Editing Calvary (section)

===Temple to Aphrodite===
[[File:Roman Jerusalem.PNG|thumb|left|Jerusalem after being rebuilt by [[Hadrian]]: Two main east–west roads were built, as well as two main north–south roads.]]

Prior to Helena's identification, the site had been a [[temple]] to [[Aphrodite]]. Constantine's construction took over most of the site of the earlier temple enclosure, and the ''Rotunda'' and [[cloister]] (which was replaced after the 12th century by the present ''[[Katholikon|Catholicon]]'' and ''Calvary chapel'') roughly overlap with the temple building itself; the [[basilica]] church Constantine built over the remainder of the enclosure was destroyed at the turn of the 11th century, and has not been replaced. [[Sacred Tradition|Christian tradition]] claims that the location had originally been a Christian place of veneration, but that Hadrian had deliberately buried these Christian sites and built his own temple on top, on account of his alleged hatred for Christianity.<ref>[[Eusebius]], ''Life of Constantine'', 3:26</ref>

There is certainly evidence that {{circa|160}}, at least as early as 30 years after [[Aelia Capitolina|Hadrian's temple]] had been built, Christians associated it with the site of ''Golgotha''; [[Melito of Sardis]], an influential mid-2nd century bishop in the region, described the location as "in the middle of the street, in the middle of the city",<ref>Melito of Sardis, ''On Easter''</ref> which matches the position of Hadrian's temple within the mid-2nd century city.

The Romans typically built a city according to a [[Hippodamus|Hippodamian]] [[grid plan]]&nbsp;– a north–south [[arterial road]], the [[Cardo]] (which is now the Suq Khan-ez-Zeit), and an east–west arterial road, the [[Decumanus Maximus]] (which is now the [[Via Dolorosa]]).<ref name="Warwick Ball">{{Cite book|last=Ball|first=Warwick|title=Rome in the East: The Transformation of an Empire|page=294}}</ref> The [[Forum (Roman)|forum]] would traditionally be located on the intersection of the two roads, with the main temples adjacent.<ref name="Warwick Ball" /> However, due to the obstruction posed by the Temple Mount, as well as the [[Legio X Fretensis|Tenth Legion]] encampment on the Western Hill, Hadrian's city had two ''Cardo'', two ''Decumanus Maximus'', two forums,<ref name="Warwick Ball" /> and several temples. The Western Forum (now the [[Muristan]]) is located on the crossroads of the West Cardo and what is now El-Bazar/David Street, with the Temple of Aphrodite adjacent, on the intersection of the Western Cardo and the [[Via Dolorosa]]. The Northern Forum is located north of the Temple Mount, on the junction of the Via Dolorosa and the Eastern Cardo (the [[Tyropoeon Valley|Tyropoeon]]), adjacent to the Temple of [[Jupiter Capitolinus]], intentionally built atop the Temple Mount.<ref name="Clermont-Ganneau I">{{Cite book|last=Clermont-Ganneau|first=Charles|title=Archaeological researches in Palestine during the years 1873–1874}}</ref> Another popular holy site that Hadrian converted to a pagan temple was the [[Pool of Bethesda]], possibly referenced to in the fifth chapter of the Gospel of John,<ref>{{bibleverse||John|5:1–18|}}</ref><ref name="MurphyOConnor">[[Jerome Murphy-O'Connor]], ''The Holy Land'', (2008), p. 29</ref> on which was built the Temple of [[Asclepius]] and [[Serapis]]. While the positioning of the Temple of Aphrodite may be, in light of the common [[Colonia (Roman)|Colonia]] layout, entirely unintentional, Hadrian is known to have concurrently built pagan temples on top of other holy sites in Jerusalem as part of an overall "[[Romanization (cultural)|Romanization]]" policy.<ref name="Schäfer2003">{{cite book|author=Peter Schäfer|title=The Bar Kokhba war reconsidered: new perspectives on the second Jewish revolt against Rome|url={{Google books |id=1TA-Fg4wBnUC |page=36 |plainurl=yes }} |access-date=4 December 2011|year=2003|publisher=Mohr Siebeck|isbn=978-3-16-148076-8|pages=36–}}</ref><ref name="erp-places">{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.usd.edu/erp/Palestine/history.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080310053428/http://www.usd.edu/erp/Palestine/history.htm|archive-date=10 March 2008|title=Palestine: History|access-date=18 April 2007|date=22 February 2007|last=Lehmann|first=Clayton Miles|encyclopedia=The On-line Encyclopedia of the Roman Provinces|publisher=The University of South Dakota}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Cohen|first=Shaye J. D.|chapter=Judaism to Mishnah: 135–220 C.E|title=Christianity and Rabbinic Judaism: A Parallel History of their Origins and Early Development|editor=Hershel Shanks|year=1996|location=Washington DC|page=196|publisher=Biblical Archaeology Society}}</ref><ref>Emily Jane Hunt, {{Google books |id=Dn5ERgK0djMC |page=7 |title=Christianity in the second century: the case of Tatian}}, Psychology Press, 2003, p. 7</ref><ref>E. Mary Smallwood {{Google books |id=nw0VAAAAIAAJ |page=460 |title=The Jews under Roman rule: from Pompey to Diocletian, a study in political relations}} Brill, 1981, p. 460.</ref>

Archaeological excavations under the Church of the Holy Sepulchre have revealed Christian pilgrims' graffiti, dating from the period that the Temple of Aphrodite was still present, of a ship, a common early Christian symbol<ref name=newadvent>[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10724a.htm Nave] ''New Advent encyclopedia'', accessed 25 March 2014.</ref><ref>[http://www.jesuswalk.com/christian-symbols/ship.htm Ship as a Symbol of the Church (Bark of St. Peter)] Jesus Walk, accessed 11 February 2015.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sidneyherald.com/archives/ship-hangs-in-balance-at-pella-evangelical-lutheran-church/article_9485d09f-e314-5f3e-b071-0cf8b2059dd7.html|title=Ship hangs in balance at Pella Evangelical Lutheran Church|date=10 June 2008|work=Sidney ([[Montana]]) Herald|access-date=3 January 2016}}</ref> and the etching "DOMINVS IVIMVS", meaning "Lord, we went",<ref name="Clermont-Ganneau II">{{Cite book|last=Clermont-Ganneau|first=Charles|title=Archaeological researches in Palestine during the years 1873–1874|page=103}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://followinghadrian.com/2014/11/05/exploring-aelia-capitolina-hadrians-jerusalem/|title=Exploring Aelia Capitolina, Hadrian's Jerusalem|last=followinghadrian|date=5 November 2014|access-date=28 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170218124758/https://followinghadrian.com/2014/11/05/exploring-aelia-capitolina-hadrians-jerusalem/|archive-date=18 February 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> lending possible support to the statement by Melito of Sardis' asserting that early Christians identified Golgotha as being in the middle of Hadrian's city, rather than outside.