JUPITER, VENUS AND MERCURY OF HELl OPOLIS (BAALBEK) THE IMAGES OF THE TRIAD AND ITS ALLEGED SYNCRETISMS

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Many conceptions about the well-known gods of Heliopolis-Baalbek are so firmly establishedto be almost treated as received wisdom: that they formed a familial triad, that Jupiter and/or Mercury were worshipped as sun gods, that Jupiter was the equivalent of Hadad and his cult image based on an idol of great antiquity, that Venus was in fact Dea Syria/ Atargatis and that Mercury incorporated Dionysiac aspects of a dying and reviving god. But, in light of a scrutiny of the visual evidence of Jupiter, Venus and Mercury, the present article contests these propositions in favour of more plausible interpretations of some key monuments.

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