Faqra, Temple of Adonis

Faqra: site of several Roman monuments on the western slopes of the Lebanon Mountains.

General view of the rock sanctuary

The Temple of Adonis is partly dug in the rocky platform of Faqra, so it's partly a rock sanctuary. It does not rest on a platform. In front of the shrine, to the east, is a large, square court with an altar, surrounded by a colonnade, and there's another altar standing in front of the entrance. The square court was surrounded on three sides by a portico in the Doric building order. Several columns were sufficiently well-preserved to be re-erected.

The sanctuary itself has a façade with six Corinthian columns; they have been restored with much concrete, which gives an idea of what it must have looked like, but is still remarkably ugly. Inside the sanctuary are many inscriptions, which make it clear that the temple was dedicated to Adonis, and was built - in its present form - in the third century CE.