| Sursock bronze | |
|---|---|
 The Sursock Bronze depictingJupiter Heliopolitanus, flanked by two young bulls; the right arm is missing | |
| Completion date | 2nd century AD |
| Catalogue | AO 19534 |
| Medium | Gilded bronze |
| Subject | Jupiter Optimus Maximus Heliopolitanus in anependytes adorned with busts ofSol,Luna,Mars,Mercury,Jupiter,Juno, andSaturn, withTyche on the pedestal. |
| Dimensions | 38.4 cm × 14.7 cm (15.1 in × 5.8 in) |
| Condition | Vandalized in antiquity, missing right arm |
| Location | Louvre,Paris |
TheSursock bronze, also known as theSursock statuette, is agilded bronze sculptural group ofJupiter Heliopolitanus (Heliopolitan Jupiter) dating to the second century AD. The work is a miniature of the cult statue of the god as it stood in theGreat Temple ofBaalbek, Lebanon, around the mid‑second century AD. Measuring 38.4 centimeters (15.1 in) in height, the bronze stands on a small cubic base flanked by a pair ofyoung bulls with the entire group rests on a larger rectangularplinth. Jupiter Heliopolitanus is asyncretic supreme deity who was venerated in the Great Temple of Baalbek, the largest sanctuary in theRoman world, renowned for itsoracular activity.
The statuette shows the god as a beardless youth wearing akalathos, a basket-shaped hat, and anependytes, a close-fitting dress, under ornatearmor. This full body covering features busts of seven deities associated with celestial bodies, arranged in rectangular registers. From top left to bottom right, these are:Sol andLuna, the deities of the Sun and the Moon, respectively;Mars andMercury in the next row down; followed byJupiter, his consortJuno (replacingVenus, consistent withancient Greek andLatin sources associating Venus' celestial light with Juno); andSaturn. Four-pointed stars are depicted beside Mars, Mercury, and Saturn to signify their planetary nature, whereas Venus is accompanied by two stars symbolizing her dual aspects as the "morning" and "evening star".
The statuette also features awinged solar disc above the armor busts and a lion's head above Jupiter's bare feet. On the front of the small pedestal standsTyche holding acornucopia, and stylized thunderbolt motifs adorn the sides of the armor. The Sursock bronze illustrates the syncretism and fusion ofCanaanite,Greek, andRoman elements, showing how Jupiter Heliopolitanus evolved from the CanaaniteBaal-Hadad into a cosmic deity associated with planetary order and prophecy.
The piece is named afterCharles Sursock, its former owner. Originally gilded, much of the gold has worn away. The bronze was likely damaged in antiquity, perhaps by Christianiconoclasts; it was later restored and is now the centerpiece of theLouvre's RomanLevant collection inParis. In 1920,René Dussaud, Deputy Curator of the Department of Oriental Antiquities, selected it to inaugurate the first issue ofSyria, the leading French journal of Levantine archaeology.
| Ancient Near East (Northern Levant)[1] | |
|---|---|
| Persian period | 538–333/2 BC[1] |
| Hellenistic period | 332–64 BC[2] |
| Roman period | 63 BC–337 AD[3][a] |
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Jupiter Heliopolitanus (or Heliopolitan Jupiter) was thesyncretic supreme deity worshipped in theGreat Temple ofBaalbek, located in modern‑day Lebanon. In Latin sources he appears asJupiter Optimus Maximus Heliopolitanus (dative case:Iovi Optimo Maximo Heliopolitano), often abbreviated as IOMH. His cult evolved from theCanaanite religion, specifically from the worship ofBaal-Hadad, an ancient storm andfertility god worshiped in various regions of theLevant, includingCanaan andSyria.[6][7][b]Baal, meaning 'lord', 'owner', or 'master', was a title applied to various Levantine deities;[6][7] it is attested as a divine name in third-millennium BC texts, with the earliest known reference appearing in a deity list fromAbu Salabikh, an archaeological site in Iraq.[11] Hadad was known in particular as thegod of rain,thunder, and storms, associated with agricultural fertility, and was often depicted holding a whip and thunderbolt.[6][7] Modern scholarship largely identifies Baal with Hadad,[12][13] suggesting the nameBaal was adopted as a reverent alias when Hadad's cult grew in importance, rendering his true name too sacred to be spoken aloud by anyone except the high priest. This practice was paralleled in other cultures where substitute titles were used for deities whose names were considered too holy, such as "Bel" forMarduk among theBabylonians[13] and "Adonai" forYahweh among theIsraelites.[14][15] Some scholars, however, propose an alternative reconstruction,[c] arguing that Baal was an indigenous Canaanite deity whose cult was identified with or absorbed aspects of Hadad's.[13] Despite this, by the first millennium BC, Hadad and Baal were regarded as distinct deities: Hadad was primarily venerated by theAramaeans, while Baal was venerated by thePhoenicians and other Canaanites.[13]
During theHellenistic period (c. 332 – c. 64 BC),[d] the cult of Baal-Hadad in Baalbek acquired a solar character.[e][23] The Hellenistic overlords likelyidentified Baal-Hadad with their sun godHelios.[24] Baal, a storm god often depicted brandishing a whip symbolizing lightning,[24] shared this attribute with Helios, who wielded a whip to drive his sun chariot across the sky.[25] The Hellenistic rulers renamed the town Heliopolis, a change likely resulting from the conflation of the two deities.[26][27] The nameHeliopolis is often interpreted as evidence for the worship of asolar deity, a practice that likely emerged during thePtolemaic administration of the region in the third century BC.[28] The name, shared with the famous Egyptian city, was used by the priests of theEgyptian Heliopolis to misattribute the origins of the cult of Baalbek to their own traditions,[29][30] as recounted by theRoman historianMacrobius in his early 5th century AD workSaturnalia, who added to the myth by reporting that the cult statue of Jupiter Heliopolitanus in Baalbek originally came from Egypt.[27][31] The French archaeologistHenri Seyrig, and the Syrian priest and scholarJoseph Hajjar refuted the claim of the Egyptian origin of the cult, and of the statue of Jupiter Heliopolitanus.[26][32] Seyrig recognizing it as part of the syncretic tendencies of Macrobius,[32] and Hajjar further attributed the mistake to Macrobius's conflation of the Baalbek storm-god with the solar deity Helios.[26]
Hadad was commonly identified with Zeus in the Hellenistic and Roman periods, particularly in his aspect asZeus Keraunios (Zeus of the Thunderbolt). Contemporary iconography in Baalbek shows Jupiter Heliopolitanus as a solarized form of Hadad.[33] Following the annexation of the region byRome in 63 BC,[f] 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 theJaniculum Hill,[34] reading "to the god Adados", "to the god Adados ofLibanos", and "to the god Adados of the Mountaintop".[35] The cult of Hadad eventually syncretized with the Roman chief god Jupiter,[36] evolving into a cosmic and universal deity.[37] In the second century AD, the Romans built a monumental temple complex in Baalbek, dedicated to Jupiter Heliopolitanus.[30][38] The Temple of Jupiter Heliopolitanus in Baalbek was renowned in antiquity for itsoracular functions and as adivination center;[39] it is the largest Roman temple ever constructed,[40] with columns 20 meters tall and a podium built from massive stone blocks, some weighing up to 800 tonnes (130,000 st).[41] Macrobius records that during oracle sessions, the god's statue was carried in alitter by the bearers who, guided by divine will, moved in certain directions, which priests interpreted to deliver oracles.[42] The cult of Jupiter Heliopolitanus spread from this cultic center to the far corners of the Roman Empire, with inscriptions mentioning the god found inAthens,Rome,Puteoli,Carnuntum,Aquincum,Massilia andNemausus inGaul, at forts inGermania Superior andPannonia, and even as far asMagna in Britain.[38][43] The ritual practices[g] and cultic installations of the Temple of Jupiter Heliopolitanus in Baalbek[h] still exhibited, even in Roman times, significantSemitic influences.[45]
The FrenchAssyriologist and archaeologistFrançois Lenormant first described the Heliopolitan representation of Jupiter in 1876,[46] based on a relief on an altar discovered in 1752 in the basin of a Roman-era fountain inNîmes (see images below).[47] A significant number of representations of the Heliopolitan Jupitericonographic type have been identified, including bronzes, statuettes, stone or marblereliefs, and coins from various cities of the Levant, includingOrthosia in Phoenicia,Caesarea ad Libanum,Ptolemais in Phoenicia,Neapolis,Eleutheropolis,Diospolis,Nikopolis in Palestine, andDium.[46][48]
Within this iconographic type, Jupiter Heliopolitanus is consistently shown as a standing, youthful, beardless deity with voluminouscorkscrew locks, while variation occurs primarily in costume and headgear. He is most commonly depicted wearing akalathos, (a basket-shaped headdress that tapers at the base.), together with anependytes (a close-fitting dress) andarmor adorned with rosettes and busts of divinities.[49] In some of the bronze statuettes, thekalathos is replaced by apschent, theancient Egyptian double crown, while on several miniature engravings, thekalathos is supplemented or replaced by aradiate crown.[48][50][51] The iconography is corroborated by the 5th-century AD report of Macrobius who, citing third-century Phoenician philosopherPorphyry, described the cult statue of Jupiter Heliopolitanus as youthful and beardless, with layered, cascading locks of hair, brandishing a thunderbolt andears of wheat in his raised left hand.[48][52] This description is generally accurate, except regarding the attribute in the god's left hand, where Macrobius adds the thunderbolt to the ears of wheat. No known representations depict these two attributes associated in this manner, with both held together in the same hand.[53]
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The Sursock bronze'sfindspot remains a subject of debate. TheJesuit scholarSébastien Ronzevalle [fr] first discussed the statuette in a 1913 study, in which he stated only that it had been found “in Lebanon,” without specifying a precise provenance.[55] The archaeologistRené Dussaud, then Deputy Curator of theLouvre's Department of Near Eastern Antiquities, identified Baalbek as the discovery site in his 1920monographJupiter héliopolitain - Bronze de la collection Charles Sursock.[i][56] The bronze is named after the Beiruti aristocratCharles Sursock who acquired it from the antiquarian Jamil Baroudy. Baroudy may have cited Baalbek as the find spot to enhance the statuette's appeal and increase its market value. Another contemporary Lebanese antiquarian, Élie Bustros, suggested an alternative site nearChoueifat, a location considered credible by historian Joseph Hajjar because two inscriptions mentioning the god Jupiter Heliopolitanus were found there.[57][58]
The top part of the statuette, including the idol's body, was discovered before the lower part with the bases and bulls. The right arm, however, was never located. The group was found hacked and disjointed, with thekalathos 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, indicating deliberate acts of vandalism in antiquity.[59] The bronze was acquired by the Louvre in 1939.[60]
The statuette measures 38.4 cm (15.1 in) in overall height; the god is depicted standing on a square base with sides measuring 5 cm (2.0 in). Two bulls flank the effigy of the god, with the entire group resting on a rectangular base measuring 14.7 cm (5.8 in) wide, 12.7 cm (5.0 in) deep, and 4.7 cm (1.9 in) high.[56][61] The entire statuette was originally coated in gold, and although much of it has worn away, visible traces of it remain.[56] The god is depicted as youthful, beardless, and with a full face; these attributes reflect an ancient local iconographic type[j] of the god Hadad devoid ofclassical influence. The eye grooves were onceinlaid withenamel or precious stone according to Syro-Phoenician practice. A powerful blow to the face slightly curved the tip of the nose downwards. The neck is thick, with a prominentAdam's apple, and the hair falls onto the shoulders in four layers of curly locks, completely covering the ears.[62]
The statuette's head is crowned by akalathos. The body of thekalathos is decorated with four ears of wheat and an interlocking pattern of foliage or intertwined reeds that compose the basket.[63] The top of the front of thekalathos features asun disk framed by twouraei (representations of a sacred snake used as a symbol of sovereignty and divinity in ancient Egypt).[62] The figure is shown wearing a short-sleevedependytes, covered by an armor bearingscrollwork bands that delimit compartments with figured decorations.[64] The front and back of the deity's armor is divided into square registers, with one to two registers per row. The front registers contain miniature busts of seven deities associated with celestial bodies, while the back registers house cultic animals and symbols.[65] On the front, from the top, a single register features a winged disk, followed in the next row by two square registers with the busts ofSol,[66] the radiant Sun,[60] andLuna,[66] the crescent Moon.[k][60] Sol is depicted holding a whip in his right hand.[68] The third row also includes two registers featuringMars wearing militarycuirass with imbricated scales and a legionary's shoulder piece, alongsideMercury with acaduceus and awinged helmet.[l][70] The fourth row features the busts of a bearded and draped Jupiter, and his consortJuno, veiled and wearing adiadem. Underneath the duo, in a single compartment, is a bust of a bearded and veiledSaturn.[71] These busts represent the Sun, the Moon, and the planets, with Juno replacing Venus, consistent withancient Greek andLatin sources associating Venus' celestial light with Juno. The planetary nature of these deities is emphasized by four-pointed star symbols placed next to Mars, Mercury, and Saturn, while Venus notably has two stars, one on each side of the bust, representing the dual aspect as both morning and evening star,Phosphorus andHesperus respectively.[72] The bottom register of the front of the dress features a lion's head positioned above the statuette's bare feet. The reverse of the tunic is divided into ten registers, featuring, from top to bottom, a winged solar disk withuraei, an eagle with outstretched wings, two ram heads facing each other, two four-pointed stars, and four rosettes.[60][73] The sides of the dress consist of a vertical field stretching from under each of the statuette's armpits to its feet. These fields each feature a stylized thunderbolt.[65] The front face of the small base supporting the figure of Jupiter is adorned with the image ofTyche of Heliopolis, thetutelary goddess of the city, wearing amural crown and holding acornucopia.[74]
Two young bulls flank the small base. According to Dussaud, the proportions of the Sursock bronze bulls confirm that they are young, further evidenced by their underdeveloped horns. This observation is corroborated by the relief in theCalvet Museum, which elucidates that in the parallel Israelite cult of thegolden calf, theHebrew term used isʿgel, meaning 'young bull'.[75] In the Levant, the bull/calf was the animal associated with Baal-Hadad.[76] The group's large base is composed of a horizontal top plate and four side panels, forming a hollow, bottomless structure. Each side panel has two circular holes, about 1 cm (0.39 in) in diameter, aligned in pairs across the opposite sides. Additionally, the top plate of the base has a circular opening, about 7.3 cm (2.9 in) in diameter, which likely corresponded to a hollow space below. The edge of the opening shows no signs of wear or fitting, which suggests it was not used to hold an object like a ceremonial cup orincense burner.[77] The arrangement of the group in two tiers is corroborated by several replicas, including a relief in the Calvet Museum.[78]
The statuette is dated to the second century AD.[60][79] Dussaud propounded that the Sursock bronze is a miniature of thecult image of Jupiter Heliopolitanus as he was venerated in the Great Temple of Baalbek in the mid-second century AD,[80] a conclusion echoed in later publications.[30][81] He also posited that the vandalism to which the statuette was subjected implies that the idol was damaged by early Christianiconoclasts.[46][82]
Dussaud proposed that the Sursock bronze was not merely avotive statuette, but may instead have been used in oracular ceremonies,[46] possibly in connection with the divinatory practices described by Macrobius.[83] He drew attention to the statuette's prominent Adam's apple, and noted how other replicas emphasize this anatomic feature. He linked its exaggerated representation to the deity's oracular abilities.[62][m] He presented two interpretations of the circular opening in the Sursock bronze's base: one suggests that the opening was used for depositing votive offerings, a practice attested in ancient Near Eastern andJudaic traditions (Genesis 35:4;Exodus 32:2;Judges 8:24–27),[84] and the other suggests it facilitated the transmission of oracular messages. The oracle of Heliopolis was renowned, with records indicating that devotees submitted written questions, to which the god responded through the priests. A well-documented example is the consultation of theRoman emperorTrajan, who tested the oracle by sending sealed blank tablets; the response, a vine branch cut into pieces, was later interpreted as a prophecy of his death.[85][86] The Sursock bronze would have been positioned, according to Dussaud, above an opening in a temple platform and may have served as a conduit for such responses.[86] Hajjar offered an alternative hypothesis, referencing ancient texts that describe thesimulacrum (cult statue) of Jupiter Heliopolitanus being carried on aferculum (ceremonial litter) during processions before delivering oracles. He posited that the two holes on each of the base's sides could have been used for transporting the idol during processions and religious ceremonies.[87]
Dussaud commented that although some iconographic features, such as the grouped divine busts on the deity's dress, reflect artistic trends from the second century AD, others align with earlier depictions of Baal-Hadad.[78] The statuette's posture, with one arm extended and the other raised in a threatening gesture, recalls the combative stance of ancient storm-gods depicted from the second to first millennia BCE, while the bull that frequently accompanies such figures remained a traditional emblem of Baal-Hadad, lord of storm and fertility.[88] This whip appears to have replaced Baal-Hadad's conventional weapon,[78] the thunderbolt,[89] after his identification with the solar deity Helios, thereby symbolizing his daily celestial journey across the sky.[78]
Dussaud noted a similarity to a bronze dated to the 8th–7th century BC, now in the Louvre (pictured), which features a columnar body, a beardless head, and an elaborate headdress incorporating anuraeus, bull horns, a solar disk,ostrich feathers, and an eagle.[78][90] Dussaud remarked that the presence of the eagle is of particular interest, as no document beforeAlexander the Great's conquest (c. 332 BC) associated this animal with Baal-Hadad. It was previously thought that this connection arose under Greek influence, when Baal-Hadad was identified with Zeus, whose emblem is theeagle. He noted that the Louvre bronze dated to the 8th–7th century BC suggests that the eagle's association with the god is older, potentially dating back to thePersian period (c. 538–332 BC).[78]
Writing in 2010, theUniversity of Nottingham scholar Andreas Kropp examined the decorative variability of the garments on representations of Jupiter Heliopolitanus, exemplified by the Sursock bronze. Although preserved depictions share similar attributes, usually featuring Sol and Luna in the top register, no two examples display the same arrangement of details or number of registers. The front panel often includes deities associated with the seven planets or various motifs such as rosettes, discs, and mythical creatures, while the back side tends to be simpler, sometimes featuring repeated symbols like ram's heads or the winged sun-disc, with the remaining fields usually filled with rosettes.[91] This structured yet highly individualized iconography contrasts with the more standardized cult images of figures such asEphesian Artemis orAphrodite of Aphrodisias during the Roman imperial period. The variability of the iconography of Jupiter Heliopolitanus may stem from limited access to the cult statue in its temple'sadyton (restricted inner sanctuary) and few opportunities to observe it closely outside occasional processions.[92]
Writing in 1921, the Belgian archaeologist and historianFranz Cumont argued that the spatial arrangement of the busts of the deities associated with celestial bodies follows two significant orderings: when read top to bottom and right to left, the sequence Moon-Mercury-Venus-Sun-Mars-Jupiter-Saturn represents their distance from Earth according toChaldean and laterAlexandrian astronomers;[93][94] when read left to right, the sequence Sun-Moon-Mars-Mercury-Jupiter-Venus-Saturn corresponds to the days of the week. Cumont further posits that the busts of the Sursock bronze provide the first evidence that the planetary week played a crucial role in the cultic practices of the Heliopolitan clergy. This idea is supported by evidence of daily planetary prayers inHarran (in modern-day Turkey) and similar practices in theMithraic mysteries, suggesting that Syrian cults and Iranian Mithraic religion helped spread the use of the astrological week throughout the Latin world.[93] According to the French scholar and curator Nicolas Bel,[95] the imagery of the bust deities illustrates how, in theRoman Imperial period, Jupiter Heliopolitanus came to be seen as a universal, cosmic force connected with the movement of the planets, the passage of time, and prophecy, a conception that gained wide popularity across the empire.[96] According to the American scholarDavid C. Parrish, Near Eastern religious traditions, like the cult of Jupiter Heliopolitanus, were among the key influences that contributed to the rising popularity of artistic depictions of the planetary gods of the week in Roman art during the second and third centuries AD, particularly under theSeveran dynasty. This trend was also driven by widespread astrological beliefs attributing to the planets the power to shape individual fate, and by the adoption of the seven-day week.[97]
In his 1920 monograph, Dussaud identified the lion's head at the lower front of the dress as a representation of the god Gennaios,[69] regarded as a solar deity venerated at Baalbek.[98] Kropp (2010) proposed thatGennaios may not be a distinct deity but derives from the AramaicGNYʾ, linked to the Arabic concept ofjinn (جن), denoting a divine or powerful entity rather than a proper name.[99] He also suggested that the lion's head represents an attribute indicatingdivine status, applicable to multiple gods rather than symbolizing a unique deity.[99]
In 1956, the French Jesuit priest and archaeologistRené Mouterde published findings regarding two previously undocumented inscriptions from Lebanon relating to Jupiter Heliopolitanus, the second of which references "I.O.M.H. regulo". Mouterde interpreted the titleregulus in its astronomical context,[o] referring to the brightest star in theconstellation Leo, thereby identifying the solar god of Baalbek with the Lion.[100] Mouterde observed that this astronomical association is reflected in the material culture, noting the presence of lion imagery on multiple Jupiter Heliopolitanus representations. He suggested that the leonine motif was a symbol with both solar andastral significance. The solar aspect relates to the deity’s identification withApollo-Helios, while the astral aspect relates to Leo’s status as the sun’s celestial house in ancient astronomy.[101] According to Mouterde, this interpretation may also explain the architectural decoration of Baalbek's main temples, where alternating bull and lion motifs potentially represent the deity's dual nature as both Hadad and a solar-stellar deity.[102] Other scholars presented different views: Cumont suggested that the lion's head and the winged disk adorning the front of the bronze may have held astrological or cosmological significance, though he acknowledged that its precise meaning remains uncertain. He further proposed that the lion's head might also serve as an attribute of Saturn.[103] Hajjar suggested that the lion motif represents an attribute of the goddessAthena-Allat.[104]
The Sursock bronze is the showpiece of the Louvre's Department of Oriental Antiquities Roman Levant collection;[60] it was formerly part of the Charles Sursock collection. In 1920, 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 ofSyria, a leading journal for French archaeological research in the Levant.[60][68] A stylized rendering of the sculptural group was adopted as the logo of theInstitut français d'archéologie de Beyrouth and the Institut français d'archéologie du Proche-Orient, French archaeological research institutes and the forerunners of theInstitut français du Proche-Orient.[105][106]
