View of the Delos Synagogue Interior, from the Northwest.
Overview
Although it is one of the smallest of the
Aegean islands (1.3 square miles), Delos has a long and storied history. Inhabited as
early as the third millennium BCE, the island was celebrated in antiquity as the legendary
birthplace of Apollo and Artemis. Not only did its cult attract throngs of pilgrims
throughout the Classical and Hellenistic periods, but its centralized location and sizable
port allowed it to dominate maritime commerce until nearly the turn of the era.
Soon thereafter, however, changing trade patterns led to
Delos’ precipitous decline as a commercial center in the early Imperial period. In
addition, the island never fully recovered from devastating attacks suffered during the
Mithridatic wars (88 BCE) and in a massive pirate raid (69 BCE). Pausanias, writing in the
second century CE, states that in his time, the island was nearly abandoned. Literary and
epigraphic evidence attests to the presence of both Jews and Samaritans on Delos as early
as the second century BCE.
In 1912, a team under the direction of
André Plassart discovered the remains of a synagogue, so identified by votive
offerings to "God Most High," a common Jewish epithet for the Divine, as
well as an inscription associated with the building that uses the
term proseuchę, the most common Greek word for the synagogue. The discovery in
1980 of two Samaritan synagogue inscriptions 90 m north of the
building suggests that Plassart's structure belonged to Samaritans rather than Jews. The
recovery in the synagogue of lamps with pagan motifs further
recommends this possibility since the Samaritans are known to have been syncretistic.
While the remains of the synagogue measure 15.5
m long x 28.15 m wide, the building was originally considerably larger, as much
of the structure has been lost to the intruding sea. Founded in the Second century BCE,
the building was renovated in the next century, probably as the result of damage from the
Mithridatic Wars and the Pirate raid mentioned above. The main hall was divided into two
sections, with the northern hall featuring a throne (the so-called
"Seat of Moses") that was perhaps reserved for the synagogue ruler. Marble
benches were set against the walls in both halves of the hall in a configuration
reminiscent of the Galilean-type synagogues in Palestine.
Although American scholars have frequently
cited the Delos synagogue as an example of a private home renovated into a synagogue, this
characterization is architecturally unsound. The undivided hall of the original
structure--which could contain the whole of the Masada synagogue
with room to spare--is much too large to have been part of a Delian private home. The same
can be said of the stylobate (column foundation wall) in the courtyard of the structure,
which would have supported an eighteen-meter length of columns,
each soaring five meters into the sky.
The closest architectural parallel on Delos is
the so-called House of the Poseidoniasts, a massive cultic
hall built by merchants from Lebanon. The sacred nature of that building recommends the
view that the Delos synagogue was also originally built as a sacred place for either Jews
or Samaritans.
Note: the abbreviation ID refers to the collection, Inscriptions
de Délos, while CIJ refers to the standard compendium, Corpus Inscriptionum
Judaicarum. All translations are mine.
View of Rooms A and B of the Delos synagogue (see plan below).
Note the marble thronos against the back wall (see photo and
detailed drawing below). The mound in the center of Room A is a kiln which scavengers
used for turning old columns into lime after the synagogue was abandoned.
View of Room D, which was probably used as a storage area. The arch on the left is
built over a large underground cistern.
View of the synagogue courtyard. The stylobate or column
foundation wall (A) was 18 m long and 72.5 cm wide. It would have held eight Doric order
columns, each soaring to a height of about five meters (compare the drawing of the House
of the Poseidoniastes, below). Also, a stone basin,
probably containing water for ritual cleansings, was discovered near the entry to the main
hall (B).
Close-up of the Stylobate remains. The tape is set to 0.5 meters.
This stone basin, found in situ near the portal to Room A, was probably used
for ritual washings or sprinklings before entry into the Synagogue. The broken half lies
beneath the weeds, just off camera. The basin is 45 cm in diameter and 32 cm deep inside.
Rooms A, B and a portion of D viewed from the west. Note the encroaching sea in the
background.
Plan of the Delos synagogue. In its final phase (I BCE), the building consisted of two
halls (A, B), a storage area with cistern (D) and a courtyard (C). When the structure was
first built in the second century BCE, rooms A and B were undivided, forming one of the
largest halls on Delos. Other possible annexes of the synagogue are currently unexcavated
or have long since been destroyed by the encroaching sea. (Click image for more detail.)
The marble thronos found in the center of the west wall of Room A in the synagogue.
This seat, sometimes referred to as the "Seat of Moses," was probably used by
the leader of the synagogue, variously known throughout the diaspora as the archisynagogos,
archon or prostates. (Click image for more detail.)
Photo of the thronos. The tape is set to 1 meter. Note the niche
at the extreme right of the photograph.
Side view of the thronos. The tape is set for 0.5 meters.
A niche in the western wall of Room A. The niche, which measures 18 x 25 cm, was
possibly used to store the sacred scrolls used in Sabbath services.
View of the large cistern, from Room B. The tape is set to 1 meter.
Two of the three palm tree frieze ornaments discovered in the synagogue. This symbol,
which also appears on the back of the thronos, was found
on the Temple mount as well as on the lintel of the Gamla
synagogue.
Votive offering found with the synagogue (ID 2331=CIJ 1.727). Translation:
Zosa of Paros to the God Most High, in offering.
While this inscription (ID 2329=CIJ 1.726) was not actually found in the synagogue but
in an insula (apartment) some distance away, the name of one of the dedicators
(Lysimachos) appears on another inscription actually discovered with the synagogue (ID
2328=CIJ 1.729). Translation:
Agathocles and Lysimachos, for the synagogue.
This inscription (ID 2333=CIJ 1.731), whose surviving text is very fragmentary, is a
adorned with two rosettes, a symbol found on the Temple mount as well as on the lintel of the Gamla synagogue and on fragments recovered with the Theodotus inscription.
Translation:
. . . became free
In 1980, this and the following inscription were discovered buried together in the sand
about 90 m north of the synagogue. It dates between 250 and 175 BCE and records the
dedication of portions of a Samaritan synagogue. The proximity of these inscriptions to
the Delos synagogue suggests that the latter belonged not to Jews, but to Samaritans.
Translation:
[The] Israelites [on Delos] who make first-fruit offerings to the holy temple on Mt.
Gerizim honor Menippos, son of Artemidoros, of Herakleion, both himself and his
descendants, for constructing and dedicating from his own funds for the synagogue
of God the . . . and the walls and the . . ., and crown him with a gold crown and . . .
This inscription, which dates somewhat later than the one above (150-128 BCE), honors a
certain Sarapion for unspecified benefactions. Translation:
The Israelites on Delos who make first-fruit offerings to the temple on
Mt Gerizim crown with a gold crown Sarapion, son of Jason, of Knossos, for his
benefactions toward them
Two of the lamps found in the synagogue, the left one featuring a rosette and the right
one depicting Zeus with his symbol the eagle. The pagan motif on the latter lamp (one of
many examples) further suggests that the synagogue belonged to the Samaritans, who were
known to be syncretistic. Both lamps date to the first century BCE.
Comparison made by archaeologist Belle Mazur between a reconstruction of the Delos
synagogue (earliest phase) and the House of the Poseidoniasts, a pagan cultic hall also
found on Delos. (Click image for more detail.)
Remains of the Courtyard of the House of the Poseidoniasts.
Reconstruction of the courtyard of the House of the Poseidoniasts. Because the
stylobate of this structure is slightly narrower than the one in the courtyard of the
Delos synagogue (69.5 cm versus 72.5 cm), the columns of the synagogue would have been
slightly higher than the ones shown here (c. 5.2 m). Such dimensions are not found in the
private homes of Delos. (Click image for more detail.)
Other Sites Devoted to Ancient Delos
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Delos
