Petra | Religion

Although many of the remains of Petra, it's tombs, temples, high places, stone God-blocks (betyles) and cultic niches clearly had a religious role, we know little about the beliefs of the Nabataeans.

They have had a comparatively small pantheon of Gods, the chief two being Dushara, who was male and whom they probably adopted from the Edomites, and his female counterpart Al-Uzza, whom they no doubt brought with them from Arabia under her original name of Allat.

Al-Uzza was a deity of springs and water and both she and Dushara have been fertility Gods. In later times Dushara became assimilated to Dionysus, the Greek God of wine. It is easy to see how this came about, as one of the Nabataeans rites associated with the dead was celebrating funerary banquets at which wine served, often in rock-cut dining rooms, known as "triclinia" placed near to tombs.

Similarly, Al-Uzza later became assimilated to the Greek Goddess Aphrodite and the Egyptian Goddess Isis. The existence of several High Places suggests that animal sacrifice to the Gods was common practice. These sacrifices would be regarded as renewing man's relationship with the Gods, with blood as the symbol of life. The dead have been buried in family tombs with few funerary offerings.                                                                                                Click to enlarge
 

Petra Guide: Before the Nabataeans | Beidha | The Edomites | The Nabataeans | Farming | Caravan City | The Nabataean Language | Religion | Houses | Pottery | Prosperity and Decline | Christianity and After | Aaron's Tomb Petra |Tourist Information