Synagogue in the Agora of Athens

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Synagogue in the Agora of Athens
Religion
Affiliation Judaism (former)
Ecclesiastical or organisational status Synagogue (267396 CE)
StatusRuins
Location
Location Ancient Agora of Athens (now modern-day Athens)
Country Greece
Open street map Central Athens.svg
Red pog.svg
Location of the former synagogue in Athens
Geographic coordinates 37°58′29″N23°43′20″E / 37.9747°N 23.7222°E / 37.9747; 23.7222
Architecture
Type Synagogue architecture
Completedc.267 CE
Materials Pentelic marble

The Synagogue in the Agora of Athens is an ancient former Jewish synagogue, that was located in the Ancient Agora of Athens, in modern-day Greece.

Contents

During an excavation in the summer of 1977, a piece of Pentelic marble apparently once part of a curvilinear frieze over a doorway or niche was discovered a few meters from the northeast corner of the Metroon. [1] The marble fragment is incised with the images of a seven-branched Menorah and a Lulav, or palm branch. [2] The synagogue is thought to date from the period between 267 and 396 CE. [1]

Biblical reference

The apostle Paul is said in the Book of Acts to have visited a synagogue in Athens. [3] The identity of that synagogue cannot be firmly established. [4]

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 Urman, Dan; McCracken Flesher, Paul Virgil (1998). Ancient Synagogues: Historical Analysis and Archaeological Discovery. BRILL. pp. 125ff.
  2. Hachlili, Rachel (1998). Ancient Jewish Art and Archaeology in the Diaspora. BRILL. p. 323.
  3. Acts 17:17
  4. Bruce, Frederick Fyvie (1988). The Book of the Acts. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. p. 329.