Dura-Europos: Religious diversity

[guy]

 

A wall painting of a woman at the well, perhaps the earliest known representation of the Virgin Mary, is from the baptistery of the Christian building. It is painted on plaster, 3rd century AD. 

Dura-Europos was the easternmost Roman stronghold in Mesopotamia, located in present-day Syria. The Romans, led by Lucius Verus, seized control of the city from the Parthians in AD 164, and it remained under Roman control until it was captured by the Sasanians, led by Shapur I, who deported the population around AD 256-257.

Archaeological evidence indicates that this border town was a site of religious tolerance, where various faiths were practiced. This included the Christian faith, which was still facing persecution at the time. Notably, it may have housed one of the world's oldest churches.

 

Women at the empty tomb of Christ.

 

Here is a good article on the religious diversity of Dura-Europos:

 

Quote

In the Roman period, the time that is best known from the archaeological evidence, we know of no fewer than 19 different religious buildings, many of which had been built under Arsacid (Parthian) rule in the centuries before. Some religious structures, like the Mithraeum, Synagogue, and Christian building, focused on single deities. Others were home to a range of gods. Together, the evidence for the many gods and goddesses of Dura-Europos, preserved through inscriptions, sculptures, and paintings, give us a sense of the complex cultural and religious interconnections of the Roman era in Syria.

 

Much of this religious imagery was destroyed by ISIS during the Syrian war in 2015.

 https://the-past.com/feature/the-gods-of-dura-europos/

The synagogue of Dura-Europos dated to AD 244:

 

 

 

Mithraeum of Dura-Europos

 

 

Here’s a previous thread on evidence of chemical warfare found at Dura-Europos:

 

 

Edited December 3 by guy

[caldrail]

Syria was a hotbed of religious diversity, with varied cults that sometimes became fashionable elsewhere in the empire. There was one that was popular among slaves, and another with a very dubious immoral character. I seem to recall that Christian cults (themselves very diverse back then) reached Rome via Syria, though don't quote me on that.