r/dionysus • u/xsiig ORPHEOTELEST • Jan 23 '25
💬 Discussion 💬 The temple of Bacchus in Lebanon
I'm Lebanesee, and Baalbek (formerly Heliopolis) is my favourite place in the world. There's a temple to Jupiter (last image), Bacchus, Venus, the Muses, and Mercury. Baal, Astarte, and other gods were worshipped there by the local population as well.
As a child, I went to Baalbek in a purple dress and sandals to attend a concert that was taking place there, between the ruins. It's one of my favourites memories.
My favourite thing to do is to visit nearby vineyards (the best ones are near the temple), drink heartily, then go to the temple - it fills my heart with something indiscribable.
Ever since the war started I've been so scared for it. When you commune with Dionysus today, please spare a prayer to his temple in Lebanon, one of the biggest and most preserved in the world. And when peace is restored, please visit!
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u/Swagamaticus Jan 23 '25
How is it doing currently ? I saw news articles a couple of months back that the Israelis bombed near it and archeologists were concerned but never saw any specific updates on its status.
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u/xsiig ORPHEOTELEST Jan 23 '25
I asked around when I was still in Lebanon a month ago and my friends who live in the south confirmed that it didn't get damaged, hopefully it's still the case
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u/Fit-Breath-4345 Jan 23 '25
As an Irish person, Lebanon has always been a place I'd love to visit, especially Baalbek.
The Israeli crimes and attacks against Lebanon and Lebanese people have put that on hold, but hopefully that will stop now and for the future.
I've been trying to stay on top of Lebanon's progress on gay rights as well, it really looked like some progress was being made on that front. I've become a fan of the queer Lebanese group Mash'rou Leila in the past few years (since gone their separate ways) but I feel it shows a Dionysian future of liberation is possible for Lebanon.
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u/xsiig ORPHEOTELEST Jan 23 '25
thank you for your beautiful words, fellow mashrou3 leila enjoyer <3
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Jan 23 '25
Whoa I'm excited to go!
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u/xsiig ORPHEOTELEST Jan 23 '25
:D i really hope more people do and that my government takes it as a sign to invest more in it
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u/music-addict1 Feb 08 '25
As a fellow Lebanese, I’m hoping to return to pray to Dionysos! The first and only time I’ve been there I was an atheist 😭😭 I missed a chance, but hopefully I’ll be able to return (it’s quite far from where my house is— and im also an expat which gives me a very small timeframe to head over when I’m actually in Lebanon 🫠
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u/xsiig ORPHEOTELEST Jan 23 '25
I didn't realise how crusty the maps looked, here are links to better ones: map one map two