How to Draw an Ancient Temple From Half a World Away
The Temple of Hebbariye
I was hired to create an illustration of a 1750+ year old ancient Roman temple. The small temple was being excavated half a world away, while I was drawing the Temple on paper from the ground up.
The Temple of Hebbariye served as a stop over for pilgrims making their religious journey between two larger temples in the south eastern countryside of Lebanon. One of a series of many small temples each located a comfortable days walk apart; these small temples were like our roadside rest stops of today. Unlike today, these small temples provided pilgrims a place to rest and pray.
The temple I was hired to draw was built between 1700–1800 years ago along the pilgrimage route from Damascus to Mount Hermon, a cluster of mountains which straddle the border of Syria and Lebanon, the highest point in both countries and a place a of great Biblical significance.
Travelers have been visiting the Temple and it’s ruins for centuries. In 1822 a traveler to the Holy Land referred to the Temple in his writings, also making note of extensive damage to the structure by earthquakes. Many subsequent travelers referenced the Temple, always noting the surrounding hillsides covered with vines and orchards of pomegranate and olives. This information was important for my drawing as…
