Temple of Gadde

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The female patron deity of Palmyra
Relief with the protective deity (Gad) of Dura Europos in the center
Relief with the figure of Jarchibol

The Temple of Gadde is a double temple in the Syrian Dura Europos , which is dedicated to the protective deities (Gaddē - Gad translates as "the Lord") of the city and Palmyra . The structure was excavated between March 1936 and January 1936 by an American-French expedition from Yale University under the direction of Michael Rostovtzeff .

The building is located near the agora . It is a courtyard temple that was built or at least expanded in the last years of Parthian rule (the city was conquered by the Romans around 165 AD ). The temple complex is approximately 42 × 22 m and consists of two parts. In the south is the main courtyard with the main sanctuary. In the north there is another courtyard with various side rooms. A propylon leads to a courtyard. Opposite is the pronaos and the cella ( Naos 3) with further rooms. The pronaos is 11.05 m wide and 5.10 deep. The hall was once about 8 m high and decorated with wall paintings, which were only found in small fragments. The cella is 4.48 m wide and 4.12 m deep. There were three niches on the west side.

One part of the rooms was decorated with figural wall paintings. Little of this has survived, however. On the right-hand side (as seen from the main entrance) there is another courtyard through a hall with benches on the walls. Here is another cella. The exact age of the temple complex is unknown. It has been expanded again and again over time. A total of four construction phases can be distinguished. The last phase of construction (IV) is dated around AD 159. Two reliefs are dated to this year. Construction phase III must have ended around 150 AD. The two earlier phases date back to the centuries without exact dates being given. Apparently, after 159 the temple was not significantly rebuilt. Numerous small altars were set up in the temple and a terrace was added to the main entrance.

Two consecration reliefs were found in the temple, both in the main cella (Naos 3) . One of them shows the female patron deity of Palmyra in the pose of the Tyche of Antioch. She sits between two figures and wears a wall crown and a Greek robe. A priest stands on the left, a Nike on the right . The relief is made of Palmyric limestone. A dedicatory inscription in Palmyrenian reads: The Gad of Palmyra, made by Hairan bar Mailua bar Nasor . A second inscription on the relief gives a date: In the month of Nisan, the year 470 (159 AD).

On the other hand, the male patron deity of Dura Europos is depicted on the other relief. She is bearded and wears a tunic . It is very likely to be Zeus Megistus. On his right is Seleukos Nikator , as the inscription in the Palmyrenic language indicates, on the other side is the one consecrating the relief. Dura Europos was founded under Seleukos Nikator, so that the ruler enjoyed a special veneration in the city even later. The consecration relief is probably a Palmyrene work. It comes from the same founder and from the same year as the first; the dedicatory inscription reads in translation: The god Gad of Dura; made by Hairan bar Maliku Nasor, in the month of Nisan, in the year 470 (159 AD).

In the cella there was finally a relief that depicts the Semitic god Jarchibol . An inscription names the Bani Mitha, the archers as donors.

Various graffiti were found in the temple, all of which came from residents of Palmyra. The temple seems to have been built by the Palmyrians for Palmyrians who lived in Dura Europos. Palmyrenians have been in the city with certainty since 33 AD.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ MI Rostovtzeff, FE Brown, CB Welles: The excavations at Dura-Europos: Preliminary Report of Seventh and Eighth Season of Work 1933-1934 and 1934-1935. Yale University Press, New Haven et al. 1939, pp. 256-257.
  2. ^ Delbert R. Hillers, Eleonora Cussini: Palmyrene Aramaic texts. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore 1996, ISBN 0-8018-5278-1 , p. 172, number 1097 (Doura 31).
  3. ↑ MI Rostovtzeff, FE Brown, CB Welles: The excavations at Dura-Europos: Preliminary Report of Seventh and Eighth Season of Work 1933-1934 and 1934-1935. Yale University Press, New Haven et al. 1939, pp. 278-279; Delbert R. Hillers, Eleonora Cussini: Palmyrene Aramaic texts. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore 1996, ISBN 0-8018-5278-1 , p. 172, number 1094 (Doura 28).
  4. ^ Delbert R. Hillers, Eleonora Cussini: Palmyrene Aramaic texts. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore 1996, ISBN 0-8018-5278-1 , p. 172, number 1095 (Doura 29).
  5. ↑ MI Rostovtzeff, FE Brown, CB Welles: The excavations at Dura-Europos: Preliminary Report of Seventh and Eighth Season of Work 1933-1934 and 1934-1935. Yale University Press, New Haven et al. 1939, pp. 258-262, panel XXXIII.
  6. ↑ MI Rostovtzeff, FE Brown, CB Welles: The excavations at Dura-Europos: Preliminary Report of Seventh and Eighth Season of Work 1933-1934 and 1934-1935. Yale University Press, New Haven et al. 1939, pp. 277-278.
  7. ↑ MI Rostovtzeff, FE Brown, CB Welles: The excavations at Dura-Europos: Preliminary Report of Seventh and Eighth Season of Work 1933-1934 and 1934-1935. Yale University Press, New Haven et al. 1939, pp. 279-280.
  8. ↑ MI Rostovtzeff, FE Brown, CB Welles: The excavations at Dura-Europos: Preliminary Report of Seventh and Eighth Season of Work 1933-1934 and 1934-1935. Yale University Press, New Haven et al. 1939, pp. 257-258.
  9. ↑ Lucinda Dirven: Strangers and Sojourners: the religious behavior of Palmyrenes and other foreigners in Dura Europos .ÄÄ In: Lisa R. Brody, Gail L. Hoffman (eds.): Dura Europos, Crossroads of Antiquity. Boston 2011, ISBN 978-1-892850-16-4 , p. 204.

literature

  • MI Rostovtzeff , FE Brown, CB Welles: The excavations at Dura-Europos: Preliminary Report of Seventh and Eighth Season of Work 1933-1934 and 1934-1935. Yale University Press, New Haven et al. 1939, pp. 218-283.
  • Delbert R. Hillers, Eleonora Cussini: Palmyrene Aramaic texts. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore 1996, ISBN 0-8018-5278-1 , pp. 172-173, numbers 1094-1100 (Doura 28-34).

Coordinates: 34 ° 44 ′ 50.6 ″  N , 40 ° 43 ′ 50.9 ″  E