Baalbek is often referred to as the City of the Sun or “Heliopolis” because it was built in dedication to the god “Helios” known as Jupiter during the Greek and Roman Empire. At this time, Baalbek is a city located east of the Litani River in Lebanon’s Beqaa Valley, about 67 km northeast of Beirut. It is the capital of Baalbek-Hermel Governorate. The city is home to the Baalbek temple complex which includes two of the largest and grandest Roman temple ruins: the Temple of Bacchus and the Temple of Jupiter. In 1984 it was inscribed as an UNESCO World Heritage site. Going back to before 2000 years, the city of Baalbek already had temples at the same site. Later, the city became known as Heliopolis under the Greeks, who added to the temples. Under the Romans, it grew to be an important temple site, and they added to, enlarged and generally elaborated the structures starting in the first century CE and lasting for about two hundred years. It became a complex of temples dedicated to Venus, Jupiter, Bacchus and Mercury, though little is left of the temple of Mercury.
The Temple of Jupiter, principal temple of the Baalbek triad, was remarkable for its 20 m high columns that surrounded the inner area of the templeand the gigantic stones of its terrace. Later, in the age of the Crusades, the stones were reused to convert the complex into a fortress. In fact, the temple served as an inspiration and was dedicated to Jupiter Heliopolitanus.
The temple is surrounded by no less than 27 meter long 54 columns. Inside, there are tall walls and more columns, which supported the massive roof, made of cedar wood, as this was a large place to gather snow in the winter. Inside the temple, which was only accessible for the priests, stands the cult statue of Jupiter Heliopolitanus.
Next, the adjacent temple dedicated to Bacchus is exceptional; it is an outstanding archaeological, artistic and abudantly decorated site of Imperial Roman Architecture and of impressive dimensions with its monumental gate sculpted with Bacchic figures. Besides, this monument to Bacchus is one of the best preserved and grandest Roman temple ruins in the world; its age is unknown, but its fine decoration can be dated to the second century CE. This temple is dedicated to Bacchus, the god of wine, grape harvest, fertility and theater as the temple has so many wine and grape depictions on its walls and ceilings.
The Temple of Bacchus perfectly displays the full power and wealth of the Roman Empire.
It is so well preserved that carvings of lions, bulls and eagles are still visible. In addition to the 42 breathtaking Corinthian columns, 19 of which remain upright in position, support a richly carved entablature. Furthermore, the Near East earthquakes of 1759 damaged the area and the temple. However, people were quick to save it from demolition, caused many of the columns of the temples in Baalbek to topple. Nesides, the latter is a building used for musical performances and poetry competitions
