The above photo shows what's left of the Temple of Venus where the Canaanite goddess Astarte was worshipped. This is the back of the temple ruins; the front and sides no longer remain. The next image in this gallery is a diagram of what the Temple of Venus originally looked like. It's interesting that this temple is so small compared to the temples of Jupiter and Bacchus -- there's really no comparison in size and it's located away from the other two.

You can see a person sitting on the right hand side of this image to get a feel for the size of the Temple of Venus.

Is this because the cult dedicated to Venus or Astarte originally located their temple at this separate location? Was it considered inappropriate to construct a massive temple for Venus or Astarte, whereas with male gods like Jupiter it was deemed fitting?

While Baalbek was under Byzantine control, the Temple of Venus was converted into a small chapel dedicated to Saint Barbara who today remains the patron saint of the city of Baalbek.