Ain Harcha
Encyclopedia
Ain Harcha is a village
situated in the Rashaya District
and south of the Beqaa Governorate
in Lebanon
. It is located east of Mount Hermon
close to the Syrian border south of Dahr El Ahmar
.
The village sits ca. 1200 metres (3,937 ft) above sea level and the name is claimed in Aramaic to mean "house of spirits" or "place of worship" with some seeing this as derived from "the feast of sorceries" due to local folklore
suggesting an evil spirit of Ain Al-Horsh inhabits the springs of Lebanon.
temple in the vicinity of Mount Hermon. The temple
of Ain Harcha can also be reached by walking down from the village of Ain Ata. It was restored in 1938-1939 and dates from a Greek
inscription on one of the blocks to 114-115 AD. The temple is built of limestone
, opens to the east and blends in well with the landscape. The pediment and west wall are in particularly good condition and two columns bases show what supported the beams and roof. Carved blocks show busts of Selene
, the moon goddess and Helios
, the sun god. Around the site are remnants of ancient habitation and tombs.
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
situated in the Rashaya District
Rashaya District
Rashaya District is an administrative district in the Beqaa Governorate of the Republic of Lebanon.Most of Rachaya's population are Christians with a large Druze minority. Many people of Rachaya have left for larger cities in Lebanon such as Beirut...
and south of the Beqaa Governorate
Beqaa Governorate
Beqaa is a governorate in Lebanon with a population of 750,000 inhabitants.-Geography:The Beqaa governorate covers an area of 4,429 km². Béqaa is the primary center of Lebanon's agriculture. The Beqaa governorate forms the main geographical extension of Lebanon and it lies between the Western...
in Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
. It is located east of Mount Hermon
Mount Hermon
Mount Hermon is a mountain cluster in the Anti-Lebanon mountain range. Its summit straddles the border between Syria and Lebanon and, at 2,814 m above sea level, is the highest point in Syria. On the top there is “Hermon Hotel”, in the buffer zone between Syria and Israeli-occupied...
close to the Syrian border south of Dahr El Ahmar
Dahr El Ahmar
Dahr El Ahmar is a village in Lebanon, situated in the Rashaya District and south of the Beqaa Governorate. It is located near the Syrian border, approximately 6 km from Rashaya and south of Kfar Danis. The population of the village is predominantly Druze...
.
The village sits ca. 1200 metres (3,937 ft) above sea level and the name is claimed in Aramaic to mean "house of spirits" or "place of worship" with some seeing this as derived from "the feast of sorceries" due to local folklore
Folklore
Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...
suggesting an evil spirit of Ain Al-Horsh inhabits the springs of Lebanon.
Roman temple
2 kilometres (2,000 m) (about a forty minute walk) along a rocky path, on a ridge-top to the west, 525 metres (1,722.4 ft) higher than the village sits one of the best examples of a RomanAncient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
temple in the vicinity of Mount Hermon. The temple
Roman temple
Ancient Roman temples are among the most visible archaeological remains of Roman culture, and are a significant source for Roman architecture. Their construction and maintenance was a major part of ancient Roman religion. The main room housed the cult image of the deity to whom the temple was...
of Ain Harcha can also be reached by walking down from the village of Ain Ata. It was restored in 1938-1939 and dates from a Greek
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
inscription on one of the blocks to 114-115 AD. The temple is built of limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
, opens to the east and blends in well with the landscape. The pediment and west wall are in particularly good condition and two columns bases show what supported the beams and roof. Carved blocks show busts of Selene
Selene
In Greek mythology, Selene was an archaic lunar deity and the daughter of the Titans Hyperion and Theia. In Roman mythology, the moon goddess is called Luna, Latin for "moon"....
, the moon goddess and Helios
Helios
Helios was the personification of the Sun in Greek mythology. Homer often calls him simply Titan or Hyperion, while Hesiod and the Homeric Hymn separate him as a son of the Titans Hyperion and Theia or Euryphaessa and brother of the goddesses Selene, the moon, and Eos, the dawn...
, the sun god. Around the site are remnants of ancient habitation and tombs.