Ostia Synagogue

Relief of a menorah in the Ostia synagogue

The synagogue of the ancient city of Ostia was found in 1961 and excavated and partially restored in the following years. The construction was at the mouth of the Tiber .

A relief with a menorah (seven-armed candlestick) and lamps with the same motif were found in the building, which allowed it to be identified as a synagogue . The current ruins represent the construction of the fourth century, but earlier construction phases could be determined. The oldest is dated under Claudius (41–54 AD); It is not known whether the building was used as a synagogue at that time. LM White assumes that the building went through several phases of development. Like other well-known synagogues (such as the synagogue of Dura Europos in Syria), the one in Ostia was built from an already existing building. He dates this first phase to the end of the 1st century AD with the construction of an Insula complex at the end of the 1st century AD. Only after a renovation in the middle of the 2nd century AD. Chr / at the end of the 2nd century AD, the building was converted into a synagogue.

The building consists of a main hall with benches on three sides. It had a monumental entrance with four pillars and a triclinium . The main entrance is oriented to the southeast, i.e. to Jerusalem .

The building is considered to be one of the most important surviving evidence of Judaism in ancient Italy .

Excavations

The remains of the ancient building were found in April 1961 during excavations led by Maria Floriani Squarciapino . The actual excavations began in May of the same year. In June architraves with Jewish symbols came to light, which made it possible to identify it as a synagogue. This excavation was mainly limited to the rising masonry. In the following year, older construction phases were also examined. Now adjoining walls have also been exposed.

literature

Birger Olsson, Dieter Mitternacht, Olof Brandt (Ed.): The Synagogue of Ancient Ostia and the Jews of Rome. Interdisciplinary Studies (= Svenska Institutet i Rom. Skrifter. 4 °. 62). Åström, Stockholm 2001, ISBN 91-7042-165-X .
L. Michael White: Synagogue and Society in Imperial Ostia: Archaeological and Epigraphic Evidence. In: Karl P. Donfried, Peter Richardson (Eds.): Judaism and Christianity in first-century Rome. Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, MI et al. 1998, ISBN 0-8028-4265-8 , pp. 30-68.

Web links

Commons : Synagogue of Ostia - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Remarks

^ L. Michael White: Synagogue and Society in Imperial Ostia: Archaeological and Epigraphic Evidence. In: Karl P. Donfried, Peter Richardson (Eds.): Judaism and Christianity in first-century Rome. 1998, ISBN 0-8028-4265-8 , pp. 30-68, here p. 49 f.

41.748888888889 12.288611111111Coordinates: 41 ° 44 ′ 56 ″ N , 12 ° 17 ′ 19 ″ E

[1] L. Michael White: Synagogue and Society in Imperial Ostia: Archaeological and Epigraphic Evidence. In: Karl P. Donfried, Peter Richardson (Eds.): Judaism and Christianity in first-century Rome. 1998, ISBN 0-8028-4265-8 , pp. 30-68, here p. 49 f.