Jarchibol

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Jarchibol, relief from the Temple of Gadde , Dura Europos

Jarchibol ( yrḥbwl - Yarḥibol) was the patron god of the Efca spring in Palmyra . He gave oracles and was entitled " Gad of the source", where Gad means "master" or "protective power". A temple with inscriptions is dedicated to him in Dura Europos .

Jarchibol seems to have been at home in Palmyra since ancient times, as the Amurrites revered him as the earliest known inhabitant of the region. He was originally an ancestral god of the oasis, his admirers were descendants of the first settlers. The source god also took over the function of the divine judge. Since this was traditionally the task of the sun god, Jarchibol took on iconographical features of a sun deity at the turn of the ages. Jarchibol now took a backseat in his prominent role as the patron god of the source, as he became part of a triad and a follower of the supreme sky god Bel , together with the other ancient ancestor god, Aglibol , who was worshiped as a moon god .

Apart from the pictorial representations on the side of the Bel, the name could refer to the role of god. The word Jarchibol can either be divided as “Jarchi is Bol” or as a genitive compound “Jarchi des Bol”. The beginning of the word yrḥ is translated as “to walk, to wander” and contains the meanings “companion” and “messenger”, in which the serving function is expressed and the word formation with genitive is likely.

In an excavation campaign in Palmyra in 2001, oil lamps depicting a sun deity were also found, which also bear the inscription Jarchibol .

In Dura-Europos , the so-called Temple of the Palmyrenian Gods was excavated by James H. Breasted and Franz Cumont . It was near the city wall in the northwest part of the city. The temple consists of an open courtyard with a central altar surrounded by a number of rooms. In Naos and Pronaos there are a total of 16 frescoes, which were created between 50 and 145 AD.

In addition to the Parthian goddess Bithnanaia and her father Konon, Jarchibol with a crown of rays ( nimbus ), aglibol and Baalschamin , which is of course referred to by the Greek name Zeus . Clark Hopkins wants to see Ahura Mazda in the character named Zeus , because the character in question wears Parthian trousers. Representations of the triad of Baalschamin, Sahr, and Samsch are known from Cilicia , Samsch here corresponds to Jarchibol, Sahr Aglibol.

The cult of the Palmyrenean triad Bel, Jarchibol and Aglibol seems to have lasted in Dura Europos until Roman times (after 145 AD). Another triad in Palmyra was formed by the West Semitic sky god Baalschamin, Aglibol and the sun god Malakbel .

literature

  • Clark Hopkins: The Palmyrene Gods at Dura-Europos , In: Journal of the American Oriental Society 51/2 (1931), pp. 119-137.
  • Javier Teixidor: The Pantheon of Palmyra. Études préliminaires aux religions orientales dans l'Émpire romain 79. EJ Brill, Leiden 1979.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ HJW Drijvers: The Religion of Palmyra. Iconography of Religions. EJ Brill, Leiden 1976, p. 13
  2. ↑ Javier Teixidor, pp. 29-34.
  3. ↑ Javier Teixidor, p. 118 f
  4. ↑ Otto Eißfeldt : Temples and Cults of Syrian Cities in Hellenistic-Roman Times. JC Hinrichs Verlag, Leipzig 1941, p. 85

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