Roman temple of Bziza
| Roman temple of Bziza | |
|---|---|
| Native name Emperor Julian .
The aedes, the dwelling place of the deity. The temple of Bziza was converted into a church and underwent architectural modification during two phases of Christianization; in the Early Byzantine period and later in the Middle Ages. The church, colloquially known until modern times as the Lady of the Pillars, fell into disrepair. Despite the church's condition, Christian devotion was still maintained in the nineteenth century in one of the temple's niches . The temple of Bziza is featured on multiple stamps issued by the Lebanese state.
HistoryHistorical backgroundIn 64 BC, the Roman general ConstructionThe temple of Bziza was built during the temenoi and cellas with elevated adytons.[12][13] The temple of Bziza adheres to this model, which characterized Romanized Phoenician temples.[14]
DeclineA policy of repression and pillaging and destruction of Roman temples.[15][16] Constantine's son Constantius II issued a series of decrees that enforced the formal persecution of pagans;[17] he ordered the closing of all pagan temples and forbade pagan sacrifices under pain of death.[18] Under his reign ordinary Christians began to vandalise pagan temples, tombs and monuments.[19][20][21]
The temple of Bziza was converted into a church during the early Byzantine period between the fifth and sixth century Modern history In 1838, French orientalist painters Saint Joseph University at the time, also visited the site in 1894 and took a photograph of the temple ruins.[30] Nineteenth-century paintings and early twentieth-century photographs show the removed chapel remains and the oak tree that took root inside of the temple.[31]
In the early twentieth century, German architectural historian Daniel Krencker conducted a survey of the site, later publishing his findings with the assistance of archaeologist Willy Zschietzschmann in the book Römische Tempel in Syrien ("Roman Temples in Syria").[32] According to Krencker the chapel had been in ruins for a long time and a Christian devotion was still maintained in the nineteenth century in the "niche near the door".[23] In 1965, the site was further excavated by Lebanese-Armenian archaeologist Harutune Kalayan,[33][34] uncovering the podium and an architectural plan of half of the front pediment etched on one of the temple walls.[35] In the 1990s, the Lebanese Directorate General of Antiquities cleared away parts of the chapel during restoration works to highlight the remains of the ancient temple; only the apses and a rectangular masonry pillar from the Christian chapel remain.[31]
The temple ruins of Bziza were featured on the 35 Lebanese piasters postage stamp in 1971, and on the 200 Lebanese piasters postage stamp in 1985. It appeared again on a 2002 Lebanese postage stamp.[36] AzizosEmesus; he also recounts that Azizos precedes Helios in sacred processions.[45]
Evidence that Aziz, and more frequently Azizu, was used as a common and royal given name is abundant in Palmyrene and LocationThe town of Bziza Architecture and description The Bziza temple is a well-preserved Attic style.[34] The columns measure 5.93 metres (19.5 ft) tall and 0.67 metres (2.2 ft) in diameter.[57] Three of the temple's monolithic pronaos columns still stand, the fourth, found on the temple's northern corner was broken in two parts and was re-erected during restoration works.[34] The columns are crowned with Ionic capitals supporting a frieze that extends over three of the four columns.[34][58] The space between the central columns is wider than that between the distal columns.[59] The colonnade was added at a later stage of the temple's construction as indicated by the style of the ionic capitals that adheres to the model found in Syria and Anatolia as of the second century AD.[34][60] The pronaos is well preserved, it is framed by short antae ending with angular pilasters that are repeated at the rear of the building.[34] The temple was accessible from a stairway that was dismantled.[34]
The pronaos is connected to the cella by two entrances: a massive, richly decorated central door and a smaller side door located to the left of the main entrance.[34][59] The jambs of the main door are adorned with fasciae. The decoration of the lintel and the entablature is finely realized with three fasciae adorned with a rich vegetal decoration. The cornice features modillions bearing images of two diagonally aligned small Victories on either angle of the cornice. The large door's dripstones are in the Corinthian order. The temple's smaller door has only two fasciae. The lintel is decorated with a frieze and a Corinthian dripstone.[34]  The cella consists of two chambers, the first of which is roughly square followed by an adyton to the back of the building.[14] On either side of the temple's cella walls are niches once used to house statues.[22] The two niches of the right cella wall remain. The first niche is surmounted by the form of a scallop; the other one is plain and rectangular.[14] Small columns stood in front of the niches; these supported a simple architrave and an archivolt with three fasciae.[14] Traces of the adyton's platform are visible at the back of the temple. The adyton is recognizable by the remains of two pilasters with Attic style bases in the southwestern wall. The bases of the pilasters are situated 1.66 metres (5.4 ft) above the cella's ground level suggesting that they were part of the temple's edicule, once housing a statue of the temple's deity.[14][61] Kalayan noted that the exterior of the southwest cella wall bears marks of an architectural sketch for the assembly of the temple's pronaos half-pediment.  In transom, located at 3.3 metres (11 ft) from the current floor of the cella.[68] A molding separates the apse wall from the semi-dome above. The quality of the stereotomy of the apses is comparable to that of the ancient reused temple blocks; the apses date, according to Krencker and Zschietzschmann, to the early Byzantine period.[23][24]
Further modifications were made to the church in the Middle Ages. A 4.33-metre (14.2 ft) rectangular masonry pillar was added to the adjoining wall of the two apses. There were three other similar pillars in the north, west and south corners of the cella that were removed during the 1990s restoration of the temple. The pillars supported groin vaults covering the two naves of the medieval chapel.[23][24] Two 1838 paintings of the facade of the temple depict a gate arranged in the central intercolumnation of the pronaos. At the beginning of the twentieth century, only the left-hand side of the gate remained as demonstrated by a photograph taken during that period.[69] Lebanese-Armenian archaeologist Levon Nordiguian suggests that the pronaos could have served as a church narthex or may have been reserved exclusively for women worshipers through this separate access door.[24] As well as architectural alterations, several cross variants provide information on different stages of the site's Christianization. A Latin cross and several bifid crosses similar to the East Syriac variant were found in the temple. Some of the bifid crosses are enclosed in circles.[70] Subterranean rock-carved tombs were found to the south of the temple.[58]
Function The origin of the modern word temple is the Latin monotheistic religions; the aedes was only accessible to priests, augurs, and privileged individuals. Roman religious rituals and sacrifices were conducted on an altar, consecrated to the temple's deity, that was always located outside at the front of the aedes where worshipers gathered. This arrangement reflects the public nature of Roman religious offices, contrasting with the private character of modern religious services.[71][73] In the temple yard, worshipers would face the aedes' doorway, within sight of the deity's image.[74]
In his Marcus Vitruvius Pollio pronounced a rule for the alignment of temples:
The temple of Bziza is one of the few Roman temples in Lebanon to adhere to this rule as the temple is oriented to the northwest; in Bziza, the cult image was lit by the setting sun through the temple entrance.[75] See also
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