Jews and Others
the dedicants, Adadiabos son of Zabdibolos, occurs also on the inscribed re-
lief (see fig. ) which was found along with the inscribed slab, and which
represents the god himself, here called ‘‘Aphlad.’’^59 The two texts must be
at least approximately contemporary, and the inscribed relief might well be
regarded as the single most revealing product of Parthian Dura. For the god
is identified as ‘‘of Anath [the] village of [the] Euphrates,’’ in other words as
coming from Ana, which lies more than kilometres down the river from
Dura. Like P(h)aliga, which lies in the opposite direction (text following
n. above), Ana(th) and other Greek-using villages scattered along the river
give a real sense to the notion of a ‘‘Parapotamia’’ (above). The heavily clad
god is represented standing on two eagle-griffins, with a priest in a conical
hat standing beside him. The iconography of the relief will not be discussed
here, but it can be stressed that, in this case at least, we seem to be at the
moment of the foundation (apheidrusis) of the sanctuary—‘‘this foundation
[dedication?] of [the] temple of Aphlad called god of the village of Anath of
[the] Euphrates.’’
. The Temple of Zeus (‘‘temple of the Palmyrene gods’’ or ‘‘temple of
Bel’’). This temple, situated in the north-west corner of the city ( J/), pro-
vides the most extraordinary example of the confusions about identification
which mark the reports of the excavations. It is also of great importance, for
it is this structure which contains the famous frescoes of sacrifice by someone
identified as Konon and by the Roman tribune Iulius Terentius. These wall
paintings and their painted inscriptions (which also identify the images of
the Tyche of Palmyra and of Dura itself ) will not be discussed further here.
Neither of the two successive conventional names (‘‘temple of the Palmy-
rene gods’’ and ‘‘temple of Bel’’) used for it since the s has any support
in the evidence. On the contrary, there is as good evidence here as anywhere
else for the identification of its god, namely that it was Zeus. A dedication of
../ from here is addressed to Zeus Sōtēr.^60 More important, another in-
scription, of../, records that Lysias son of Konon had dedicated ‘‘this
oikos[house] and thehyperōion[upper storey]’’ out of reverence for Zeus.^61
After an earthquake in.. the city itself also set up a dedication here to
‘‘[the] Greatest Zeus’’ (megistos Zeus).^62 There are also undatedgraffitinaming
‘‘Zeus’’ or ‘‘Zeus Megistos’’;^63 but the fact that another temple (located at C)
.ReportV, ff., no. , pl. XIII.
.ReportII, , no. ;SEGVII, no. .
. Cumont (n. ), , no. .
.ReportII,,no.SEGVII, no. .
. Cumont (n. ), , no. .