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The oldest original synagogue building in the Diaspora: the Delos synagogue reconsidered
Hesperia, Fall, 2004 by Monika Trumper
A complete list of the small finds is not available and probably could never be compiled now, given that the excavation was conducted so long ago. According to the first excavator, "les menus objets recueillis parmi les ruines sont ceux-la memes qu'on pouvait s'attendre a rencontrer." (177) For the selected objects that are listed in the publications, no exact findspots are given. It is therefore difficult to use the finds to reconstruct the precise use of the building and its rooms, or the process of abandonment and later reuse. Parts of the building seem to have been destroyed by fire, but the extent and impact of such a catastrophe cannot be determined. (178)
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Numerous lamps were collected near the walls and mostly from under the marble benches; these positions could correspond with the actual use of the lamps, in which case the synagogue would have been abandoned during an instance of use, (179) or they could be the result of a subsequent shifting of the debris, for example when the lime kiln was built. It has often been observed that the Jewish community clearly obtained its lamps exclusively from Roman merchants, and that it was not particular about the decorative motifs on them. (180)
If the seventeen fragments of fine glass dating to the Imperial period belonged to the equipment of the synagogue, perhaps there was a set of luxurious tableware for feasts or other occasions; in any case, this equipment would testify to a certain affluence and standing of the Jewish or Samaritan community. (181)
In conclusion, there is nothing specifically Jewish or Samaritan about the fittings of GD 80 except the wording of the Greek inscriptions on the votives. Even the arrangement of benches along the walls finds several parallels within the Delian context, for example in the nearby gymnasium (GD 76), in private houses, in sanctuaries and public buildings, and in the Agora des Italiens (GD 52). (182) It is instead the remarkable combination of the throne with the architectural layout that distinguishes GD 80 from other constructions in Delos.
JEWS AND SAMARITANS IN DELOS
As several authors have already extensively discussed the history of the Jews and Samaritans in Delos, (183) only the most important facts with regard to the construction history of building GD 80 will be summarized here.
The earliest document attesting the presence of Samaritans in Delos is an inscription in honor of their benefactor Menippos from Herakleia, which is dated to the period 250-175 B.C. on the basis of paleography. (184) While the translation of the clausula [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII.] is contested, it is agreed that this inscription testifies to the existence of a Samaritan synagogue well before 167/6 B.C. (185) Yet several problems arise: Were there two synagogues on Delos, one for the Orthodox Jews and one for the Samaritans? Did these two buildings exist contemporaneously? Did these two hostile groups really build their assembly houses in close proximity to each other (see Fig. 1)? Or was the Samaritan synagogue already out of use when the Jews constructed their synagogue, GD 80? Or was GD 80 not the Jewish synagogue but rather a Samaritan building? And if so, did the Orthodox Jews, whose presence on the island is attested in the literature, have a synagogue of their own at all, and, if so, where? (186)
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