But first let me tell you something about the origin of these structures and the gods to whom they were dedicated. The Arabs claim that this, rather than Damascus, is the oldest city in the world. They say that Adam lived here, and that it was between here and the Mediterranean that Cain killed Abel. One of Adam’s favourite residences was Damascus, and Seth lived at Nebi Schitt in the Lebanon Mountains. They will show you where Noah was buried and the town in which Ham lived. They also think that Nimrod reigned in this valley, and they have a tradition that when an angel called upon him he threw the holy one into a blazing furnace from which he came out unharmed. They locate the Tower of Babel at Baalbek and believe that Nimrod built it. According to another legend, Abraham reigned at Damascus and came here frequently. It is also well known that Solomon had a city named Baalath, in which other gods than Jehovah were worshipped. Indeed, it is said that Solomon, in order to please his concubines, built a temple here and that he had a castle which he gave as a present to Balkis, the Queen of Sheba. Baalbek was well known in the days of the Phœnicians and was a great city in the time of Christ. It was about a hundred years after that that the finest of the temples, the ruins of which we see to-day, were constructed. Then the Roman civilization was in the height of its glory, and the emperors were building cities in north Africa, in Asia Minor, and in other parts of the world. The Romans put up the temples here in honour of Jupiter (Baal), which had in them smaller temples to Venus and Bacchus. They worshipped Baal, the god of the sun, as one of the greatest of their deities, although they had other gods without number. As to the worship of Baal, there have been gods of that name almost since the beginnings of history. It is a question, indeed, whether the word Baal did not mean “lord,” being a general term for male gods of various kinds. Later on the Greeks considered Baal the god of the sun, classing him with the god represented by Helios, in whose honour the city of Heliopolis in Egypt was built. The worship of Baal runs through the Bible. Samuel rebuked the Israelites for bowing down to him, and Jezebel had four hundred priests of Baal who were confounded by Elijah. Indeed, it is a question whether Beelzebub, or the devil, was not Baalzebub. Here at Baalbek the finest statue was that of this god. It was of gold and represented a beardless young man clad in armour standing between two golden bulls. He held a whip in his right hand and a thunderbolt and some ears of corn in his left. There were also statues of Mercury and Venus, a Hall of Bacchus, and statues and statuettes of exquisite workmanship. These images were destroyed by the early Christians, who threw down parts of the temples and broke up the carvings in their detestation of all pagan art.