Ostia Synagogue | |
---|---|
Religion | |
Affiliation | Judaism |
Status | Archaeological site |
Location | |
Location | Ostia Antica, Italy |
Geographic coordinates | 41°44′56″N12°17′19″E / 41.74889°N 12.28861°E |
Architecture | |
Type | Synagogue |
Completed | 1st century |
Website | |
www |
The Ostia Synagogue is an ancient synagogue located in ancient Ostia, the seaport of Imperial Rome. It is one of the oldest synagogues in the world, the oldest synagogue in Europe and the oldest mainstream Jewish synagogue yet uncovered outside the Land of Israel. The synagogue building dates from the reign of Claudius (41-54 AD) and continued in use as a synagogue into the 5th century AD. [1] [2]
There is a scholarly debate about the status of the synagogue building in the 1st century AD, with some maintaining that the building began as a house only later converted to use as a synagogue, and others arguing that it was in use as a synagogue from the 1st century. [3]
In its earliest form, the synagogue featured a main hall with benches along three walls; a propylaeum or monumental gateway featuring four marble columns; and a triclinium or dining room with couches along three walls. There was a water well and basin near the entryway for ritual washings. The main door of the synagogue faces the southeast, towards Jerusalem. [1]
An aedicula, to serve as a Torah Ark, was added in the 4th century AD. A donor inscription implies that it replaced an earlier wooden platform donated in the 2nd century AD, which itself had been replaced by a newer Ark donated by one Mindus Faustus in the 3rd century AD. [1]
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.
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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.
If its existence as a synagogue were proven, this Hellenic structure in Delos, Greece would be one of the oldest known synagogues. Its proposed origin is between 150 and 128 BCE, although identification as a synagogue is no longer accepted.
The Scolanova Synagogue is a medieval synagogue in Trani, Italy. It was built as a synagogue in the 13th century, confiscated by the church during a wave of antisemitism around the year 1380, and converted for use as a church known as Santa Maria in Scolanova. In 2006, the building was deconsecrated by the Church and returned to its original use.
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The Canton Synagogue is one of five synagogues in the Jewish Ghetto of Venice, Italy. Established only four years after the nearby Scuola Grande Tedesca (1528), it is the second oldest Venetian synagogue. Its origins are uncertain: it might have been constructed as a prayer room for a group of Provençal Jews soon after their arrival in Venice, or as a private synagogue for a prominent local family. Repeatedly remodeled throughout its history, its interior is predominantly decorated in the Baroque and Rococo styles.