The ancient synagogue of Gaza was built in 508 CE during the

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

period and was discovered in 1965. It was located in the ancient port city of Gaza, then known as "

Maiuma Maiuma or Maiumas was an ancient town at the site of present-day Rimal near Gaza, Palestine. History of Maiuma In antiquity, Gaza port was the principal port on the Mediterranean serving the Incense Road. Strabo and Ptolemy referred to it as ''G ...

s", currently the

Rimal Rimal or Remal ( ar, حي الرمال, , sands) is an upscale neighborhood in Gaza City located from the city center. Situated along the coastline, it has been considered the most prosperous neighborhood of Gaza.Jacobs, 1998, p.455. The main st ...

district of Gaza City.

History

In 1965, Egyptian archaeologists discovered the site and announced they had uncovered a church. Later a mosaic of King David wearing a crown and playing a lyre, labelled in

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

, was found. The mosaic was dated to 508-09 CE and measured high by wide. It was originally described as depicting a female saint playing the harp. The Egyptian archaeologists stated that the mosaic was in fact an

Orpheus mosaic Orpheus mosaics are found throughout the Roman Empire, normally in large Roman villas. The scene normally shown is Orpheus playing his lyre, and attracting birds and animals of many species to gather around him. Orpheus was a popular subject i ...

, Orpheus being a figure from Greek mythology who was commonly associated with Jesus or David and used in

Byzantine art Byzantine art comprises the body of Christian Greek artistic products of the Eastern Roman Empire, as well as the nations and states that inherited culturally from the empire. Though the empire itself emerged from the decline of Rome and lasted ...

.Israel Museum
/ref> Shortly after the mosaic's discovery, the main figure's face was gouged out. When Israel captured the Gaza Strip in the 1967 Six-Day War, the mosaic was transferred to the

Israel Museum The Israel Museum ( he, מוזיאון ישראל, ''Muze'on Yisrael'') is an art and archaeological museum in Jerusalem. It was established in 1965 as Israel's largest and foremost cultural institution, and one of the world’s leading encyclopa ...

for restoration. The mosaic floor of the synagogue is on show at the Museum of the Good Samaritan, located on the Jerusalem-Jericho Road near the

Israeli settlement Israeli settlements, or Israeli colonies, are civilian communities inhabited by Israeli citizens, overwhelmingly of Jewish ethnicity, built on lands occupied by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War. The international community considers Israeli se ...

Ma'ale Adumim Ma'ale Adumim ( he, מַעֲלֵה אֲדֻמִּים; ar, معالي أدوميم) is an urban Israeli settlement organized as a city council in the West Bank, seven kilometers () east of Jerusalem. Ma'ale Adumim achieved city status in 1991. ...

in the West Bank.Mosaic museum opens in the West Bank
/ref>

Description

Mosaic floor

The best known panel of the mosaic floor shows King David, who is named in a Hebrew inscription reading "David" (), while sitting and playing a lyre with a number of wild animals listening tamely in front of him. The iconography is a clear example of David being depicted in the posture of the legendary Greek musician Orpheus.James R. Russell
The Lyre of King David and the Greeks
note 18. Published i
Judaica Petropolitana No. 8
(2017), pp. 12-33, ISSN 2307-9053

References

External links

Mosaic from the floor of the ancient synagogue at Gaza

Photos of the Gaza Synagogue
at the

Manar al-Athar Manar al-Athar is a photo archive based at the Faculty of Classics at the University of Oxford which aims to provide high-quality open-access images of archaeological sites and buildings. The archive's collection focuses on areas of the Roman Em ...

photo archive {{Gaza City 500s establishments in the Byzantine Empire 6th-century synagogues Ancient synagogues in the Land of Israel Buildings and structures in Gaza City Byzantine mosaics Jewish art Jews and Judaism in the Byzantine Empire Synagogues in the Gaza Strip 1965 archaeological discoveries

History

Description

Mosaic floor

References

Further reading

External links