Ostia Synagogue

About

The Ostia Synagogue lies among the brick streets of ancient Ostia, the seaport that served the city of Rome under the Empire, now an archaeological park in the Lazio region of Italy. Its building has been dated to the reign of the Emperor Claudius, between 41 and 54 CE, and continued in active use into the fifth century. It is one of the oldest synagogues in the world and the oldest surviving mainstream Jewish synagogue yet uncovered outside the Land of Israel.

Scholars continue to debate whether the structure began life as a synagogue in the first century or whether it was first a private dwelling later given over to congregational use. Either way, by its later phases it bore the unmistakable features of synagogue architecture: a main hall with benches along three walls, a monumental propylaeum carried on four marble columns, and a triclinium for communal meals. A water well and basin stood near the entrance for ritual purification.

The main door opens to the southeast, in the direction of Jerusalem, holding the building in the orientation of Jewish prayer through the ages. In the second century a wooden platform was added, donated by an early benefactor. By the third century a new Torah Ark had replaced it, given by one Mindus Faustus whose name a surviving inscription preserves. In the fourth century the present aedicula, the niche for the Torah scrolls, was set in place, completing the long sequence of devotional additions.

Significance

The Ostia Synagogue bears witness to the deep antiquity of the Jewish community in the western Mediterranean and to a continuous tradition of synagogue worship in Roman Italy that endured for at least four centuries. Its orientation toward Jerusalem and the layered history of its Ark embody the central rhythms of Jewish prayer in the ancient world.