Allāt/ar

تاريخ

"إنهم لا يؤمنون بآلهة أخرى باستثناء ديونيسوس وأفروديت السماوية؛ ويقولون إنهم يلبسون شعرهم كما يفعل ديونيسوس، ويقصونه حول الرأس ويحلقون المعابد. يسمون ديونيسوس أوروتالت؛ وأفروديت الإلات." - هيرودوت ، التاريخ، الكتاب الثالث، الفصل الثامن.

هناك العديد من النظريات حول إلى من أشار هيرودوت بـ أوروتالت. ربما ذو الشرى أو رضو أو تحوير لفظ (الله تعالى) باليونانية. أو قد يعني اسمه "نار الإله" أوراث إل. لكن تي المقالة ستركز على الإلهة الأخرى ، الإلات ، المعروفة أكثر باسم اللات. إنها إلى حد بعيد أفضل إله موثق في الجزيرة العربية القديمة عبر مختلف اللغات والمواقع. يمكن كتابة اسمها على النحو التالي: لت، ءلت، ءللت، هنـءلت. كانت تُعبد أحيانًا مع إلهتين أخرتين، منوت (مناة) والعزى. تعني كلمة اللات "الإلهة" ولكن من الواضح أنها عوملت كإسم علم منذ وقتٍ مبكر جدًا كما في رواية هيرودوت، الذي كان يكتب في القرن الخامس قبل الميلاد واصفاً أحداث وقعت في القرن السادس قبل الميلاد.

Attributes

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 Đū Shará. In fact, its 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. Its just one understanding of Nabatean religion. In this view, Manat and Al-'Uzza are just local manifestations or attributes of Allāt which were later split into distinct goddesses.

Worship

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, Dhul-Ghabat, 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 Al'uzza suggests that these two goddesses were patron-protectors of women.

See also

• List of Deities

Sources

• Herodotus, Histories, Book 3, Ch. 8