Great Synagogue of Alexandria

Diplostoon

SynagogueAegyptus · Alexandria, EgyptBuilt 250 BCE · Destroyed 116 CE

Not standing in 117 CE

About

Alexandria's Great Synagogue, called the Diplostoon for its double colonnade, was so vast that an attendant waved a flag to cue the congregation's response because voices couldn't carry to the back. The Talmud held that whoever had not seen it had never seen the glory of Israel in exile. Alexandria's Jewish community, among the largest in the ancient world, worshipped here for over three centuries. Roman forces under Marcius Turbo destroyed it in 116 CE while crushing the Kitos War revolt, less than a year before Trajan died.

What happened here

A meeting house rather than a temple, and the building follows the community rather than a plan. There is a hall with benches along the walls, a niche or chest holding the scrolls, and often a dining room, because communal meals matter as much as the readings. Scripture is read and translated aloud, and interpretation is argued over openly. The community keeps its own funds for the poor and its own burial ground, and sends money to Jerusalem — a practice that survives the destruction of the Temple in a changed form. Non-Jews attend as interested outsiders and are welcome without being members. Inscriptions record donors, including women holding titles of office. Under Roman law the community's right to meet and to keep the sabbath is protected.