Portal:Architecture/Selected article
The Temple of Bel, also known as the Temple of Baal, was an ancient temple located in Palmyra, Syria. The temple, consecrated to the Mesopotamian god Bel, worshipped at Palmyra in triad with the lunar god Aglibol and the sun god Yarhibol, formed the center of religious life in Palmyra and was dedicated in 32 AD. Its ruins were considered among the best preserved at Palmyra, until they were destroyed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in August 2015.
The temple was built on a tell with stratification indicating human occupation that goes back to the third millennium BC. The area was occupied in pre-Roman periods with a former temple that is usually referred to as "the first temple of Bel" and "the Hellenistic temple". The walls of the temenos and propylaea were constructed in the late first and the first half of the second century AD. The names of three Greeks who worked on the construction of the temple of Bel are known through inscriptions, including a probably Greek architect named Alexandras. However, many Palmyrenes adopted Greco-Roman names and native citizens with the name Alexander are attested in the city. (more…)