HELIOPOLIS
(Baalbek) Lebanon.
The site on
the elongated high plain, between the mountain chains
of the Lebanon and the Antilebanon E of Beirut, was
occupied from prehistoric times on, but Heliopolis did
not become important until late Hellenistic times. It was
the holy town of the Ituraean tetrarchs of Chalcis in the
1st c. B.C. Under the Roman Empire it was a flourishing
colony, and during the Byzantine period remained a center of pagan resistance. It was conquered by the Moslems
in A.D. 637; the sanctuaries were transformed into a citadel, and Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent ordered some
of the columns to be brought to Istanbul to build his
mosque. In 1759 an earthquake damaged the ruins.
The site, known since the 17th c., consists primarily of
the complex of the great sanctuary of Heliopolitan Jupiter and the so-called Temple of Bacchus which adjoins
it to the S. They were built on imperial initiative, perhaps
begun by Augustus himself. Enlargements and improvements were carried out over three centuries. The dimensions are vast and the decoration sumptuous. The architectural and decorative forms belong largely to the
repertory of Roman art of the W, but the plan (with its
successive enclosures and the importance given to the
courts), the cult installations, and the arrangement of
the cellas conform to ancient Oriental traditions.
On a single E-W axis almost 400 m long, the sanctuary
of Heliopolitan Jupiter includes monumental propylaea,
a hexagonal court, a large rectangular court, and the
temple proper, where the cult idol was enthroned under
a canopy in the cella.
The sanctuary occupies an ancient tell, artificially enlarged by enormous works of terracing and masonry. At
the W end near the N corner, the supporting walls contain three colossal quadrangular stones, called the trilithoi, each one nearly 20 by 4.5 by 3.6 m. Another even
larger stone was left in a quarry at the foot of the hill
W of the town. Two long vaulted galleries running E-W
correspond at the basement level to the peristyle of the
central court. They are open at the ends and joined by
a transverse gallery. Some of their keystones carry Latin
inscriptions. The S gallery is matched on its outer side
by rooms and a large square exedra, which open on the
court of the so-called Temple of Bacchus. These arrangements date from the 2d c. A.D.
The propylaea consisted of a colonnade of 12 columns
of Egyptian granite, flanked to N and S by a tall tower
adorned on the outside by pilasters. The coins of Heliopolis struck under Philip (A.D. 244-249) show the central
intercolumniation wider than the others and topped by
a semicircular Syrian facade, which broke the horizontal
line of the entablature, and by a triangular pediment.
This arrangement can be observed in the other porticos
on all the intercolumniations on the long axis of the
sanctuary. A great stairway, bordered by two massive
antae forming parapets, gave access to the colonnade
over its entire width. Inscriptions on three bases indicate that the columns supported Corinthian capitals with
acanthus leaves of gilded bronze, dedicated under Caracalla (A.D. 212-217).
A monumental gate and two narrow lateral corridors
led from the propylaea to the flagged hexagonal courtyard. A stylobate, two steps higher, encircled the court,
supporting porticos beneath which were exedras. This
remodeling of an originally square plan dates to the
middle of the 3d c. A.D.
The rectangular court in front of the temple in its
final state probably dates from the 2d c. A.D. On its N, E,
and S sides it was surrounded by porticos with 128
columns of pink Egyptian granite, raised three steps
above the paving of the courtyard. Only the NE corner of
the peristyle, which has been restored, still stands. Exedras, alternately rectangular and semicircular, opened
beneath the porticos; they are separated by large masonry blocks adorned with two superimposed niches between corner pilasters with Corinthian capitals. The
walls of the exedras are decorated with two stories of
niches, conch apses, and shallow niches with straight
lintels and either triangular or segmental pediments.
In the middle of the courtyard, which corresponds to
the middle of the ancient tell, stood a great altar, a fourstory tower 18 m. high. Only the lowest parts are now
visible, with the door jambs, the corridors, and the beginning of two interior staircases which led to the terrace
where the sacrifices were offered. The outside walls were
covered with marble slabs, the doors with bronze.
To the W of the great altar stands a smaller and older
one with a niche on each side, on the inside (which was
found filled with ashes from sacrifices) a staircase ascends
to the top. The location of the altar is visible and also of
the gutters, which run along one of the walls and over the
flagging of the court to drain water and the blood of the
victims.
On each side of the court is a large lustration basin
with delicately carved edges, and on each side of the
great altar stands an isolated column on a high base.
The columns are Egyptian granite, the S one pink, the
N one gray. Because of an oracle of Heliopolitan Jupiter, a statue was erected on the S column, probably in the
Severan period. Small votive chapels and statues—of
emperors from Titus and Vespasian to Diocletian, kings,
and other important personages—also stood in the courtyard. Their bases, with dedicatory inscriptions, can still
be seen.
A great staircase with three divisions or flights leads
to the temple, W of the court. The 38 steps are made of
enormous limestone blocks, which bear traces of the
apse of a Christian basilica set up in the court during
the 5th c. (its remains were removed by modern archaeologists).
The great temple was peristyle, 10 columns by 19;
only the six columns to the S still stand. They have
considerable entasis and consist of only three drums.
They are 19 m high with Corinthian capitals and a
carved entablature: heads of bulls and lions alternate
between the acanthus leaves of the frieze, above a Greek
key pattern and a cable molding. Construction was
started possibly as early as the time of Augustus and
was well on the way to completion in the reign of Nero,
as a graffito dated A.D. 60 demonstrates. The temple was
probably inaugurated under Vespasian. It replaced a Hellenistic building, which seems to have had a crepis, a
peristyle with more numerous and smaller columns, a
double portico for a facade, and a larger cella. The
sanctuary was never finished: the terrace which should
have surrounded the temple was not built.
Another temple, built in the Antonine period, stands
to the S, lower than the Temple of Jupiter. It is remarkably well preserved and is usually called the Temple of
Bacchus. It stands on a high podium, approached from
the E by a staircase with three flights between two antae.
The peristyle consists of 8 by 15 Corinthian columns
with unfluted shafts. The portico of the facade included
a double colonnade. The walls of the cella ended in pilasters with Corinthian capitals. The severity of the exterior
contrasts with the magnificence of the interior decoration. The stone ceilings of the peristyle, still largely in
place, consist of compartments of sculptured limestone
in which busts of divinities and mythological scenes appear in a network of hexagons, lozenges, and triangles
on a field covered with scroll patterns and interlacing
figures.
The cella is reached by a huge door, by two shallow,
delicately carved bands. One has vine scrolls in which
individuals and animals frolic (especially Dionysiac
panthers). The other depicts kantharoi from which birds
drink and poppies and ears of wheat (the attributes of
the great divinities of Heliopolis) emerge. The soffit of
the enormous lintel depicts an eagle holding a caduceus
in its claws between two winged Cupids displaying garlands. On each side of the large entryway a smaller door
led to a small staircase, inside the partition walls, leading to the upper parts of the building. Above the N side
door a sculptured frieze illustrates episodes in the life
of Dionysos.
On the inside the cella is a square chamber with the
W side ending in a staircase going up to the adytum.
The first three steps extend along the S and N walls,
along which fluted, engaged Corinthian columns stand on
high pedestals, which carry heavy blocks on their capitals. Two rows of shallow niches open between the
columns, the lower ones topped by segmental arches, the
upper by triangular pediments. In the middle, the staircase goes up to the platform of the adytum; on each side
the wall of the podium is adorned by sculptured friezes
illustrating the legend of Dionysos. At the ends two
small doors lead to a vaulted crypt extending under the
entire length of the adytum. The temple was undoubtedly
used for the celebration of mysteries and for ceremonies
of initiation. There was no access from the Temple of
Jupiter; the court was reached by staircases to the E,
where the level of the ancient streets and squares was
ca. 3 m below present ground level.
A stretch of a wide, flagged street bordered by porticos has been partially cleared SE of the sanctuaries; at
right angles to it another street with porticos, of late
date, has a mosaic pavement. In this area there is also
a small 3d c. A.D. temple of central plan. Wide staircases with three flights ascend to a high podium on which
is a circular cella open to the NW. The outside walls
are decorated with five apsidal niches, framed by six
Corinthian columns which stand well out from the cella
wall. Their bases and entablatures form five concave
bays tangent to the central rotunda. The door opens onto
a porch bounded by two antae that end in engaged columns. Along the entire width of the facade, a portico of
four columns carried a pediment whose roof joined the
dome of the cella. This last was crowned by a cone
or small pyramid.
To the SW in the Bostan el-Khan gardens, between
the great sanctuaries and a tall isolated column which
bore an honorific statue, is a colonnade of 12 tall Corinthian columns with a Syrian arch over the central intercolumniation. It stands between two walls which end in
pilasters cut out from superimposed niches with sculptured decoration. To the E a part of the colonnade with
a semicircular arch returns towards the S, where a high
wall meets the long colonnade. The wall is pierced by
two gates extended by four columns on each side. Not far
to the NW a sort of small theater may be the council
hall or Senate.
The hippodrome must be under the orchards farther
to the NW. To the S, against the hill dominating Baalbek, a theater lies under modern buildings. A temple of
Mercury stood on top of the hill outside the ramparts.
A long staircase led up to it from the town, as is shown
on coins of Heliopolis struck under Philip. Remains of
the temple, the line of the staircase, and parts of its
parapet have been found.
A huge statue of a seated female divinity of Roman
empress (now in the Istanbul museum) was found E of
the town. A temple of Venus was also in that area: inscriptions on rocks mark the boundaries of its property.
In a suburb to the SE between river and vineyards, a
series of houses and villas has produced fine mosaic
floors (in the Beirut museum). They date from the
middle of the 3d c. A.D. to the end of the 4th. Some are
in Classical style (Socrates, Kalliope, and the Seven
Wise Men, the Seasons), others in an orientalizing style
(illustrating the childhood of Alexander the Great).
A well-preserved Roman gate stands at the N end
of the town: it has three bays and a figure of Hercules
on the central lintel. From there to the E the mediaeval
ramparts run parallel to the axis of the great sanctuary.
This may be their ancient course, but the ramparts of the
Roman town are not precisely known. The necropoleis,
which have produced a few stelai, have not been excavated. Fragments with inscriptions and sculptured decoration were collected long ago on the NW slope of the
hill which dominates Baalbek. They came from a mausoleum of the family of the tetrarchs of Chalcis and Abilene.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
R. Wood,
The Ruins of Baalbec (1757,
repr. 1971)
I; T. Wiegand,
Baalbek, Ergebnisse der Ausgrabungen und Untersuchungen 1898-1905 I-III (1921-25)
MPI; D. Schlumberger, “Le temple de Mercure à
Baalbek-Héliopolis,”
BMBeyrouth 3 (1939)
I; C. Picard,
“Les frises historiées autour de la cella et devant l'adyton, dans le temple de Bacchus à Baalbek,”
Melanges
syriens offerts à René Dussaud (1939)
I; R. Amy, “Temples à escaliers,”
Syria 27 (1950); P. Collart & P. Coupel,
L'autel monumental de Baalbek (1951)
PI; H. Seyrig,
“Questions héliopolitaines,”
Syria 31 (1954); M. Chéhab,
“Mosaïques de Liban,”
BMBeyrouth 14-16 (1958-60)
I;
A. von Gerkan,
Von antiker Architektur und Topographie, Gesammelte Aufsätze (1959)
PI; J. Lauffray, “La
Memoria Sancti Sepulchri du Musée de Narbonne et le
Temple Rond de Baalbeck,”
MélStJ 37 (1962); R. Saïdah, “Chroniques, Fouilles de Baalbeck,”
BMBeyrouth
20 (1967); J.-P. Rey-Coquais,
Inscriptions grecques et
latines de la Syrie. VI.
Baalbek et Beqa (1967)
MI.
J.-P. REY-COQUAIS
