![Ag-obj-24942-001-pub-large](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/35/Ag-obj-24942-001-pub-large.jpg)
Yarhibol or Iarhibol is an
Aramean
The Arameans ( oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; syc, ܐܪ̈ܡܝܐ, Ārāmāyē) were an ancient Semitic-speaking people in the Near East, first recorded in historical sources from the late 12th century BCE. The Aramean h ...
god who was worshiped mainly in ancient
Palmyra
Palmyra (; Palmyrene: () ''Tadmor''; ar, تَدْمُر ''Tadmur'') is an ancient city in present-day Homs Governorate, Syria. Archaeological finds date back to the Neolithic period, and documents first mention the city in the early second ...
, a city in central Syria. He was depicted with a solar nimbus and styled "lord of the spring". He normally appears alongside
Bel, who was a co-supreme god of Palmyra, and
Aglibol
Aglibol is a god from Palmyra, originating from a north Syrian immigrant community. He is a moon god who was worshiped in the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra as part of a trinity alongside Bel and Yarhibol, and associated with the sun god Malakbe ...
, one of the other top Palmyrene gods.
Origins
It is believed that Yarhibol was originally the patronus/
genius loci of the source
Efqa in
Palmyra
Palmyra (; Palmyrene: () ''Tadmor''; ar, تَدْمُر ''Tadmur'') is an ancient city in present-day Homs Governorate, Syria. Archaeological finds date back to the Neolithic period, and documents first mention the city in the early second ...
; it is known that his title was "Lord / Guardian
adof the Source". In general, however, his
onomastics
Onomastics (or, in older texts, onomatology) is the study of the etymology, history, and use of proper names. An ''orthonym'' is the proper name of the object in question, the object of onomastic study.
Onomastics can be helpful in data mining, w ...
indicates an earlier connection with the lunar, not the solar, cult. His name translates as "the moon of Bel", and at the same time shows a connection with the North-Western Semitic (
Canaanite) moon god
Jarih
Yarikh (Ugaritic: , , "moon") was a moon god worshiped in the Ancient Near East. He is best attested in sources from the Amorite city of Ugarit in the north of modern Syria, where he was one of the principal deities. His primary cult center was m ...
(Yariḫ). It is characteristic that on the stele in
Dura Europos
Dura-Europos, ; la, Dūra Eurōpus, ( el, Δούρα Ευρωπός, Doúra Evropós, ) was a Hellenistic, Parthian, and Roman border city built on an escarpment above the southwestern bank of the Euphrates river. It is located near the vil ...
(2nd century AD), apart from the radiant crown, it is additionally decorated with a crescent.
Earlier Yarhibol must have been a local deity of ancestors in a desert oasis, worshiped by the descendants of the first settlers and appeared in the form of a
Baetylus
Baetylus (also Baetyl, Bethel, or Betyl, from Semitic ''bet el'' "house of god"; compare Bethel, Beit El) are sacred stones that were supposedly endowed with life, or gave access to a deity. According to ancient sources, at least some of these ...
. In a stele of the
Temple of the Gadde in Dura Europos, Yarhibol is described as "good god". Being the custodian of a healing spring - a place special for the desert inhabitants, with time he also got the function of the supreme (divine) judge and acquired prophetic qualities (giving divinations), which was usually associated with the aspect characteristic of a solar deity. Over time, this was also reflected in his cult imaginations and ideological kinship with the Greek god
Apollo
Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...
.
Iconography
![Relief Bel Baalshamin Yarhibol Aglibol MBA Lyon 1992-13](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c6/Relief_Bel_Baalshamin_Yarhibol_Aglibol_MBA_Lyon_1992-13.jpg)
In Palmyra, Yarhibol generally never appears on bust reliefs. The oldest image on the local relief from the 1st century BC shows him in a Greek
chiton
Chitons () are marine molluscs of varying size in the class Polyplacophora (), formerly known as Amphineura. About 940 extant and 430 fossil species are recognized.
They are also sometimes known as gumboots or sea cradles or coat-of-mail s ...
and
himation, with a palm branch in his hand - in a pacifist form. A different iconography is reflected in the canon of representations from the 1st-3rd century AD, when both group and individual images show him with armament and Roman military outfit.
As a rule, however, Yarhibol appears in a triad, along with another ancient local deity -
Aglibol
Aglibol is a god from Palmyra, originating from a north Syrian immigrant community. He is a moon god who was worshiped in the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra as part of a trinity alongside Bel and Yarhibol, and associated with the sun god Malakbe ...
(god of the moon), and accompanying the supreme deity -
Bel. As local tribal god Yarhibol remained slightly against both of them. Although the Baalshamin triad was worshiped at Palmyra, this apparently did not prevent the same veneration of both supreme gods, and a telling testimony is the Ba'alay votive relief from the
Lyon Fine Arts Museum, showing the unusual combination of these deities from both triads. Jarhibol, in trinity with Baalshamin and Aglibol, appears (alongside local Parthian deities) also in Dura Europos, in the
Temple of the Gadde.
In addition, Yarhibol also had his own triad, in which he is shown with various deities: above all with Aglibol (always standing at his right hand) and with the goddess Arsu, thus creating the symbolic Sun-Moon-Earth cosmic group. He may also be accompanied by the goddess Belti (the female equivalent of Bela, equated with
Venus
Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never fa ...
) or
Atargatis
Atargatis (; grc, Ἀτάργατις, translit=Atárgatis or arc, , translit=ʿtrʿth; syc, ܬܪܥܬܐ, translit=Tarʿaṯā) was the chief goddess of northern Syria in Classical antiquity. Ctesias also used the name Derketo ( grc-koi, Δε ...
. Among the not uncommon multi-figure representations appears together with Hercules or with the goddess Semia (juxtaposed with the Greek Athena). However, no common depictions with
Malakbel
Malakbel (Arabic: ملاك بعل) was a sun god worshiped in the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra, frequently associated and worshiped with the moon god Aglibol as a party of a trinity involving the sky god Baalshamin.
Etymology
Malakbel's na ...
were found.
Cult
It seems that Yarhibol's cult was long entrenched in Palmyra, since he was worshiped by the
Amorites
The Amorites (; sux, 𒈥𒌅, MAR.TU; Akkadian language, Akkadian: 𒀀𒈬𒊒𒌝 or 𒋾𒀉𒉡𒌝/𒊎 ; he, אֱמוֹרִי, 'Ĕmōrī; grc, Ἀμορραῖοι) were an ancient Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic-speaking people ...
, who are considered the earliest known inhabitants of the area. Until a specific iconography of the deity was created, he was undoubtedly worshiped in the form of
Baetylus
Baetylus (also Baetyl, Bethel, or Betyl, from Semitic ''bet el'' "house of god"; compare Bethel, Beit El) are sacred stones that were supposedly endowed with life, or gave access to a deity. According to ancient sources, at least some of these ...
. It is assumed that in the cella of the Palmyrene temple of Bel, the northern niche contained the statues of the trinity of gods, including Yarhibol. The material confirmation of the local cult were found in form of olive votive lamps with his representations and relevant inscriptions, as well as temple
tesserae
A tessera (plural: tesserae, diminutive ''tessella'') is an individual tile, usually formed in the shape of a square, used in creating a mosaic. It is also known as an abaciscus or abaculus.
Historical tesserae
The oldest known tesserae ...
, on which Yarhibol is featured, for example, with Aglibol and in the Bela triad. The popularity of this deity would also be emphasized by the use of his name as a proper name by the inhabitants of Palmyra, as evidenced in the discovered local inscriptions.
The caravan route contributed to a certain spread, or at least to transfer, of his cult further east, as evidenced by its finding in the sanctuary in Dura Europos discovered by JH Breasted and F. Cumont. The dating of local frescoes shows that the cult of the Palmyrene triad in the Roman era was maintained there at least during the 2nd century AD (after 145).
Dura Europos
Dura-Europos, ; la, Dūra Eurōpus, ( el, Δούρα Ευρωπός, Doúra Evropós, ) was a Hellenistic, Parthian, and Roman border city built on an escarpment above the southwestern bank of the Euphrates river. It is located near the vil ...
">
File:Large Altar to Gods of Palmyra 1.jpg, alt=Altar of Yarhibol. "The Greek inscription reads: "
the god Iarhibol, Scribonius Moucianus, chiliarch, made this as commanded." Thus, a Latin-named dedicant, who holds a Greek-titled office in the Roman army, records his offering to the Palmyrene god Yarhibol in Greek.", Altar of Yarhibol found in the
. "The Greek inscription reads: "
, made this as commanded." Thus, a Latin-named dedicant, who holds a Greek-titled office in the Roman army, records his offering to the Palmyrene god Yarhibol in Greek."
File:Depinto Scene of Sacrifice.jpg, Depinto Scene of Sacrifice. Found in the
, this painting shows Yarhibol standing on a pedestal and wearing Roman military garb, with solar rays around his head and a sheaf of wheat in his hand. He is crowned by the goddess Victory, approaching from one direction, and an eagle from the other. Worshippers on either side burn incense on thymiaterias (incense burners). The man on horseback advancing from the left wears Palmyrene dress and is clearly a figure of importance.
* Elżbieta Łukasiak, ''Ikonografia Jarhibola'', "Studia Palmyreńskie" V (1974), ss. 7-44
* H. J. W. Drijvers, ''The Religion of Palmyra'' (Iconography of religions), Leiden 1976
* Javier Teixidor, ''The Pantheon of Palmyra'' (Études préliminaires aux religions orientales dans l'Empire romain 79), Leiden 1979
* Michał Gawlikowski, ''Sztuka Syrii'', Warszawa 1976
* ''Sztuka Palmyry ze zbiorów Arabskiej Republiki Syryjskiej. 50 lat polskich wykopalisk na Bliskim Wschodzie''
Warszawa 1986
* Clark Hopkins, ''The Palmyrene Gods at Dura-Europos'', "Journal of the American Oriental Society" t. 51/2 (1931), ss. 119-137