Hosn Sfiri

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Hosn Sfiri (alternatively also Hössn Sfiri ) is the name of a group of temples in Lebanon . It is located around 20 kilometers east of Tripoli , on the western slopes of the Lebanon Mountains . A district with three architecturally very different temples forms the center of the area, three other smaller buildings are in the immediate vicinity.

Temple precinct

This main district of Hosn Sfiri is located on a mountain saddle at about 1200 meters above sea level. It was in cultic use from the first to at least the third century AD. In the course of this time, an antenna temple , a podium temple and a third building, which does not fit into the common typology of Greek and Roman temples, were built. In late antiquity , the area was surrounded by a wall for defense purposes. Hence the name component Hosn ( fortress ) is derived.

Ante temple

This temple is the northernmost in the district. It is an east- facing temple with two pillars on the front. He has no podium . Since the terrain slopes to the east, a staircase had to be built at the front. A central portal, which is flanked by a small side door to the right, leads to the temple's cella . The Adyton (the area with the cult image) is not separated by another wall, but is located on an approximately 140 cm high podium that takes up the entire width of the cella.

In the area in front of the temple, a Weihaltar was found with an inscription that was difficult to understand, possibly containing a reference to the cult of Juppiter Heliopolitanus . Due to stylistic features, this temple is dated to the beginning of the imperial era .

Kyria Temple

The Temple of Kyria is located southeast of the Temple of Ante. It is oriented roughly north-south, with its central axis intersecting that of the temple of the Antennae at a right angle. The buildings refer to each other. Its architecture is unusual for Greek or Roman temples, but it is more common in Lebanon: in its first phase of construction it consisted of a square walled area with a square pedestal in the center. A pillar surrounded by columns stood on top of it. The roof construction of this component, sometimes called naiskos (Greek: little temple ), is not known. In a second construction phase, the courtyard was extended to the south.

The cult of this temple has been handed down in inscriptions. A dedicatory inscription above the door names a goddess circumscribed as Kyria (Greek for "mistress"), whose identity has not been finally clarified. A second, more recent inscription names Aphrodite . The first of the two inscriptions may not have been made until after AD 212, as it contains the family name Aurelius , which refers to a granting of citizenship in the course of the Constitutio Antoniniana . This date probably relates to the second phase of construction of the temple.

Podium stamp

The third and largest building in the district is located south of the Temple of Ante and immediately west of the Temple of Kyria. It is an east-facing podium temple , which however remained unfinished. Neither the staircase nor the columns running all around were erected, according to the proportions six should have been planned on the narrow sides and eleven on the long sides. The walls of the cella, however, exist. The portal at the front has side doors on both sides, but the left one does not lead into the cella, but to a staircase inside the wall. At the rear end of the cella, like the Antentempel, a podium rises. Under this is a crypt .

There is no evidence whatsoever that a cult was ever practiced in the unfinished temple. It is dated by an inscription on the outside of the north wall of the cella, in which some craftsmen report that they built "this wall and that which towers above the small door" in AD 283/284 .

Remaining buildings

To the north of the temple area there were two other cult buildings on a ridge. A sanctuary stood on a terrace about 20 meters above the temple area, the structure of which resembles that of the Kyria temple: a walled courtyard, in the middle of which was the naiskos with the cult image. Another sanctuary towered over the top of the ridge. It consists only of that naiskos without the surrounding wall. An altar was found to the west of it, underpinning the cultic function of these buildings. The last building is again a podium temple, which is located a little apart from the other temples in the middle of today's village Sfire. These three temples are all poorly preserved or little explored.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ D. Krencker, W. Zschietzschmann: Roman temples in Syria. Berlin 1938, p. 23.
  2. ^ D. Krencker, W. Zschietzschmann: Roman temples in Syria. Berlin 1938, p. 24 ff.
  3. ↑ JB Yon: Les inscriptions de Hosn Sfiré. In: Topoi. 16, 2009, pp. 189-206, here p. 193.
  4. ↑ J. Aliquot: La vie religieuse au Liban sous l'Empire Romain. Beirut 2009, p. 239.
  5. ↑ J. Aliquot: La vie religieuse au Liban sous l'Empire Romain. Beirut 2009, p. 240.
  6. ↑ JB Yon: Les inscriptions de Hosn Sfiré. In: Topoi. 16, 2009, pp. 189-206, here pp. 196-197.
  7. ↑ J. Aliquot: La vie religieuse au Liban sous l'Empire Romain. Beirut 2009, p. 238.
  8. ↑ JB Yon: Les inscriptions de Hosn Sfiré. In: Topoi. 16, 2009, pp. 189-206, here p. 199.
  9. ↑ J. Aliquot: La vie religieuse au Liban sous l'Empire Romain. Beirut 2009, pp. 240, 242.

literature

  • Daniel Krencker , Willy Zschietzschmann (Ed.): Roman temples in Syria. After recordings and investigations by members of the German Baalbek expedition 1901–1904 and own recordings in 1933 (= Monuments of ancient architecture. 5, text volume, ZDB -ID 535277-0 ). Text tape. de Gruyter, Berlin et al. 1938.
  • Robert Donceel: Recherches et travaux archéologiques récents au Liban (1962–65). In: L'Antiquité classique . Vol. 35, No. 1, 1966, pp. 222-261, JSTOR 41673356 .
  • George Taylor: The roman temples of Lebanon. A pictorial guide. Dar el-Machreq Publishers, Beirut 1967.
  • Julien Aliquot: La vie religieuse au Liban sous l'Empire Romain (= Bibliothèque Archéologique et Historique. Vol. 189). Presses de l'Institut Français du Proche-Orient, Beirut 2009, ISBN 978-2-35159-160-4 .
  • Jean-Baptiste Yon: Les inscriptions de Hosn Sfiré. In: Topoi. Vol. 16, No. 1, 2009, ISSN  1161-9473 , pp. 189-206 .
  • Erwin M. Ruprechtsberger , Sebastian Scherzer: From the Lebanon Mountains to the Syrian Desert. Hosn Sfiri, Palmyra, Qasr al-Hayr al-Sharqi (= Linz archaeological research. Special issue. 49), City of Linz City Council, Linz 2014, ISBN 978-3-85484-597-3 .

Coordinates: 34 ° 24 ′ 5 ″  N , 36 ° 3 ′ 33 ″  E