A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It has a place for prayer where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as weddings, bar and bat mitzvahs, choir performances, and children's plays. They also have rooms for study, social halls, administrative and charitable offices, classrooms for religious and Hebrew studies, and many places to sit and congregate. They often display commemorative, historic, or modern artwork alongside items of Jewish historical significance or history about the synagogue itself.
Ancient Roman architecture adopted the external language of classical ancient Greek architecture for the purposes of the ancient Romans, but was different from Greek buildings, becoming a new architectural style. The two styles are often considered one body of classical architecture. Roman architecture flourished in the Roman Republic and to an even greater extent under the Empire, when the great majority of surviving buildings were constructed. It used new materials, particularly Roman concrete, and newer technologies such as the arch and the dome to make buildings that were typically strong and well engineered. Large numbers remain in some form across the former empire, sometimes complete and still in use today.
Ostia Antica is an ancient Roman city and the port of Rome located at the mouth of the Tiber. It is near modern Ostia, 25 km (16 mi) southwest of Rome. Due to silting and the invasion of sand, the site now lies 3 km (2 mi) from the sea. The name Ostia derives from Latin os 'mouth'.
Capernaum was a fishing village established during the time of the Hasmoneans, located on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. It had a population of about 1,500 in the 1st century AD. Archaeological excavations have revealed two ancient synagogues built one over the other. A house turned into a church by the Byzantines is held by Christian tradition to have been the home of Saint Peter.
A Torah ark is an ornamental chamber in the synagogue that houses the Torah scrolls.
Synagogue architecture often follows styles in vogue at the place and time of construction. There is no set blueprint for synagogues and the architectural shapes and interior designs of synagogues vary greatly. According to tradition, the Shekhinah or divine presence can be found wherever there is a minyan, a quorum, of ten. A synagogue always contains an Torah ark where the Torah scrolls are kept, called the aron qodesh by Ashkenazi Jews and the hekhal by Sephardic Jews.
The Sardis Synagogue is a former ancient Jewish synagogue, that was discovered in the modern-day town of Sardis, in the Manisa Province, in the Aegean Region of western Turkey. The former synagogue building is now an archaeological site and Jewish museum. The archaeological site is the largest Jewish site known from antiquity.
The Great Synagogue, officially, the Great City Synagogue in Vilna, also the Great Synagogue of Vilnius, is a former Orthodox Jewish congregation and synagogue, located atI-2 Jewish Street in the Old Town of Vilnius, in the Vilnius County of Lithuania.
The Chachmei Lublin Yeshiva Synagogue is a Hasidic Jewish congregation, synagogue, and yeshiva, located at 85 Lubartowska Street, in Lublin, in the Lublin Voivodeship of Poland.
The Włodawa Synagogue is a former Orthodox Jewish congregation and synagogue complex, located at 5-7 Czerwonego Krzyża Street, in Włodawa, in the Lublin Voivodeship of Poland. The synagogue complex comprises the Włodawa Great Synagogue, the Small Synagogue or Beit midrash, and a Jewish administrative building, all now preserved as a Jewish museum.
Historic synagogues include synagogues that date back to ancient times and synagogues that represent the earliest Jewish presence in cities around the world. Some synagogues were destroyed and rebuilt several times on the same site. Others were converted into churches and mosques or used for other purposes.
The Nabratein synagogue or Navoraya synagogue is a former ancient synagogue and archaeological site, located in a pine forest northeast of Safed, in the Upper Galilee region of the Northern District of Israel.
The Tzippori Synagogue, also known as the Sepphoris Synagogue, is a former ancient Jewish synagogue, now an archaeological site and a national park, that was discovered in Sepphoris, a Roman-era Jewish city in the Galilee, in northwestern Israel.
The Cherasco Synagogue is a former Jewish congregation and synagogue, that is located at Via Marconi 4, in Cherasco, Piedmont, Italy. Designed in the Baroque style, the synagogue was completed in the 18th century.
The Priene Synagogue is a former ancient Jewish synagogue, that was discovered in the modern-day town of Priene in Güllübahçe, Söke, in the Aydın Province, in the Aegean Region, on the western boundary of Turkey. The former synagogue building is now an archaeological site and Jewish museum.
The Maon Synagogue is a 6th-century former Jewish synagogue and archaeological site, located in the western Negev desert, near Kibbutz Nirim and Kibbutz Nir Oz, in Israel. The former synagogue is noted for its "magnificent" mosaic floor.
The Bova Marina Synagogue is a former Jewish congregation and synagogue, that was located in Bova Marina, Calabria, Italy. It is the second oldest synagogue discovered in Italy and one of the oldest in Europe, dating from the 4th century CE. The former site of the synagogue has been an archaeological site since 1983.
The Eshtemoa Synagogue is a former ancient Jewish synagogue and archeological site, located 15 km (9.3 mi) south of Hebron in as-Samu, West Bank, in the State of Palestine. The remains of the ancient Palestinian synagogue date from around the 4th–5th century CE.
The Canton Synagogue is a former Orthodox Jewish congregation and synagogue, that is located in the Jewish Ghetto of Venice, Italy.
Ancient Jewish art, is art created by Jews in both the Land of Israel and in the Diaspora prior to the Middle Ages. It features symbolic or figurative motifs often influenced by biblical themes, religious symbols, and the dominant cultures of the time, including Egyptian, Hellenistic, and Roman art.
