BALBEC, a city of Asia, in Syria, anciently called Heliopolis, and by the Arabians, “The Wonder of Syria.” It is situated at the foot of Anti-Libanus, on the last rising ground where the mountain terminates in the plain.
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From the south, the city is first discovered at the distance of about a league and a half, behind a hedge of trees, over the verdant tops of which appears a white edging of domes and minarets. After about an hour’s journey the traveller reaches these trees, which are very fine walnuts; and soon after, crossing some ill-cultivated gardens by winding paths, arrives at the entrance of the city. Here he perceives a ruined wall, flanked with square towers, which ascends the declivity to the right, and traces out the precincts of the ancient city. This wall, which is only ten or twelve feet in height, admits a view of those void spaces and heaps of ruins which are invariable characteristics of every Turkish city; but what principally attracts attention is a large edifice on the left, which, by its lofty walls and rich columns, is soon recognised as one of those temples which antiquity has left for our admiration. These ruins, which are among the most beautiful and best preserved of any in Asia, merit a particular description. .

To form a just idea of them, the reader must imagine himself descending from the interior of the town. After Grossing the rubbish and huts with which it is filled, the first thing deserving of notice is a vacant space, which appears to have been a square: there, in front, towards the west, is a grand ruin, consisting of two pavilions ornamented with pilasters, joined at their lower angle by a wall 160 feet in length. This front commands the open country from a sort of terrace, on the edge of which are with difficulty distinguished the bases of twelve columns, which formerly extended from the one pavilion to the other, and formed a portico The principal gate is obstructed by heaps of stones; but, that obstacle surmounted, the traveller enters an empty space, which is a hexagonal court of 180 feet in diameter. This court is strewed with broken columns, mutilated capitals, and the remains of pilasters, entablatures, and cornices; and around it is a row of ruined edifices, which display all the ornaments of the richest architecture. At the end of this court, opposite the west, is an outlet, which formerly was a gate, through which is perceived a still more extensive range of ruins, the magnificence of which strongly excites curiosity. To have a full prospect of these, it is necessary to ascend a slope, at the top of which is the entrance of a square court, much more spacious than the former, being 350 feet in width and 336 in length. The eye is first attracted to the end of this court, where are six enormous and majestic columns nearly entire. Another object not less interesting is a second range of columns to the left, which appear to have formed part of the peristyle of a temple. But the edifices which inclose this court on either side claim attention in the first instance. These form a sort of gallery containing various chambers, seven of which may be reckoned in each of the principal wings, namely, two in a semicircle, and five in an oblong square. The base of the apartments still retains pediments of niches and tabernacles, the supporters of which have been destroyed. On the side of the court they are open, while four columns on the one side and six on the other have been totally destroyed. It is not easy to conceive the use of these apartments; but this does not lessen the admiration excited by the beauty of their pilasters and the richness of the frieze of the entablature. Neither is it possible to avoid remarking the singular effect which results from the mixture of the garlands, the large foliage of the capitals, and the sculpture of wild plants, with which they are everywhere ornamented. In the middle of the court is a little square esplanade, where anciently stood a pavilion, of which nothing how remains but the foundation. With regard to the six columns above mentioned, it is impossible to survey them without being struck with the boldness of their elevation and. the richness of their workmanship. Their shafts are twenty-one feet eight inches in circumference, and fifty, eight in height; so that the total height, including the entablature, is from seventy-one to seventy-two feet. The sight of this superb ruin, thus solitary and desolate, is exceedingly imposing; but a more attentive examination discovers a series of foundations, marking an oblong square of 268 feet in length and 146 in width, which probably formed the peristyle of a grand temple, the primary purpose of this whole structure. It presented to the great court, that is, to the east, a front of ten columns, with nineteen on each side; which, with the six already mentioned, make in all fifty-four. The ground on which it stood is an oblong square, on a level with the court, but considerably narrower, so that there was only a terrace of twenty-seven feet wide round the colonnade; while the esplanade thus produced fronts the open country towards the west, by a sloping wall of about thirty feet. In approaching the city this descent becomes less steep, so that the foundation of the pavilion is on a level with the termination of the hill; whence it is evident that the whole ground of the courts has been artificially raised. Such seems to have been the former state of this edifice; but the southern side of the grand temple was afterw ards blocked up in order to build a smaller one, the peristyle and walls of which are still remaining. This temple, situated somewhat lower than the other, presents a side of thirteen columns by eight in front, or thirty-four in all, which are likewise of the Corinthian order, their shafts being fifteen feet eight inches in circumference, and forty-four feet in height. The building they surround is an oblong square, the front of which, turned towards the east, is out of the line of the left wing of the great court. To reach it the traveller must cross trunks of columns, heaps of stone, and a ruinous wall, by which it is now hid. After surmounting these obstacles he arrives at the gate, where he may survey the inclosure which was once the habitation of a god; but, instead of the awful scene of a prostrate people, and sacrifices offered by a multitude of priests, the sky is seen through the open roof, which lets in light enough to show a chaos of ruins covered with dust and weeds. The walls, formerly enriched with all the ornaments of the Corinthian order, now present nothing but pediments of niches and tabernacles, of which almost all the supporters have fallen to the ground. Between these niches is a range of fluted pilasters, the capitals of which support a broken entablature; but what remains displays a rich frieze of foliage resting on the heads of satyrs, horses, bulls, and other animals. Oyer this entablature was the ancient roof, which was 57 feet in width and 110 in length. The walls which supported it are thirty-one feet high, and without a window. It is impossible to form any idea of the ornaments of this roof, except from the fragments lying on the ground; but it could scarcely have been richer in ornament than the gallery of the peristyle. The principal remaining parts contain tablets in the form of lozenges, on which are represented Jupiter seated on his eagle, Leda caressed by the swan, Diana with her bow and crescent, and several busts of emperors and empresses. It is unnecessary to enter more minutely into the description of this astonishing edifice. The lovers of the arts will find it described with the greatest truth and accuracy in a work published at London in 1757, under the title of Ruins of Palbec. This work, compiled by Mr Robert Wood, the world owes to the attention and liberality of Mr Dawkins, who, in 1751, visited Balbec and Palmyra. Several changes, however, have taken place since their journey, and some of the columns then standing have been overturned or destroyed.

When we consider the extraordinary magnificence of the temple of Balbec, we cannot but be astonished at [7:4:315]the silence of the Greek and Roman authors respecting it. Mr Wood, who carefully examined all the ancient writers, has found no mention of it except in a fragment of John ’of Antioch, who attributes the construction of this edifice to Antoninus Pius. The inscriptions that remain corroborate this opinion; which, moreover, accounts for the constant use of the Corinthian order, since that order was not in general use before the third age of Rome. But we ought by no means to allege as an additional proof the bird sculptured over the gate; for if his crooked beak, large claws, and the caduceus he bears, give him the appearance of an eagle, the tuft of feathers on his head, like that of certain pigeons, proves that he is not the Roman ea σ le. Besides, the same bird is found in the temple of Palmyra, and is therefore probably an oriental eagle, consecrated to the Sun, who was the divinity adored in both these temples. Heliolatry existed at Balbec in the most remote antiquity. The statue of the Sun, which resembled that of Osiris, had been transported thither from the Heliopolis of Egypt; and the ceremonies with which he was worshipped there have been described by Macrobius in his curious collection, entitled Saturnalia. Mr Wood supposes, with reason, that the name of Balbec, which in Syriac signifies “City of Bal,” or of the Sun, originated in this worship. The Greeks, in naming it Heliopolis, have, therefore, only given a literal translation of the oriental word; a practice to which they have not always adhered. We are ignorant of the state of this city in remote antiquity; but it is to be presumed that its situation on the road from Tyre to Palmyra secured it some part of the commerce of these opulent capitals. Under the Homans, in the time of Augustus, it is mentioned as a garrisoned town; and there is still remaining on the wall of the southern gate, at the right of the entrance, an inscription which proves the truth of this; the words Kent∣ιria Prima, in Greek characters, being still legible. One hundred and forty years afterwards, Antoninus built the temple above described instead of the ancient one, which was doubtless falling into ruins; but Christianity having gained the ascendency under Constantine, the modern temple was neglected, and afterwards converted into a church, a wall of which, that screened the sanctuary of the idols, is still remaining. It continued thus until the invasion of the Arabs, when the church, being less frequented, fell into decay; and wars succeeding, it was converted into a place of defence: battlements were built on the wall which surrounded it, on the pavilions, and at the angles which still subsist; and from that time the temple, exposed to the casualties of war and continual dilapidation, fell rapidly to ruin.