Baalbek -- Ancient History Encyclopedia

Definition

Baalbek was an ancient Phoenician city located in modern day Lebannon, north of Beirut. Inhabited as early as 2000 BCE, Baalbek was known an important pilgrimage site in the ancient world. The center of the city was a temple to the Phoenician gods Astarte and her consort Baal and the ruins of this early temple remain today beneath the Roman Temple of Jupiter Baal. The cornerstones of the earlier temple have been found to weigh over 100 tons and the retaining wall monoliths weigh, each, 300 tons, leaving present-day archaeologists, scientists and historians mystified as to how the stones were moved, where from, and in what way they could have been manipulated into place (these blocks, and another one mile from Baalbek which weighs over 900 tons, are known today as the Baalbek Stones and have been the subject of much debate, study and conjecture over how they were moved).

Alexander the Great conquered Baalbek in 334 BCE and re-named it Heliopolis, the name still in use in 15 CE when the city was a colony of the Roman Empire. Under the reign of the Emperor Septimus Severus the grand temple of Jupiter Baal was built and dedicated (the largest and most ornate religious building in the entire Roman Empire) whose well-preserved ruins may still be seen today. The city remained an oft-visited pilgrimage site until the rise of Christianity after which, succumbing to the same fate as other important pagan sites, it was neglected and forgotten.

Written by Joshua J. Mark, published 02 September 2009.