Santuario Siriaco del Gianicolo

The shrine is situated on the Janiculum, near Villa Sciarra. It was discovered in 1906 and excavated in 1908. It was built in the 4th century AD on the remains of older buildings dating back to the 1st-2nd century AD. The shrine is composed of three separate sections: two buildings of different shapes that are separated by a wide central courtyard that has the mainentrance. The westward section consists of a basilica-shaped building, containing an apse and a central triangular altar, preceded by an atrium. A niche in the apse probably contained the main statue of the deity and most likely the statue of Jupiter seated on a throne that was found in the central courtyard.

Two oriental deities (Atargatis and Simios) were instead placed in the two niches flanking the apse. Astatue of Osiris in pharaoh’s guise was discovered inthe eastward section of the shrine, where there is also a rhomboid-shaped chamber. It was here that the 1908 excavations yielded the most important finds: egg shells and a 50-cm tall bronze statue of a male figure gripped inthe coils of a serpent.

The figure may be Adonis, the god that dies and is thenreborn, symbolising the cycle of the seasons and the renewal of life. This partof the shrine was probably used for initiation ceremonies, while the oppositeside was used for worship. The central courtyard was instead the place whereworshippers gathered.