Tikvah
Editors’ Pick

September 15, 2016

Making Sense of an Elaborate Synagogue Mosaic from the Galilee

Alexander the Great and the high priest, or a Hasmonean king and Antiochus?

In 2011, archaeologists discovered the remains of a 5th-century synagogue in the ancient Galilean town of Ḥuqoq. They have since been slowly uncovering its elaborate mosaics, which include a three-tiered illustration of a battle (complete with elephants) and what seems to be a Greek king meeting with a Jewish religious leader. Experts have offered competing interpretations of what is being depicted, as A.R. Williams writes:

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