198 herbert niehr
age, although they have not yet been able to shed light on the function
of this complex.360
the appearance of the divine statue of the weather-god hadad from the
great temple of Baʿalbek is known from copies, which were sold in part
as devotional objects; from coins; and from an ancient description. the
image on the coins shows a weather-god holding a whip and a sheaf of
grain standing between two bulls. his robe is decorated on the front with
the busts or heads of the planetary deities and on the back with an eagle
flanked by thunderbolts. on his head he wears a kalathos.361
the goddess atargatis is depicted enthroned between two sphinxes.
she wears a long cloak and a polos crown and holds a sheaf of grain in
her left hand.362
the find spot of the moon-god’s stele in Betsaida argues in favor of the
god’s cult taking place at one of the city’s gates.363 approaching the upper
city of Betsaida from the north, the stele of the moon-god was located on
a pedestal to the right of the city gate. in front of the stele was a basin
with the remains of three incense bowls. the basin had drainage and was
a cultic installation for receiving libations.
Further stelae were found near the gate. Four flanked the outside and
inside of the gateway; they and other stelae were not decorated with
reliefs. Deposition benches and an altar with horns were also found near
the city gate. on the city side of the gate a pit with burnt animal bones
was excavated, exemplifying the sacrificial character of this place.
in general, cultic activities at the city gate, a fortification’s most vulner-
able location, placed it under the protection of the gods. the cult of the
moon-god points to the legal sphere, making the area around and inside
the city gate one of law and concluding contracts. an interpretation of the
other stelae is not as straightforward; perhaps they were ancestor stelae.
the practice of erecting such stelae is known from other cities.
the complex may have been destroyed during the campaign of tiglath-
pileser iii against aram-Damascus in 733/732 B.c.
there were other sacrificial sites within the city of Betsaida. the site
located on the city side of the southwest gate is especially important. it
360 cf. van ess 2008. i thank my colleague Konrad hitzl (tübingen/Kiel) for pointing
this out.
361 cf. Fleischer 1973: 326–369; hajjar 1985: 21–118; id. 1990: 2468–2477.
362 cf. Fleischer 1973: 273–275; hajjar 1985: 136–153; id. 1990: 2485–2487.
363 cf. the overview in Bernett – Keel 1998: 2–7, 45–74; haettner-Blomquist 1999:
49–57; Jericke 2010: 126–129.