Dura-Europos Research Paper

Dura-Europos was a Hellenistic Parthian and roman border city built above the right back of the Euphrates river, in 165 AD it was captured by the romans, And destroyed after Sasanian siege in in 247 AD. Three religions were practiced there which included Christianity, Judaism, and Mithraism (silver 2010). The religious findings consisted of the synagogue, house of church, and the Mithraeum which all had unique but different architecture. There were many objects that were recovered from Dura like baptistery wall paintings, and ceiling tiles from the synagogue. Dura is famous for its unique culture and diversity; currently however it has experienced problems. Despite some problems Dura- Europos was a flourishing place with great diversity, that in my …show more content…
The most important religious architecture found in the city was the synagogue, church and the Mithraeum (silver 2010). The synagogue is one the earliest known in the city, in the synagogue descriptive painting flourish the walls showing elaborate stories and decorations with a wide range of colors, a theme in these paintings is biblical hero’s who helped the Jews during their battles. the Christian house on the other hand dulled in comparison to the synagogue with much less use of colors, the house however like the synagogue had paintings depicted along the walls of biblical scenes from the old and new testaments. The last piece of religious architecture found at Dura Europos was a prominent temple called the Mithraeum. The wall painting in the Mithraeum temple differed greatly from that of the synagogue and the church, rather than depicting biblical hero’s or stories they had reliefs that depicted Mithras killing bulls. On the other hand, the Mithras had a lot in common with the Christian building in that they both had niche areas with decoration in an arch shape along with vibrant colors used on their various wall