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The oldest original synagogue building in the Diaspora: the Delos synagogue reconsidered
Hesperia, Fall, 2004 by Monika Trumper
[FIGURES 43-44 OMITTED]
By Jewish standards, the Delian water reservoir would not have qualified as a miqveh; it could, at best, have served as natural body of water because it was filled by groundwater like a well. (135) Given the proximity to the sea, which could have served the same function, the identification of the water reservoir as a bathing pool becomes even more questionable. It is more likely that the water was used like it was in many other buildings, that is, for all activities that required fresh water: drinking, cooking, washing, cleaning, and so on. Moreover, the several marble basins that were found in the building, and that might have formed part of its furnishings in the last phase and perhaps even in previous phases, could have held water for ritual ablutions. (136)
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In sum, to base the identification of the entire building on the possible function of this water reservoir is not particularly convincing, and might easily provoke quite justified protest. It is strange that this water reservoir and its conjectured purpose have gone largely unaddressed, and that even those scholars who have identified it as a miqveh (137) have never discussed it in full detail. If the reservoir was not conceived as a special facility for a specific function, its strange position might simply be due to geologic and topographic circumstance. In addition, the area around its opening could have formed a small courtyard in all phases. (138) In conclusion, the water reservoir of GD 80 is not considered here to have been a miqveh.
SPECIFIC ARCHITECTURE AND LOCATION OF GD 80
Another element that can be assigned to the original building with certainty is the large hall. Its size speaks of public, but not necessarily Jewish or Samaritan, use. Its three doorways might be typical of synagogue architecture, as argued by Bruneau, but since many large rooms in Delian architecture--in private domestic buildings as well in those of a "semipublic" nature used for the meetings of associations--are provided with three entrances, this arrangement can hardly be regarded as decisive evidence for the identification of Jewish or Samaritan use. A large room requires a large number of openings, preferably more than one doorway and windows, for technical reasons such as lighting and easy access for possibly numerous users, (139) and for symbolic reasons such as the need or desire to mark its importance and prestige.
Even though the orientation of the large hall toward the east is remarkable, it need not necessarily have been chosen with regard to specific cultic practices or requirements, for example as an intentional imitation of the inner court of the Temple at Jerusalem or of that at Gerizim, or "to direct focus in the general direction of the Orient." (140) It might be attributed merely to the wish to have a pleasant view of the sea or to present a prestigious facade to the sea. (141)
Whereas the design of the large hall speaks clearly neither for nor against Jewish or Samaritan use, two other factors do seem to testify to Jewish or Samaritan initiative with regard to the original purpose of building: (1) the overall plan, structure, and elements of the edifice, and (2) its location on the seashore. The opponents of the domestic use theory have compared the original building with buildings used for the meetings of associations and, indeed, identify it as the cultic hall of a pagan association. (142) Yet there were different kinds of associations in Delos; the fact that the Etablissement des Poseidoniastes (GD 57, Fig. 35) is cited as the only architectural parallel makes clear which type of association the supporters of the meeting-place theory have in mind: not one connected with the cultic thiasoi, which gathered mainly for the veneration of their gods, but one of foreign merchants with a broad range of common interests involving commercial, national, cultic, and social aspects. (143)
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