The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-05-25
ANCIENT SEAT OF BAAL
CITY THAT is SUPPOSED To HAVE
BEEN FOUNDED BY CAIN.
Where Phoenicians and Canaanftes
Built n Temple and Worshiped an
IdoI-Nimrod's Home.
w. E. curtis's Baalbek SYRIA Letter in

W. E. Curtis's BaaIbek SYRIA Letter in
Chicago Record Herald.
To architects and Psychologists especially
and TO all the world in general few places
are more interesting that the little town of
Baalbek for several reasons. 1t is supposed
to have been founded by Cain, the son of
Adam, when he fled from the murder of
Abel and here he erected the first of all
Notifications to defend himself against
possible pursuers. He named the place
in honor of his son Henok and peopled it
with giants. who. from their stronghold.
carried on warfare against the inhabitants
Of the surrounding country until they
persisted in the food. Nimrod, 1.-The mighty
hunter" was one of the early settlers at
Baalbek. and certain historians identify
the place with the scriptural Babel. where
that audacious man attempted TO defy the
gods and reach heaven by means of high
tower Nimrod has the credit of being the
founder OF idolatry and Baalbek the scene
of the first worship of idols.
There are many other interesting tradi-
tons and legends connected with the place,
and the extraordinary size of the blocks
Of stone used in the construction of the
temples to Baal and other heather gods
has excited the interest of matnematicians
and philosophers of all generations who
have exercised their ingenuity in theorizing
about the physical phenomena they find
here. One of the interesting theories is
that the temples at Baalbek were con-
structed in the days of the mastodOn, be-
cause no other animals could possibly have
hauled the mighty pillars from the quarry
TO their present places in the walls.
Abraham spent some time at Baalbek,
and other patriarchs. prophets, judges and
kings made il their home. Baalbek was
half way between Tyre and Palmyra. and
was one Of the depots for the trade which
Solomon established between the Euphrates
and Egypt. AS Damascus refused TO sub
nit TO his domination that wise king or
Israel erected here rival city, and in order
TO please his cOncubineS he built splendid
castle and a magnificent temple in honor of
Baal in the town which bore the name or
that god. Baalbek means seat of Baal,
and is believed to have been the headquar-
ters of his worshipers, who were mostly
Phoenicians and Canaanites.
BAAL A SOLAR DIVINITY.
Baal was the solar divinity, the source of
all life and happiness. and it was perfectly
natural that the ancients should worship
the sun for obvious reasons. The customs,
the religious theories and the forms of wor-
ship of-the Phoenicians are strikingly SINH
lar to those of the Aztecs in Mexico and
the Incas in Peru, and people find in that
fact confirmation of the theory that the
American continent was settled by the far
| sailing inhabitants of Baalbek and the sur
rounding country before the age or Sol
| ONION. While nobody can prove the truth
| or the fallacy of this proposition, 1t may be
| said that the reSemblances pointed out In
| the manners and customs of the races that
| inhabited this region and those that lived IN
| the mountains of Mexico and the Andes was
| doubtless due to similarity OF conditions
| rather than a relationship of race. If you
place two men in the same surroundings,
| with the same limitations and the same
| facilities, at the uttermost parts of the
earth. they will adjust themselves to their
| environment in similar manner. Ihls
| great law of nature will account Tor the
| striking hkenesses to Oriental types and
| habits that We find among the Incas and
| the AZtecS
During all the discussion which has con-
| tinued for thousands of years the mon
| strous blocks of limestone imbedded in
| these superb monuments have preserved
| their secret Indifferent to the curiosity
and unmoved by the admiration of man.
kind. The most plausible theory is that the
| temples and fortresses We're originally con-
| structed by the Phoenicians and preceded
| the Canaanites in this country and lived
here Immediately after the flood. They
were masters of all mechanical arts; they
| were the most daring and enterprising of
| pioneers; they penetrated all quarters OF
1
| supplied gold, silver, copper and lumber
| to the nations that surrounded them, and
their energy and industry left impressions
| upon every territory they touched. You
| will their traces in Spain, in Italy, in
| Asia and Africa 1t is perfectly natural
| that this nightly race should erect the
| greatest of all temples TO their own god and
| embellish II with surprising magniacence
and splendor.
The quarries from which this stone was
| taken are located not far from the town
| less than a mile distant and extend along
| the base of the mountain for a consider
| able distance. Some of them were worked
| TO so great depth as to suggest that they
| must have furnished material for more
| buildings than the temples and palaces of
| Baalbek. and it is quite possible that stone
mascus and other cities in the neighbor
| hood. The material for modern buildings
IN f me town comes from another quarry
| white, soft and easily wrought
| LARGEST BLOCK OF STONE.
The ancient quarries show very clearly
the enormous thickness of the rock for
| nation and the peculiar conditions which
| enabled the builders to cut out blocks of
any desired dimensions. The greater prob
| lem is their method of transportation. Work
in the quarries seems to have been sud
denly suspended. and the largest block
of stone ever known TO have been quar-
| ried now lies in its bed. where it appears
to have been left abruptly and for som
| reason which We cannot explain II is
| seventy feet long, fourteen feet thick in
| one direction and nearly fifteen in the
| other, measuring 1880 cubic feet and
| Weighing according to estimates, 800 tons
| This great block was detached from the
mass or natural rock in the quarry, and
| a space of about six inches seems to ha We
| Deen cut away TO separate il. II was rough
hewn and ready TO be moved. but tn
| place TO which IL was to be taken and
| the purpose for which it was intended are
| unknown. 1t is said 10 be the largest nice
| or artihcially detached stone in the world
| In the walls OF the temple which stands
| upon the summit Of the Acropolis and was
| undoubtedly erected for the worship of the
size. The keystone Of one OF the arcbas
! by which the temple was entered is a mon
| ument OF itself, being eleven feet hieb
| twelve feet thick. eight feet broad ana
| weighing about seventy tons. In 175l il was
| perfect but the earthquake Of 1850 fra
tured the massive monoliths which served
| as door posts, and shook the lofty arcbi-
| trave so rudely that this pOnderous ke,,-
LII