The Jebel Khalid Temple: Continuity and Change

Abstract

Excavation has revealed an amphiprostyle, Doric, east-facing temple, the construction of which appears to have commenced about the second quarter of the third century BCE. Whilst the outward appearance of the structure is undoubtedly Greek (although the Doric order is somewhat modified), the internal layout and proportions of the cella of the temple conform more to a Mesopotamian formula, with a tripartite adyton. This hybridity was no doubt deliberate and the statuary recovered in the course of excavation reflects a similar duality, ranging from heroic-sized Parian marble in Hellenistic style, through local but Hellenising limestone to crude local images. After the abandonment of the settlement of Jebel Khalid in the late 70s/early 60s BCE, the temple sit continued to be visited as a sacred area at least until the second century CE, a new temenos wall was constructed and 23 columnar incense altars were erected on the north, west and south sides of the temple. The Jebel Khalid temple constitutes a very rare example of a Greek-style temple of the Seleucid period in the Levant.