The synagogue of Delos, Greece, if it's existence is proven, would be one of the oldest synagogues known today. Its proposed origin dating between 150 and 128 BCE, although its identification as a synagogue can no longer be accepted.[1]

Discovery and excavation

The structure was discovered in 1912 by a team led by archaeologist André Plassart.[2]

Location

Located on the eastern side of the city of Delos, the building was far from the central areas of the city. Instead, it was built in a section of Delos called the "Stadium Quarter". In this part of the city, in contrast to the religious and commercial focus at Delos' centre, residences dominated the scene and there was also a small, easily accessible port.

Description

The dominating feature of the building is the large hall, which was presumably used in a flexible way, with moveable furniture, since there is no evidence for benches built along the walls.[3] The hall is oriented towards the east, with a series of secondary rooms at the southern end.[3]

The structure itself consisted of two large rooms containing a throne and multiple marble benches as well as many smaller rooms which allowed for access to a reservoir.

Purpose

The building's first use is controversial. While some people think the building was erected as a private house or a pagan meeting place, some believe that it was a synagogue even in its earliest form.. Matassa says "It is important to note that there is nothing in the structure of GD 80 itself that is in any way Jewish in nature."[4]

Pro

The structure is interpreted to have been in use as a synagogue until the end of the second century AD.[5][3]

Against

Synagogue of Delos.

The identification of the building as a Jewish synagogue at any point in its history has been a matter of debate. The original identification of the building as a synagogue by Plassart was based in large part on a dedicatory inscriptions referring to "Theos Hypsistos", or "God Most High", often considered an appellation for the Jewish God in antiquity, though not exclusively. In early 2000 in mount Olympus in the Archaeological Park of Dion a "Zeus Hypsistos sanctuary" (Greek Ζευς ὕψιστος "Zeus the highest god") has been found with a statue of Zeus Hypsistos and the figure of a marble eagle in it.

The identification of the building as a synagogue was originally challenged by Belle Mazur in 1935,.[6] The evidence of "synagogue" architecture and inscriptions is complicated by the apparent presence of a contemporary Samaritan community not far from the building.[7] More recent studies have concluded that the evidence suggesting that this building was indeed a synagogue is tenuous at best and will no doubt remain an open question.[1] Matassa argues that neither the physical, literary, or epigraphic evidence supports the identification of the building as a synagogue.[8] Plassart's initial identification is mainly based on an inscription found at a different location, at roughly 90 m (300 ft) from the alleged synagogue (area GD 80), in a house from a densely packed residential area (area GD 79), in a strenuous conjunction with another inscription found at GD 80.[9] The construction of benches around the internal walls is used by some as an argument for a synagogue, although this seating arrangement is also known from two pagan temples and other buildings on Delos.[10] Those who accepted Plassart's identification pushed the date from which on the structure is supposed to have served as a synagogue to its early phases, although the benches were only added in its last phase.[8]

The literary evidence

There is very little literary evidence relating to Jews (or Samaritans) on Delos. The most substantial text o comes to us via Josephus, in the form of a letter dealing specifically with the Jews of Delos. This text is thought to date to be about the middle of the first century BC:

"Julius Gaius, Praetor, Consul of the Romans, to the magistrates, council and people of Parium, greeting. The Jews in Delos and some of the neighbouring Jews, some of your envoys also being present, have appealed to me and declared that you are preventing them by statute from observing their national customs and sacred rites. Now it displeases me that such statutes should be made against our friends and allies and that they should be forbidden to live in accordance with their customs and to contribute money to common meals and sacred rites, for this they are not forbidden to do even in Rome. For example, Gaius Caesar, our consular praetor, by edict forbade religious societies to assemble in the city, but these people alone he did not forbid to do so or to collect contributions or to hold common meals. Similarly do I forbid other religious societies but permit these people alone to assemble and feast in accordance with their native customs and ordinances. And if you have made any statutes against our friends and allies, you will do well to revoke them because of their worthy deeds on our behalf and their goodwill towards us."(Josephus, AJ 14.213–216).

It is safe to conclude that the prohibition against the Jewish practices mentioned in the letter relates to precisely the period when building "GD80" is said to have functioned as a synagogue, that is from the middle of the first century BC.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Matassa, Lidia (2007). "Unraveling the Myth of the Synagogue on Delos" Archived 2016-08-04 at the Wayback Machine. Bulletin of the Anglo-Israel Archaeological Society 25: 81-115.
  2. ↑ Delos
  3. 1 2 3 Trümper, Monika (October–December 2004). "The Oldest Original Synagogue Building in the Diaspora: The Delos Synagogue Reconsidered". Hesperia, Vol. 73, No. 4, pp. 513-598.
  4. ↑ UNRAVELLING THE MYTH OF THE SYNAGOGUE ON DELOS-LIDIA MATASSA-Bulletin of the Anglo-Israel Archaeological Society 2007 Volume 25
  5. ↑ Levine, Lee I. (2005). The Ancient Synagogue: The First Thousand Years. Yale University Press, 2nd edition, pp. 107 ff.
  6. ↑ Mazur, Belle D. (1935). Studies on Jewry in Greece, Athens: Hestia.
  7. ↑ Bruneau, Philippe (1982). "Les Israélites de Délos et la juiverie délienne", Bulletin de Correspondance Hellenique 106: 465-504.
  8. 1 2 Matassa, Lidia D. (2018). Jason M. Silverman and J. Murray Watson (ed.). Invention of the First-Century Synagogue (PDF). Ancient Near East Monographs. Atlanta, GA: SBL Press. pp. 37-77 (esp. "Conclusions", 76–77. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
  9. ↑ Matassa (2018), pp. 47-48.
  10. ↑ Matassa (2018), pp. 49. 60.

37°24′18″N 25°16′28″E / 37.4049°N 25.2745°E / 37.4049; 25.2745

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