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Was Dionysos, the Wine God, Venerated by the Nabataeans?

Article  in  ARAM Periodical · June 2005

DOI: 10.2143/ARAM.17.0.583323

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ARAM, 17 (2005) 95-113 J. PATRICH 95

WAS DIONYSOS, THE WINE GOD,

VENERATED BY THE NABATAEANS?

Prof. JOSEPH PATRICH

(Hebrew University of Jerusalem)

Trying to comprehend the religious essence of an ancient people is not a

simple task. Distance in time, a monotheistic mentality, the secular mind and
rational approach, paucity of written sources, and the difficulty inherent in the
interpretation of the mute archaeological structures and artifacts, are obstacles
that make the endeavor so hard. The difficulty is even greater when the written
evidence was transmitted by an ancient author who was a foreigner to the cul-
ture he was describing. His mistakes may lead us astray. Such mistakes are
easy to trace when attributed to the religion of the Jews; it is much more diffi-
cult in the case of the Nabataeans.
Thus, for example, Tacitus, Histories. V.5.5 writes about the Jews:
“But their priests used to chant to the accompaniment of pipes and drums and to
wear garlands of ivy, and because a golden vine was found in their temple, some
have thought that they were devotees of Father Liber, the conqueror of the East
…”.1

We know that those who thought so were wrong; resemblance in rite, and
the golden vine hang above the sanctuary portal do not make the Jewish Lord a
wine bibbing Dionysos, and the Jews his devotees, though we can understand
why some might err to think so. Similar is the case with Plutarch's Table Talks
no. 6 (Quaestiones Convivales 6), the subject of which is who the god of the
Jews is.2 In this case as well, superficial resemblance in the rites of the feast of
Tabernacles, of the Sabbath, and false etymologies, lead to wrong conclusions.
Likewise with regard to the Nabataeans, a vine motif on a pediment, lintel,
or frieze, like the vine grapes and leaves depicted on the façade of phase III
altar at Kh. Tannur temple, are not strong enough arguments for a Dionysian
cult there. This phase was dated to the provincial period, being produced when
political and cultural conditions had changed relative to those that had pre-

1
 M. Stern, Greek and Latin Authors on Jews and Judaism, Vol. 2, Jerusalem 1980, pp. 19,
26-27, (no. 281, Eng. tr. C.H. Moore, Loeb Classical Library). For the golden vine hang above
the entrance to the sanctuary see: J. Patrich, “The Golden Vine, the Sanctuary Portal and its De-
piction on the Bar-Kokhba Coins,” Jewish Art 19/20 (1993-94), pp 56-61.
2
 Stern, op. cit., Vol. 1, Jerusalem 1974, pp. 553-554, 557-558 (no. 258: Quaestiones Con-
vivales 6.1-2, Eng. tr. H.B. Hoffleit, Loeb Classical Library). For more references see: M. Smith,
“On the Wine God in Palestine,” Salo Wittmayer Baron Jubilee Volume, English Section, II, Je-
rusalem 1974, pp. 815-829.
96 WAS DIONYSOS, THE WINE GOD, VENERATED BY THE NABATAEANS?

vailed during the independent Nabataean kingdom. The gods venerated there
were the Edomite Qos and Atargatis / Demeter. Oil lamps of the socket-and-
saucer type associated with the cult of Kore were found at the site, as well as
burnt grains of wheat and barely, but no grape pits.3 Similar decorative mo-
tives were also incorporated in the frieze of the adjacent contemporary Naba-
taean temple at Kh. ed Dharih. The deities venerated there might have been the
same.4 Both temples served the local indigenous peasantry of Moab and
Edom, and not the Nabataean Arabs. Dushara was not their ancestors' god. A
relief depicting the bust of Dionysos projecting from a pilaster block was
found in a vestibule near Qasr al Bint temenos gate in Petra, in an un-stratified
excavation, together with similar blocks, depicting other deities. This was a
decorative piece, not a cult statue of Dionysos.5
Dushara was the main deity worshipped by the Nabataeans.6 His name prob-
ably means “the one of Shara”, called after the mountain district of Petra (see
3
 N. Glueck, Deities and Dolphins. The Story of the Nabataeans, London 1965; J. Starcky,
“Le Temple Nabatéen de Khirbet Tannur,” RB 75 (1968), pp. 206-235, Pls. 15-20.; J. McKenzie,
Sh. Gibson, A.T. Reyes, “Reconstruction of the Nabataean Temple at Khirbet et-Tannur,” PEQ
134 (2002), pp. 44-83. J. McKenzie et al., “A Nabataean Temple in the Museum Basement:
Khirbet et-Tannur Re-excavated,” Semitic Museum News. University of Harvard 6/3, June 2003,
pp. 3-9.
4
 J. Dentzer-Feydy, “Khirbet edh-Dharih: Architectural Decoration of the Temple.” Aram 2
(1990), 229-234; F. Villeneuve, “Khirbet edh-Dharih,” RB 92 (1985), 421-426; RB 93 (1986),
247-252; idem and Z. al-Muheisen, “Fouilles à Khirbet edh-Dharih (Jordanie), 1984-1987: un
village, son sanctuaire et sa nécropole aux époques nabatéenne et romaine,” CRAI (1988), 458-
479.
5
 M. Lyttelton and T. Blagg, “Sculpture from the Temenos of Qasr El-Bint at Petra,” Aram 2
(1990), p. 280, Pl. 1. A pilaster block of similar style depicting the bust of Tyche found more
recently in the excavation of an exedra on the western side of the Temenos wall, with two large
inscriptions referring to Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus (161-169 CE), suggest that these
sculptured pieces should perhaps be dated to this period, rather than to the pre annexation period,
in the first century CE, being executed under Nabataean patronage, as was suggested earlier. For
a preliminary note on these finds see: J. Dentzer and F. Renel, “Qasr al-Bint,” Le Monde de la
Bible 127, mai/ juin 2000, 61 = Welt und Umwelt der Bible 19 (2001), 51. Future publications
may provide the exact date. For the sculptural pieces found earlier in a vestibule near the
Temenos Gate see also: G.R.H. Wright, “Some Aspects Concerning the Architecture and Sculp-
ture,” ADAJ 12-13 (1967-68), 20-29, Pls. XII-XIII = Syria 45 (1968), 25-40, Pls. VI-VII.
6
 F. Cumont, “Dusares,” Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft /
Neue Bearbeitung begonnen von Georg Wissowa …., Bd. V.2 (=vol. 10), Stuttgart 1905, cols.
1865-1868; D. Sourdel, Les cultes du Hauran à l'époque romaine, Paris 1952, pp. 59-68;
J. Starcky, ‘Pétra et la Nabatène’, Supplément au Dictionnaire de la Bible, VII (1966, hereafter
SDB), cols. 981-985, cols. 985-993; idem., “Quelques Aspects de la Religion des Nabatéens,”
A. Hadidi (ed.), Studies in the History and Archaeology of Jordan I, Amman 1982, pp. 195-196;
T. Fahd, Le Panthéon de l'Arabie Central à la veille de l'Hégire, Paris 1968, pp. 71-75;
J. Teixidor, The Pagan God. Popular Religion in the Greco-Roman Near East, Princeton 1977,
pp. 76-94; F. Zayadine, “Die Götter der Nabatäer,” in: M. Lindner, Petra und das Königreich
der Nabatäer, Munich-Bad Windsheim 1989, pp. 109-111; M. Gawlikowski, “Les dieux des
Nabatéens,” ANRW II, 18.1, Berlin – New York 1990, pp. 2662-2665; J.F. Healey, The Religion
of the Nabataeans. A Conspectus, Leiden 2001, pp. 85-107; R. Wenning, “'Das ist Dushara!' Zu
den Problemen der Interpretation der Quellen und Denkmäler nabatäischer Religion,” M. Gielen
and J. Kügler (eds.), Liebe, Macht und Religion. Interdisziplinäre Studien zu Grunddimensionen
menschlicher Existenz [Gedenkschrift für Helmut Merklein], Stuttgart 2003, pp. 143-160.
 J. PATRICH 97

further below). In some texts he is called “the god of Gaia”, which is the an-
cient name of the village of Wadi Musa near Petra. As a dynastic god he is
referred to as “Dushara, god of our lord (the king),” and “God of Rabel” etc.
He was identified with various other deities: A{ara the god of Bostra, Ares,
Zeus, Helios and Dionysos, indicating a multiplicity of functions. His basic
character seems to have been astral, in line with much early Arabian religion.
In one Madain Salih inscription he is called “the one who separates day from
night,” perhaps being associated thus with the planet Mercury (Ruda). In an-
other text, much later, he is called “Lord of the World.”7
According to a short entry given in Hesychius, a late 5th – early 6th c. AD
lexicographer, Dousares is Dionysos among the Nabataeans.8 The authority of
this assertion is a certain Isidorus. The common opinion until recently was that
this Isidorus is the 1st c. AD author Isidorus of Charax on the lower Tigris, the
author of Mansiones Parthica, describing route stations from Northern Syria
to Babylon and hence to Central Asia, within the confines of the Parthian Em-
pire. The geography and ethnicity of Southern Syria and Arabia, and the reli-
gious habits of the western Semites were outside his horizon. Accordingly,
more recently Tardieu has convincingly argued that the Isidorus under discus-
sion is Isidorus of Alexandria, the head of the Neoplatonic school at that city
in the second half of the 5th c., the deeds of whom were written in Vita Isidorii,
by his admiring Syrian disciple Damascius. According to Tardieu, the short
sentence, preserved only in Hesychius, was derived from a passage describing
an eight months long itinerary of both from Alexandria to Southern Syria in
year 489/90, fleeing from persecutions there by Christians. More specifically,
it is a relic of a sentence listing the gods of Bostra. Tardieu suggested that the
information on Bostra was acquired from Dorus of Arabia, a native of Bostra,
another Neoplatonic disciple of Isidorus, who might have relied on the third
century chronicle ascribed to the Neoplatonic Porphyrius of Tyre (233-ca.
306), or on the Arabica of Glaucus (mentioned by Stephen of Byzantium).9

7
 For references see Healey, op. cit.
8
 Dousaárjn· tòn Diónuson. Nabata⁄oi, ¿v fjsi ˆIsídwrov [Dousares: Dionysios.
(Among the) Nabataeans, as Isidorus says] (ed. Latte 1953, 475).
9
 M. Tardieu, Les Paysage Reliques. Routes et haltes syriennes d'Isidore à Simplicius
[Bibliotheque de l'école des hautes études. Section des Sciences religieuses, Vol. XCIV],
Louvain-Paris 1990, pp.33-38: Les dieux de Bostra. Tardieu is skeptical about assimilating
Dousares with the Bacchaic aspect of Dionysos (in line with our argument here). I am indebted to
Dr. Leah Di Segni of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem for bringing this important study to my
attention following a seminar lecture I gave in the Institute for Advanced Studies of the Hebrew
University on Aug. 10, 2003. Prof. Axel Knauf a member of the research group in the framework
of which the seminar was held, attended the lecture. I appreciate his encouraging words at the
end of my lecture, in spite of my critics on his article (note 22 below). M. Sartre, D'Alexandre à
Zenobie. Histoire du Levant antique IVe siècle av. J.-C. – III e siècle ap. J.-C., Tours 2001, pp.
901-902, being aware that Hesychius' statement stems from Damascius' Life of Isidorus (consti-
tuting fr. 342 of this composition, ed. Cl. Zintzen, Hildesheim 1967), is similarly skeptical about
the afore mentioned assimilation between Dousares and the Bacchaic aspect of Dionysos. More
on Damascius and his philosophy see infra, n. 75.
98 WAS DIONYSOS, THE WINE GOD, VENERATED BY THE NABATAEANS?

One may argue that since the source assimilating Dousares with Dionysos is
detached by several centuries from Nabataean statehood, it is worthless. Yet, it
might have been derived from earlier, authentic sources, and in any case, there
must have been a reason for such assimilation. Farther below it will be exam-
ined what could have been these grounds. Moreover, Safaic inscriptions dated
to the 5th and 6th c. CE found in Safa, not far from Bostra, in which Dushara is
mentioned, indicate that this deity continued to be venerated among Arab
tribes in that region in the period the itinerary took place.10 In any case, a state-
ment rooted in the Neoplatonic philosophy of Damascius (see below) depicts
an entirely different religious reality than a statement of a first century CE au-
thor, in an epoch when the Nabataean kingdom was at its apogee.
It is a well known fact that Dushara (and other Nabataean deities), was de-
picted as a standing stone.11 The assimilation between Dushara and Dionysos
could not therefore be derived from iconographical grounds. Moreover, in the
few cases where Dushara is represented anthromorphically, there is not a sin-
gle example in which he bears Dionysiac traits, while representations of
Dionysos found in the Hauran, or in other regions once inhabited by the
Nabataeans and considered by some scholars to be Dushara, are far from cer-
tain, as no representation is accompanied by an inscription confirming the
identification. This observation was clearly stated by Drijvers, in spite of
claims for the contrary by some scholars.12
In contrast with the art of the Hauran, giving expression to the viticulture of
the indigenous peasantry, vine and grapes are almost entirely absent from the
numerous floral motives decorating Nabataean works of art. Besides its south-
ern part – the territories of Bostra and Adraa, the Hauran should not be con-
ceived as a Nabataean territory. As was claimed already long ago by Ernest
Will, Michael Avi Yonah and others, the art of the Hauran does not reflect the
Arab Nabataean tradition; it is to be rather associated with the figurative Ori-
ental art of inner Syria.13
Nabataean drawings on delicate vessels used in the cult of the dead and in
religious banquets, is a typical Nabataean work of art.14 The motifs are mainly
10
 Tardieu, op. cit., p. 34, n. 56.
11
 See: J. Patrich, The Formation of Nabatean Art: Prohibition of a Graven Image among the
Nabateans, The Magnes Press, The Hebrew University, Jerusalem and E.J. Brill, Leiden 1990,
pp. 50-104; M.J. Roche, “Les Betyles,” Le Monde de la Bible, 14 (1980) 33-35; eadem, “Les
niches cultuelles du Sadd al-Ma‘jan à Pétra,” ADAJ 33 (1989) 327-334; U. Avner, “Nabataean
Standing Stones and Their Interpretation,” Aram 11-12 (1999-2000) 97-122; R. Wenning, “The
Betyls of Petra,” BASOR 324 (2001) 79-95. According to the 10th c Byzantine lexicographer
Suda, the libation over the betyl of the god of Petra was blood of the sacrificial victims, not wine.
12
 H.J.W Drijvers, “Dusares”, Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae III.i (ed.
L. Kahil et al.), 1986, pp. 670-672 (text); III.ii p. 532 (plates).
13
 Patrich, supra, note 11, pp. 40-48.
14
 The most comprehensive study to date is S. G. Schmid and B. Kolb, Petra, Ez Zantur II:
Ergebnisse der schweizerisch-liechtensteinischen Ausgrabungen. [Terra Archaeologica IV].
Mainz: Philip von Zabern 2000, Teil 1, pp. 1-199. On pp. 153-156 he examines the use of the
 J. PATRICH 99

floral, yet depictions of vine grapes or leaves, so common in Graeco-Roman

art, and in the art of the Hauran, are not to be found there.15 The ethos reflected
from the painted pottery is neither associated with viticulture, nor with any
Bacchaic aspect of Dionysos, whatsoever.
Similar is the case with few tomb façades, especially the Hazneh, decorated
with floral motives; vine and grapes are not among them. Could these high
quality works of art reflect a Dionysiac culture? Certainly no! Could a society
venerating a god of grape and wine produce works of art that give no expres-
sion to their cult? Again, in my opinion the answer is negative.
Moreover, according to Hieronimus of Cardia, writing at the end of the 4th c.
BCE:
“It is their <= the Nabataeans> custom neither to plant grain, set out any fruit-
bearing tree, use wine, nor construct any house; and if anyone is found acting
contrary to this, death is his penalty. They follow this custom because they be-
lieve that those who possess these things are, in order to retain the use of them,
easily compelled by the powerful to do their bidding …”16

We should note that the reason given here for the various abstentions is ethi-
cal and political, not religious. In addition, it was a common knowledge
throughout antiquity that Arabs refrained from drinking wine. Thus, the king-
dom of Lycurgus, the paradigmatic opponent of Dionysos and of the vine cult,
a Thracian king according to Homer, is set in Arabia by later Greek
mythographers. Thus, already in the 5th c. BCE, Antimachus of Colophon
makes Lycurgus a king of Arabia, and similarly Nonnos of Panopolis in his 5rd
c. AD Dionysiaca.17 Approximately contemporary with Antimachus of Colo-
phon (and Herodotus, see below), we find in the Old Testament words of Arab
wisdom opposing wine-drinking:
“The words of king Lemuel [of Massa, the leader of a nomadic tribe in the Syrian
desert],18 the prophecy that his mother taught him. ….. It is not for kings, O
Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, nor for princes strong drink. Lest they
drink, and forget the law, and pervert the judgement of any of the afflicted. Give

painted fine Nabataean ware, suggesting a profane use as well, although admitting that the dis-
tinction between religious and profane use is not always simple. See also Patrich, supra n. 11,
pp. 124-130.
15
 As was noted long ago by Herbert Read: “The pottery is so fundamental, so bound up with
the elementary needs of civilization, that a national ethos must find its expression in the medium.
Judge the art of a country, judge the fineness of its sensibility by its pottery; it is a sure touch-
stone.” (The Meaning of Art, London 1949, p. 33).
16
 Diodorus, Hist. XIX.94.3f, tr. R.M. Geer, speaking about the Nabataean Arabs in the same
region were the Qedarites tribes were earlier at work. For later attitudes regarding these bans see
notes 78 and 79 below
17
 Antimachus, Apud Diodorus of Sicily, Hist. III.65.7 (tr. C.H. Oldfather, London and Cam-
bridge 1953, pp. 300-301); Nonnus of Panopolis, Dionysiaca XX.145-149 (tr. W.H.D. Rouse,
Loeb Classical Library, London and Cambridge 1962, pp. 126-127).
18
 I. Ephal, The Ancient Arabs, Jerusalem 1982, p. 10, but there is a different interpretation,
according to which this is not a name of a king – see N. Tur Sinai, v. “Lemuel,” Encyclopedia
Mikraith IV, Jerusalem 1962, p. 532 (Hebrew).
100 WAS DIONYSOS, THE WINE GOD, VENERATED BY THE NABATAEANS?

strong drink unto him that is ready to parish, and wine unto those that be of heavy
hearts. Let him drink, and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more.
…”19

Yet there are scholars who maintain that the short statement of Isidorus indi-
cate that Dushara should be assimilated with the wine drinking aspect of
Dionysos, the provider of grape and wine.20 Noteworthy among them were
Charles Clermont-Ganneau21 and more recently Axel Knauf,22 in articles per-
taining to the Nabataean deity Shai‘ al-Qaum. Other scholars adhere to a more
moderate approach, yet all maintain that this aspect of Dionysos is alluded to
in the short statement of Isidorus. As will be indicated below, I will suggest an
entirely different interpretation.
Shai‘ al-Qaum is a deity mentioned in several Nabataean inscriptions from
the Hauran and Madain Salih. The probable meaning of the name is “the one
who accompanies (or aids) the people.” This title may point to a role as a pro-
tector of caravans or of soldiers. Teixidor had suggested that he is a kind of
angel, a protector of traveling people like the angel of Yahweh in relation to
the Exodus of the ancient Israelites (Ex. 23: 20, 23).23 He was the god of the
caravan trade and of the nomadic or semi-nomadic life (also worshipped by
the Safaitic people). In a Palmyrene inscription on an altar written by a
Nabataean cavalry man, dated AD 132, he is referred to as “the good and
bountiful god (‫)אלהא טבא ושכרא‬, who does not drink (allow?) wine” (‫די לא‬
‫)שתה חמרא‬.24
Knauf, who takes Dushara to be the national deity, the patron of the tribe, of
the ruling family, and of the state, also assimilates him with the wine drinking
Dionysos, as the patron of royal drinking societies.25 He maintains that Shai‘
al-Qaum and Dushara were two opposites, two opponents. Like Clermont
Ganneau before him, he takes Lycurgus, worshipped in the Hauran according

19
 Prov. 31:1-9, following E.A. Knauf, Ismael. Untersuchungen zur Geschichte Palastinas
und Nordarabiens im 1. Jahrtausend v. Chr, Wiesbaden 1989, pp. 72f; 148; idem., infra n. 22,
p. 177. The reason for this abstention is ethical again.
20
 One should bear in mind that scholars who had so maintained had shared the prevailing
opinion that the Isidorus under discussion is the 1st c. AD author of Charax, rather than the 5th-6th
c. sophist of Alexandria.
21
 Ch. Clermont-Ganneau, “Le dieu nabatéen Chai‘ al-Qaum,” Recuille d'Archéologie
Orientale IV Paris 1905, pp. 382-402.
22
 A. Knauf, “Dushara and Shai‘ al-Qaum,” ARAM Periodical 2:1&2 (1990), pp. 175-183.
23
 Healey, supra, n. 6, p. 146; Teixidor, supra, n. 6, pp. 88-89.
24
 The phrasing indicates that he was conceived among the gods, not among the angels. The
text was first published by E. Littmann (“Deux inscriptions religieuses de Palmyre,” Journal
Asiatique, NS XVIII (1901), pp. 374-75, 381-90), and discussed in farther length by Clermont-
Ganneau in the article mentioned above. Shai‘ al-Qaum is also mentioned in a Nabataean inscrip-
tion from near Bostra, dated AD 95/6, and in a short Nabataean inscription besides a cult-niche
opposite the Diwan at Mada{in Salih. Healey, supra n. 6, pp. 143-147; idem., The Mada‘in Salih
Tomb Inscriptions, Oxford 1993, p. 33;
25
 Supra, note 22, p. 175.
 J. PATRICH 101

to several Greek inscriptions,26 to be the interpretation Graecae of Shai‘ al-

Qaum. He claims that “the wine-drinking Dushara and the wine-shunning
Shai‘ al-Qaum mark the division between one sector of Nabataean society
which was integrated into the larger Mediterranean culture, Hellenism, and
another sector, which refused to acculturate.”27 The ordinary people worshiped
Shai‘ al-Qaum, and Hieronimus of Cardia gave expression to their attitude,
while the royal family and the upper classes in the Nabataean society vener-
ated the Dionysiac aspect of Dushara. According to him, Strabo's description
of a royal banquet in Petra, with singing and drinking, refer to this class:
“They prepare common meals together in groups of thirteen persons; and they
have two girl-singers for each banquet. The king holds many drinking bouts in
magnificent style, but no one drinks more than eleven cupfuls, each time using a
different golden cup.”28

Banqueting associations (symposium \ thiasos) such as this are referred to as

‫מרזחא‬/‫ מרזח‬in several Nabataean inscriptions.29 They were known in other Se-
mitic societies as well.30 The numerous triclinia in the necropolis of Petra sug-
gest that a funerary meal was a part of the ancestors' cult in Petra, like in
Palmyra and Hatra. But other triclinia in Petra are associated with temples and
high-places, and with domestic quarters.31 A particular banqueting society was
associated according to the inscriptions with the cult of the deified king
Obodas.

Knauf and others maintain that the drink mentioned by Strabo was wine
(though this is not explicitly said by Strabo). What else could it be? However,
according to Plutarch:
“the Jews …. used honey as libation and in place of wine before the vine was dis-
covered. Even up to the present time those of the barbarians who do not make
wine drink mead (melíteion), counteracting the sweetness somewhat by the use
of winelike bitter roots (oinÉdesi ríhaiv kai austjraiv).”32

26
 Sourdel supra, n. 6, pp. 81-84; P. Chuvin, Mythologie et géographie dionysiaques,
Clermont-Ferrand Cedex 1991, pp. 264-270.
27
 Supra, n. 22, p. 178.
28
 Strabo, Geography 16.4.26. Strabo's source for Petra was Athenodoros of Tharsus, a phi-
losopher, who visited Petra at ca. 50 BCE.
29
 See F. Zayadine, “A Symposiarch from Petra,” in: L.T. Geraty and L.G. Herr (eds.), The
Archaeology of Jordan and Other Studies Presented to S.H. Horn, Berrien Springs, MI 1986,
pp. 465-474, with farther references.
30
 V. Alavoine, “Le mrzh est-il un banquet funéraire? Etude des sources épigraphiques et
bibliques (Am. 6,7 et Ier. 16,5), Le Museon 113 (2000), pp. 1-23, and there references to earlier
studies. The author maintains that such associations should not be interpreted in conjunction with
the cult of the dead.
31
 L. Nehmé, L'espace urbain de Petra (Jordanie) de l'époque nabatéene à l'époque
byzantine à travers les sources archéoloqiques et épigraphiques (Thèse de l'Universié de Paris I,
1994), suggested that out of the 116 triclinia registered in Petra, 32 seem to have been of private
use, 29 associated with funerary rite and 40 seem to be cultic.
32
 Supra, note 2.
102 WAS DIONYSOS, THE WINE GOD, VENERATED BY THE NABATAEANS?

Date wine is another possible beverage.33 Whatever this drink might have
been, for a foreign Greco-Roman visitor any banquet might have looked like a
Dionysiac feast (as in the case of the Jewish feasts mentioned above).
Knauf (p. 178), and other scholars maintain that in a process of settlement
which the Nabataean society underwent between the 4th c. and the 1st c. BCE,
abandoning nomadic life, a shift occurred in the Nabataeans' attitude to the
drinking of wine, to the extant that in the mid 1st c. BCE their principal god
was identified (at least by the upper class) with Dionysos. But Strabo says
plainly that the Nabataeans worshipped Helios, not Dionysos.34
Moreover, already a century and more before Hieronimus of Cardia, in the
mid 5th c. BCE, Herodotus had assimilated the principal god of the Arabs with
Dionysos, and no process of sedentarization was at work at that time. These
are his words:
“They have but these two gods, to wit, Dionysos and Urania … Dionysos they
call in their language Orotal, and Urania, Alilat.”35

Back to Shai‘ al-Qaum and Dushara: after farther examination of the epi-
graphical, literary, and numismatic evidence,36 conceiving both titles as
epithets of Ruda, Knauf writes:
33
 According to Herodotus (I.193), speaking about Mesopotamia: “There are palm trees there
growing all over the plain, most of them yielding fruit, from which food is made and wine and
honey” (LCL pp. 244-45, tr. A.D. Godley).
34
 Strabo 16.4.26, tr. Healey, supra, n. 6, p. 103: “They worship the sun, building an altar on
the top of the house, and pouring libation on it daily and burning frankincense.”
35
 Hist. III.8 (Eng. tr. G. Rawlinson, Everyman's Library 405, London and Toronto 1910,
Vol. I, p. 213; Eng. tr. A.D. Godley, Loeb Classical Library 1963, pp. 10-11). Other Greek au-
thors who speak about an Arab Dionysos are Arrian, Anab. VII.20.1; Origen, Contr. Cels. V.37,
who may derive from Herodotus. See Cumont, supra, note 6. Concerning Urania, in Herodotus,
Hist. I.131 we also read: “At a later period they <the Persians> began the worship of Urania,
which they borrowed from the Arabians and Assyrians. Militta is the name by which the
Assyrians know this goddess, whom the Arabian call Alitta, and the Persians Mithra <this is a
mistake>.
36
 Knauf interprets camel riders depicted on coins of Bostra from the reign of Elagabalus
as Shai{ al-Qaum. In Palmyra Shai{ al-Qaum is represented with a helmet on a tessera. See
Teixidor, supra, n. 6, p. 89, note 66. A hardly discernible relief of a person leaning against
his club was depicted on the Palmyrene altar above the Shai{ al-Qaum inscription mentioned
above. This depiction was not reproduced and it is impossible to determine whether the dedi-
cator, or the deity Shai{ al-Qaum was represented (Littmann, supra, note 24, pp. 387-88;
Clermont Ganneau, supra, note 21, p. 382; see also Sourdel, supra, note 6, pp. 82-83). Knauf
suggests to identify Shai{ al-Qaum with the Arabian deity Ruda, and with the Palmyrene deity
Arsu, depicted there as a camel rider. But Starcky, SDB, cols. 990-992 and Teixidor, supra,
note 6, pp. 69-70, 87-89, would rather identify Dushara, and not Shai{ al-Qaum with Ruda and
Arsu. Bowersock identifies the camel rider on the coins of Bostra with the Arabian Ares, the
Palmyrene Arsu. See: G.W. Bowersock, “The Cult and Representation of Dusares in Roman
Arabia,” in: F. Zayadine (ed.), Petra and the Caravan Cities, Amman 1990, pp. 31-34. For Ruda
being a goddess rather than a god see: Fahd, supra, n. 6, pp. 143-146, with farther references;
A.G. Lundin, “Die arabischen Göttinnen Ruda und al-{Uzza,” Al-Hudhud. Festschrift Maria
Höfner zum 80. Geburtstag, Graz 1981, pp. 211-218. Starcky, SDB col. 991, objects Ruda being
a goddess.
 J. PATRICH 103

“I believe that Dushara and Shai‘ al-Qaum are actually not two gods, but two as-
pects of one god, Ruda. Shai‘ al-Qaum stresses his warrior aspect, and Dushara
his fertility aspect.” And he adds: “That does not mean that these two aspects did
not become separate gods in the course of time, following a social and cultural
fissure in the Nabataean society.”37

According to Starcky the proper name behind Dushara is Ruda, a deity men-
tioned in many “Thamudic” and “Safaitic” inscriptions. Ruda is also to be
identified with Orotalt of Herodotus, Ruldaiu of the Assyrian chronicles, and
Arsu of the Palmyranean inscription, all meaning “the benevolent”.38 As for
Shai‘ al-Qaum, his epithets in the Palmyrene inscription at our concern is “a
good and bountiful god” (‫)אלהא טבא ושכרא‬.39 The epithets of Ruda and Shai‘
al-Qaum – “benevolent” and “bountiful” are basically similar; but these are
perhaps too general epithets to indicate that Dushara and Shai‘ al-Qaum are
one and the same.
In any case, I share Knauf's conclusion that Dushara and Shai‘ al-Qaum were
one and the same god. But I maintain that both were wine-shunning gods, and
that the short statement of Isidorus, that Dushara is Dionysos among the
Nabataeans, like Herodotus' assimilation of the Arab god Orotal\ Orotalt with
Dionysos, have nothing to do with the wine-drinking aspect of Dionysos, but
with another aspect of this god.
But before proceeding along this path, let us see what else do we know
about Dushara? Could he be assimilated with Dionysos as the god of vegeta-
tion in general? Could the god of a people whose custom it was neither “to
plant grain, nor to set out any fruit-bearing tree” be conceived by them as a
god of vegetation? Some scholars suggest that this might have been alluded
from the etymology of the god's name,40 though the most prevalent opinion is
that on the basis of a putative Arabic Du al-Shara(t), means “the one of (i.e.
‘Lord of') the Shara(t) mountain range”. This mountain range is well docu-
mented by the Arab geographers as the name of a region of southern Jordan,

37
 Knauf, ibid., p. 180.
38
 Thus Starcky, SDB, cols. 990-92 and 995, and idem., supra, n. 6 (SHAJ I), p. 195; Knauf,
Ismael, p. 110f; Gawlikowski, supra, n. 6, pp. 2664-2665; Drijvers, supra, n. 12, p. 670. See also
supra, n. 36.
39
 Healy's translation of ‫ שכרא‬as “bountiful” should be preferred, in my opinion, over
Knauf's: “grateful”.
40
 According to Healey, supra, n. 6, pp. 87-89, in addition to the prevalent interpretation
given already above, and repeated below, there are two more interpretations of the name. Ac-
cording to one the name Dushara is derived from Arabic sharan: “road, tract of land, moun-
tain, sometimes used in the context of sacred land, shara being the same as hima or haram – a
sacred precinct. According to a second suggestion the name was derived from Arabic shariun –
“colocynth, spreading plant”, identifying the god as a vegetation deity. See: A.F.L. Beeston,
“The ‘Men of the Tanglewood' in the Quran” Journal for Semitic Studies 13 (1968) 253-
55; C.E. Bosworth, “Madyan Shu{ayb in Pre-Islamic and Early Islamic Lore and History,” Jour-
nal of Semitic Studies 29 (1984), pp. 53-64; Zayadine, supra, n. 6, p. 115; Gawlikowski, supra,
n. 6.
104 WAS DIONYSOS, THE WINE GOD, VENERATED BY THE NABATAEANS?

corresponding to the mountain district of Petra.41 Healey tends to suspect a

meaning “He of the vegetation” for Dushara, suggested by some scholars.42 I
share Healey's skepticism. There is nothing in the iconography of Dushara –
neither betylic, nor anthropomorphic – to suggest this. His favorite animal was
the camel – the “desert ship,” or the ibex, not any Dionysian animal such as
a panther, goat, fawn, or bull,43 or a vegetal attribute such as ivy or vine.
Dushara might have been the god of the re-generation of nature in general –
flora and fauna at large, not specifically agriculture, but we have no way to
confirm it. As a matter of fact, works of art suggest that the Nabataeans wor-
shipped a vegetation goddess of the Astarte \ Atargatis type, rather than a male
god of vegetation. As the god of storms and rain, a Nabataean Ba‘al, Dushara
was assimilated with Zeus, and with the Edomite Qos, not with Dionysos.44
Now to the positive arguments:
How else could the short words of Isidorus \ Damascius be interpreted? is
there another aspect of Dushara to which he might have alluded? We may find
a clue in Herodotus, more than nine centuries earlier. Speaking about the
Egyptian gods he assimilates Dionysos with Osiris: Thus in Hist. II.42 he
says: …. the Egyptians do not all worship the same gods, excepting Isis and
Osiris, the latter of whom they say is the Graecian Dionysos.“And similarly in
Hist. II.144-146:”Osiris is named Dionysos by the Greeks.“
For the Egyptians Osiris was the god of regeneration of the vegetation and
of nature at large, according to the inundations and recessions of the Nile. He
possessed generative powers that enable the Egyptian land, watered by the
Nile, to be fertile and productive of crops. He is the power of growth in plants,
and of reproduction in animals and human beings. Dionysos was similarly re-
garded by the Greeks as the god of vegetation and regeneration of nature life at
large,45 but among them he was especially associated with the vine. As for
41
 Healey, op. cit. See also Starcky, SDB, col. 986; Fahd, supra, n. 6, pp. 71-75.
42
 Supra, note 40.
43
 An offering of two camels to Dushara are recorded in a Nabataean inscription on a marble
plaque, probably dated to AD 11, found in Pozzuoli: CIS II.157, 158, Pl. XXII; V. Tram Tan
Tinh, Le Culte des divinités orientales en Campanie, Leiden 1972, pp. 127-131, 141-47;
G. Lacerenza, “Il dio Dusares a Puteoli,” Puteoli. Studi di Storia Antica 12-13 (1988-89),
pp. 119-149; idem., “Due nuove iscrizioni del tempio di Dusares dell'antica Puteoli,” Aion 54
(1994), pp. 15-17. An ibex, or the head of an ibex is depicted on either side of Dushara's betyl on
some coins of Adraa. See Patrich, supra, n. 11, p. 71. As a supreme deity of the Zeus-Haddad
type, eagles are sometimes decorating the cultic niche or the stele of Dushara.
44
 In a recent study the stress was put, on too fluid grounds one must admit, on Dushara as the
god of water. See Wenning, supra, note 6, pp. 159-60.
45
 The similarity is clearly stated, for example, in Plutarch, Isis and Osiris 356B.13 (tr.
F.C. Babbitt, LCL pp. 34-35,): Osiris was showing the Egyptians “the fruits of cultivation, by
giving them laws, and by teaching them to honour the gods. Later he traveled over the whole
earth civilizing it without the slightest need of arms, but most of the peoples he won over to his
way by the charm of his persuasive discourse combined with song and all manner of music.
Hence the Greeks came to identify him with Dionysus.” See also ibid., 362B (pp. 68-69), 364D-
F (pp. 82-85), and Diodorus I.13-16; 17.1-4; 18.5-6; 20.3-4. See also next note.
 J. PATRICH 105

Osiris, some Pyramide texts say that Osiris is “The Lord of wine through the
inundation” during the Wag festival – a funerary feast celebrated in the first
month of inundation. Consumption of wine was part of the event. Osiris, who
controlled the fate of the dead, was a central figure in this resurrection festival.
The epithet “Lord of wine” seems to mean “the possessor of wine” in the
feast. His association with the inundation is a result of his identification with
Orion, and close relationship with Sothis (called Sirius by the Greeks), both
being heavenly bodies. Sothis is variously said to be the mother, sister, or the
daughter of Osiris, or even identified with him. The link of Osiris with wine
was thus through his association with Orion and Sothis, by his function in the
Wag festival. The grape vine symbolized in Egypt the resurrection of Osiris,
and the return of a new life-cycle.46
Herodotus (II.77), speaking about the food of the Egyptians, says: “Their
drink is … obtained from barley, as they have no vines in their country” <this
is a mistake>.47 In III.6 he says that twice a year clay vessels full of wine are
imported to Egypt from entire Greece and Phoenicia. Thus, Herodotus could
hardly allude to Dionysos as the wine-drinking god when assimilating him
with Osiris. He is, rather, alluding to Osiris' aspect as the Lord of the Under-
world, a god of resurrection of the dead, and to his mysteries. And indeed, in
Hist. II.123 he says that “The Egyptians maintain that Demeter and Dionysos
preside in the realm below,” (ârxjgeteúein dè t¬n kátw Aîgúptioi lé-
gousi Dßmjtra kaì Diónuson; namely, he is speaking about Dionysos
chthonios), and in the following sentence he brings a doctrine of metempsy-
chosis and reincarnation, according to which the Egyptians were the first to
maintain that the soul of man is immortal, and at the death of the body it enters
into one animal after another, all creatures of land, or sea or air, and then it
enters again into a body of a new-born man. This cycle is accomplished in
three thousand years. According to Guthrie the Orphic doctrine of reincarna-
tion is reflected in this passage, which is similar to the doctrine of reincarna-
46
 M.C. Poo, Wine and Wine Offering in the Religion of Ancient Egypt, London and New
York 1995, pp. 149-51. According to Diodorus I.15.6-8: “Osiris, they (= the Egyptians) say, was
also interested in agriculture and was reared in Nysa, a city of Arabia Felix near Egypt. … And
the discovery of the vine, they say, was made by him near Nysa, and that, having further devised
the proper treatment of its fruit, he was the first to drink wine and taught mankind at large the
culture of the vine and the use of the wine, as well as the way to harvest the grape and store the
wine” (LCL, pp. 50-53). According to Poo (op. cit., p. 151), there is no independent Egyptian
source to substantiate this story. One should note that the myth as given by Diodorus is placed
outside Egypt.
47
 Poo, op. cit., passim. Wine was considered in Ancient Egypt as a luxury; the Egyptians
were favorable towards wine-drinking, but drunkenness was not encouraged. In the Egyptian
mythology and religion wine was considered as a divine drink, given to the kings ascending to
heaven. Drunkenness was associated mainly with Hathor: wine was offered in her liturgies re-
lated to the myths concerning “the destruction of mankind,” and “the homecoming of Hathor-
Tefnut to Egypt.” In being associated with the inundation of the Nile, and with the blood given to
appease Hathor, wine significance in the offering ritual was in having creative and rejuvenating
power. Horus and Isis were also addressed in these liturgies; wine is designated as “Green Horus
Eye;” but wine was not offered to Osiris (see note 57 below).
106 WAS DIONYSOS, THE WINE GOD, VENERATED BY THE NABATAEANS?

tion of Empedokles in his Katharmoi (Purifications), according to which the

soul is a daemon, a divine being, who has sinned, and in consequence is con-
demned for ‘thrice ten thousand seasons' to wander far from the blessed, going
through all types of mortal shapes, not only of men and animals, but also of
plants.48 In this religious poem there is close relationship with the Orphic tradi-
tion of Acragas in Sicily. Empedokles (ca. 493 – ca. 433 BCE), a contempo-
rary of Herodotus, was a philosopher, scientist, poet, and statesman of legen-
dary fame in the local aristocracy. He had recited his Katharmoi at Olympia.
He had also visited Thurii shortly after its foundation in 443.49 Herodotus was
among the founders of this colony of Magna Graecia; he had also visited Sic-
ily, and “gave lectures”at Olympia as well. No doubt he was acquainted with
the Orphic philosophical currents of his time. Some scholars maintain that he
alludes to Empedokles in the concluding sentence of II.123, mentioned above:
“There are Greek writers, some of an earlier, some of a later date, who had
borrowed this doctrine from the Egyptians, and put it forward as their own. I
could mention their names, but I abstain from doing so.”50 Herodotus knew
about Orphic burial rites.51 Orphic doctrines of reincarnation and afterlife are
attested in Thurii by four gold lamella of the 4th-3rd c BCE found in tombs
there.52 It is clear that when Herodotus is assimilating Osiris with Dionysos, he
is referring to him in the capacity of the lord of the Underworld and not as the
lord of vegetation; he is referring to Dionysos chthonios, Dionysos of the
Orphic myth. As for Demeter, in Hist. II.156 he says plainly: “Demeter they
<namely – the Egyptians> call Isis.”
The myth of death and resurrection of Osiris is given in the Pyramid and
Coffin hieroglyphic texts, and is also narrated by later Greek and Roman au-
thors. Osiris was the brother and husband of Isis. Seth, the brother and rival of
48
 W.K.C. Guthrie, Orpheus and Greek Religion2, London 1952 (rprt. Princeton 1993),
pp. 166-171.
49
 N.G.L. Hammond and H.H. Scullard, The Oxford Classical Dictionary2 1970, p. 382:
Empedocles.
50
 According to Alexander Schor, in the commentary of his Hebrew translation of Herodotus'
History ad loc. (Vo. I, p. 133), the earlier are Pherecydes of Syros (fl. ca. 550 BCE), and Py-
thagoras, and the later – Empedokles. See also U. von Wilamowitz-Moellndorff, Der Glaube der
Hellenen II, Berlin 1932, pp. 189-90; A.J. Festugière, “Les Mystères de Dionysos,” Revue
Biblique 44 (1935), pp. 398-70.
51
 Hist. II.81. Speaking about the taboo among the Egyptians against being buried in woollen
garments he says: “In this respect they agree with the rites which are called Bacchic and Orphic
but are really Egyptian and Pythagorean.” See also Guthrie, op. cit., pp. 16, 198; W. Burkert,
Orphism and Bacchic Mysteries: New Evidence and Old Problems of Interpretation, [The Center
for Hermeneutical Studies in Hellenistic and Modern Culture, Colloquy 28], Berkeley 1977, p. 4;
W. Burkert, Greek Religion (tr. from the German by J. Raffan), Cambridge MS 1985, p. 294;
Wilamowitz-Moellndorff, ibid., p. 189.
52
 Guthrie, op. cit., pp. 171-180. See also J. Harrison, Prolegomena to the Study of Greek re-
ligion2, London 1907 (rprt. 1980), pp, 572-588. In Southern Italy and Sicily the chthonian aspect
of Dionysos was most prominent. He was a god of the dead and of the Underworld, with relation
to Orphism already by the 6th and 5th centuries BCE. See: M. Nilsson, The Dionysiac Mysteries
of the Hellenistic and Roman Age, Lund 1957, pp. 120-121. See also: E. Radcliffe, Myths of the
Underworld Journey. Plato, Aristophanes, and the Orphic Gold Tablets, Cambridge 2004.
 J. PATRICH 107

Osiris, killed him and scattered his limbs. These were collected and restored
by Isis, save the phallus, which was restored only after farther search. Osiris
was brought back to life. Horus, the son of Isis and Osiris, defeated Seth, thus
ensuring the triumph of continuity and order in Egyptian life.53
A somewhat similar story is found in the Orphic version of Dionysos' birth:
The Orphics recounted that Dionysos was begotten from Zeus and Kore\
Persephone, rather than from Semele out of the thigh of Zeus. Zeus came to
her in the shape of a serpent, and the birth took place in a cave. The child was
horned. Two Titans, instigated by jealous Hera, had murdered the child. They
tore his body into seven pieces, and threw them into a cauldron standing on a
tripod. They boiled the flesh and then began roasting it over the fire on seven
spits. All limbs were burnt, with the exception of one organ – the heart. Pallas
Athena hid the organ in a covered basket-shaped winnowing-fan (liknon), and
then Zeus took charge of it.54 According to another version the object in the
liknon was a phallus made by Dionysos of a fig-tree.55 Zeus, drawn to the meal
53
 E.A. Wallis-Budge, Osiris and the Egyptian Religion of Resurrection, New York 1911,
rprt. 1961; Plutarch, Isis and Osiris, [Moralia V, ed. and tr. F.C. Babbitt, Loeb Classical Library
306, London and Cambridge 1969, pp. 6-191]; J.G. Griffiths, Plutarch's De Iside et Osiride,
Cardiff 1970; R.T. Rundle Clark, Myth and Symbol in Ancient Egypt, London 1959, pp. 97-156;
idem., The Origins of Osiris and His Cult, Leiden 1980; F. Cumont, Oriental Religions in Roman
Paganism, New York 1911 (rprt. 1956), pp. 73-102; M.W. Meyer (ed.), The Ancient Mysteries.
A Sourcebook of Sacred Texts, Philadelphia 1987, pp. 155-172. For differences between the myth
of Dionysos to that of Osiris, see W.F. Otto, Dionysos. Myth and Cult (tr. from the German
R.B. Palmer), Bloomington 1965, pp. 195-96.
54
 There are some variations in details (Rhea, or Demeter are named as Zeus' mates, instead
of Kore/Persephone; they also reassembled his members, restoring them to life; in some version
the new Dionysos is the one born by Zeus and Semele). The earliest sources on the “passion” of
the child Dionysos date from the 3rdc BCE (Euphorion, Callimachus), but they derive from ear-
lier materials. On this birth myth and “passion” see: C. Kerényi, The Gods of the Greeks (tr.
N. Cameron), London 1951, pp. 250-256; W.K.C. Guthrie, Orpheus and Greek Religion2, London
1952 (rprt. Princeton 1993), pp. 107-20; I.M. Linforth, The Arts of Orpheus, Berkeley-Los Ange-
les 1941, pp. 307-364: ch. V. “Myth of the Dismemberment of Dionysos; M. Detienne, Dio-
nysos mis à mort, Paris 1977, pp. 161-217: Dionysos orphic et le boilli rôti; W. Fauth, “Zag-
reus,” Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft /Neue Bearbeitung
begonnen von Georg Wissowa …., Bd. IX A 2, Stuttgart 1967, cols. 2242-43. D. Wachsmuth,
“Zagreus,”Der Kleine Pauly, Vol.. V, Munich 1979, cols. 1446-47. The documents pertaining to
this myth were analyzed by C.A. Lobeck, Aglauphamus siuede theologiae mysticae Graecorum
causis, Regimontii 1829, vol. I, pp. 555-586; E. Rohde, Psyché: le culte de l'ame chez les grecs
et leur croyance à l'immortalité (Fr. edition by A. Reymond), Paris 1952, pp. 358-362; 371-5.
55
 A liknon with a phallus hidden under a pile of fruit was carried on the head in festal proces-
sions – see Kerényi, op. cit., p. 256. On the liknon and its association with the Dionysiac myster-
ies see Nilsson, supra, n. 52, pp. 21-45. For phallus rite in the Feast of Osiris/Dionysos in Egypt
see Herodotus, Hist. II. 47-49, according to whom Melampus brought the cult of Dionysos and
the procession of the phallus into Greece from Egypt, and he got the knowledge of them from
Cadmus the Tyrian, who brought them to Boeotia. In Petra a phallus with a winged bust emerg-
ing from three lotus petals (total length 11.1 cm), interpreted as winged Eros, was found in al-
Katuteh excavations, dated to the 1st half of the 1st c. AD. See: N.I. Khairy, “Three Unique Ob-
jects from Petra,” PEQ 118 (1986), pp. 101-107, object # 1.The object seems to be a handle of a
larger vessel. The lotus petals suggest an Egyptian connection. A phallus rite is implied, but this
find might reflect an individual esoteric practice, rather than a Petraean public rite.
108 WAS DIONYSOS, THE WINE GOD, VENERATED BY THE NABATAEANS?

by the smell, hurled the Titans back into Tartaros with his lightning.56 As the
son of Zeus and Persephone he received the surname of chthonios! In this ca-
pacity the libation of wine was forbidden in his cult.57 According to Kerényi,
the horns worn by the ‘torn-up, boiled and roasted child' suggest that the vic-
tim in the Dionysiac Orphic mysteries was in fact a sacrificed kid. According
to him58 the kid was cooked in its mother's milk.59 This offering constituted
one of the two symbola of these mysteries.
The resemblance of the Orphic version of Dionysos' birth to the myth of
Osiris,60 and the association of both with the cult of the dead are evident. But
do we know something similar about Dushara? The answer, surprisingly per-
haps, is positive! This information is provided in the Panarion (51.22, 11, ed.
Holl 1922) of Epiphanius, a 4thc AD Palestinian monk and later bishop of
Salamis in Cyprus, recording pagan parallels to the Christian Epiphany (as cel-
ebrated on the night of January 5 to 6). First he speaks about a mystery cult in
the Temple of Kore in Alexandria, and then he speaks about the birth of
Dushara in Petra and in Elusa:
“First in Alexandria in the Koreion as they call it – a very large temple, the pre-
cinct of Kore. All night long they keep vigil, chanting to their idol with songs and
flutes. The nocturnal service over, at cock-crow torch-bearers go down into an
underground chamber and bring up a wooden image, sitting naked on a litter, with
the imprint of a golden cross on its forehead, two similar imprints on its hands,
and other two on its knees, all told, five golden marks impressed upon it. They
carry the image itself seven times round the central part of the temple with flutes,
timberls and hymns. And after the procession they bring it down again to its un-
derground quarters. If asked what they mean by this mystery, they make answer:
This day and hour Kore (that is, the Virgin), has given birth to Aion.”61
56
 After Zeus incinerated the Titans for their wicked deed, human beings were created from
the ashes. According to the Orphics human beings are bipartite: they are composed of a Titanic
nature (the fleshy body – soma – termed sema, or tomb, by the Orphics) and a Dionysian nature
(the immortal soul). The soul may be delivered from its shackles by means of a life devoted to
purity, and realized in true Dionysian destiny. See: J. Harrison, Prolegomena to the Study of
Greek religion2, London 1907 (rprt. 1980), pp. 363-658; Festugière, supra, n. 50, pp. 192-211;
Burkert, supra, n. 51 (1985), pp. 161-167, 222-225, 290-301; Meyer, supra, n. 53, pp. 99-109.
57
 Clermont-Ganneau, supra, note 21, pp. 393-394. According to Littmann, supra, n. 24, a
similar ban was in force in the cult of Osiris! both resembling thus, in this point, the Nabataean
god Shia‘ al-Qaum.
58
 C. Kerényi, Dionysos. Archetypal Image of Indestructible Life (tr. from the German by
R. Manheim) [Bollinger Series LXV.2], Princeton 1976, pp. 238-261; Detienne, supra, note 54.
59
 Cooking a kid in its mother's milk, forbidden by the Biblical Jewish law, is common
among the Arabs to this very day.
60
 Despite differences in details, Plutarch clearly attests to the resemblance between the two
myths. See Isis and Osyris 364F (tr. F.C. Babbitt, LCL, pp. 86-87): “Furthermore, the tales re-
garding the Titans and the rites celebrated by night agree with the accounts of the dismember-
ment of Osiris and his revivification and regenesis.”
61
 Translated by A.B. Cook, Zeus III.1, pp. 913-915. See also J.H. Mordtmann, “Dusares bei
Epiphanius,” ZDMG 29 (1875), pp. 99-106 (both reproduce the Greek text); F. Williams, The
Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis, Books II and III (Sects 47-80, De Fide), Leiden – New
York – Köln 1994, p. 51. On this passage of Epiphanius see also: P.M. Fraser, Ptolemaic Alexan-
dria II, Oxford 1972, pp. 336-7, note 79, §2. Fraser rejects a Ptolemaic origin for this festival,
proposed by several scholars.
 J. PATRICH 109

Kore of Alexandria is Isis. Aion is a personification of time, and here it

seems to mean that a new year was brought forth. In cult he is late, probably
Orphic. Christian and Neoplatonic authors identify Aion with Dionysos.62 He
is represented quite rarely on works of art, yet, in the geographical region at
our concern he pops up in the mid-third c. in a magnificent mosaic floor from
Philippopolis – the city founded by the Roman emperor Philip the Arab on the
site of his native village – Shahba, in Southern Syria. Aion is depicted as a
youth holding the zodiac circle.63
Back to Epiphanius:
“Again, at Petra (the metropolis of Arabia, that is the Edom mentioned in the
Scriptures) in the idol-house there the same thing takes place. They hymn the vir-

62
 Greek Aion is similar to the Iranian Zervan Akarana, with whom the Orphics assimilated
their Chronos or Phanes-Dionysos. See W.K.C. Guthrie, Orpheus and Greek Religion2, London
1952 (rprt. Princeton 1993), pp. 226-228. The son of Isis, Horus, is regularly identified with
Apollo, who is, on the other hand, identified with Liber Pater/Dionysios, both being two distinct
aspects of Sol/Helios. See Macrobius (Sat. I.18.1-10). Macrobius, seemingly referring to the
same Alexandrian rite described by Epiphanius, mentions there that the Egyptians use to bring
forth from a shrine a little child, on an appointed day in the winter. On the relationship between
Dionysos and Apollo see also Otto (supra, note 53), pp. 202-8. On Aion in general see: Paulys
Realencyclopadie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft /Neue Bearbeitung begonnen von Georg
Wissowa …., Bd. I.1 (= vol 1), Stuttgart 1893, cols. 1042-43 (Wernicke) and ibid. Suppl. Bd. III,
Stuttgart 1918, cols. 64-68 (C. Lackeit); Der Kleine Pauly. Lexikon der Antike, Bd. 1, Munich
1979, cols. 185-188 (W. Fauth); The Oxford Classical Dictionary2 (supra, note 49), pp. 32-33
(H.J. Rose); E.C.E. Owen, “aî¬n and aîÉniov,” Journal of Theological Studies 37 (1936), pp.
265-283, 390-404; A.D. Nock, “A Vision of Mandulis Aion,” HThR 27 (1934), 53ff.63 [= Es-
says on Religion and Ancient World, vol. I Oxford 1972, pp. 377-96, esp. pp. 388ff]. On Aion as
Osiris and Adonis alike, the gods of death and renewal, see Suidae Lexicon II, 391f. and 579f. ed.
Adler. This last passage (s.v. ¨Jraískov I) is explicitly derived from Damascius' Life of
Isidorus. See also: R. Merkelbach, Isisfeste in griechisch-römischer Zeit, Meisenheim 1963, pp.
47-50 (on p. 48 Kore is identified by him with Isis); L. Kakosy, “Osiris-Aion,” Oriens Antiquus
3 (1964), pp. 15-25; G. Bowersock, Hellenism in Late Antiquity, Ann Arbor 1990, pp. 21-25. For
evidence for a personified Time among the Arabs, Nock (ibid., p. 390, note 134) refers to R.
Eisler, Archiv für Religionswissenschaft XV, 1912, p. 630, citing J. Wellhausen, Reste
arabischen Heidentums, p. 66. In Nonnos, Dionysiaca XLI.180ff., the age old Aion (VII.22; 67)
puts off the burden of age, like a snake throwing off his rope-like feeble old scales, and grows
young again. In works of art, as well, he can be represented as a bearded person, or as a beardless
youth (see next note). In P. Oxy. 1380. 72 Isis is said to be called Kore in the Metelite nome of
Egypt.
63
 E. Will, “Une nouvelle mosaique de Chahba-Philippopolis,” Les Annales Archéologiques
Arabes Syriennes 3 (1953), pp. 27-48, Pl. 1, and Fig. 3. See also: J. Charbonneaux, “Aiôn et
Philippe l'Arabe,” Melanges de l'Ecole Française de Rome, Antiquité 72 (1960), pp. 263ff.
Charbonneaux recognizes several iconographical features suggesting that Aion of the mosaic
floor is actually a representation of the emperor, in accord with a long established imperial propa-
ganda, since Augustan times to associate the cult of Aion (Lat. Aeternitas), with the power of
Rome. The millennium of Rome, celebrated in great pomp by Phillip in 248 CE, gave special
significance to Roman eternity. In the 3rd c similar assimilation are depicted on medallions issued
by Severus Alexander and by Gordian III, the predecessors of Philip. In a mid 3rdc mosaic floor
in Antioch Aion is depicted as a bearded male, holding the zodiac circle: Antioch on the Orontes
III (1941), 11-12, fig. 10, plan IV 257, 176-177, nos. 110-111, pl. 50-51. On his depiction in
works of art at large, and their significance see: M. Le Glay, Lexicon Iconographicum
Mythologiae Classicae I.1 – Aion, Zürich and Münich 1981, pp. 399-411; I.2, pp. 310-319;
D. Levi, “Aion,” Hesperia 13 (1944), pp. 269-314.
110 WAS DIONYSOS, THE WINE GOD, VENERATED BY THE NABATAEANS?

gin in the speech of Arabia, calling her in Arabic Chaamou, that is “Kore”, or
“Virgin,” and her offspring Dousares, that is “Only-begotten of the Lord.”
In the town of Elousa also the same thing takes place that night as happens there
in Petra and Alexandria.”64

The equivalence in these passages is between Aion/Dionysos and Dushara.

Interestingly, under that same emperor Philip, this time in Bostra and Adraa,
not far from Philippopolis, new coins were issued, commemorating the institu-
tion of games in honor of Dushara – the Actia Dusharia.65 Aion of the
Philippopolis mosaic might have been conceived locally as the interpretatio
graecae of Dushara. Given the assimilation indicated above between Aion and
the emperor in this mosaic, and the equivalence in Epiphanius between Aion
and Dousares, it seems that the Actia Dusharia could have been conceived not
only as a renovation of an ancient Arab rite, but also as its association with the
emperor's cult and with the Roman eternity – a point nobody commented on
so far.
A unique object found in Petra, in al-Katuteh excavations, dated to the 1st
half of the 1st c. AD depicts a nude young male seated on a cube-like couch,
4cm wide.66 The three sides are decorated by crosses diagonally incised.
Khairy had interpreted it as a depiction of the Egyptian dwarf Bes, depicted
generally standing. Since the head is missing, certain identification is impossi-
ble; the body features of a youth cast doubt about this identification. Is it an
image of Dionysos / Dushara sitting naked on a litter, like Aion's image in
Alexandria? This brings to mind the enthronement of Dionysos the child. Ac-
cording to Nonnos, Dionysos occupied his father's throne not long after his
birth.67

Dushara was the protector of the tombs. This is clearly manifested in the
tomb inscriptions of Madain Salih, and of the Turkmeniye tomb in Petra.
These are phrased as legal foundation texts containing stipulations about the
use of the tomb, the inheritance of the tomb, the division of the tomb, and the
fines relating to misuse of the tomb. Dushara is called upon in 10 inscriptions
(in 5 together with other deities), to protect the tomb and of those burried in-
side. Thus, in the Turkmaniye tomb inscription we read:
64
 Supra, n. 61. On this passage of Epiphanius see also: J. Retsö, The Arabs in Antiquity.
Their History from the Assyrians to the Ummayads, London and New York 2003, pp. 510-511.
Mandulis Aion discussed by Nock (supra, note 62), was a solar god, venerated in Talmis, in
Nubia, unlike Alexandrian Aion (Nock, ibid., p. 395). Thus it would not be appropriate to argue
here that the equivalence between Aion and Dushara reflected in Epiphanius' narrative echoes
Strabo's statement that the Nabataeans worshiped Helios. (On pp. 600-622 Retsö discusses the
Arabs' religion).
65
 A. Kindler, The Coinage of Bostra, London 1983, pp. 58-60; Patrich, supra n. 11, p. 74.
66
 N.I. Khairy, “Three Unique Objects from Petra,” PEQ 118 (1986), pp. 101-107, object # 2.
67
 Nonnos, Dionysiaca VI.172-3 (horned Zagreus). A relief of the horned child Dionysos en-
throned is depicted (among other scenes), on a 5th c. ivory pyxis from Bologna. See: Kerényi,
supra note 58, pp. 262-72, and Ill. 66B.
 J. PATRICH 111

“This tomb and the large burial chamber within it, and … are sacred and dedi-
cated to Dushara, the god of our lord (‫ )דושרא אלה מראנא‬and his sacred throne
and all the gods, (as) in the documents of consecration according to their contents.
And it is the responsibility of Dushara and his throne and all the gods that it
should be done as in these documents of consecration and nothing of all that is in
them shall be changed or removed and none shall be buried in this tomb except
whoever was written for him an authorization for burial in these documents of
consecration for ever.”68

The Nabataean necropoleis of Petra and Madain Salih, with their impressive
façades, and monumental triclinia indicate that ancestors' cult, afterlife and
immortality were issues of great concern for them. This is also clearly re-
flected in a short Arabic verse written in Nabataean script on a big rock found
not far from Avdat, perhaps the sole remnant of Nabataean poetry. It says:
“And if death claim us, let me not be claimed. And if affliction seeks, let it not
seek us.”69 The deification of king Obodas, and the occurrence of royal names
as semi-theophoric components in personal names, are other indicators. To
these we may add another one: on the attic of the Nabataean tomb known as
the “Tomb with the Armor” was depicted the head of Humbaba – the Su-
merian hideous-faced demon, the guardian of the Cedar Forest of the Ama-
nus – the land of the immortals.70 Humbaba was killed by Gilgamesh and
Endiku, who cut off his head. This story is given in a Sumerian text, the theme
of which is the search for immortality.71 It seems that the Nabataean had a de-
veloped doctrine of afterlife. Painted bowls with concave bottom, which pre-
vented a mundane daily use, placed in the tombs, and used in funeral meals,
should be interpreted perhaps in this spirit, as donations for the afterlife. Their
68
 Tr. Healey, supra, n. 24, pp. 238-9. The tomb might have been the property of a temple.
Similarly in tomb inscriptions from Madain Salih (Healey's translations): MS 1:4,7 – “…and
may Dushara curse anybody who buries in this tomb anyone except those inscribed above …..
And whoever does other than what is written above shall be liable to the god Dushara regarding
the inviolability referred to above, for the full price of a thousand Haretite selas, and to our lord
king Haretat for the same amount. …” In MS 11:6, 8 – “…and may Dushara, the god of our
lord, and all the gods curse whoever removes this Washuh from this burial-niche for ever. And
may the curse of Dushara and all the gods bear witness to this. …” And in MS 16:3, 8 – “…and
may Dushara and his throne and Allat of Ámnad and Mantu and her Qaysha curse anyone who
sells this tomb, or buy it, or … removes from it body or limb or who buries in it anyone other
than PN …. And whoever does not act according to what is written above shall be liable to
Dushara and Hubalu and to Manotu in the sum of 5 shamads and to the exorcist-priest (‫)אפכלא‬
for a fine of a thousand Haretite sela‘s ….” One should note that there is no quest for resurrec-
tion in these texts.
69
 A. Negev (with contributions by J. Naveh and S. Shaked), “Obodas the God,” Israel Ex-
ploration Journal 36 (1986), pp. 56-60. For a different reading see: J.A. Bellamy, “Arabic
Verses from the First/Second Century: The Inscription of ‘En ‘Avdat”, Journal of Semitic Stud-
ies 35 (1990), 73-79.
70
 J. S. McKenzie, A. T. Reyes and A. Schmidt-Colinet, “Faces in the Rock at Petra and
Medain Saleh,” PEQ 130 (1998), 35-50.
71
 The text is entitled in ANET “Gilgamesh and the Land of Living”. See also S.H. Hooke,
Middle Eastern Mythology, pp. 37, 51-52. A.R. George, The Epic of Gilgamesh, Bath 1999,
pp. 1-100.
112 WAS DIONYSOS, THE WINE GOD, VENERATED BY THE NABATAEANS?

floral motives might be related to the landscape of the realm beyond.72 This
context – the cult of the dead – lends another dimension to the prevalence of
the cult of Isis in Perta, assimilated with the Greek Kore (or with her mother
Demeter), and with the Nabataean al-{Uzza. Isis is depicted in relief on the
Khazneh, in local terra cotta figurines, in cultic niches and her diadem crowns
some betyls. A statuette, ca. 20 cm high, depicting a headless Egyptian priest
holding a small figure of the mummified god Osiris, was found in the Temple
of the Winged Lions, dedicated to the cult of al-‘Uzza\Isis.73
The common denominator for Dushara, Dionysos chthonios and Osiris
should be sought in the cult of the dead, afterlife and resurrection, rather than
in vegetation and wine. The necropoleis of Petra and Madain Salih are crystal
clear evidences to the prominent role the cult of the dead and the quest for af-
terlife had among the Nabataeans.74 The short statement of Isidorus of Alexan-
dria \ Damascius about Dushara, as well as Herodotus' words about the Arab
god Orotalt, both being assimilated with Dionysos, should be interpreted in
this spirit. Such interpretation permits comprehending what made Greek au-
thors, outsiders to the societies they were describing, to assimilate their princi-
pal god with Dionysos, yet we still lack an internal Arab or Nabataean testi-
mony to tell us whether such interpretation is indeed accurate.
Interestingly, in both cases, set nine centuries apart, the assimilation is de-
rived from Orphic perception of Dionysos among pre-Socratic philosophers,
revived among Neoplatonic sophists.75 For Damascius he was a supreme di-
72
 Supra, note 14.
73
 M.J. Roche, “Le culte d'Isis et l'influence Égyptienne à Pétra,” Syria 64 (1987), pp. 217-
222; Patrich, supra, n.11, pp. 104-106; F. Zayadine, “L’iconographie d’Isis à Pétra,” MEFRA
103 (1991), 283-306; A. I. Meza, “The Egyptian Statuette in Petra and the Isis Cult Con-
nection,” ADAJ (1996) 40, pp. 167-176. See also: H. Donner, Isis in Petra. Leipzig 1995;
H. Merklein and R. Wenning, “Ein Verehrungplatz der Isis in Petra neu untersucht,” ZDPV 114
(1998), 162-178; K. Parlasca, “Bemerkungen zum Isiskult in Petra,” in: U. Hübner et al. (eds.),
Nach Petra und ins Königreich der Nabatäer. Notizen von Reisegefährten. Für Manfred Lindner
zum 80. Geburtstag. Bodenheim 1998, pp. 64-69; Healey, supra, n. 6, pp. 137-140. A Nabataean
inscription in Sidd el-Mreriyyeh, next to the niche housing Isis enthroned (J.T. Milik and
J. Starcky, “Inscriptions, récemment découvertes à Pétra,” ADAJ 20 (1975), pp. 120-123,
Pl. 44.1-2), suggests that the goddess was venerated by the clan of the Hobal (or Hubal).
74
 Significant as these aspects are, there were other aspects to Dushara, mentioned only
briefly in this article, hence his assimilation with Zeus, Helios and Ares.
75
 Throughout its transmigration over the centuries, one particular episode in the Orphic
myth, the rending of Dionysos at the hands of the Titans, enjoyed the greatest celebrity and noto-
riety (supra, n. 54). This myth, implying the ritual death, dismemberment and reconstitution of
the initiate, was used by Plato to underscore his analysis of selfhood and self-transcendence.
From this Platonic Orphic theology a Neoplatonic exegetical tradition came into being, paying
particular attention to the Dionysos episode. Damascius' Peri Archon (Doubts and Solutions
Concerning First Principles) had a prominent place in this exegetical tradition. See: S. Rappe,
Reading Neoplatonism, Cambridge 1999, pp. 143-166: Ch. 7. Transmigration of a Myth: Orphic
Texts and Platonic Contexts; J. Pépin, “Plotin et le miroir de Dionysos (Enn. IV, 3 [27], 12, 1-
2),” Revue Internationale de Philosophie 1970, pp. 304-320. On Damascius and Orphic mythol-
ogy see in particular: L. Brisson, “Damascius et l'Orphisme,” in: Ph. Borgeaud (ed.), Orphisme
et Orphée, en l'honneur de Jean Rudhardt. Recherches et Rencontres 3 (1991), pp. 157-209.
 J. PATRICH 113

vinity, in charge of the Creation within the cosmos, being placed while still a
child to rule over the younger encosmic gods;76 anthropogonia was in particu-
lar associated with him. His earlier association with wine drinking had for long
became a marginal detail (though not denied). Dionysos of Late Antiquity
seems to have been the preeminent pagan god, a very different divinity from
the classical figure, embodying in himself all the other gods.77 For Damascius,
the sole authority assimilating Dionysos with Dushara, Dionysos was already a
supreme god, on the scale Dushara had been among the Nabataeans, in line
with the assimilation of Dushara with Zeus, or with Helios, in earlier centuries.
Due to changing political and economical conditions, the Nabataeans under-
went a severe transformation from a nomadic to a settled society. The tradi-
tional bans against building houses, planting fruit-bearing trees, or drinking
wine, mentioned early in the 4th c. BCE by Hieronimus of Cardia,78 were later
ignored by many. From the beginning of the 1st c. BCE and on, a sumptuous
city of public buildings and spacious houses was constructed on both sides of
Wadi Musa. Amphorae imported from the Greek islands suggest that wine was
consumed there already in the 2nd and 3rd c. BCE. The city center was sur-
rounded by irrigated gardens with fruit bearing trees, and at Bayda, at a dis-
tance of only 5km from Petra, there are indications of viticulture.79 All these
have nothing to do with a transformation of Dushara into a wine-bibbing
Dionysos, as was suggested by some scholars. Dushara, known also as Shai‘
al-Qaum, was throughout a wine-shunning god.

Asclepiades, one of the philosophers with whom Isidorus was in relations, was engaged in writ-
ing a treatise seeking general accord between all theologies (Suidae Lexicon, s.v. Jraflskov I,
II, 580.5-6, ed. Adler; Brisson, op. cit., p. 167). This treatise of Asclepiades, rather than the
chronicle of Porphyrius of Tyre, or the Arabica of Glaucus might have been the source of the
short statement that Dousares is Dionysos among the Nabataeans, preserved in Hesychius.
76
 Brisson, op. cit., pp. 188-90. Already earlier, Proclus, the Neoplatonic philosopher (410 or
412-485 CE), head of the academy of Athens until shortly before Isidorus and Damascius got
there, refers to an Orphic tradition conceiving Dionysos as king of all gods for six generations.
Procli in Platonis Timaeum, ed. E. Diehl, Leipzig 1906, vol. 3, ch. 168; The Oxford Dictionary
of Byzantium, New York – Oxford 1991, pp. 631 and 1730, s.v. Dionysos and Proklos respec-
tively.
77
 Bowersock, supra n. 62, pp. 41-54.
78
 Supra, note 16.
79
 See next article by Zeyad Al-Salameen, “Nabataean winepresses from Bayda, Southern
Jordan”, pp. 115-127 below. A sound chronology for these structures is crucial of course for any
historical conclusions. Grape pips were found in the ez-Zantur excavations at Petra, but the evi-
dence for cultivation was not conclusive. See: Ch. Jacquat and D. Martinoli, “Vitis vinifera L.:
wild or cultivated? Study of the grape pips found at Petra, Jordan; 150 B.C. – A.D. 400”, Veg-
etation History and Archaeobotany 8 [1999], pp. 25-30 (I am indebted to Prof. Avi Shmida of the
Hebrew University of Jerusalem for this reference).

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