Athena Review Image Archive ™
al-Masmiyah: Roman Praetorium, temple interior (1890s drawing)
al Masmiyah, Syria: Roman Praetorium, temple interior (Duthoit 1890s)
This late 19th-century drawing shows the interior of the Roman temple known as the Praetorium, located in al-Masmiyah in southern Syria. Al-Masmiyah is identified with the Roman-era town of Phaena, capital of the Trachonitis district of Roman Syria. The temple was built between AD 160-169 for the commander of the Third Gallic Legion, during the reigns of the emperors Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus.
The interior room shown in this drawing, the naos or sanctuary, measured 15 by 14 meters, with four main columns and eight engaged columns. An apse in the wall opposite the door (seen at right in the drawing), constituting the adyton or inner sanctuary, was capped by a conch-shaped half dome. Against the walls were six niches reserved for the placement of statues, with the niche in the adyton holding the main statue of the pagan cult. The relatively unique feature in Roman architecture of statue niches was probably inspired by pre-Roman temples such as that of Baal-Shamin in Palmyra.
The artist, Edmond-Clément-Marie-Louise Duthoit, illustrated the buildings at various sites for the French archaeologist Melchoir De Vogue. The drawing was reprinted in Vol. 1 of A Short History of Architecture (1906) by Russell Sturgis.
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