Temple linked to Hercules and Alexander the Great discovered

[Eldorado]

Archaeologists in Iraq have unearthed twin temples built on top of each other. The newer, Hellenistic temple dates to the fourth century B.C. and may have a link to Alexander the Great.

The temple contained a fired brick with an Aramaic and Greek inscription that references "the giver of two brothers" — a possible reference to the Macedonian king, who conquered much of the known world during his 13-year-reign from 336 B.C. to 323 B.C.   

Archaeologists from the British Museum in London discovered the older temple while conducting excavations at Girsu, a Sumerian city now known as Tello in southeastern Iraq. The excavations are part of an ongoing venture conducted by the museum known as The Girsu Project that focuses on learning more about the city’s storied history.

Full article: Live Science

[Antigonos]

12 hours ago, Eldorado said:

Archaeologists in Iraq have unearthed twin temples built on top of each other. The newer, Hellenistic temple dates to the fourth century B.C. and may have a link to Alexander the Great.

The temple contained a fired brick with an Aramaic and Greek inscription that references "the giver of two brothers" — a possible reference to the Macedonian king, who conquered much of the known world during his 13-year-reign from 336 B.C. to 323 B.C.   

Archaeologists from the British Museum in London discovered the older temple while conducting excavations at Girsu, a Sumerian city now known as Tello in southeastern Iraq. The excavations are part of an ongoing venture conducted by the museum known as The Girsu Project that focuses on learning more about the city’s storied history.

Full article: Live Science

When Alexander’s generals divided his empire after his death, each part became a separate Hellenistic kingdom in its own right, subsequently ruled by their descendants.

Babylon fell under the rule of Seleucus, Like the Ptolemies in Egypt, the Seleucids realized the way to gain the support of the indigenous  population was to adopt native customs. So it’s very revealing that this Hellenistic temple is built right top of the older Sumerian one. It was a Mesopotamian custom to keep building on top of older, already existing buildings at the same sites. This was a tradition that went all the way back to 5500BC with the Ubaid, the predecessors of the Sumerians. Here archaeology has revealed another example of the Seleucids continuing Mesopotamian architectural practices.

 Although Alexander himself was indeed at Babylon, I suspect the possible reference to him postdates his death.

Edited December 8, 2023 by Antigonos

[Alchopwn]

Hercules was the Jesus of the ancient world.  Jesus himself was basically a suicidal cult leader by the standards of the time.