The Temple of Zeus Hypsistos is an ancient

Roman temple Ancient Roman temples were among the most important buildings in Roman culture, and some of the richest buildings in Roman architecture, though only a few survive in any sort of complete state. Today they remain "the most obvious symbol of Ro ...

dedicated to the Roman

deity A deity or god is a supernatural being who is considered divine or sacred. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines deity as a god or goddess, or anything revered as divine. C. Scott Littleton defines a deity as "a being with powers greate ...

Zeus Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label=Genitive case, genitive Aeolic Greek, Boeotian Aeolic and Doric Greek#Laconian, Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label=Genitive case, genitive el, Δίας, ''D� ...

, located in the present day town of

Al-Dumayr Dumeir, also Dumair, Damir and Dumayr ( ar, الضمير) is a city located 45 kilometers north-east of Damascus, Syria. Archaeology An altar dedicated to the Semitic deity, Baalshamin in 94 CE, now in the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris, indica ...

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

, located 45 km north-east of Damascus, and known historically as ''Thelsea''.Millar 1993 p. 317

History

While its construction date is unknown, it was probably a

Nabatean The Nabataeans or Nabateans (; Nabataean Aramaic: , , vocalized as ; Arabic: , , singular , ; compare grc, Ναβαταῖος, translit=Nabataîos; la, Nabataeus) were an ancient Arab people who inhabited northern Arabia and the southern Lev ...

building, likely converted to a temple around the 2nd century. In one of its inscriptions, it mentions a case heard by Emperor

Caracalla Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (born Lucius Septimius Bassianus, 4 April 188 – 8 April 217), better known by his nickname "Caracalla" () was Roman emperor from 198 to 217. He was a member of the Severan dynasty, the elder son of Emperor S ...

Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου, ''Antiókheia hē epì Oróntou'', Learned ; also Syrian Antioch) grc-koi, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου; or Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπ� ...

around 216, about the corruption in the temple's priesthood.

Gallery

Dumair,roman south.jpg, The temple's exterior viewed from the south File:Dumair,roman in.jpg, The temple's interior Dumeir, 3C Temple of Zeus Hypsistos 4.JPG, Detail of a relief in its interior

References

Sources

*Millar, Fergus (1993). The Roman Near East, 31 B.C.-A.D. 337. p. 317. {{ISBN, 0674778863. Ancient Roman buildings and structures in Syria Ancient Roman temples Archaeological sites in Rif Dimashq Governorate Temples of Zeus 2nd-century religious buildings and structures Temples in Syria