Roman temple of Bziza

Bziza, Lebanon

Freely accessible

Public space — no opening hours to check.

Strollie cannot guarantee access — always check before you travel.

The Roman temple of Bziza is a well-preserved first-century AD structure in modern Lebanon, erected in honor of Azizos, the Arab deity personifying the morning star, whom Emperor Julian would later identify with Ares. A tetrastyle prostyle building executed in the Ionic order, it features two doors connecting the pronaos to a square cella, with an adyton at the rear that once housed images of the deity. The temple functioned as an aedes, the sacred dwelling place of its god. Following Christianization in the Early Byzantine period and again in the Middle Ages, it was converted into a church known colloquially as the Lady of the Pillars, undergoing significant architectural modification in the process. Though the structure fell into disrepair, Christian devotion persisted there into the nineteenth century. The temple lent its name to the modern town of Bziza, derived from Beth Azizo ("house of Azizos"), and remains an iconic symbol of Lebanese heritage, featured on multiple state stamps.