Temple of Bacchus, Baalbek, Early 20th Century
The Temple of Bacchus is one of the best preserved and grandest Roman temple ruins in the world. The temple was commissioned by Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius and built close to the courtyard in front of the larger temple of Jupiter-Baal. The period of construction is generally considered between 150 AD to 250 AD. The temple is is 216 feet long, 115 wide, and 102 feet high. Its walls are adorned by 42 un-fluted Corinthian columns, 19 of which remain upright in position standing 62 feet high. The columns support a richly carved entablature. Inside, the cella is decorated with Corinthian half-columns flanking two levels of niches on each side, containing scenes from the birth and life of Bacchus. Baalbek is a town in the Beqaa Valley of Lebanon situated east of the Litani River. After Alexander the Great conquered the Near East in 334 BC, the existing settlement was named Heliopolis. The city retained its religious function during Greco-Roman times, when the sanctuary of the Heliopolitan Jupiter-Baal was a pilgrimage site, and one of the largest sanctuaries in the empire. Starting in the last quarter of the 1st century BC (reign of Augustus) and over a period of two centuries (reign of Philip the Arab), the Romans had built a temple complex in Baalbek consisting of three temples: Jupiter, Bacchus and Venus. On a nearby hill, they built a fourth temple dedicated to Mercury. Photographed by the American Colony (Jerusalem) Photo Department, circa 1900-20.
Size: 3557px × 4500px
Photo credit: © Photo Researchers / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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