The
Ba’al of Heliopolitanus and the Ba’al of Doliche were gods of Syrian origin,
steeped in the same religious traditions, and both enjoyed their widest
currency in the second century AD.[i]
Upon contact with Rome, these were identified with Jupiter Optimus Maximus.[ii]A
process often accompanied Roman occupation of a region whereby that region’s
local deities were first identified and later fused with approximate Roman
deities.[iii]
How far was this process at work in the cults of Jupiter Heliopolitanus
and Jupiter Dolichenus? It appears that Roman influence was limited; the
oriental core of these cults was not lost. I am of the opinion that the
apparent remodeling of these cults was, for the most part, a translation
of oriental traditions into Roman terms. Speidel maintains that often members
of a cult would allow the lines to blur between their own and another deity,
in order to better explain their theology; but this without sacrificing
the heart of their religion.[iv]
This is what we may have here. If I am to answer this question fully, I
must examine these cults before and[1]
after Roman occupation of Syria, but the task is difficult. No liturgy
survives for either cult.[v]
Literary evidence for Heliopolitanus is scant, and for Dolichenus, essentially
non-existent.[vi]
What scholars know of these has been gleaned largely from the study of
relief carvings and dedicatory inscriptions. Particularly troublesome is
that these cults were virtually unheard of until Roman contact was made.[vii]
To begin then, I must look, in a general way, at Syrian religious traditions
and attempt to understand something of the background of the cults. Only
having done this can I turn to later evidence to complete my answer.
The
gods in question were initially the Ba’als of Heliopolitanus and Doliche,
so something must be said of Ba’al worship. Apparently, there has been
much confusion over this matter. Although ‘Ba’al’ has often been described
as a particular deity with particular attributes, a solar deity in charge
of fertility, the word originally signified no such god. The word ba’al
was a “primitive title of divinities...found in all branches of the Semitic
race. A good translation would be ‘owner,’ or ‘occupier.’[viii]
These were occupiers of specific objects or locations. There were ba’als
of waters, stones, mountains, and sometimes of the sun and other heavenly
bodies.[ix]
These gods were worshipped in a variety of ways, but there were some common
practices. Their alters were often situated at high places or temples at
which they would receive offerings of grain, wine, silver, gold, and oil.
A sort of sacred prostitution was not uncommon to ba’al worship, nor were
ceremonies involving dancing, shouting, and self-mutilation.[x]
Typically the local ba’al became bound up with the fate of the residents
of a community, and was regarded much like the Greeks did Tyche. In the
course of time this local ba’al was often held to be the supreme god, and
was thus frequently identified with Zeus or Jupiter.[xi]
This last point is perhaps significant in reference to Heliopolitanus and
Dolichenus, as their identification with Jupiter Optimus Maximus in no
way indicates a departure from Syrian tradition.
The
gods Hadad and Teshub were two important deities whose type and iconography
were important for Dolichenus and Heliopolitanus. Hadad (sometimes Ramman)
was a god of lightning and thunder, earthquakes, subterranean waters, and
war. He made the earth fruitful with rain, but also sent floods; he was
revered as the protector of the harvest, and feared for his destructive
power. He was later associated with sun worship. Common to the iconography
of Hadad were thunderbolts, spears, shields, helmets with two horns, chariots,
whips, and the sun and moon. Hadad was typically accompanied by his consort
Atargatis, a mother goddess. She was pictured with her head encircled by
rays.[xii]
It was not unusual for the offspring of these two to be present; such a
group was common in Syria.[xiii]
Also, a bull, a recurrent motif in Syrian religion, was almost invariably
the companion of Hadad. The bull, like Hadad, was possessed of a positive
and a negative aspect; he was both the guardian of agriculture and a destructive
power.[xiv]
At the height of Hittite power, Teshub stood at the head of the Hittite
pantheon with his consort and son. Similar in type to Hadad, his iconography
was distinct. Depicted wearing a short tunic and conical, Phrygian cap,
he most often carried a three-pronged lightning bolt, but sometimes a bow,
trident, hammer, or dagger. At times he wore a long beard. He was sometimes
held aloft by two priests, but more commonly, on the shoulders of a bull.
The bull is a figure of particular force in the iconography of Teshub;
flames dart from his horns and the thunderbolt Teshub wields is sometimes
produced (apparently) by the bull’s roaring. Teshub’s consort, a mother
goddess, stands on the back of a panther and carries a staff. Their son
is dressed like his father, but stands on the back of a panther wielding
a double-axe and a staff, and carries a dagger at his belt.[xv]
The
origins of the cult of Jupiter Heliopolitanus are, again, obscure. Macrobius
and Lucian believed that the god was imported from Egypt,[xvi]
but elswhere Macrobius states that the name the residents of Heliopolis
gave to their supreme god was Adad[xvii],
another name for Hadad, noted above.[xviii]
Indeed, a look at the iconography of Heliopolitanus reveals striking similarities
that of Hadad. Heliopoitanus is typically pictured standing on a platform,
which sometimes has a representation of Tyche on its face, and flanked
by two bulls. He is capped with a vessel with corn-ears sprouting from
its top, and wears a cuirass, and a strange, tightly-fitting robe. This
robe has compartments in which sit planetary gods. In one hand he carries
a whip, in the other, corn-ears. An eagle is often included as well.[xix]
The god appears frequently with his consort, Venus Heliopolitana, and their
offspring the Heliopolitan Mercury/Bacchus.[xx]
The
bulls and whip are both present in the iconography of Hadad and are easily
recognized. What of the rest? The ears of corn and the cuirass should seem
familiar too: the same combination of attributes of fertility and destruction
are present in the symbolism of Hadad. The eagle is also an oriental symbol
of sky gods.[xxi]
The robe is a little harder to make sense of, but I would guess this is
an extension of two ideas present in Syrian religious tradition and which
were mentioned above: firstly, of Hadad’s association with heavenly bodies
(sun, moon); and secondly, of the supreme power that could eventually be
wielded by a local ba’al. The image of Tyche that sometimes appears on
the pedestal might lend credit to this last idea as well. The trio of gods
too has been seen before in the same connection. It would appear that Hadad
was the source of the god’s icnonography, but what of the purported Egyptian
connection? We may not have to look so far. Above it was mentioned that
the cult of Hadad became associated with the worship of the sun. It is
also probable that Jupiter Heliopolitanus was once a ba’al of the sun.
It would also seem that this begins to answer the question posed at the
outset of this essay.
There
is some disagreement about what exactly was responsible for the cult’s
Romanization and subsequent success in the world at large. Pompey’s annexation
of Syria in 63 BC was certainly important[xxii],
but perhaps more so were Julius Caesar’s foundation of a colony at Heliopolis
in 15 BC (Colonia Julia Augusta Felix Heliopolitana)[xxiii]
and Augustus’ settling of legionary veterans some few years later[xxiv].
Turcan maintains that it was the partial Romanization of the cult that
made it marketable enough to account for its success[xxv].
Once Romanized the cult was spread easily enough by merchants and soldiers
as Heliopolis was a convenient stopping point for traffic between Damascus
and Hama[xxvi].
Dedications to Heliopolitanus have been found in Athens, Pannonia, Venetia,
Puteoli, Rome, Gaul, and Britain[xxvii].
Imperial
donations to the city were many and generous. The temple of Jupiter Heliopolitanus
was one of the largest and most impressive temples to ever stand in the
Roman Empire. It is uncertain when construction began, but many emperors
left their mark on the site. Nero built a high altar facing the temple,
Trajan the main courtyard, Antoninus Pius the temple of Bacchus, and Septimus
Severus the temple of Venus[xxviii].
The temple itself and what we know of the religious practices carried out
there have a strong oriental flavor. Sacrifices were offered on rooftop
altars.[xxix]
Sacred meals were taken on benches protected by a portico.[xxx]
In oriental fashion, the golden cult statue was paraded around on a litter
by respected citizens with shaven heads.[xxxi]
Sacred prostitution, which hearkens back to the days of ba’al worship,
lingered on until Constantine stamped it out.[xxxii]
The
similarities in the iconographies of Jupiter Dolichenus and Teshub are
readily apparent, so much so that very little explanation is required.
In the sort of orthodox representation we see “the god with a Roman-style
cuirass and wearing a horned tiara, brandishing the double-bladed axe with
one hand and the thunderbolt with the other; each foot rests on a bull.[xxxiii]”
The unusual or new things here are the Roman-style cuirass and horned tiara.
The cuirass I attempted to explain above, and a parallel for the tiara
may be found in the symbols of Hadad.This
far the iconography of Dolichenus is straightfoward. What’s confusing is
that he is depicted not only with his consort, but with a number of other
deities which often occur in pairs. Speidel argues that these are not,
as is often the case with oriental religions, intended to represent aspects
of the deity, but are separate gods and goddesses, which constitute the
Dolichenian pantheon. He adds that these were not added to make the religion
more appealing to a greater number of people, “but to play meaningful roles
assigned them by Dolichenian doctrine.”[xxxiv]
Such additions included Appollo and Diana, Castor and Pollux[xxxv],
and the sun and moon.[xxxvi]
Thus, in different regions will be seen similar but different gods filling
the same roles.[xxxvii]
The existence of such a Dolichenian doctrine would hardly prove my point
unless it could be shown that such had come into being before Romanization
of the cult had taken place.[xxxviii]
The
Romanization and successful exportation of Dolichenus was probably the
result of several factors. One of the most important was the location of
the cult’s hometown; several important roads leading from Syria to Asia
Minor crossed at Doliche.[xxxix]
Also important was the stationing of soldiers who had fought against the
Jews near the city, sometime after 71 AD. Turcan believes chiefly responsible
was the traffic of soldiers who had fought in Trajan’s campaigns against
the Parthians.[xl]
Dolichenus found his “followers almost exclusively from the ‘floating’
population of the empire--traders, slaves, soldiers, and aristocrats in
the imperial service,[xli]”
Apparently Orientals were responsible for much of the proselytizing that
took place in the army, but the cult was in no way exclusive.[xlii]
Essentially
all of the priests of Dolichenus were of Oriental extraction, and thus
the traditional doctrine was preserved.[xliii]
This is characteristic of oriental religions, which typically demanded
a “holy man of special birth or initiation.”[xliv]
Sacrifice was much like that practiced by the Romans except that the flesh
of the victim was carved on a stone table.[xlv]
Priests wore conical caps and long-sleeved tunics.[xlvi]
A typical oriental communal meal followed sacrifice.[xlvii]
A Dolichenian temple would have at least two lecticari (priests),
a few candidati (aspirants to the priesthood), and cultures
(your average practitioner). The worshippers of the god referred to one
another as ‘brother.’[xlviii]
I
have attempted to demonstrate that although Romanized in part, these cults
retained much that was peculiarly oriental. The iconographies of Heliopolitanus
and Dolichenus seem to convey the same general message as those of their
pre-Roman ancestors. Many of their cult practices are characteristically
oriental. The seal of Doliche changed after Roman annexation of Syria to
represent the traditional ba’al of Doliche clasping hands with a Roman
emperor. This is as good an analogy as I can think of for what I have been
attempting to describe; the Jupiters were not at variance with Rome, yet
were distinct.[xlix]
baalbek