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Paganism
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A place for pagans of all shapes and sizes to discuss their faith and practice.
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Epiphanius of Salamis talks about the birth of Dushara from a virgin (Panarion 4th century AD) and some scholars have concluded that the figurines could represent Al-‘Uzza and Her son Dushara, although this suggestion was not adopted by other scholars. Its more likely that Epiphanius's account is of Dushara and His mother Allat, not Al-'Uzza, since Allat was given the epithet "Mother of Gods" and Al-'Uzza seems to be Dushara's consort, not mother. That being said, here is Epiphanius's report: "The leaders of the idolaters … in many places hold a great feast on the very night of Epiphany… First of all, in Alexandria they hold festival in what is called the Coreum, which is a great temple, namely the sacred precinct of Core. They stay awake the whole night singing hymns to the idol to the accompaniment of flutes. They keep it up the entire night, and after cockcrow torchbearers descend into an underground shrine and bring up a wooden statue seated naked on a litter… They carry the statue in a circle seven times around the very center of the temple to the accompaniment of flutes, kettledrums, and hymns and thus reveling carry it back down to the place underground. Asked what the rite means, they say: Today at this hour Core (meaning the virgin) engendered Aeon. This is also done in the city of Petra ... in the temple of the idol there. They sing hymns to the virgin in Arabic, calling her in Arabic “Chaamu”, which means Core or “virgin”, and the one born from her “Dusares”…The rite is also performed in the city of Elusa on that night as in Petra and Alexandria."
The festival occurred at the winter solstice on the 6th of January and was celebrated as a mystery in several Mediterranean cultures. The birth of Dushara can be compared with the birth of Jesus as the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ took place on the 6th of January in the East until Justinian, who in 560 AD urged the Christians in Jerusalem to adopt the earlier Roman date. This brings us back to solar imagery for the cult of Christ was often identified with the Sun among early Christian Arabs; Christ had risen at sunrise and the resurrection was equated with the rising, the second coming was expected from the east, early churches often faced the east. The birth of Mithras also occurred that night. The winter solstice was a birth of light and expressed fertility, the rebirth of vegetation. The continual rebirth of deities makes Them immortal. The concept of rebirth and resurrection was common to many ancient Semitic religions. This was particularly prevalent in Phoenician religion, where it was a part of the cult of Melqart. Melqart was often Hellenized as Adonis, and was related to the ancient Sumerian Dummuzi, biblical Tammuz, where rebirth and resurrection figured highly. Like the mysteries at Eleusis and those of Isis and Osiris the festival must've been a profound experience. Gathering at the temple of Dushara in the evening of the 5th of January, staying the whole night, and singing hymns to the accompaniment of flutes and drums. Perhaps they partook in some entheogens or fasting or perhaps the long hours of singing and music was enough to induce a mystical experience or trance. After many hours, the first light, the Morning Star, and the rising of the sun announces the birth and epiphany of Dushara, indicated also by revealing the baetyl, which then is carried seven times in a circumambulation around the temple to be presented to all worshippers, making the epiphany public.
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Alʿuzza is in many ways like Allat. She has the same geographic distribution and She was appropriated by Hellenistic culture in the same way. She even shows up with Allat in South Arabian amulets. Alʿuzza's name means "the Mighty One." She was a major goddess in the Nabataean pantheon and She was known as the goddess of Bosra. However, She's never invoked with Allat in Nabataea. In fact, Alʿuzza isn't found in Hegra, the Hejazi center of the Nabataeans, while Allat isn't found in Petra. Alʿuzza was also popular in the Sinai while Allat was not. This lead some scholars to believe that Alʿuzza was originally a title for Allat and later split into a separate deity. Another theory is that Allat was the goddess of the Safaitic-writing Bedouin while Alʿuzza is the goddess of the Nabataeans. Alʿuzza is found in the theophoric names of Safaitic-writing Bedouin but they don't invoke her in prayers. When the Nabataeans took over the northern Hejaz they adopted Allat, the local goddess, instead of exporting Alʿuzza to the region. Alʿuzza was worshipped in Dedan, however, so Her worship did spread to the Hejaz and even further to South Arabia.
This complexity might be ironed out when looking at Hellenistic syncretism. In bilingual and in Greek sources Allat is associated with Athena/Minerva while Alʿuzza is associated with Aphrodite/Venus. Earrings found in the Nabataean city of Memphis were matched with the imagery of Alʿuzza baetyls which were matched with jewellery of Aphrodite. In the region north of Nabataea Alʿuzza found her counterpart in Aphrodite and even the Egyptian goddess Isis, but there's no evidence that Hellenization made it to the Arabian peninsula so this association with Aphrodite or Isis may not have reached that far south. However, John of Damascus considered the stone at the Ka'ba to be the head of Aphrodite.
Because of Her association with Aphrodite/Venus some have thought that She was a deified form of the planet Venus. We do have Christian Syriac sources talking about Arabs worshipping Venus in the Sinai where Alʿuzza was popular. Although the cult of Venus might encompass all three goddesses, Allat, Manat and Alʿuzza. The problem with this, however, is that we'd have to mostly rely on non-Arabian and even non-Pagan sources. Inscriptions in Ancient North Arabian and Old South Arabian do not link her to Venus. Turning to the South Arabian pantheon, a pantheon which is largely astral and included Alʿuzza, Venus was represented by the male god ʿAthtar, not by the goddess Alʿuzza, and in pre-Islamic poetry Venus is taken to be masculine. Regardless of any connection to Venus or lack thereof, Alʿuzza was a chief goddess worshipped by many in the Hellenized Levant, Nabataea, Hejaz and in South Arabia. She was syncretized with Aphrodite/Venus which is related to the Mesopotamian Inana/Ishtar and Canaanite Astarte.
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"They believe in no other gods except Dionysus and the Heavenly Aphrodite; and they say that they wear their hair as Dionysus does his, cutting it round the head and shaving the temples. They call Dionysus, Orotalt; and Aphrodite, Alilat." - Herodotus, Histories, Book 3, Ch. 8
There have been many theories regarding who Oratalt referred to. Perhaps Ḏušarē, Ruḍā, a corruption of Allāh ta'āla. His name may mean “the fire of God,” ôrath êl. But this post will focus on the second deity, Alilat, more commonly known as Allāt. She is by far the best attested deity in ancient Arabia across various languages and locations. Her name might be written as Lt, 'lt, 'llt, Hn' lt or Ltn. She was sometimes worshipped alongside two other goddesses, Manāt and Alʿuzza. Allāt means "the goddess" but it's clear that it was treated as a proper name very early on as seen in Herodotus, who was writing in the 5th century BC describing events that happened in the 6th century BC.
After the 5th century BC, evidence of her worship is widespread. She's attested as far south as modern Yemen up to the Hejaz, as far north as Syria and Mesopotamia and in the Roman era as far west as Cordoba, Spain. She was worshipped in the Nabatean kingdom, Palmyra and Hatra. She's considered the consort of Ḏušarē. In fact, it's possible they represented the only deities of the Nabatean pantheon. With all other deities simply being attributes of the god and goddess. In this sense the Nabateans weren't polytheists, but dualists, like some Wiccans today. This is also supported by the Herodotus quote above. But this doesn't mean all Arabs were dualists, polytheism is very clearly attested in epigraphy and the archeological record. It's just one understanding of Nabatean religion. In this view, Manāt and Alʿuzza are just local manifestations or attributes of Allāt which were later split into distinct goddesses.
Regardless of a polytheistic or dualist worldview, it’s clear that Allāt played a major role in the Nabatean and other Arabian pantheons. She was regarded as the mother of other gods, worshipped in the legendary city of Iram and was the patron-deity of Bosra. In the Hellenistic era She took up the iconography of Athena/Minerva. The name Wahballāt (gift of Allāt) was often translated into Greek as Gift of Athena. Herodotus associates Her with Aphrodite Urania (Heavenly Aphrodite) and this stellar aspect is reflected in Palmyra where Arab families would sometimes invoke their patron deity as Allāt, and sometimes as Astarte. She's best attested in Safaitic inscriptions where She's the most frequently invoked deity.
In these Safaitic inscriptions the author would write their name, address the deity, and then request something such as safety, relief, or wealth. Allāt was mostly invoked for safety and security, such as when herding goats, or for relief from sickness. Unlike in the Nabatean pantheon where gods were referred to as the gods of the king, Allāt is a personal deity. She was invoked for day-to-day requests by Arab nomads. Further south in Dedan, the center of the Lihyanite kingdom, Allāt was secondary to the main deity, Ḏul Ɣaybat, and found in personal names. The fact that She's not as well attested in Dedan might mean that She was introduced from the north. She's also found in Duma and in Thamudic inscriptions scattered around the Arabian peninsula. In South Arabia, amulets belonging to women inscribed with the name Allat and sometimes along with Alʿuzza suggests that these two goddesses were patron-protectors of women.
To summarise, Allāt is attested as early as the 5th century BC. From then on Her worship is found in the kingdoms of Nabataea, Palmyra and Hatra, and in the Arabian and Syrian deserts. She was most popular among Arab nomads who used the Safaitic script. Although first equated with Aphrodite Urania by Herodotus she would later take up the iconography of Athena in Romanized areas. She's often associated with two other goddesses, Manāt and Alʿuzza, who may have once been Her attributes, and the god Ḏušarē who's considered Her consort. She's also regarded as the mother of gods. She's called upon for day-to-day requests such as safety, security, and relief, and along with Alʿuzza she was a patron-protector of women.
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