These are Roman copies of figures from the monuments erected by King Attalos 1st of Pergamon on the South Wall of the Acropolis in Athens, representing the victories of Gods over Giants, Greeks over Amazons, and Athenians over Persians, as well as his own victories over the Celtic Galatians in central Asia Minor, normally referred to as Gauls — which brought Pergamon great wealth. Despite his easterly location (Pergamon was on the west coast of modern Turkey), Attalos made links with Athens and particularly Rome, mainly to combat the power of Macedonia. He was a noted patron of the arts.

There were four original groups in bronze, and various copies exist