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Baalbeck, Lebanon's greatest Roman treasure, can be counted among the wonders of the ancient world. The largest and most noble Roman temples ever built, they are also among the best preserved.
Towering high above the Beqaa plain, their monumental proportions
proclaimed the power and wealth of Imperial Rome. The gods
worshipped here, the Triad of Jupiter, Venus and Mercury, were
grafted onto the indigenous deities of Hadad, Atargatis and a young
male god of fertility. Local influences are also seen in the
planning and layout of the temples, which vary from the classic
Roman design. Fortunately, the modern visitor can see the site in something close to its original form thanks to work in the past hundred years by German, French and Lebanese archaeologists.
Baalbeck is located on two main historic trade routes, one between
the Mediterranean coast and the Syrian interior and the other
between northern Syria and northern Palestine.
Today the city, 85 kilometers from Beirut, is an important
administrative and economic center in the northern Beqaa valley.
The temple complex of Baalbeck is made up of the Jupiter Temple and
the Bacchus Temple adjacent to it. A short distance away is the
circular structure known as the Temple of Venus. Only part of the
staircase remains of a fourth temple dedicated to Mercury, on Kheikh
Abdallah hill.
The first view the visitor has of Baalbeck is the six Corinthian
columns of the Great Temple thrusting 2 The complex of the Great Temple has four sections: the monumental entrance or Propylaea, the Hexagonal Court, the Great Court and finally the Temple itself, where the six famous columns stand. The Propylaea
The Propylaea completed in the mid-3rd century A.D., is approached
by a large semicircle of stone benches and a partially The Hexagonal Forecourt
Three doors lead to the Hexagonal Forecourt where 30 granite columns
originally supported the entablature. This six-sided form was built
between the Propylaea and the Great Court in the first half of the
3rd century A.D. At the end of the 4rth century or the early 5th century, it was covered with a dome and transformed into a church. The Great Court Built in the 2nd century A.D., covered an area 134x112 meters and contained the main installation of the cult. Structurally, the court is a platform built on the leveled-off top of the ancient artificial tell. The tell was consolidated on the eastern, northern and southern sides by vaulted substructures, and on the western side by the temple's podium. These substructures supported the porticos and exedrae around the Court and were used for stables and storage.
Two huge structures stand in the center of the Great Court: a
restored sacrificial altar and a tower with only the lower courses
remaining. The tower, dating from the beginning of the 1st century
A.D., was probably built to allow the worshipers to view the
proceedings from the top. It was flanked by two solitary columns of
gray and red granite. two pools for ritual washing, decorated with
relief carvings, were placed north and south of both altar and
tower. these structures were destroyed when a Christian basilica was
built on the site at the end of the 4th century. The entire Court was enclosed by a succession of rectangular and semi-circular exedrae or recesses decorated by niches which contained statues. Surrounding the Court, in front of the exedrae, was an 84-column Corinthian colonnade of Egyptian granite. on the exterior walls of the Court the remains of medieval battlements can still be seen. Temple of Jupiter After passing through the Propylaea, the Hexagonal Forecourt and Great Court, the worshiper at last arrived at the Temple of Jupiter. This approach to the sanctuary through a series of defined spaces was an apparent oriental adaptation. The Temple measures 88x48 meters and stands on a podium 13 meters above the surrounding terrain and 7 meters above the courtyard. It is reached by a monumental stairway.
Originally surrounded by 54 external columns, most of these now lie
in fragments on the ground. The six standing columns are joined by
an entablature decorated with a frieze of bulls and lions' heads
connected by garlands.
The Podium is built with some of the largest stone blocks ever hewn.
On the west side of the podium is the "Trilithon", a celebrated
group of three enormous stones weighing about 800 tons each. Next to the Jupiter complex is a separate building known as the Temple of Bacchus. Constructed during the first half of the 2nd century A.D., it has been remarkably well preserved. While the Great Temple was dedicated to the public cult of the Heliopolitan Triad, the little temple was apparently consecrated to a mysterious and initiatic cult centered around the young god of Baalbeck. This god was identified as a solar and growth deity, whose birth and growth promised regeneration and eternal life to the faithful.
Wine and other drugs, such as opium, may have been used by the worshipers and it was the carvings of grapes and poppies on the main door jamb and some carved Bacchic scenes, which suggested the temple's identification with Bacchus.
Thirty-three steps lead up to the entrance and the whole structure
sits on a platform five meters high. The entrance through the lofty
monumental gate and the view of its ornate interior constitute one
of the loveliest sights of Baalbeck. The stairs on either side of
the doorway may have had some ritual function.
The 15th century tower at the corner of this temple is a good
example of the Mamluke fortifications of Baalbeck. From the top of
the tower a view can be had of the surrounding area. The gem-like temple southeast of the acropolis was built in the 3rd century A.D. Its design and size, as well as its orientation towards the Great Temple, set it apart from the other Baalbeck temples. These attributes also help identify it as the temple of the Fortune of Baalbeck, that is the tutelary divinity of the City, under the protection of its great gods. It was not by accident that during the Byzantine period it was converted into a church dedicated to Saint Barbara, who is the patron saint of Baalbeck to this day.
Near the Temple of Venus are the remains of "The Temple of the
Muses", dating from the beginning of the 1st century A.D.
In front of the acropolis entrance, this mosque dates from the
7th-8th centuries of the Omayyad period. Built on what was the site
of the Roman forum and later a Byzantine church dedicated to St.
John, At Boustan el-Khan south of the temples are important remains of public baths, a market and probably a bouleuterion, or assembly hall. Ras El-Ain This ancient spring, now incorporated into modern Baalbeck, has been a source of water since antiquity. Here are traces of a Roman shrine and nympheun as well as remains of a Mamluke mosque built in 1277.
Quarries At the southern entrance of town is a quarry where the stones used in the temples were cut. A huge block, considered the largest hewn stone in the world, still sits where it was cut almost 2,000 years ago. Called the "Stone of the Pregnant Woman", it is 21.5m x 4.8m x 4.2meters in size and weighs an estimated 1,000 tons. There is another quarry at Al-Kiyyâl, southwest of town after Qoubbat Douris. Quoubbat al-Amjad On Sheikh Abdallah Hill are the remains of the Zawiya - Mosque and tomb of "Sheikh Abdallah Al-Youmînî", built under the rule of Al-Amjad, grand nephew of Saladin and governor of Baalbeck between 1182 and 1230. It was constructed of stones from the neighboring temple of Mercury.
City Gate Qoubbat as-Saadin Not far from the City Gate is a two-room mausoleum built in 1409, which served as a burial place for the Mamluke governors of Baalbeck. Qoubbat Douris At the southern entrance of town is the site of an octagonal structure composed of eight Roman granite columns. Built during the 13th century, it was originally covered with a cupola and held an Ayyoubid tomb. |
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meters into the skyline. Built on a podium seven meters above the
Court, these six columns and the entablature on top give an idea of
the vast scale of the original structure.
