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The Temple of Eshmun ((アラビア語:معبد أشمون)) is an ancient place of worship dedicated to Eshmun, the Phoenician god of healing. It is located near the Awali river, northeast of Sidon in southwestern Lebanon. The site was occupied from the 7th century BCE to the 8th century CE, suggesting an integrated relationship with the nearby city of Sidon. Although originally constructed by Sidonian king Eshmunazar II in the Achaemenid era ( 529–333 BCE) to celebrate the city's recovered wealth and stature, the temple complex was greatly expanded by Bodashtart, Yatan-milk and later monarchs. Because the continued expansion spanned many centuries of alternating independence and foreign hegemony, the sanctuary features a wealth of different architectural and decorative styles and influences. The sanctuary consists of an esplanade and a grand court limited by a huge limestone terrace wall that supports a monumental podium which was once topped by Eshmun's Graeco-Persian style marble temple. The sanctuary features a series of ritual ablution basins fed by canals channeling water from the Asclepius river (modern Awali) and from the sacred "Ydll" spring;〔The Phoenicians did not mark vowels at all until the Punics fitfully added a system of matres lectionis (vowel letters); for this reason the Phoenician inscription "Ydll" may be transcribed with a number of variant spellings (Yidlal, Yadlol etc.) Franz L. Benz (1982). ''Personal Names in the Phoenician and Punic Inscriptions''. Pontificio Istituto Biblico. p.199, ISBN 978-8-876-53427-0.〕 these installations were used for therapeutic and purificatory purposes that characterize the cult of Eshmun. The sanctuary site has yielded many artifacts of value, especially those inscribed with Phoenician texts, providing valuable insight into the site's history and that of ancient Sidon. The Eshmun Temple declined and fell into oblivion as Christianity replaced paganism and its large limestone blocks were used to build later structures. The temple site was rediscovered in 1900 by local treasure hunters who stirred the curiosity of international scholars. Maurice Dunand, a French archaeologist, thoroughly excavated the site from 1963 until the beginning of the Lebanese Civil War in 1975. After the end of the hostilities and the retreat of Israel from South Lebanon, the site was rehabilitated and inscribed to the World Heritage Site tentative list. ==Eshmun== (詳細はpantheon and the main male divinity of Sidon. Originally a nature divinity, and a god of spring vegetation, Eshmun was equated to Babylonian deity Tammuz. His role later expanded within the Phoenician pantheon, and he gained celestial and cosmic attributes. The myth of Eshmun was related by the 6th century CE Syrian philosopher Damascius and 9th century CE Patriarch of Constantinople Photius. They recount that Eshmun, a young man from Beirut, was hunting in the woods when Astarte saw him and was stricken by his beauty. She harassed him with her amorous pursuit until he emasculated himself with an axe and died. The grieving goddess revived Eshmun and transported him to the heavens where she made him into a uranic god.〔in Damascius's ''Life of Isidore'' and Photius's ''Bibliotheca Codex 242''〕〔 From a historical perspective, the first written mention of Eshmun goes back to 754 BCE, the date of the signing of the treaty between Assyrian king Ashur-nirari V and Mati'el, king of Arpad; Eshmun figures in the text as a patron of the treaty.〔 Eshmun was identified with Asclepius as a result of the Hellenic influence over Phoenicia; the earliest evidence of this equation is given by coins from Amrit and Acre from the 3rd century BCE. This fact is exemplified by the Hellenized names of the Awali river which was dubbed ''Asclepius fluvius'', and the Eshmun Temple's surrounding groves, known as the groves of Asclepius.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Temple of Eshmun」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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