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Baalbek

Baalbek
(Ar) - Ba'labakk

Administration

Country

Lebanon

Governorate

Bekaa

District

Baalbek

Geography

Contact

34 00 '25 "North
36 12 '14 "East / 34.006944, 36.203889

Demography

Population

81 052 hab. (Est. 2008)

Location

Baalbek

The Temple of Bacchus

Country

Lebanon

Type

Cultural

Criteria

(I) (iv)

Number
Identification

294

Region

Arab States **

Year Registration

1984 ^(8thSession )

* Name UNESCO
** UNESCO Geographical Classification

change

Baalbek also wrote or or or or Arabic ) is the ancient Roman Heliopolis. Today, the modern city, capital of the district of Baalbek , in Lebanon , has about 80,000 inhabitants.

The ancient city, located in the northern plain of the Bekaa , consists of ruins of the Graeco-Roman, with traces of the oldest Semitic era. The site appears on the World Heritage List of Unesco.

The giant complex of three temples left by the Romans include:

The Temple of Bacchus , one of the best preserved temples of the Graeco-Roman
The temple of Jupiter which there are six columns of granite
The Temple of Venus

Summary

1 History
2 Description
3 The town today
- 3.1 Baalbek International Festival
4 Gallery
5 Notes and references
6 Bibliography
7 See also
- 7.1 External Links

History

The Phoenician city

The history of Baalbeck dates back at least to the late ^third millennium BC. BC Phoenician Baalbek was a thriving city where the cult was celebrated Baal , the god of thunder and rain in the The Hellenistic and Roman town

Reconstitution of the sanctuary of Baalbek in its heyday

The city was then known as Heliopolis, "City of the Sun." Under certain assumptions, this name was given to Baalbek in the Hellenistic period, because the Greeks identified Helios , god of the Sun, Hadad. Others say that the ancient city received this name from the Roman period, when Marc-Antoine conceded to the Cleopatra. The visible remains date back to Roman times above.

The city was designed on a classic. The streets there checkerboard organized on the basis of two major arteries, decumanus and cardo. The site has three main shrines: that of Jupiter , to Bacchus and Venus , built by the emperor Nero , Trajan , Hadrian and Antoninus Pius.

This is to show the omnipotence of the Roman Empire that Augustus decided to build a large sanctuary in Heliopolis. The work started under his reign, circa 14 BC. BC , however, lasted until the late ^second century. The sanctuary was built in accordance with the principles characterizing the Roman religious architecture and the decorative elements were borrowed from Greco-Roman ornament, but the organization took into account religious customs of the East. For example, the altars of Baalbek were much larger than those of Roman shrines. Similarly, the temples have stairs, next to their front door, giving access to the roof. This was probably used for cultural activities Oriental. However, this kind of stairs does not exist in Roman temples.

In Roman times, therefore, the original oriental cults were transformed into cults mystics intended to spend the rebirth after death. In this context, the shrine of Bacchus began to be very successful, especially in the cities of the Phoenician coast. Then, the mysteries of Bacchus conquered Rome. This change was made so assimilated to Bacchus Adonis, not Hermes , and brought him to dedicate a great temple whose interior contains many allusions to his divine personality.

The city since the Middle Ages

Many earthquakes, destruction and other medieval buildings in Baalbek did lose some of its former splendor. The last major earthquake to date in 1759 , and had collapsed three of the nine columns of the temple of Jupiter. The summer festival of Baalbek, which began in 1955 , has yet to relive the City of the Sun.

The archaeological site was transformed into a citadel Arabic. A mosque was built on the site using stones found on site, the walls of the temple of Jupiter were moved a few meters into a formidable wall.

Description

A Temple of Jupiter; B: Temple of Bacchus; C: Court Allen, D: Large yard.

Shrine of Bacchus

The Temple of Bacchus

The shrine of Bacchus, built in the ^second century , is best preserved. It is entered by a staircase with three flights, as in the temple of Jupiter. The temple itself is peripteral. Although smaller than those of the temple of Jupiter (69 meters long and 36 wide, with columns 22 meters high), it appears, too, among the largest temples in the Roman world. It consisted of a narthex preceded by eight columns and a cella , surrounded by half columns, comprising basically a staircase leading to a adytum where the statue of the god. Its 42 high columns supporting an entablature 8 meters connected to the wall of the cella by huge slabs. On one of them is down, you see a snake bite Cleopatra. This portal is very thin ranks among the finest in the Roman world. At the southeast corner of the temple stands a tower Mamluk dating from the ^fifteenth century. It was the residence of the governor of the citadel. Behind the fortified wall and the temple is still a mosque dating back to the time of Ayyubid.

High Court

The high court or the court sacrifices, very large (134 and 112 meters), was surrounded by an elegant portico which opened four semicircular porticos and eight rectangular. At the center of this vast space, rose an altar for sacrifices and a tower flanked by two columns of red and gray granite which there are only few remnants. The tower was probably used to be used by pilgrims to attend the ceremonies. It was destroyed in the late ^fourth century to give way to a church that was Christian, it also destroyed at a later time. All that remains of the basilica a few patches of the altar, including wooden parts that housed the faithful as well as large parts of the portico and decorative elements.

Panoramic view of the main courtyard of the temple complex of Baalbek

Court hexagonal

Next to the sacrificial court, the court hexagonal ED50 meters long, open, built in the first half of the ^third century , was originally surrounded by a portico of 30 columns and four rectangular ornate porticos.

The court was also transformed into a church dedicated to Our Lady from the end of ^Fourth and early ^fifth century. The city is a former bishop.

Temple of Jupiter

The Temple of Jupiter , the oldest, was built in several stages. The temple was already well advanced under Nero , but all was not completed and inaugurated at the ^third century. It is accessed by a propylaeum : A monumental staircase leads to a portico of twelve columns flanked by two towers. According to a Latin inscription, a legionary would have covered in gold one of the two capitals of the columns. By a staircase with three flights, the priests reached the temple of Jupiter which subsist only 6 columns, tall twenty-two meters, with a base of 2 meters 20 in diameter. This temple is the largest (88 meters by 48) of the entire Roman world. It was probably peripteral with ten columns in front and nineteen on the long sides. If his plan was similar to that inside the temple of Bacchus , it included a narthex preceded by eight columns and a cella.

Temple of Venus

The Temple of Venus is characterized by the originality of its circular plan and the harmony of its forms, in a city whose other shrines are marked by gigantism. In a quarry near the city, you can also see the largest cut stone in the world: 21 m long, 4.5 m in height and width for a mass of about 1200 tons.

The town today

The green area of Baalbek was known as Ras El Ain ( ) there is a large green area consisting of a ring oval.

Baalbek International Festival

The Baalbek International Festival , is a major cultural event, organized in the summer.

Cultural activities were organized in the Roman ruins from 1955. In 1956 , managed by volunteers, the association is the official name of "International Festival of Baalbek." This institution, supported by the president at the time, Camille Chamoun , then becomes a formal institutions of government whose mission is to promote tourism and cultural life of the country. In 1966 , the festival founded a drama school in order to promote the Lebanese theater.

In twenty years, the Baalbeck International Festival has gained international recognition and artists from around the world come here to produce.

The activities of the Baalbek International Festival was interrupted in 1975 during the civil war, until the takeover in 1997.