Temple of Bacchus

Temple of Bacchus
General information
Type	Roman temple
Architectural style	Classical
Location	Baalbek, Lebanon Heliopolis, Roman Phoenicia
Completed	late 2nd or early 3rd century
Height	31 m (102 ft)
Technical details
Size	66 by 35 m (217 by 115 ft)
Design and construction
Architect	Unknown
Main contractor	Commissioned by Antoninus Pius

Temple of Bacchus may refer to any temple to the Roman wine god Bacchus or to temples of other gods with which he was equated in antiquity, such as the Greek Dionysus. However, it often refers specifically to the most famous temple of Bacchus, located in Roman Heliopolis (Baalbek).

Heliopolis (Baalbek)

The Temple of Bacchus at Baalbek, a World Heritage site, is one of the best preserved and grandest Roman temple ruins in the world. It and its ornamentation served as an influential model for Neoclassical architecture.^[1]

The temple was commissioned by Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius and designed by an unknown architect and built close to the courtyard in front of the larger temple of Jupiter-Baal.^[2] The period of construction is generally considered between 150 AD to 250 AD.^[2] When the temple complex fell into disrepair, the Temple of Bacchus was protected by the rubble of the rest of the site's ruins. The temple is slightly smaller than Temple of Jupiter and is 66m long, 35m wide, and 31m high.^[2]

Its walls are adorned by forty-two unfluted Corinthian columns, nineteen of which remain upright in position standing 19 m high. The columns support a richly carved entablature. Inside, the cella is decorated with Corinthian "half-columns" flanking two levels of niches on each side, containing scenes from the birth and life of Bacchus. The adyton (inner shrine) stands above a flight of steps. Some historic Roman coins depict the structure of this temple along with Temple of Jupiter.^[3] The storm god Ba'al was worshipped in this temple.^[4]

The Temple is enriched by some of the most refined reliefs and sculpture to survive from antiquity.^[5] The temple is surrounded by forty-two columns—8 along each end and 15 along each side —nearly 20 m (66 ft) in height. These were probably erected in a rough state and then rounded, polished, and decorated in position. The entrance was preserved as late as the XVI century, but the keystone of the lintel had slid 2 ft (1 m) following the 1759 earthquakes; a column of rough masonry was erected in the 1860s or '70s to support it. The 1759 earthquakes also damaged the area around the soffit's famed inscription of an eagle,^[6] which was entirely covered by the keystone's supporting column. The area around the inscription of the eagle was greatly damaged by the 1759 earthquake.^[6] The interior of the temple is divided into a 98 ft (30 m) nave and a 36 ft (11 m) adytum or sanctuary ^[7] on a platform raised 5 ft (2 m) above it and fronted by 13 steps.

In 1984, several ruins of Baalbek, including the Temple of Bacchus, were inscribed as a World Heritage Site.^[8]

The temple is known for its impressive dimensions, richly decorated stone work and monumental gate with Bacchic figures.^[8] The decorative stone carving includes rows of lions and bulls, which were motifs symbolically associated with the two deities.^[9]

See also

• Temple of Jupiter (Roman Heliopolis)

Notes

Bibliography

• Sear, Frank (1982). Roman Architecture. UK: B T Batsford Ltd, UK. Retrieved 12 November 2014. 
• Butcher, Kevin (2003). Roman Syria and the Near East. Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Museum. ISBN 9780892367153. Retrieved 12 November 2014. 
• Jessup, Samuel. Ba'albek (Picturesque Palestine, Sinai and Egypt) Ed. Appleton & Co. New York, 1881 ()

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Temple of Bacchus in Baalbek.

• The Temple of Bacchus at Great Buildings

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Aadloun Aaiha Aammiq Aaqbe Ain Aata Ain Choaab Ain Harcha Akbiyeh Akkar plain foothills Al-Bireh Amioun Amlaq Qatih Anjar, Lebanon Antelias cave Apheca Ard Saouda Ard Tlaili Arqa Baalbek Baidar ech Chamout Batroumine Batroun Bechamoun Beirut Beit Mery Berytus (Roman Beirut) Bustan Birke Byblos Canalizations of Zenobia Dahr El Ahmar Dakoue Deir El Aachayer Deir el Ahmar Deir Mar Maroun Dekwaneh Douris (Baalbek) Elaea (Lebanon) Flaoui Fadous Sud Hebbariye Hadeth south Haret ech Cheikh Hashbai Heliopolis in Phoenicia Hermel plains Iaat Jabal es Saaïdé Jbaa Jdeideh Jebel Aabeby Jeita Grotto Joub Jannine Jieh Kafr Zabad Kamid al lawz Kamouh el Hermel Karak Nuh Kaukaba Kefraya Kafr Tebnit Kfar Qouq Kfarhata Khallet Michte Khirbet El-Knese Kouachra megalith field Ksar Akil Labweh Lake Qaraoun (Ain Jaouze) Libbaya Lion Tower Majdal Anjar Mansourieh Maronite mummies Mayrouba Mdoukha (Jebel Kassir) Moukhtara Mtaileb Nabi Zair Nachcharini Nahle, Lebanon Neba'a Faour Nebi Safa Niha Bekaa Phoenician port of Beirut Plain of Zgharta Qaa Qal'at Bustra Qalaat Tannour Qaraoun Qasr el Banat Ras Baalbek I Ras Beirut Ras El Kelb Rashaya Roman Forum of Berytus Roman hippodrome of Berytus Sands of Beirut Saraain El Faouqa Shheem Sidon Sin el Fil Sarepta Stone of the Pregnant Woman Tahun ben Aissa Taire Tayibe Tell Aalaq Tell Ablah Tell Addus Tell Ahle Tell Ain Cerif Tell Ain el Meten Tell Ain Ghessali Tell Ain Nfaikh Tell Ain Saouda Tell Ain Sofar Tell Ayoub Tell Bar Elias Tell Beshara Tell Bir Dakoue Tell Deir Tell Delhamieh Tell Derzenoun Tell Dibbine Tell el-Burak Tell El Ghassil Tell El Hadeth Tell Fadous Tell Hazzine Tell Hoch Rafqa Tell Karmita Tell Khardane Tell Kirri Tell Jezireh Tell Jisr Tell Kabb Elias Tell Majdaloun Tell Masoud Tell Mekhada Tell Meouchi Tell Mureibit Tell Murtafa Tell Nahariyah Tell Neba'a Chaate Tell Neba'a Litani Tell Qasr Labwe Tell Rasm El Hadeth Tell Rayak Tell Saatiya Tell Safiyeh Tell Saoudhi Tell Serhan Tell Shaikh Hassan al Rai Tell Shamsine Tell Sultan Yakoub Tell Taalabaya Tell Wardeen Tell Zenoub Tell Zeitoun Temnin el-Foka Temple of Bacchus Temple of Eshmun Temple of Jupiter Tlail megaliths Toron Tripolis (region of Phoenicia) Tyre Necropolis Tyre, Lebanon Wadi Boura Wadi Koura Wadi Yaroun Yammoune Yanta Ain W Zain Zahlé

Roman Archaeological sites in Beirut & Lebanon
Roman Berytus (actual Beirut)	Berytus 1 Roman Forum of Berytus Berytus Roman Baths Cisterns of Berytus Baths Berytus Cardo Decumanus Berytus Colonnaded street Byzantine Mosaics Roman hippodrome of Berytus Roman Law school of Berytus
Roman Phoenicia (actual Lebanon)	Baalbeck (Heliopolis in Phoenicia) Temple of Bacchus Temples of Mount Hermon Temples of the Beqaa Valley Arca Caesarea Colonia Aurelia Pia "Sidon" Tyrus 1 Tripolis in Phoenicia Niha Tyre Necropolis Saraain El Faouqa Castra El Banat Castra Chbib Qal'at Bustra temple Nebi Safa temple Mansourieh Roman aqueduct Hebbariye temple Deir Mar Maroun Monastery Dakoue temple Canalizations of Zenobia Batroumine Bakka temple Amioun Monastery Ain Aata temple Afqa Aaqbe temple
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1 UNESCO World Heritage Sites 2 Proposed

Coordinates: 34°00′22″N 36°12′15″E / 34.006079°N 36.204038°E / 34.006079; 36.204038