More news you won’t hear about. 3 days ago on April 23rd the ceiling from the altar of Palmyra’s Temple of Bel was showcased in a special ceremony at the Damascus National Museum. It was placed in Damascus around the same time the Arch of Triumph from Palmyra was placed in Geneva. Before it went on public display it was actually a in Brussels and the UNESCO in Paris.
“It was displayed in the monumental Colosseum building and in the UN building in the Italian capital. The model was also exhibited in the European Parliament building in Brussels and headquarters of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Paris before being given to the Directorate-General for Antiquities and Museums. It will be exhibited to the public at the Damascus National Museum in a special ceremony on April 23.” (https://sana.sy/en/?p=163063)
The altar was on the Northern side of the Temple which housed not only Ba’al who is the Greek Zeus and Roman Jupiter but also housed his cohorts Aglibol and Yarhibol. They were worshipped as a triad or trinity. “The northern niche housed the statues (or perhaps a large relief) of the three gods; the niche was possibly separated from the rest of the cella by a curtain or a wood screen as the access to the immediate surroundings of the gods was forbidden (this is the meaning of the Greek word adyton). (http://romeartlover.tripod.com/Palmyra2.html)
The actual ceiling featured Ba’al or Jupiter in the center being surrounded by the Zodiak. “The lintel of the niche shows a relief of an eagle holding a serpent or a caduceus; it symbolizes the movement of the sun (see a similar relief in a page on a sanctuary in western Syria where the identification of Baal/Bel with Zeus was more evident than in Palmyra). The ceiling of the niche is a single stone with an elaborate decoration portraying at its centre a series of deities: Bel is surrounded by six other deities; their corresponding Greek counterparts are (in Roman names): Jupiter, Mars, the Sun, Mercury, Saturn, Venus and the Moon. The seven deities were placed inside a vault so they were also a representation of the known planets (five known planets plus the moon and the sun).” (http://romeartlover.tripod.com/Palmyra2.html) “The figures in the centre circle represent the seven planetary divinities (Jupiter in the middle, surrounded by Helios, Selene, Ares, Hermes, Aphrodite and Cronos).” (https://www.flickr.com/photos/spdl_n1/119884918/)
This ceiling from the Temple of Bel is only partially done but reflects who they worship. They worship the host of heaven and not the Creator who begot His only Son, Jesus Christ.
Hidden in the Crag 