User:Elias Ziade/sandbox11

The Sursock bronze also known as the Statuette of Jupiter Heliopolitanus is a second century AD gilded bronze sculptural group of Jupiter Heliopolitanus. The statuette is 38.4 cm tall; the god is depicted standing on a square base measuring 5.5 x on each side. Two bulls, flank the effigy of the god, with the entire group resting on a base measuring 14.7 cm wide, 12.7 cm deep and 4.7 cm high. The entire statuette was originally coated in gold, and although much of the gold has worn away, there are still visible traces of it remaining.

The Sursock bronce is the showpiece of the Louvre's Department of Oriental Antiquities Roman Levant collection. The statuette *originated* from the Charles Sursock collection. In 1920, French archaeologist René Dussaud, then Deputy Curator of the Department of Oriental Antiquities, selected the Sursock bronze as the subject for the article inaugurating the first issue of the Syria journal, a leading publication for French archaeological research in the Levant.

Jupiter Heliopolitanus
(see main article)

The West Semitic good Baal-Hadad was an ancient storm and fertility god worshipped in various regions in the Near East, including Canaan and Syria. The name "Baal" is a title meaning "lord", "owner" or "master" and was used for various local gods. Hadad, specifically, was known as the god of rain, thunder, and storms, vital for agriculture in these regions. In different areas and periods, Baal could be associated with different natural phenomena and powers, and eventually syncretized with the Roman chief god Jupiter.

Introduce cult of Baal-Hadad specifically in Baalbek

During the Hellenistic period, the cult of Baal Hadad in Baalbek already exhibited significant solar characteristics. The Diadochi identified him with their own sun god Helios and consequently renamed the town Heliopolis. The name "Heliopolis" held up after the establishment of Roman colonies in the Levant, it also enabled the priests of the homonymous Egyptian Heliopolis to claim that the cult of Baalbek cult was an derived from their own. The cult of Hadad found its way to Rome, where he was mentioned in three inscriptions on an altar uncovered on the eastern slopes of the Janiculum hill. The inscriptions read: "to the god Adados", "to the god Adados of Libanos", and "to the god Adados of the Mountain-top" are believed by Cook to suggest an increasing trend toward associating Adad more with Jupiter, known as the mountain god, rather than with Helios. In the second century AD, the Romans built a monumental temple complex in Baalbek, dedicated tp Iupiter Heliopolitanus, Heliopolitan Jupiter. The cult of Heliopolitan Jupiter spread from this cultic center to the entire empire. Macrobius here

according to Macrobius Oracular center, cultic-image.

The statuette depicts the tutelary god of the Great Temple of Baalbeck, Jupiter Heliopolitanus, known by his epithet Iupiter Optimus Maxiumus Heliopolitanus. The

Fifth century AD Roman historian Macrobius

Dussaud equates with Hadad

Broken and vandalized. Baalbek a stronghold of paganism.

Dussaud believes that the Sursock bronze was not merely a votive image, but rather an idol that was used in the cultic practices at the temple of Baalbek. The vandalism to which the statuette was subjected and its find location imply that the idol was damaged by early Christians seeking to eradicate remnants of polytheism. Early Christian writers reported that Baalbek was strongly resistant to the spread of Christianity.

University of Nottingham scholar Andreas Kropp challenges the established notions about the gods of Heliopolis-Baalbek; he refutes French Archaeologist Henri Seyrig's *belief* of a solar syncretism of Jupiter Heliopolitanus, and his identification with the Semitic Hadad. He suggests that before the Hellenistic era, a local deity influenced the image of Heliopolitan Jupiter, but he does not specify the name of this deity.

Earlier Specimens
French archaeologist and Assyriologist François Lenormant first described the Heliopolitan representation of Jupiter in 1876, based on a relief engraved on a votive stele discovered in 1752 in the basin of a Roman-era fountain in Nîmes. A significant number of representations of the Heliopolitan Jupiter type have been identified including bronzes, statuettes, stone or marble reliefs, and coins from various cities across the Roman Empire like Neapolis in Samaria, Eleutheropolis, and Nicopolis-Emmaus.

Discovery
The statue's provenance remains debated. Dussaud named Baalbek as its discovery site, contrasting with Jesuit scholar Sébastien Ronzevalle's vaguer claim of it being found "in Lebanon". The bronze was sold to Beirut aristocrat Charles Sursock by antiquarian Jamil Baroudy, who might have cited Baalbek as find spot to enhance the statuette's appeal and increase its market value. Another contemporary Lebanese antiquarian, Élie Bustros suggested an alternative site near Shoueifat, a location deemed credible by historian Joseph Hajjar due to its association with two dedications to Heliopolitan Jupiter.

Initially, only the top part of the statuette including the idol's body was found; later, the lower part with the bases and bulls was also found. The right arm however, was never located. All parts of the bronze group were hacked and disjointed with the kalathos headdress separated from the head, the head detached from the body and the small cubic pedestal separated from the underlying larger base. The bulls and the nose of the idol were particularly affected by axe blows in antiquity.

The bronze was acquired by the Louvre in 1939.

Composition and description
He wears a kalathos (basket shaped hat) decorated with ears of wheat and a sun disk framed by two uraei (representations of a sacred snake used as a symbol of sovereignty and divinity in Ancient Egypt). He wears a short-sleeved tight-ﬁtting tunic (ependytes) covered by a cuirassed girdle: scrollwork bands delimit compartments with figured decorations. ECRIRE ICI QUE LA DIVINITE A L'ASPECT JEUNE ET IMBERBE -- LES PARALLELES AVEC LE DIEU HADDAD PUIS DECRIRE L'HABIT

The god is depicted youthful, beardless and with a full face; these attributes reflect an ancient local type without influence from classical models. The eye grooves were once inlaid with enamel or precious stone according to the Syro-Phoenician practice. A powerful blow to the face slightly curved the tip of the nose downwards. The neck is thick, with a prominent Adam's apple, and he hair falls onto the shoulders in four layers of curly locks, completely covering the ears,

The head is crowned with a calathus headdress that flares upward and outward from a torus-shaped base. The body of the calathus is decorated with globules, four ears of wheat, and an interlocking pattern of foliage or intertwined reeds that compose the basket. The top of the front of the calathus hat features a sun disk between two uraei.

The front and back of deity's dress is divided into square registers, with one or two registers per row. The front registers contain miniature busts of seven planetary deities, while the back registers house cultic animals and symbols. On the front, from the top, single register features a winged disk, followed in the next row by two square registers with the busts of Helios, the radiating Sun, and Selene, the crescent Moon. The third register is also comprised of two squares featuring Mars in arms, and Mercury with caduceus and winged helmet. The fourth row features the busts of a bearded and draped Jupiter, and his consort Juno wearing a diadem, Underneath the duo, and in a single compartment is a bust of bearded and veiled Saturn. The bottom register of the front of the dress contains a lion head figure over the bare feet of the statuette. The reverse of the tunic is divided into ten registers featuring from top to bottom, a winged solar disk with uraei, an eagle with outstretched wings two ram heads facing each other, two four-pointed stars and four rosettes. The sides of the dress comprise of a vertical ﬁeld stretching from under each of the armpits to the statue's feet. These fields feature each a stylized thunderbolt.

Important

According to Franz Cumont: List the deities Juno/Venus, presence of two rosacea stars (see BECK Roger) and explain the star symbolism from BECK

Cumont page 43 talks about order from right to left as read by semites and see BECK for same comment. Planetary distance and revolution speed. From left to right it gives the days of the week. Talks about musical harmony --> Neo pythagorical concepts that might have influenced the eastern cults

The front face of the small base supporting the figure of the deity is adorned with the image of Tyche, the tutelary goddess of the city, wearing a mural crown and holding a cornucopia.

The bulls / calves

Interpretation and attributes
https://www.livius.org/articles/religion/jupiter-heliopolitanus/

MatetrekaSha2feWe7deHayde VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

Despite the overall portrayal aligning with the conventional imagery associated with this deity, various details suggest a syncretic approach to its representation. The use of Egyptian-inspired iconography appears to be largely artificial, possibly drawing from the brief presence of the Ptolemaic dynasty in the Beqaa region during the 3rd century BCE and capitalizing on the homonymy with the sacred city of Egypt. Furthermore, the ornamentation on the sheath surrounding the deity reveals a new conceptualization, which emerged during the imperial era: its power has evolved into a cosmological, universal force. It governs the movement of planets, time, and the fate of humanity, thus possessing an oracular capacity that enjoyed significant popularity during the imperial period.

ON Other image variability VVVVVVVVVVVVVV

The variability in the representation of cultic statues found in various artifacts: These statues typically feature depictions of deities and celestial bodies, with different combinations and arrangements of figures, symbols, and decorative elements. While some artifacts adhere to specific themes such as the representation of planetary deities or zodiac symbols, others deviate from these patterns. The passage suggests that this variability may not result from artistic carelessness or frequent changes in the cult image's appearance but rather reflects uncertainty due to limited access to the original cult statues kept in temple adyton. The lack of Jupiter's depiction on coins of Heliopolis serves as evidence that local authorities showed minimal interest in promoting the god's image.

Dussaud believes that the Sursock bronze was not merely a votive image, but rather an idol that was used in the worship practices at the temple of Baalbek. The vandalism to which the statuette was subjected and its find location imply that the idol was damaged by early Christians seeking to eradicate remnants of polytheism. Early Christian writers reported that Baalbek was strongly resistant to the spread of Christianity.

Dussaud draws attention to the deity's prominent Adam's apple, and to the emphasis with which other replicas emphasize this anatomic part, and explains that it is related to the deity's oracular abilities.

Significance
First issue of Syria.