If you’ve ever visited #Amman, you’ve definitely caught a glimpse of the colossal Temple of ‘Hercules’ standing tall on ancient acropolis. The architecture is amazing, but who was the temple actually for & was it ever finished?
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#Archaeology #MuseumsUnlocked #ClassicsTwitter
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#Archaeology #MuseumsUnlocked #ClassicsTwitter
The Amman citadel is an amazing site & I hope this thread inspires some visits! Occupied since the Neolithic period, the citadel is marked in some way by every phase of Jordan’s history.
It’s also home to an amazing archaeological museum, featuring an even wider range of finds!
It’s also home to an amazing archaeological museum, featuring an even wider range of finds!
The temple sits a conventional Roman podium on the southern end of the fortified citadel, and would have measured 30x24m. The most impressive aspect of the building is its vertical scale: each of its columns rises some 10m atop the stylobate, making it incredibly imposing!
The temple was first identified as a Temple to Herakles/Hercules by Conder in 1889. Amman, then called Philadelphia, was known to have a prominent cult to Herakles & C inferred that its largest temple would be a good fit! Unfortunately the name has stuck but there’s no evidence!
We *do* know that the temple was dedicated by Geminius Marcianus—the legate of Arabia—in the 160s, thanks to this beautiful inscription that would have run along the whole length of the building’s architrave. Unfortunately, the bit that says which god it was for is missing!
But what did the temple actually look like? We have evidence for a hexastyle portico, but debate rages whether the temple was planned with a full peristyle that was never finished.
This incredible model at @ACORJordan gives a little insight into how the temple might have looked!
This incredible model at @ACORJordan gives a little insight into how the temple might have looked!
Fragments of an enormous statue were found on the Acropolis, presumably the cult image from the temple. The scale is out of this world: 7-8x lifesize, putting it in a select category. The statue is a seated female deity, and 3 were worshipped in Amman: Athena, Astarte, & Demeter
The temple & its statue were likely destroyed by an earthquake in 747, but it was abandoned & robbed before then. Its masonry was reused in later buildings on the citadel, but restorations beginning in 1992 by Kannelopoulos & @ACORJordan have made the columns stand tall again!
You can learn more about those restorations here & if you’re ever swinging through Amman on your way to #Petra or #Jerash, drop in on the citadel! The temple is just one of its incredible monuments on the rock & as you can see, there’s still much to learn! acorjordan.org/2015/04/16/amm…
