Traces of the Moon Goddess in the Beth Alpha Mosaic: An Alternative Interpretation of the Sol Iconography

Year 2025, Issue: 28, 599 - 620, 26.12.2025

Ömer Uzunel

https://doi.org/10.47589/adalya.1849551

Abstract

This article aims to present an alternative interpretation—absent from the current literature—regarding the iconographic identity of the central figure in the floor mosaic of the Beth Alpha Synagogue, dated to Late Antiquity. In previous studies, this figure has generally been interpreted as the Roman sun god Sol, due to its depiction with a radiate crown and its placement on a quadriga. In this study, based on descriptive ambiguities and contextual characteristics of the figure, it is suggested that the figure may instead be interpreted as Luna—the moon goddess. The introduction outlines the architectural structure of the synagogue and its tripartite mosaic arrangement, summarizing the iconographic meanings of the scenes depicting the Aqidah, the zodiac wheel, and the Torah shrine. Subsequently, the conventional interpretation of the central figure in the zodiac panel as Sol is critically examined, and the rationale for identifying the figure as Luna is systematically developed. The study employs a combination of comparative iconographic analysis, iconological interpretation, and contextual reading. The findings evaluate in detail elements such as the gender-neutral representation of the figure, the indistinct facial features, crescent and star symbols, the rendering of the four animals as bulls, and the preference for a dark background. These visual attributes demonstrate not only that the figure possesses an iconography distinct from Sol but also that it embodies a character aligned with the Jewish conception of liturgical time.

Keywords

Moon goddess , Sol iconography , late antique , synagogue art , religious symbolism

References

• Avigad, N. 1976. Beth Sheʾarim Catacombs 12-23. Jerusalem: Masada Press.
• Avi-Yonah, M. 1981. Art in Ancient Palestine. Selected Studies Published in the Years 1930-1976. Jerusalem: Magnes Press.
• Başaran, C., and H. Meral. 2023. “Yunan ve Roma Mitolojisinde Göksel Tanrılar.” Current Perspectives in Social Sciences 27.2:118-32.
• Berliner, R. 1994. “The Interpretation of the Presence of Daniel and the Lions in the Temple Panel of the Ancient Synagogue at Naʿaran.” In Judea and Samaria Research Studies, edited by Z.H. Erlich and Y. Eshel, 213-19. Kedumim-Ariel: Ariel University Press.
• Berliner, R. 1995. “The Circle of the Zodiac and the Scientific Reasons for Its Use in the Ancient Synagogues in Israel.” In Judea and Samaria Research Studies, edited by Z.H. Erlich and Y. Eshel, 179-88. Kedumim-Ariel: Ariel University Press.