#tetrastyle

... mosaic ...

Temple of Zeus Hypsistos

Thelsea (Al-Dumayr, Syria)

94 CE (?)

The temple in Dumeir was a tetrastyle flat-façade temple with Semitic corner Towers. The temple was rededicated several times-  one inscription mentions the not well-known deity Aeichala and another inscription, now in the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris, documents that in the year 94, construction work took place. In this text, the deity is identified as Ba'al Šamem, the "lord of heavens". Later, the god was called Zeus Hypsistos, the Greek name of Ba'al Šamem. 

Some modern scholars identify the group, or groups worshipping Hypsistos, with God-fearers mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles, gentile (non-Jewish) sympathizers with Second Temple Judaism.

 The unusual building itself, essentially a monument with two gates, is perfectly preserved. It must have started as an enclosure surrounding a well. 

While its construction date is unknown, it was probably a Nabatean building, likely converted to a temple around the 2nd century

 In its present state, with walls standing seventeen meter high, the monument dates to the reign of Philip the Arab (r.244-249), who was born in the nearby Hauran region. Corner towers and staircases prove that rituals were performed on the roof, as was customary in Syria. In the Arab period, the building was converted to a fort, the gates being filled with stones.

*top reconstruction is by me, coloring based on references and not on finding on site.  

An interesting altar, now in the Louvre in Paris, offers a lot of information about the people. Its hexagonal shape betrays Roman influence, but the inscription is in Nabataean, a language related to Arabic. It informs us that the local mayor was called "general" and that family relations were quite complex: the altar is erected by one Hani'u, freedman of a lady named Gadilu, daughter of Bagrat and mother of two sons, who were adopted by her second husband, Abdmaniku the General. One these sons, Adramu, became General as well. (The other son was called Nakidu.) Interestingly, the Seleucid Era is called the Roman Era and equated to the regnal years of king Rabbel II of Petra, indicating the double identity of the people of Thelsae.

Khirbet edh-Dharih

Jordan

100 CE

22x16 m

Dharih's Nabataean settlement can be roughly dated to around 100 CE. It flourished during a period of prosperity in times of the Roman annexation of the Nabataean Kingdom. 

The temple (22 m x 16 m) consists of an unroofed vestibule to the south which opens to an almost square complex to the north, with a cultic platform in its center.  The façade facing south was 15 meters high. It had two protruding pedestals that used to host statues on each side of the entrance door, and two large windows above them. The architrave was decorated with carved vines and animals, and had Medusa heads at the corners. The frieze above displayed figures of the Zodiac alternating with winged Victories, and the triangular pediment, sea centaurs crowned by flying Victories. Standing eagles guarded the central figures. While several of the mentioned figures can be seen at the Jordan Museum, the central couple of gods, Dushara and al-'Uzza, can only be guessed from fragments.

The columned podium (7 x 7 m, height 1.40 m) in the center is accessed through two narrow stairways in the front. In the central slab of its pavement is a rectangular hole flanked by two small circular ones. Beneath the slab, a stone basin was found. The excavators interpret this as a system for sticking a betyl, and collecting the offering liquid after the ritual libations. It is not clear if this would have been wine, oil, or even blood. In a later phase, further two betyl holes were added in diagonal, which indicates a cult of a triad of gods.

A narrow U-shaped corridor surrounds the podium on three sides to circumambulate it in ritual processions. The hallway also gives access to two crypts situated under the platform and to the corner rooms. The northeast one encloses a staircase that used to lead to a terraced roof, and the two on the northwest side have large wall cupboards.

It is assumed that the craftsmen of the Dharih temple were the same who decorated the temple on the peak of Jabal et-Tannur.

South Temple of Atil

Atil, Hauran, Syria

151 CE

This small town contains two almost identically designed Roman temples, delicately fashioned from the local basalt stone. The south Temple stems from the Antonine period (151 CE) the second or North Temple (probably dedicated to the Nabataean deity, Theandrites) was built in 211–212 CE. The southern temple is better preserved, while the northern temple has been incorporated into a modern house and tomb. Both have attractively decorated facades with fine detail.

Closeup of the Greek inscription at Atil, Syria. The inscription dates the construction of the temple to the 14th year of the reign of Antoninius Pius (151 CE).

Sources: 1, 2

North Temple of Atil - Temple of Theandrites

Atil, Hauran, Syria

211–212 CE

This small town contains two almost identically designed Roman temples, delicately fashioned from the local basalt stone. The south Temple stems from the Antonine period (151 CE) the second or North Temple (probably dedicated to the Nabataean deity, Theandrites) was built in 211–212 CE. The southern temple is better preserved, while the northern temple has been incorporated into a modern house and tomb. Both have attractively decorated facades with fine detail.

Temple of Ba’al Shamin

Palmyra (Tadmor), Syria

131 CE

The temple of Baalshamin was a prostyle (having free standing columns on the façade only), tetrastyle (four columns across the façade) temple of the Corinthian order with a deep porch (visible in the photo below). As with other Palmyrene architecture, the sanctuary of Baalshamin demonstrated hybridity of design—incorporating both Near Eastern and Graeco-Roman elements. The temple was set within a colonnaded precinct. The temple building dated to c. 130 CE with its altar was built in 115 CE and represents an addition to a sanctuary that already existed by 17 CE. The temple itself is conventional in its external design, meaning it conforms to what one would expect from a Classical Graeco-Roman structure. The four freestanding columns across the façade are complemented by engaged pilasters at the sides and back. 

The temple’s cult is dedicated to Baalshamin or Ba'al Šamem, a northwest Semitic divinity. The name Baalshamin is applied to various divinities at different periods in time, but most often to Hadad, also known simply as Ba’al. Along with Bel, Baalshamin was one of the two main divinities of pre-Islamic Palmyra in Syria and was a sky god. 

The colonnaded precinct experienced several phases of development during the first century CE. (prior to the addition of the current temple). By the time of the temple’s construction, the colonnade had become a so-called Rhodian peristyle—meaning one flank was taller than the other three. The complex continued to develop across the course of the second century.The temple itself adopts a Near Eastern motif of including a window in each of the cella’s flanks, a trait that is not Graeco-Roman but that finds comparison in contemporary temples in Lebanon. These windows reflect the belief that the divinity dwelled in the temple. 

The temple was originally a part of an extensive precinct of three courtyards and represented a fusion of ancient Syrian and Roman architectural styles. The temple's proportions and the capitals of its columns were Roman in inspiration, while the elements above the architrave and the side windows followed the Syrian tradition. The highly stylized acanthus patterns of the Corinthian orders also indicated an Egyptian influence. The temple had a six-column pronaos with traces of corbels and an interior which was modelled on the classical cella. The side walls were decorated with pilasters.

The temple would have been closed during the persecution of pagans in the late Roman Empire in a campaign against the temples of the East made by Maternus Cynegius, Praetorian Prefect of Oriens, between 25 May 385 to 19 March 388. With the spreading of Christianity in the region in the 5th century CE, the temple was converted to a church.

Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Temple of the Standards (Principia of Diocletians Camp)

Palmyra (Tadmor), Syria

4th century CE

The so-called Temple of the Standards in Palmyra, Syria is what remains of a Roman principia, military headquarters, in the Camp of Diocletian. The camp is located within the wall and on the western edge of the city. The camp with its civic and private buildings was part of a larger series of civic renovations that took place during the reign of Diocletian. These improvements included the camp, the wall that surrounds much of the city, and the Baths of Diocletian in the eastern side of the city. The placement of the principia within the camp and within the city allow it to exert control over the city.

The principia is the symbolic and physical center of a Roman military encampment. In Palmyra, the principia is only approachable via a monumental staircase that directs the viewer towards the center. They enter a deep portico to see a rectangular room that ends in an apse that houses the military standards. The standards, signa, were the embodiment of Roman power. A legion would be disbanded if they lost their standards; it was the worst dishonor that they could suffer. Standards fulfilled various roles and came in many shapes and sizes. All of these would have been housed in the shrine.

Rome relied heavily on built environments to establish their power, and the principia in Palmyra is no different. It is elevated due to its position on a hill and its elevated base. A taller building or a building located on higher ground indicates its importance in the social hierarchy. The correlation between height of a building and status is a cross-cultural one. Visitors to Palmyra would not have been left wondering as to who was in control of the city. Scale plays a role in the establishment of political power. Structures that were grand in scale act as highly visible symbols of national prestige and power. As such, it was used to confirm or announce a hierarchy. 

Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Temple of Dionysus or Liber

Salona, Dalmatia, Croatia

~1st century CE

The temple of Dionysus or Liber was Tetrastyle Corinthian pronaos temple dedicated to Dionysus/ Liber. The temple consisted of a square cella and a deep vestibule with four massive Corinthian columns.

Walls encircled the town as early as the 2nd century BCE as it was considered an important military center. At the time, the Romans were involved in a series of campaigns to conquer Dalmatia and Salona seesawed several times between local and Roman control.

Sometime between 40 BCE and 33 BCE (the exact date is uncertain) Salona became a Roman colony named Colonia Martia Ivlia Salona. Roman traders and war veterans flocked to the town and under Emperor Augustus it became the capital of the Roman province of Dalmatia.

Throughout the first century CE, Salona developed rapidly. The expanded city was fortified with strong walls and towers, especially on the more vulnerable northern side. In the southeastern side, a Forum was erected and next to it a theatre that held 3500 people. A century later, an amphitheatre was built that held up to 17,000 spectactors. At its height, the population may have reached 60,000 people, making it one of the largest towns in the Roman empire.