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The oldest original synagogue building in the Diaspora: the Delos synagogue reconsidered
Hesperia, Fall, 2004 by Monika Trumper
At the present time, none of these questions can be answered with any degree of certainty. Two remarks will be made, however. First, it does not seem very likely that the two Samaritan stelai were ever integrated into a wall; rather, they were just stored coincidentally at their findspot, that is, they were probably displaced. (187) In this case, there would be no evidence that the wall adjacent to the stelai belonged to a synagogue. A trial trench might finally resolve this issue. Second, if GD 80 is identified with a Samaritan building, the Samaritan inscription honoring Menippos might have implications for the date of construction. The original building is usually dated to the second century B.C., regardless of its supposed function, but it is not specified anywhere whether this means before or after 167/6 B.C. (188) Most buildings in Delos, and the development of the Quartier du stade, are usually attributed to the period of the free port, so the existence of a synagogue in this quarter before or around 175 B.C. would be surprising, but not impossible. Again, only further excavation and investigation might clarify the absolute chronology of GD 80.
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In light of the uncertainty of ownership--either Jewish or Samaritan--it is not possible to link safely the diverse historical data with building GD 80. Accordingly, the following discussion of the available historical and archaeological data is to be understood as a distinctly hypothetical exercise. (189)
In 139 B.C. the Roman consul Lucius sent a letter of friendship on behalf of the Jewish people to different addresses, among them Delos. (190) The Jewish community was obviously important enough to be included on the list and might already have built its first synagogue. It is likely that Jews and Samaritans frequented the island or even lived on it for the same reasons that many other foreigners from all over the Mediterranean world did: for profitable commerce in the booming cosmopolitan trade center. Inscriptions show that Jews participated in Delian life at the end of the second century B.C. and the beginning of the first, but nothing is known of the years around 88 B.C., when the synagogue was perhaps partly destroyed. (191)
Two decrees of the 40s B.C. testify to privileges and rights granted to the Jews in Delos and eventually Paros. The first, issued in 49 B.C., provided an exemption from military service for Jews who were Roman citizens. (192) The second, promulgated at about the same time, was written in response to complaints from the Delian Jews about restrictions on their ritual practices. It specifies that Jews should be allowed "to live in accordance with their customs and to contribute money to common meals and sacred rites." (193) This decree conveys several points: (1) it attests the presence of a Jewish community on the island--which must have been quite important and active--defending the interests and rights of Jews in a period when Delos was already in full decline; (2) Jewish religious activity had obviously been limited for some time (but why and for how long cannot be determined); and (3) the Jews in question held common meals, probably regular banquets and/or special feasts.
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