A few tiles are in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Jewish Museum New York and the Louvre in Paris. Jerusalem: Bialik Foundation, 1947. Le décor de la Synagogue de Doura Europos en Syrie nous le montre. The large-scale pictorial art in the synagogue came as a surprise to scholars, although they already suspected that there was a tradition of Jewish narrative religious art at this period, which at the time of the discovery were thought to have all been lost, leaving only traces in later Christian art. The Hand of God motif is used to represent divine intervention or approval in several paintings. La salle de prière est ornée d’un décor couvrant tous les murs. The scenes depicted are drawn from the Hebrew Bible and include many narrative scenes, and some single figure "portraits"—58 scenes in total, probably representing about 60% of the original number. La synagogue de Doura Europos est un édifice de culte juif situé dans la ville hellénistique et romaine de Doura Europos dans la province de Syrie (à l'extrême sud-est de la Syrie d'aujourd’hui sur le moyen Euphrate, à au nord de la cité antique de Mari). The Dura-Europos synagogue (or "Dura Europas", "Dura Europos" etc.) Main article: Dura-Europos synagogue. La main de Dieu dans l' Ascension dans le Sacramentaire de Drogon, vers 850 La main de Dieu est représentée plusieurs fois dans des anciennes synagogues accompagnée de décorations diverses, comme dans la synagogue de Doura Europos au milieu du IIIe siècle. The rays reflected off of the lantern are depicted as lines radiating from the lamp on the three borders of the temple's pediment. The low masonry wall depicted in the mural allowed the priest in charge of the sacrifice to look into the temple itself, which was much taller, while performing the sacrifice itself. Finally, in the Dura painting Abraham is using a knife as opposed to the sword he uses in the León Bible. While there is the desert on the west side of the town, the high bank of the river offered natural protection in the east. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. Le miracle de l'eau dans le désert d'après les peintures de la synagogue de Doura Europos' Les gens de Doura, vivant du' commerce des caravanes qui traversaient journellement leur ville, connaissaient par faitement les difficultés qu'on éprouve à trouver de l'eau pendant de longs voyages dans un sable brûlant et … Synagogue’s site before excavation (Yale Univ. Le Temple de Bêl, aussi connu sous le nom de Temple des Dieux palmyréniens, est l'un des principaux sanctuaires païens de la ville de Doura Europos (maintenant communément appelé Europos-Doura), sur l'Euphrate, en Syrie orientale. Beyrouth : Imprimerie Catholique, 1939 (OCoLC)894673338 These paintings are now displayed in the National Museum of Damascus. was an ancient synagogue uncovered at Dura-Europos, Syria, in 1932. En 113 avant l’ère chrétienne, la ville, conquise par les Parthes, devient une ville fortifiée et une colonie militaire qui contrôle et exploite la vallée de l’Euphrate. Doura est reprise par les Romains en l’an 163 et vidée de ses habitants par les Sassanides en l’an 256. Reconstitution des murs de la synagogue de Doura-Europos au musée national de Damas • Crédits : Estelle Villeneuve, Monde de la Bible. Le peintre y avait introduit des … Technically they are not fresco (paint fused into wet plaster) but tempera over plaster. The paintings cover the walls of the main "Assembly Room", using three levels of pictures over a dado frieze of symbols in most places, reaching a height of about 7 metres. La synagogue de Doura Europos, construite de 245 à 256, est située à l’extrême. Some think that this synagogue was painted in order to compete with the many other religions practiced in Dura Europos; the new (and considerably smaller) Christian Dura-Europos church appears to have opened shortly before the surviving paintings were begun in the synagogue. The discovery of the synagogue helps to dispel narrow interpretations of Judaism's historical prohibition of visual images. The last phase of construction was dated by an Aramaic inscription to 244 AD, making it one of the oldest synagogues in the world. In contrast to the fertile areas of the Euphrates Valley, Dura-Europos was situated in a desert region. In the town itself, there were also wadis. Reuters. The last phase of construction was dated by an Aramaic inscription to 244 AD, making it one of the oldest synagogues in the world. Art Gallery). The layout of the paintings suggest that they were inspired by a copybook with examples and formulae. On y trouve ainsi le « temple de bel », un dieu perse, et des fresques comme celle-ci. La synagogue de Doura Europos est un édifice de culte juif situé dans la ville hellénistique et romaine de Doura Europos dans la province de Syrie (à l'extrême sud-est de … Après l’attaque des Perses en 256 apr. was an ancient synagogue uncovered at Dura-Europos, Syria, in 1932. The Dura-Europos synagogue (or "Dura Europas", "Dura Europos" etc.) de prière de la synagogue de Doura Europos qui est entièrement recouverte de peintures figuratives représentant des épisodes de la Bible remontant aux dernières décades du premier siècle et au milieu deuxième (244-245) (fig. Le Temple de Bêl, aussi connu sous le nom de Temple des Dieux palmyréniens, est l'un des principaux sanctuaires païens de la ville de Doura Europos (maintenant communément appelé Europos-Doura), sur l'Euphrate, en Syrie orientale. Cette étude se propose de compléter sur certains points l'exégèse des sujets des peintures de Doura et de montrer qu'une interprétation nouvelle de plusieurs compositions importantes permet d'entrevoir le sens religieux de la décoration dans son ensemble. [6] The time that the Dura-Europos synagogue was active was not long as it was buried as part of the Roman defense against Sasanian troops in 256 A.D.[7] The Dura-Europos Synagogue remains the earliest example of Judeo-Christian artwork available for study. La ville de Doura Europos est fondée en l’an 303 avant l’ère chrétienne par Séleucos Ier, successeur d’Alexandre. La dernière phase de sa construction est datée par une inscription en araméen, à 244, ce qui en fait l'une des plus anciennes synagogues du monde. However, the León Bible showed key differences. 960, had in common with Dura-Europos the scene of the sacrifice of Isaac. Gutmann, Joseph, ed., The Dura Europos Synagogue: A Re-evaluation (1932-1992), Scholars Press, 1992 (with a new introduction); Young, Penny, 2014 Dura Europos A City for Everyman, Twopenny Press, This page was last edited on 22 January 2021, at 05:33. The archaeological site is situated on a high, flat plateau between two ravines in the north and south. Protected by Akismet | They can be viewed at the Yale University Art Gallery. Composée de marchands prospères, la petite communauté ne semble pas être la seule à avoir eu une synagogue décorée de la sorte. This is the all-the-more important as scant literary sources are available about the area. Their position in the León Bible shows them facing the viewer, whereas Dura Europos they are not. A firsthand report of Annabel Wharton: “In the spring of 1992, I was given permission to photograph anything in the Museum, except the synagogue frescos[…] Though accessible upon request, the presence of the synagogue frescoes in the museum is nowhere announced. In addition, there were wall paintings edifying Mithraism, and fragmentary Christian texts in Hebrew. [4], To the bottom left, there is a young priest leading a heifer, a special sacrificial red cow. … Art Gallery)Geography. The Dura-Europos synagogue (or "Dura Europas", "Dura Europos" etc.) Comme cela a été constaté plusieurs fois, le texte des Septante ne suffît pas toujours pour expliquer les images bibliques de Doura. Before the final Persian destruction of the town in 256-257 AD, parts of the synagogue which abutted the main city wall were apparently requisitioned and filled with sand as a defensive measure. Art Gallery). Sacrifice de Conon, fresque, temple de Bel, Doura Europos, Syrie, Ier … Reconstitution intérieure de la synagogue de Doura-Europos, au musée national de Damas / Ph. The Leon Bible, as an example, which was written ca. The book is in Hebrew. Powered by CUNY, Iconographic Elements and Jewish Identity, Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International, Clark Hopkins, “The excavations of the Dura Synagogue Paintings,” in. [4], The two animals just to the left of Aaron, a bull and a ram, are atonement sacrifices for Aaron to be made on Yom Kippur. Art Gallery). is an ancient synagogue uncovered at Dura-Europos, Syria, in 1932.The last phase of construction was dated by an Aramaic inscription to 244 CE, making it one of the oldest synagogues in the world.It is unique among the many ancient synagogues that have emerged from archaeological digs as it was preserved virtually intact, … It is thus understandable that the paintings were not easily accessible and that many scholars had to rely on old photographs and other later reproductions. The last phase of construction was dated by an Aramaic inscription to 244 AD, making it one of the oldest synagogues in the world Help | Contact Us | Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Image Credits | Creative Commons (CC) license unless otherwise noted, Built with WordPress | On dénombre quinze temples polythéistes, un mithraeum, une maison chrétienne (Domus ecclesiae de Doura-Europos) et la synagogue de Doura Europos comportant d'importantes peintures murales datant de 243 et conservées au musée de Damas. The fate of the paintings is also unclear. Est de la Syrie sur le Moyen Euphrate. They constitute its eastern wing. J.-C., Doura Europos (aujourd’hui en Syrie) était une ville de l’Orient grec, prise ensuite par les Parthes puis conquise par l’Empire romain. Some of the paintings have figures whose eyes have been scratched out, especially those in Persian costume. Many assessments, in fact, have been made by scholars without ever having seen the artifacts in person, with all the limits that this implies. Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. It is a digital project for the course, The Art and Archaeology of the Graeco-Roman Near East and Egypt, taught by Professor Elisabeth Macaulay-Lewis in the spring of 2013 at the CUNY Graduate Center, New York. [4] The lamp shone so much that in Bar-Kokhba coins, which depicted the courtyard of the same temple, the lamp is depicted as a star. En revanche le décor représentant la vision d’Ezechiel, « la main de Yahvé … In this particular work, Aaron is depicted standing just to the right of the temple door in the inner court of the temple surrounded by fellow priests (Jewish priests). The short measure of time during which it was used ensured that it would have limited impact upon Judeo-Christian art. Poste frontière sur la rive de l’Euphrate en Mésopotamie depuis 303 av. Beautiful painted tiles decorated the synagogue’s ceiling. 1, synagogue de Doura Europos, salle de prières, mur ouest )1. Herbert Gute’s copies of the paintings are also in the Gallery. C’est ce à quoi s’attache l’auteure de cet article, tout en tenant compte de l’emplacement de ces deux panneaux sur le mur ouest de la synagogue. [4], Because of the paintings adorning the walls, the synagogue was at first mistaken for a Greek temple, though this was quickly corrected by the vice-director of excavations Robert du Mesnil du Buisson in Les peintures de la synagogue de Doura-Europos (Rome, 1939). Contrairement au décor peint de la première synagogue, entièrement détruit dans la reconstruction de 244-245 et dont on ne peut que donner une esquisse à partir des fragments d'enduit peint retrouvé dans les gravats, les fresques de la grande salle de la seconde synagogue ont été très largement conservées par le remblai de renforcement du rempart. [8] While there are similarities to other works of antiquity, the differences between each work bear too much difference in order for one to be considered influential. Dura-Europos was a small garrison and trading city on the river Euphrates, and usually on the frontier between the Eastern Roman Empire and the Parthian and finally the Sassanid Empires of Persia. The Synagogue of Dura-Europos and Its Frescoes. The lamp caught and reflected the rays of the sun by way of its superior polish. It is a digital project for the course, The Art and Archaeology of the Graeco-Roman Near East and Egypt, taught by Professor Elisabeth Macaulay-Lewis in the spring … Europos-Doura est bâtie autour d’une vaste agora, selon un plan régulier hippodaméen. This year’s curriculum of the Jewish Culture School of the Tri-Valley Cultural Jews is “Jewish HIstory Through Art” and I’ve used information on this site. In the León Bible, the Hand of God bestows the benedictio latina, whereas in Dura-Europos it makes an appearance with no such manuscript. Sur le site de Doura Europos cohabitaient au début de l’ère chrétienne plusieurs communautés : juive, perse, chrétienne et païenne. Le dieu n’y est pas représenté. Even in some foreign guidebooks, the synagogue itself is censored in the plans of the museum’s galleries.”2, The wall paintings are cut and moved from the excavation site. They include the Sacrifice of Isaac and other Genesis stories, Moses receiving the Tablets of the Law, Moses leading the Hebrews out of Egypt, the visions of Ezekiel, and many others. Le site archéologique de Doura Europos (actuelle Salhieh) est situé à l'extrême sud-est de la Syrie sur le moyen Euphrate, à 35 kilomètres de la frontière irakienne . It is about 100 km southeast of Deir-Ez-Zur. The city was abandoned after its fall and never resettled, and the lower walls of the rooms remained buried and largely intact until excavated. Scholars cannot agree on the subjects of some scenes, because of damage, or the lack of comparative examples. 54 relations. This page is dedicated to the Synagogue of Dura-Europos, close to the modern Deir-Ez-Zur in Syria. LA SYNAGOGUE DE DOURA-EUROPOS 249 Quant à la seconde rangée, il en reste de nombreuses scènes sur les murs du fond et des côtés ; l'Arche d'alliance y joue le rôle principal. The excavations also discovered very important wall-paintings from places of worship of Christianity at the Dura-Europos church. Dura-Europos synagogue an ancient synagogue uncovered at Dura-Europos, Syria, in 1932. [6] It contains not only Hellenistic and Roman influences, but Sasanian as well.[8]. ... Abdulkarim noted the 2,300-year-old city of Dura Europos … Europos était le nom du village natal de Séleucos, et le terme Doura qui lui est accolé par la suite signifie « forteresse ». Le temple est situé à l'angle nord-ouest de la ville, contre le rempart et englobe la tour 1, dans l'îlot J9. Pourtant l’art juif existe. Clark Hopkins, an archaeologist from the joint expedition of the Yale University and the French Academy of Inscriptions and Letters, was greatly surprise when in the fall of 1932 he saw for the first time the painting of the synagogue after the dirt had been cleared: “It was a scene like a dream! It changed hands at various points but was Roman from 165 AD. Estelle Villeneuve, Monde de la Bible - Corbis 1/1 DIAPOSITIVES In the Syrian Civil War, the site was occupied by ISIL, and what was left of the synagogue and a number of other buildings there appear to have been destroyed.[1]. It was built backing on to the city wall, which was important in it survival. Weitzmann, Kurt, and Herbert L. Kessler. Traversée de la Mer Rouge, fresque de la synagogue de Doura Europos , vers 250, Syrie . The synagogue. This page is dedicated to the Synagogue of Dura-Europos, close to the modern Deir-Ez-Zur in Syria. Le temple est situé à l'angle nord-ouest de la ville, contre le rempart et englobe la tour 1, dans l'îlot J9. [7], Cultural context and purpose of the murals, Relationship to early Christian art and late Jewish art, Learn how and when to remove this template message, "Here Are the Ancient Sites ISIS Has Damaged and Destroyed", Age of spirituality : late antique and early Christian art, third to seventh century, 1968 Symposium talks, by Morton Smith and Meyer Schapiro, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dura-Europos_synagogue&oldid=1001971137, 3rd-century religious buildings and structures, Ancient Roman buildings and structures in Syria, Buildings and structures in Deir ez-Zor Governorate, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles to be expanded from February 2011, Featured articles needing translation from French Wikipedia, Articles needing translation from French Wikipedia, Articles lacking in-text citations from June 2010, Wikipedia articles with WORLDCATID identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Elle e… (Yale Univ. Additional Physical Format: Online version: Pearson, Henry F. Guide to the Synagogue of Doura-Europos. It was unique among the many ancient synagogues that have emerged from archaeological digs as the structure was preserved virtually intact, and it had extensive figurative wall-paintings, which came as a considerable surprise to scholars. - Corbis. It was unique among the many ancient synagogues that have emerged from archaeological digs as the structure was preserved virtually intact, and it had extensive figurativewall-paintings, which came as a considerable surprise to scholars. The Dura painting shows Abraham's hand free of Isaac's hair, whereas in the León miniature, it is grasping it. Stylistically they are provincial versions of contemporary Graeco-Roman style and technique; several different artists seem to have worked on them. The recent civil war in Syria is causing not only a terrible massacre of innocent people but the destruction of precious archaeological sites, endangering forever the possibility to see a large part of the remains of Dura-Europos. L’antique Doura-Europos, sur les rives syriennes de l’Euphrate, a bien mérité son surnom de « Pompéi du désert ». A selection of ceiling tiles (Yale Univ. He is denoted by the inscription (ΑΡΩΝ), which translates to Aaron in the English alphabet. Based upon the trajectory of the priest and the geography of the city of Jerusalem, where Herod's temple was located, it is presumed that he is leading the heifer up the Mount of Olives in order to sacrifice it for the atonement of the sins of the people. la synagogue Dura Europos Il est une ancienne découverte de la synagogue Dura Europos, Syrie, en 1932. Map of the Near East (Yale Univ. [2], There have been scholarly debates questioning the wall paintings' influence over later Judeo-Christian iconography, which have been held due to the relevance of such early depictions of the biblical narrative. This entry is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International license. There have been attempts to link these works, but they have proven largely unsuccessful. [4], Just above the temple door, we see what appears to be a star but is actually in fact the lamp of Queen Helene of Adiabene. The distance from Babylon is 270 km. L'origine de la synagogue, c'est-à-dire d'un lieu de rassemblement des fidèles dissociés de l'ancien rituel de l'autel du Temple, remonte peut-être aux prophètes et à leurs disciples [2] ; originellement elle ne possède pas un caractère sacré, mais l'acquiert au fil du temps [3].La synagogue en tant qu'institution caractéristique du judaïsme naquit avec l'œuvre d'Esdras. Dura-Europos is located on the west bank of the middle Euphrates River, close to the modern location of Qualat al Salihiya in Syria. Kraeling, C H, The Synagogue, New Haven: Yale University Press, 1956. Art Gallery), For over 1,700 years, the site was hidden by sand and embankments in the dry climate of the area, preserving it exceptionally well to enable posterity to study the history of Dura-Europos in depth. In the infinite space of clear blue sky and bare gray desert, there was a miracle taking place, an oasis of painting springing up from the dull earth.”1 And in fact this discovery greatly changed many scholarly assumptions about the location of ancient synagogues, their interior furnishings and the use of iconographic material in sacred space, thus meriting the title “Pompey of the East.” Nearly a century later, after an abundance of studies, it is possible to better understand not only ancient synagogues in general, but also Jewish life in a city populated by many different ethnicities at a “crossroads” of the ancient world: the border of the Roman Empire in the first centuries of the Common Era. Portion of western wall with paintings (Yale Univ. 150 ans plus tard, ce fortin est transformé en ville. Part of the fresco at the Dura-Europos synagogue, illustrating a scene from the Book of Esther. Earlier parts of the building have decorative painting with no figures. The Jewish synagogue, located by the western wall between towers 18 and 19, the last phase of which was dated by an Aramaic inscription to 244. Main All News Middle East One of Oldest Known ... Wall fresco Dura Europos synagogue in Syria. They are very precious since Gute copied them at the excavation site shortly after they were discovered. J. Scholars think the paintings were used as an instructional display to educate and teach the history and laws of the religion. … Les fortifications en pierre ne sont mises en chantier qu’au milieu du IIe siècle, mais restent inachevées. The distance between Dura-Europos and Palmyra, the major city in the area, is 267 km. Thank you for posting this. Elle est couverte de peintures murales qui furent découvertes en 1920. The colors and all the details were clearly visible at the time, and had not yet faded through exposure to light. In this work, Sukenik places Dura-Europos in the larger context of the Babylonian exile and the Talmudic centers of Nehardea and Sura and uses Midrashic and Aggadig sources to interpret the paintings. La ville présente des institutions grecques, dont un… On l'y voit tout d'abord portée par quatre hommes : la scène est identique sur les murs latéraux. Le mur occidental, le plus important dans la disposition de la synagogue puisqu'il indique la direction de Jérusalemet comporte le ciborium de l'arche sainte, a vu ain… The paintings were cut out by the architect Henry Pearson and reconstructed together with the synagogue’s court in the National Museum of Damascus in Syria as the Museum itself was being built. [3], Located on the western wall of the synagogue, just left of the Torah niche, is a mural depicting the courtyard of Herod's Temple. Aaron's anachronistic appearance symbolises the Cohanim (Jewish priests) being passed down by his descendants. The synagogue of Dura-Europos offers negligible influence on later Christian and Jewish artwork. The synagogue contains a forecourt and house of assembly with painted walls depicting people and animals, and a Torah shrine in the western wall facing Jerusalem. Les vestiges de cette dernière s’étendent sur 75 hectares et s’inscrivent à l’intérieur de remparts. Mesnil also made detailed comparisons of the friezes from the Dura synagogue with those of the mithraeum, the Christian baptistery, and the temple of the Palmyrene gods.[5]. In the part still extant of the paintings of the Dura-Europos synagogue, three panels, all three on the theme of salvation, contain the most important female characters of the painted cycle.