Syria Trails › Places

Temple of Jupiter, Damascus

معبد جوبيتر الدمشقي

Remains of the great Roman Temple of Jupiter Damascenus, whose massive columns stand at the end of Souq al-Hamidiyya before the Umayyad Mosque.

At the end of Souq al-Hamidiyya stands a row of massive columns carrying a carved pediment: the last visible part of the western gateway of the Temple of Jupiter Damascenus, one of the largest temples of Roman Syria.

The sacred site is far older. The Arameans, who made Damascus their capital, worshipped the storm god Hadad here; the Romans identified him with Jupiter, enlarging the temple within a huge walled precinct with monumental gates.

In the late 4th century it became a church of St John the Baptist, and in the early 8th century the Umayyad caliph al-Walid built the Great Mosque inside the same enclosure. The place thus condenses some three thousand years of continuous worship — a rarity anywhere. Part of the Ancient City of Damascus World Heritage property.

Note: photos may not reflect the site's current condition.

For the visitor

Photos

Photos: Ai@ce — via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY) · Véronique Dauge — via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA) · Freedom's Falcon — via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA) · LBM1948 — via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA)