City of many gods

Dura was a city full of gods. It was home to at least 18 known religious sanctuaries. Most were dedicated to Syrian and Mesopotamian gods and goddesses who, in this officially Macedonian city, were often identified with Greek equivalents. The forms of their temples were also distinctly Mesopotamian rather than Classical.

Some of the sanctuaries housed deities of groups who settled at Dura from other places, such as the Temple of Artemis-Azzanathkona, probably the goddess of Anath, a town about 150km (100 miles) down the Euphrates. Palmyrenes were especially prominent in several temples.

Under Roman rule into the third century AD the mix of faiths became broader still. Palmyrene troops introduced the 'mystery cult' of Mithras, who received a temple inside the Roman camp. In the third century, the garrison headquarters itself contained a shrine for the military standards and imperial cult.

Most of the Parthian-era temples continued in use through the Roman period. This included those, like the Temples of Bel and Azzanathkona, which now lay inside the Roman military base. Archaeology indicates that these, too, still received worshippers. Indeed an existing processional route from the central market district to the Temple of Azzanathkona, now running through the middle of the base, was adorned with a ceremonial arch built by the garrison. Veneration of the city's gods was clearly something common to soldiers and civilians.

During this period a Jewish community established a synagogue, while Christians also appeared and turned a house into a church and baptistry--one of the earliest known anywhere. Christianity was still sometimes officially persecuted by the Roman state, but the Dura community clearly lived openly in the city. It is likely that some of the garrison soldiers were Christians.

Images: Top: the Temple of Azzanathkona, an east-facing courtyard complex like most of Dura's sanctuaries , although unusual in having two square shrine rooms instead of one. In Roman times the rear of the precinct was taken over by the garrison as an administrative facility (darker grey.: a hoard of military papyri was found in W13). Below: representations of divine figures from Dura's sanctuaries now in Yale University Art Gallery. Clockwise from top left: the Gad or Tyche of Palmyra; Zeus Kyrios/Baal Shamin; Jesus walking on the water from the church; and reliefs of Mithras slaying the divine bull from the Mithraeum.