus III, for the time being, that is until he proclaimed himself king in 220 BC.

During a military engagement between Ptolemy III and Seleucus II, the precise circumstances of which are still unknown, his father Andromachus fell captive to Ptolemy III. Andromachus was eventually suggested to be a bargaining chip which would force Achaeus to join forces with Ptolemy against Seleucus, though at this stage Achaeus' loyalty was still unwavering.