Most of the evidence we have about Palmyrene religious culture is material in nature. Their sacred texts, myths, and ritual traditions did not survive in textual form, but the inhabitants of the city built magnificent temples to their gods, made dedications to them, and had banquets to celebrate them. The numerous inscriptions that have survived inform us about priesthoods, rituals, and festivals, the foundation of sanctuaries, dedications of objects or parts of a building, and even the giving of banquets, and so offer a glimpse into the religious culture of the Palmyrenes.
The main god of the city was Bel. Originally, he was a local god called Bol, whose cult and name were fused to that of the more popular Babylonian Bel or ‘Lord’ by the 3rd century BCE. In perhaps the 2nd or 1st century BCE, the Palmyrenes built a temple to him in the south-western area of the city. An inscription from 19 CE records the construction of a new temple; this replaced the earlier temple, and the new building’s foundations destroyed all but a few fragments of the earlier architectural decoration. The new temple was consecrated in 32 CE. It was the largest sanctuary of the city, its courtyard measuring almost 200 x 200 metres, and for more than a century, wealthy Palmyrenes of all four tribes competed in offering donations for its construction – an inscription records that the bronze doors of the enclosure were dedicated in 175 CE. The other gods of the city were also worshipped at this temple: their representations and dedications to them testify to that.
In addition to having a place within the Temple of Bel, the other gods of the city were honoured with their own temples. The sanctuaries of Baalshamin, Allat, Nabu, Arsu, Rab‘asire, and Bel-Hamon have been excavated and identified. The inscriptions of the city give evidence to more cult spaces that have not been located: a sacred garden dedicated to ‘Aglibol and Malakbel (the moon and sun gods of the city), a temple of Atargatis, a temple dedicated to the cult of the Roman emperors, and a cult area for Yarhibol near the Efqa spring. The god Shamash (another sun god) was also honoured in the city, while the cults of other deities are testified only through reliefs. The most mysterious of Palmyrene gods is perhaps the so-called Anonymous god: he is never mentioned by name in the almost 200 dedications to him but is instead invoked as ‘he whose name is blessed forever’ or ‘the merciful one’ or with other similar phrases, and his cult place has not been found. The question remains: who was this god? Was it a new deity, or was the phrase used to invoke a god who was already worshipped in Palmyra? These questions may never be answered, but the numerous dedications to him testify to the piety and hopes of the lower strata of Palmyrene society who could not afford to make dedications in the form of columns or porticoes like the elite.
Palmyrene ritual practices are also known only through archaeological evidence. The reliefs make clear that bloodless sacrifices, offerings of incense and possibly grains, were the norm. On particular feast days, however, the people were offered food, including meat from sacrifices. Participants used a clay token (tessera) for their entrance to the banquet hall where food and wine were distributed.
