Legend has it that Echmoun was a young man
from Beirut who loved to hunt. The goddess Astarte fell in love
with him, but to escape her advances he mutilated himself and
died. Not to be outdone, Astarte brought Echmoun back to life
in the form of a god. It is also said that the village of Qabr
Shmoun, near Beirut, still preserves in its name the memory
of the young god. In Arabic, qabr means "tomb" and
shmoun is a transformation of the name "Echmoun,"
so the town's name translates as "the tomb of Echmoun."
Although he is known primarily as a god of healing, Echmoun's
death and resurrection also gave him the role of a fertility
god who dies and is reborn annually.
As the god of healing, Echmoun was identified with Asklepios,
the Greek god of medical art. The caduceus (a staff intertwined
with two serpents), which is used today as the symbol of the
medical profession, was derived from symbols representing
these gods. The caduceus symbol can be seen in a gold plaque
depicting Echmoun and the goddess Hygeia (goddess of health),
which was found near the temple. It shows Echmoun holding
in his right hand a staff around which a serpent is entwined.
There is also an early 3rd century A.D. Beirut coin depicting
Echmoun standing between two serpents.
Each Phoenician city state had its own gods, and Echmoun
was one of the favorites of Saida (Sidon). The site of his
temple must have been chosen because of the nearby water source
which was used in healing rituals. It was the custom to offer
statues bearing the names of those seeking healing as offerings
to the god. The fact that most of statues found at the site
depict children suggests that Echmoun may have been regarded
as the pediatrician of the times.
During the Persian era, between the 6th and 4th centuries
B.C, Saida (Sidon) was the first Phoenician city to be noted
for the opulence of its kings, the advanced culture of its
intelligentsia, and the excellent reputation of its industry.
The Persian kings held the kings of Saida (Sidon) in great
regard and granted them many rewards, especially for the Sidonian
fleet's active participation on their side during their wars
against the Egyptians and Greeks.
It was at that time that Echmounazar II, the son of Tabnit
I, acceded to the throne. Inscriptions found on the sarcophagus
of Echmounazar (discovered in 1858 and now in the Louvre Museum
in Paris) relate that he and his mother, Amashtarte (servant
of Astarte), built temples to the gods of Saida (Sidon). One
of these was the temple of the Holy God "Echmoun at the
source of Yidlal near the cistern."
During the archaeological excavations of the site, it was
discovered that many Phoenician structures built during the
4th century B.C. were continuously restored and sometimes
rebuilt by other peoples who used the site. For example, during
the Roman and early Christian eras (64 B.C. to 330 A.D.),
the site continued to be a place of pilgrimage, and the Romans
constructed a colonnaded walkway, a nympheum, and other structures.
These restorations allowed visitors, pagan as well as Christian,
to continue using the sanctuary. The site remained popular
until the end of the 3rd century A.D., even though it was
largely in ruins and littered with debris. Even as late as
the Byzantine era (4th-6th century A.D.), a basilica was constructed
on the site.
The Excavations
For several centuries before its excavation, the ruined site
of the Temple of Echmoun was used as a quarry. Emir Fakhr
ed-Dine II, for example, used the temple's massive blocks
to build a bridge over the Awwali River in the 17th century.
Today, only the foundations of this bridge remain.
In 1900, an Ottoman expedition found Phoenician inscriptions
in the area of the yet undiscovered temple. Twenty years later,
successful soundings were made on the site, and in 1925-26,
excavations near the river uncovered a Roman mosaic floor
and several marble statuettes of children dating to the Hellenistic
period (330-64 B.C.). Another inscription in Phoenician letters
bearing the name Echmoun was found near the river a short
time later.
A few kilometers from the site, inscriptions bearing the
name of Bodashtart were found, probably carved on the occasion
on the completion of an important canal system. The name “Bodashtart”
is of Phoenician origin, indicating that structures on the
site preceded at least the Hellenistic times, if not the Persian
period as well.
Although the land around the site was purchased by the Directorate
General of Antiquities in the mid-1940s, serious excavation
work did not begin until 1963.
The Site Today
There are no concessions or facilities at Echmoun. However,
the site is just minutes from Saida (Sidon), where the Rest
House (a government-run restaurant) is located on a picturesque
site near the Sea Castle. |
