ИСТИНА

Aron Kodesh, the focus of the synagogue interior, made its first appearance in the synagogue in Dura-Europos after 165 CE. It coincided with the Romans taking over of the city and the new building program in Dura, introduced by them. When the private dwelling was redesigned to become a synagogue there first appeared the niche with a conch in the western wall of the large room. Two small gypsum columns flanked the niche. But very soon they were replaced by the larger rubblework columns with the ornamental facade on top. In 75 years, in 244-45 the columns were introduced into the domestic space to add to the splendor of the Forecourt, leading to the House of Assembly.. It has been a matter of dispute to what extend and in what particular features the building of the synagogue resembles the oriental temples or the oriental houses. I suggest to look at the elements of the Aron Kodesh – the niche, the aedicule, the conch and the two columns with the ornamental façade, and trace their iconography. Its roots at the Greco-Roman architectural tradition brings new light into the meaning of this unique feature that marked the religious and architectural revolution of the first centuries of our era.