The Emesa temple to the sun god Elagabalus with baetyl at centre. Roman coin of 3rd century AD.
A baetyl (also betyl), literally "house of God" is a sacred stone (sometimes believed to be a meteorite) that was venerated and thought to house a God or deity.[1] The most famous example is the Omphalos stored in the Temple of Apollo at the Greek town of Delphi.[2]
The term baetyl was used in ancient near eastern sources, in the form of "beth-el", as well as in Greek and Roman sources, as a baitylos. In the former, the term was used to refer to the names of gods or places. Examples include Bethel, a location described in the Hebrew Bible, and the deity Bethel,[3] who was mentioned in texts like Esarhaddon's Treaty with Ba'al of Tyre and the Elephantine papyri. In the latter, the word was used to describe a round stone that had fallen from the sky (i.e. a meteorite).[4]
The word "baetyl" has taken on a vague use in modern writing.[5][6] It has been debated both how ancient and modern usage of this word compare with one another. And, among modern historians, concerns have risen over the precision, accuracy, and generalizing tendency of the usage of this term in describing ancient texts and material objects.[7][8] The term has been used expansively, referring to any cultic stone regardless of the type or shape of stone that it was, such as whether it was a rounded stone (or ovoid), a pillar, or a stele (standing stone).[9][10] This generalization has been criticized as not corresponding to ancient use of the term itself and resulting in a projection of the modern sense of the word (a sacred stone containing the presence of a deity) onto a wide variety of cultic stone objects where little evidence exists for such an understanding existed, as in the case of the Nabataeans.[11]
A baetyl (also betyl), literally "house of God" is a sacred stone (sometimes believed to be a meteorite) that was venerated and thought to house a God...
round-topped stela standing on a raised platform. Ancient Egyptian creation myths Baetyl Egyptian sun temple Abzu Lingam List of Egyptian pyramidia Hart, p.16 Corinna...
deliveryman. Asherah pole – Canaanite sacred tree or pole honouring goddess Baetyl – Type of sacred standing stone Carlin stone – Name of many stones in Scotland...
evidence for Marshall's hypothesis to be "terribly robust". Some of the baetyls interpreted by Marshall to be sacred phallic representations are now thought...
is uncertain. Excavated from The Temple of the Winged Lions was the "Eye Baetyl" or "Eye-Idol". Numerous Nabatean bas-relief busts of the Northern Syrian...
to have consisted of a tenemos, often around a sacred grove, cave, rock (baetyl) or spring, and perhaps defined only by marker stones at intervals, with...
at an early age. Elagabal was represented by a large, dark rock called a baetyl. Elagabalus's grandmother, Julia Maesa, Julia Domna's sister and sister-in-law...
menorah and burning bush narrative, as described in the Book of Exodus. Baetyl, type of sacred standing stone High place, raised place of worship Ceremonial...
promises Jacob the land of Canaan; when Jacob awakes he anoints the stone (baetyl) with oil and names the place Bethel. Another account, from Genesis 35 repeats...
evidence for Marshall's hypothesis to be "terribly robust". Some of the baetyls interpreted by Marshall to be sacred phallic representations are now thought...
cavity, intended to receive an object rounded at the bottom: perhaps a round baetyl and its crowns. On the side faces, officiating priests. 1933 Sidon Istanbul...
of the sun god, Elagabalus, represented by a large, dark rock called a baetyl, by which name he is known to historians (his name is sometimes written...
who was represented by a black conical meteorite from Emesa. This was a baetyl. Herodian wrote "this stone is worshipped as though it were sent from heaven;...
perhaps it was its baetyl or sacred stone. In Minoan religion, it has been suggested that rubbing, lying, or sleeping on a baetyl could summon a vision...
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