The oldest original synagogue building in the Diaspora: the Delos synagogue reconsidered

Hesperia, Fall, 2004 by Monika Trumper

ABSTRACT

The original function of the synagogue on Delos has long been contested, and can be determined only through analysis of the architectural history of the building. In this article, the author reconsiders the history of the building's construction on the basis of fieldwork to date. Five phases of construction are distinguished: two predate 88 B.C. and the remaining three date between 88 and the end of the second century A.D. The structure's most characteristic features--a large hall, a water reservoir, orientation toward the east, and an isolated location on the eastern seashore--are not consistent with those of a private house, a meeting place for an association, or a pagan cult building, but rather confirm its function as a synagogue from the earliest phase onward.

INTRODUCTION

The synagogue on Delos is the earliest known to date, either in the Diaspora or in Palestine. (1) Its identification has long been the subject of heated debate. During the last 30 years or so a consensus has emerged that the building was an assembly hall for Jews or Samaritans, but this consensus pertains only to the building's very last phase of use. In several recent publications it is argued that the building was first erected either as a private house or as a pagan meeting place for an association. It is argued here, however, that the building was conceived and used as a synagogue from the beginning, that is, from the time of its initial construction, in the period before 88 B.C.

The building in question, GD 80, is situated on what was the eastern side of the city of Delos, far from the main harbor and the city center with its sanctuaries, public places, and commercial areas. It now belongs to the area known as the Quartier du stade (Fig. 1), which is largely unexcavated and, today, comprises mostly residential buildings, a building that was used as a meeting place for an association (GD 79a), and an important complex of agonistic buildings (gymnasium, xyste, stadium, GD 76-78). In contrast to all these constructions, GD 80 is located immediately on the shore, at the southern end of a large bay that served in antiquity as a small, well-protected harbor, accessible even during rough weather. (2) The maximum exterior dimensions of the rectangular structure are now 28.30 m (N-S) x 30.70 m (E-W), the full eastern extent being unknown. GD 80 consists of three parts (Fig. 2): two large rooms, A and B, similarly equipped with marble benches, in addition to a throne in room A (a lime kiln was installed in room A in a later phase); area C, essentially the east half of the building, which includes a marble stylobate running north-south, marble benches preserved in the northwest corner, and an entrance in the south wall; and the D-complex, consisting of several small rooms (D1-D7), one of which (D1) gave access to a large water reservoir.

[FIGURES 1-2 OMITTED]

Although the stadium was established in the period of Delian independence (314-167/6 B.C.), the major development of the Quartier du stade dates to the following period, after the Romans conquered the island, declared it a free port, and gave control to the Athenians. Delos soon became a booming cosmopolitan trade center, and the city grew considerably in order to house the numerous merchants from across the Mediterranean world who established themselves in the tax-free port. Even though the island was sacked twice, in 88 B.C. and 69 B.C. by, respectively, the troops of Mithridates VI and then pirates under Athenodoros, its abandonment and decline during the first century B.C. can be attributed more to the influence of increasingly successful Roman ports such as Puteoli and Ostia.

After Andre Plassart excavated GD 80 in 1912-1913, he published only a short report accompanied by a schematic plan. (3) Some 50 years later, Philippe Bruneau dedicated a much more detailed study to the building, providing an accurate plan, sectional drawings, and an epigraphic register. (4) Recently, L. Michael White and Donald D. Binder have offered new theories regarding the history and function of GD 80, based on their own examinations of the archaeological remains. (5) In addition, GD 80 is addressed to a greater or lesser degree in all studies on ancient synagogues, especially in works on early examples and the evidence from the Diaspora. (6)

Despite its importance and early date, however, GD 80 has yet to be published comprehensively. Therefore, much information has been unavailable until now, including, for example, an extensive record of all the architectural elements of the building; a catalogue of all material discovered; a detailed reconstruction of the construction history based on the architecture itself and on excavations since 1913; extensive documentation with photographs and drawings; and an examination of the immediate surroundings and the quarter in which the building is situated.

Ideally, such documentation should be accomplished by an interdisciplinary team consisting of scholars familiar with the specific architecture and archaeology of Delos and specialists in Jewish culture and history. As the completion and publication of such a comprehensive study seems still to be well in the future, however, the only alternative is to pursue research more limited in scope and with more modest goals. In this article, therefore, I address just one major issue not resolved in previous studies: the history of the edifice according to the evidence visible above ground, and the building's nature and probable function in the different phases of that history. It is by examining principally the extant remains of GD 80 in Delos that I hope to provide new information and insights for the ongoing study of early synagogues.