Mount Gerizim Temple
The Mount Gerizim Temple was an ancient Samaritan center of worship located on Mount Gerizim originally constructed in the mid-5th century BCE, reconstructed in the early 2nd century BCE, and destroyed later in that same century. The temple is attested in several historical sources, both literary and epigraphical, including references in 2 Maccabees from the second century BCE and two Greek inscriptions found on the island of Delos, also dating to the same period, which mention a sanctuary on the mountain. Additionally, the first-century CE historian Josephus provides an account of the temple's founding and its eventual destruction by Hasmonean leader John Hyrcanus.
Archaeological excavations on Mount Gerizim's main peak revealed remnants of the sacred precinct, or temenos, that enclosed the temple. During the Persian period, a small monumental sacred complex existed at the site, featuring ashlar masonry walls, courtyards, and chambers. Persian-era finds include pottery, silver jewelry, coins, and burned bones, primarily of goats, sheep, cattle, and doves, indicating sacrificial practices. The site underwent major expansion during the Hellenistic period during the reign of Antiochus III, when a large fortified town and a new sacred precinct were constructed. The Hellenistic structures were built with smooth quarried stones and included city walls, domiciles, and service buildings. According to Josephus, the temple resembled the Temple in Jerusalem. Excavations revealed thousands of coins and hundreds of inscriptions in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek, confirming the temple's dedication to the worship of Yahweh. The rebuilt temple remained in use for about 90 years before its final destruction.
Today, Mount Gerizim retains its status as the holiest site in Samaritanism, though the temple has followed a markedly different path than its Jerusalem counterpart. While the Jerusalem Temple remains central to Jewish theology, liturgy and historical consciousness, the Mount Gerizim temple has vanished from Samaritan memory, with modern Samaritans rejecting its historical existence altogether and interpreting the ancient remains as administrative buildings or a sacrificial compound. For Samaritans, Mount Gerizim itself is sacred, and the community gathers there for the three annual pilgrimages prescribed in the Torah, most notably during Passover when they perform the traditional sheep sacrifice atop the mountain. The current Samaritan holy site, known as "The Twelve Stones," may be situated where the temple's Holy of Holies once stood.
History
Persian period
Archaeological excavations have revealed that the sanctuary on Mount Gerizim was constructed during the 5th century BCE, when the region was under Persian rule. Built at the mountain's highest point, it was the first structure erected at this sacred site and was seemingly completed around 400 BCE. While this dating is supported by the majority of scholars, alternative views also exist. For example, archaeologist Eran Arie has suggested that the structure should be dated to the late Iron Age, based on a reexamination of column capitals, pottery, and the sanctuary's six-chamber gate—all of which are comparable to findings from Iron Age sites. This evidence leads him to propose that the temple's construction may date back to this earlier period.The discovery of the Gerizim Temple has significant historical implications, as it shows that a rival temple to the Second Jewish Temple in Jerusalem existed earlier than scholars previously believed. The findings directly challenge the account of the first-century historian Josephus, who dated the temple's construction to around 332 BCE during Alexander the Great's conquest of the region. According to Josephus, the temple was built by a Samaritan governor named Sanballat as a reward for his son-in-law Manasseh, a Jerusalem priest who had been forced by the elders of Jerusalem to choose between his marriage to Sanballat's daughter and his priestly role in the Jerusalem Temple. Sanballat, initially aligned with Darius III, later shifted his allegiance to Alexander and secured permission to build the temple by claiming it would help the king divide the nation in times of unrest. Josephus appears to have mistakenly attributed the temple's construction to a Sanballat from the time of Alexander, when in fact it should be credited to the Sanballat who lived about a century earlier, during the time of Nehemiah.
During the Persian period, the Samaritan religious and political leadership was based in the city of Samaria. Evidence suggests that the governor of Samaria did not also serve as high priest at the Mount Gerizim temple, although Josephus mentions a promise by Sanballat to his son-in-law Ephraim regarding dual secular and religious authority as high priest.
Hellenistic period
The Persian-era precinct survived Alexander the Great's conquests and subsequent suppression of revolts in Samaria. Archaeological discoveries such as tetradrachms minted in Macedonia and Sidonian didrachmas, alongside numerous coins from Ptolemy I Soter, suggest continuous habitation during this period. After Alexander's destruction of the city of Samaria, the Samaritan priestly class rose to prominence, with the high priest leading a theocratic governance that replaced the previous political leadership. Many religious leaders relocated to Mount Gerizim, establishing it as the central hub for Samaritan religion, economy, and politics. Under Ptolemaic rule, a construction wave commenced on Mount Gerizim, including the establishment of the southern quarter and potentially other structures around the precinct.The temple and precinct were reconstructed in the early second century BCE under the reign of Antiochus III, as indicated by archaeological evidence. The precinct was significantly expanded using smoothly cut stones quarried from below the surface. Simultaneously, a large fortified town was established nearby, which grew to approximately 30 dunams during his rule. Josephus recounts that during the reign of Ptolemy VI Philometor, the Jewish and Samaritan communities in Alexandria were disputing over the legitimate location of the Temple—Jerusalem or Gerizim. Both groups claimed that their respective sanctuary had been built "in accordance with the laws of Moses". The persecution led by Antiochus IV Epiphanes against the Jews initially targeted both the cult practices of the Jerusalem temple and those of the Gerizim temple. According to 2 Maccabees, the king sent an official "He was also to defile both the temple in Jerusalem and the temple on Mount Gerizim and to proclaim the former to be the temple of Zeus Olympios and the latter to be the temple of Zeus Xenios." Another excerpt in the book indicates that both sanctuaries received comparable recognition, underscoring their significance. Josephus recounts that this foreign oppression created friction between the Jews and Samaritans, as the latter convinced Antiochus that they bore no responsibility for the unrest and were not connected to the Jews.
There is a wealth of epigraphic evidence from this period that confirms the existence of a community in both Israel and the diaspora, dedicated to worship at the sanctuary on the mountain. Numerous votive inscriptions in Hebrew, Aramaic, and a few in Greek, left by pilgrims, have been discovered at the summit of the mountain. Other inscriptions at the site include one featuring the Tetragrammaton, several with priestly titles, and others containing formulaic phrases such as "before God" or "before the Lord." Additionally, two Greek inscriptions discovered on the island of Delos, dating to 150–50 BCE, mention a sanctuary on Mount Gerizim. One of them is dedicated by "the Israelites on Delos who make offerings to the temple crown with a golden wreath Sarapion, son of Jason of Knossos, for his beneficence toward them."
Destruction
Between 112 and 107 BCE, John Hyrcanus, the Jewish ruler of Judea and high priest, launched military campaigns to expand his state's territory. Around 111–110 BCE, as part of this effort, Hyrcanus led a campaign in Samaria that culminated in the destruction of the Samaritan temple on Mount Gerizim. The destruction is recorded only in the writings of Josephus and in Megillas Taanis, it is not mentioned in any of the Books of Maccabees or in Samaritan literature. Josephus writes that Hyrcanus conquered the "Cuthean nation" living around the temple, which he said was "modeled on that in Jerusalem." He then explains the background of the temple's construction, adding that "two hundred years later, this temple was laid waste." Investigations at the site found extensive archaeological evidence of destruction caused by fire. Based on this, Knoppers suggests that Hyrcanus had no intention of adapting or reusing the site. Along with the sanctuary, both the adjacent city and Shechem below were destroyed by Hyrcanus.Josephus does not explain Hyrcanus's reasons for destroying the temple, prompting scholars to propose various motivations for his actions. Historian Jonathan Bourgel argues that John Hyrcanus's destruction of the Samaritan temple was not meant to exclude the Samaritans, but rather to forcibly integrate them into the Hasmonean state, and bring them under his authority as High Priest of the Jerusalem Temple. Unlike his conversion of the Idumeans, who had to adopt circumcision and Jewish laws, Hyrcanus likely saw the Samaritans as genuine Israelites rather than foreign 'Cutheans', as Josephus described them. His policy continued the process begun under Jonathan, who applied tax exemption for those offering sacrifices in Jerusalem after annexing the Samarian districts of Lydda, Aphairema, and Ramathaim, though replacing Jonathan's means of persuasion with coercion, through the destruction of the Gerizim cult. Similarly, historian Seth Schwartz adds that the Samaritans "were expected to switch their religious loyalties to the Jerusalem temple, and in return were regarded by the Judaean authorities as Jews."
According to biblical scholar Gary N. Knoppers, in destroying the Samaritan temple, Hyrcanus "not only fulfilled the centralization mandate but also consolidated political, sacerdotal, and economic power in Jerusalem." Knoppers writes that, due to shared characteristics, the similarities between the two sanctuaries, and the credibility of Josephus's claims about interrelated priesthoods and families, it is likely that some Samaritans turned to the Jerusalem Temple after the destruction of their own. However, as Bourgel suggests, while Hyrcanus had some success in drawing Samaritans to Jerusalem, the majority remained loyal to Mount Gerizim, and the destruction of their temple heightened their defiance, eventually leading to another policy shift which saw their exclusion from the Jerusalem Temple.
It appears that John Hyrcanus established a military garrison on the mountain, which, according to biblical scholar Stefan Schorch, aimed to prevent the Samaritans from returning and to enforce recognition of the Jerusalem Temple. This garrison remained at the site until the reign of Alexander Jannaeus or possibly later. Stefan Schorch writes that the destruction of the Samaritan temple solidified the split between Samaritans and Jews, a division that had been widening for centuries. Its significance is reflected in the Jewish text , which commemorates the event as "Mount Gerizim Day" on the 21st of Kislev, indicating it was still celebrated in first-century Jerusalem.