FROM JERUSALEM TO ALEPPO 



99 



every visitor owes them a debt of grati- 

 tude. They not only dug down and re- 

 moved the debris, but strengthened weak 

 parts, and, where necessary, they have 

 removed the Arabic work so as to make 

 the original plan more easily compre- 

 hensible to the visitor. However, it was 

 not entirely a disinterested work, for the 

 llerlin museums now possess many of 

 the finest examples of the carvings found 

 here. 



The workmen built a narrow staircase 

 where the broad old one used to be, have 

 torn away the wall constructed over the 

 bases of the columns, and have opened 

 an entrance through a great block of 

 stone which was placed across the cen- 

 tral doorway into the forecourt, so that 

 today we enter again as did the Roman 

 worshipers of old. 



Proceeding inward we pass through a 

 triple entrance into the Great Court, or 

 Court of the Altar. It is about 440 feet 

 long by 370 feet wide. The central 

 portal, as well as one of the smaller side 

 ones, has fallen in, and the pieces which 

 formed the arches have been collected 

 and laid together on the ground below 

 the place where they had originally been. 



Around this court, on three sides, omit- 

 ting the west end, where a staircase led 

 up to the level of the Great Temple, are 

 square and semicircular exedr^e. each of 

 which contain many handsome niches for 

 statues, of which, unfortunately, not a 

 single example remains. These were de- 

 signed as resting places for the devotees 

 who came here to worship. In front of 

 these exedraj ran a colonnade of polished 

 Egyptian granite surmounted by an en- 

 tablature bearing carvings of rare beauty. 

 The columns have all fallen and now 

 Avith fragments of their entablature and 

 capitals lie about the court. 



HOW TlilC CHUISTI.VXS USKD THE TEMPIJvS 



In the center of the court, rather 

 nearer to the steps ascending to the 

 temple, stands what is left of the large 

 altar. On each side of it is a pool or 

 basin used for ablution in connection 

 with the religious rites here observed. 



When these temples were taken pos- 

 session of by the Christians, a church 

 was erected over this altar, part of which 



was destroyed, and then the space leveled 

 up with the earth so that the church floor 

 was above the top of the altar; so, also, 

 the lower part of the staircase was filled 

 o\ er, while the upper part was removed 

 to accommodate the apses. 



The construction of this basilica is at- 

 tributed to Theodosius, Roman hjuperor 

 of the East, who reigned towards the 

 end of the 4th century of our era. The 

 Great Temple was demolished to furnish 

 materials for the construction of this 

 church. 



The idea was to obliterate heathenism 

 by placing this Christian shrine right in 

 the center of this renowned temple of 

 the heathen gods. As it seemed to work 

 in best, the apses were placed as above 

 described on the west, with the entrance 

 from the east. Later this was considered 

 unorthodox, and an apse or apses were 

 built at the west end, so that now traces 

 of them appear at both extremities of the 

 ruins. 



The Great Temple itself has been al- 

 most entirely destroyed. All that is left 

 are six columns of the peristyle, still 

 standing in situ, capped with Corinthian 

 capitals and joined by ornate and mas- 

 sive entablature. These lofty pillars do 

 not taper as they appear to do when seen 

 from below (see page 86). They are 

 over 60 feet high and 73^ feet in diameter 

 and are each comi)osed of three drums. 

 The deep entablature is also in three 

 layers, the uppermost, or cornice, having 

 a gutter cut in its upper edge to receive 

 the rain water from the roof, and at in- 

 tervals mammoth lion heads with o])cn 

 jaws serve as spouts. In all. this entab- 

 lature measures 17 feet in height (see 

 page 88). 



TIIK TKMPLE OF B.ACCIIUS 



One can perhaps best mentally recon- 

 struct the Great Temple by an inspection 

 of the smaller one, dedicated to P>acchus, 

 which lies to the southeast of the Great 

 Temj)le, entirely independent of it and 

 on a lower level (see pages 92 and 93). 

 It had no court, but was entered by a 

 flight of steps from the east. 



The walls of the cella, which is ob- 

 long, are quite plain on the outside and 

 are built of carefully dressed stone, the 



