What is…
Baalbec

also known as: Baalbek, Baalbeck, Heliopolis in Syria, Coelesyria

Greek: Ἡλιούπολις —transliteration: Hēlioúpolis

Temple of Jupiter in Baalbec in Syria as seen in 1800s. Photographer: Anonymous.
Temple of Jupiter in Baalbec in Syria as seen in 1800s

This ancient idolatrous city was called Heliopolis by the Greeks, i.e., “the city of the sun” or “sun city” because of its famous Temple of the Sun—a temple devoted to the heathen god Jupiter (Zeus). A Temple of Bacchus is also located here.

Venus was also worshipped here, as well as the local Semitic god Ba'al Haddu.

Some have supposed that this was Solomon’s “house of the forest of Lebanon” (1 Kings 7:2; 10:17; 2 Chr. 9:16); others identified it with Baal-gad.

Baalbec was a city about 42 miles northwest of Damascus. It was one of the most splendid of Syrian cities, existing from a remote antiquity. Its ruins are very large.

After sustaining several sieges under the Muslims and others, it was finally destroyed by a 1759 earthquake.

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Article Version: April 7, 2025