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Heliopolis in Phoenicia

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The ruins of Roman Heliopolis in the early 1900s

Heliopolis, fully "Colonia Julia Augusta Felix Heliopolitana" (Latin for the "Fortunate Julian Augustan Colony in the City of the Sun"), was a colony of the Roman Empire. It was also known as Heliopolis in Phoenicia to distinguish it from Heliopolis in Egypt. It was known to locals as Baalbek and it has since regained its historic name. Its ruins are a Unesco world heritage site

History

Ancient Baalbek (under its Hellenic name Heliopolis) formed part of the Diadochi kingdoms of Egypt & Syria. It was annexed by the Romans during their eastern wars. The Italic settlers of the Roman colony "Colonia Julia Augusta Felix Heliopolitana" may have arrived as early as the time of Caesar but were more probably the veterans of two Roman Legions under Augustus, during which time it hosted a Roman garrison.

The famous Trilithon of Heliopolis
Corinthian capitals ornamenting the Temple of Bacchus

Indeed the veterans of two Roman legions were established in the city (and region) of Berytus by emperor Augustus: the fifth Macedonian and the third Gallic., and Heliopolis from 15 BC to 193 AD formed part of the territory of Berytus. The population was mainly local in the second century under Hadrian with a few descendants of the Roman colonists and likely varied seasonally with market fairs and the schedules of the caravans to the coast and interior.

During Classical Antiquity, the city's temple to Baʿal & Haddu was conflated first with the worship of the Greek sun god Helios and then with the Greek and Roman sky god under the name "Heliopolitan Zeus" or "Jupiter". The present Temple of Jupiter presumably replaced an earlier one using the same foundation. The presence of a huge quarry was one of the reasons for the Roman decision to create a huge "Great Court" of a big pagan temple complex in this mountain site, located at nearly 1100 meters of altitude and on the eastern Borders of the Roman Empire: it took three centuries to create this colossal Roman paganism's temple complex, called Sanctuary of Heliopolis.

Monoliths

Heliopolis contains some of the biggest monoliths of Classical Antiquity, inccuding the Baalbek Trilithon and the Stone of the Pregnant Woman:

Date Building / Object Monolith Weight
(in t)
Comment
1st–2nd c. Stone of the Pregnant Woman Block in quarry ~1000.12
? Unnamed monolith Block in quarry ~1242
? Unnamed monolith Block in quarry ~1650 Biggest monolith in the world
1st–2nd c. Layer beneath Trilithon / Blocks, several ~350 Podium of Jupiter temple
1st–2nd c. Trilithon Blocks, three ~800 Podium of Jupiter temple
1st–2nd c. Temple of Jupiter Column drum, lower ~1148.5
1st–2nd c. Temple of Jupiter Architrave-frieze block, central ~1163 Lifted by cranes to height of 19 m
1st–2nd c. Temple of Jupiter Cornice block, corner ~1108 Lifted by cranes to height of 19 m
The "Great Court" of ancient Heliopolis's temple complex (seen from the Temple of Jupiter)
Roman Heliopolis and its surroundings in the third century

References

  1. UNESCO: Heliopolis/Baalbeck
  2. Roman Berytus: a colony of legionaries
  3. Cook Arthur 550
  4. Video-Panoramas of the Sanctuary temples at Discover Lebanon: Heliopolis temples
  5. Ruprechtsberger 1999, p. 15 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFRuprechtsberger1999 (help)
  6. Ruprechtsberger 1999, p. 17 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFRuprechtsberger1999 (help)
  7. ^ Adam, Jean-Pierre (1977). "À propos du trilithon de Baalbek: Le transport et la mise en oeuvre des mégalithes". Syria (in French). 54 (1/2): 31–63. doi:10.3406/syria.1977.6623.
  8. ^ Coulton, J.J. (1974). "Lifting in Early Greek Architecture". Journal of Hellenic Studies. Vol. 94. {{cite journal}}: |volume= has extra text (help)

Bibliography

  • Alouf, Michael. History of Baalbek Publisher American Press. Beirut, 1998 ()
  • Cook, Arthur Bernard (1914), Zeus: A Study in Ancient Religion, vol. Vol. I: Zeus God of the Bright Sky, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press {{citation}}: External link in |volume= (help).
  • Lohmann, Daniel (2010). Giant Strides towards Monumentality: The architecture of the Jupiter Sanctuary in Baalbek/Heliopolis. Bolletino di Archeologia , Special Volume, pp. 29–30.

See also

Colonies of ancient Rome
With correspondence to modern geography
Europe
Britannia Superior
Britannia Inferior
Roman Dacia
Gallia Lugdunensis
Gallia Narbonensis
Germania Inferior
Hispania
Italia
Moesia


Levant
Of legion veterans
Of late Empire
Possible colonies
Locations with
modern names
Israel and the
Palestinian territories
Jordan
Lebanon
Syria
Turkey
Lebanon Archaeological sites in Lebanon
Roman archaeological sites in Lebanon
Roman Berytus
(actual Beirut)
Roman Phoenicia
(actual Lebanon)
Related
Category: