Athena Review Image Archive ™
Jerash: Temple of Artemis (Diana)
Jerash: Temple of Artemis or Diana (photo: Blatchford Coll.)
Jerash, located 34 km north of Amman in northern Jordan on the Chryorhoas River, was a major Hellenistic and Roman site between the late 2nd century BC and early 4th century AD.
This photo from the late 19th century is shows a wall section with niches in the Temple of Artemis (the Greek goddess, equivalent to the Roman Diana), the patron deity of Jerash. Construction of the temple occurred between AD 150-180. It as a focal point of the city center, with a long (500 m) processional way starting in the eastern end of the city and crossing the river on a bridge, then ascending a staircase to a triple gate and colonnade to the temple court (124 x 88 m in area). The temple had six Corinthian columns in front and eleven on the sides. This photo from the Blatchford Collection shows the condition of the structure before excavations and restoration of the town began in the 1920s.
source: Aubin, Melissa M. in The Oxford Encyclopedia of Archaeology in the Near East (1997), vol.3, pp. 215-219].
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