The pre-Islamic goddess Al-Lat

Discussion in 'Ancient Coins' started by Jochen1, Apr 23, 2019.

  1. Jochen1

    Jochen1 Well-Known Member

    Dear Friends of ancient mythology!

    Here I want to present an interesting interpretation of this coin:

    The Coin:
    Arabia, Philippopolis, Philipp I., AD 244-249
    AE 30, 17.30g, 30°
    obv. AVTOK K M IOVΛI ΦIΛIΠΠOC CEB
    Bust, draped and cuirassed, laureate, r.
    rev. ΦIΛIΠΠOΛITΩN - KOΛΩNIAC
    Roma(?), in long clothes, helmeted, std. l., holding spear in l. hand and eagle
    with two small figures in outstretched r. hand; shield aside
    in field l. and r. S - C
    ref. Spijkerman 3
    rare, EF
    Pedigree: ex David Hendin
    philippopolis_arabiae_philippI_Spijkerman3.jpg
    Note:
    The meaning of the two figures is unknown. Because it seems to be a dynastic issue it could be Philip's father and Philip himself(?).

    About this coin:
    In addition to promoting his immediate family, Philip I also lavished honours upon his deceased father, Julius Marinus, whom he deified. Philips family hailed from a somewhat obscure town in Arabia Trachonitis (the modern village of Shahba, Syria) situated about 60 miles east of the Sea of Galilee and 25 miles north of Bostra, the capital of Roman Arabia. Philip took full advantage of his new position as emperor to honour his hometown, which he elevated to a Roman colonia, and renamed it Philippopolis.

    Beyond these honorary upgrades, Philip made capital improvements in his hometown. He built a temple for the worship of his now-deified father, and had numerous mosaics, a theatre, baths and temples constructed. The ruins of these survive today, and it is likely that most – if not all – were completed under Philip's watch. Since the town was not on a major road or trade route, its prosperity and fame eventually faded.
    The coinage of Philippopolis was an isolated event, as no coins had been struck there before Philip's reign, and none were produced afterward. Since no die links between this city coinage and any other was documented in Konrad Krafts monumental 1972 study of provincial die links, it is possible the coins were actually produced in Philippopolis, rather than at a larger regional mint. A further peculiarity is that even though Philippopolis was a Roman colonia, its coin inscriptions (except the formulaic SC) are rendered in Greek

    The reverse of this type is known with a seated goddess and a standing goddess. Though the standing goddess still merits her identification as Roma, the seated goddess is perhaps better identified as Allat based upon her similarity to statues found at Palmyra and Suweida. Allat was a remarkably old fertility/mother goddess representing the earth. Her worship was important to agriculture, and she belonged to the trinity of desert goddesses, the other two being al-Uzza, the morning-star goddess, and Manat, the goddess of fate and time (from Numismatica Ars Classica).
    Allat was equated to Athena and worshipped especially by the military personnel. So evidence suggests that the figure on the reverse is rather Athena/Allat than Roma. This would match the fact that in the temple of Allat at Palmyra a statue of Athena has been found.
    Athena Allat temple Palmyra.jpg

    Al-Lat:
    Al-Lat was a pre-Islamic Arabian goddess who was one of the three chief goddesses of Mecca. She is one of three goddesses that the pre-Islamic Meccans referred to as "The Daughters of God".

    In the Koran, she is mentioned along with al-Uzza and Manat in Sura 53:19-23.
    According to Bob Trubshaw, Allat was a triple goddess of the moon, similar to Demeter. She had three aspects, each corresponding to a different phase of the moon: Kore, the crescent or maiden; al-Uzza, the full moon or mother; and Manat, the waning moon or wise woman. The phase of al-Uzza was worshipped at the Kaaba and served by seven priests called 'Beni Shaybah' (sons of the Old Woman). Worshippers circled the stone seven times, once for each of the ancient seven planets, or like Ishtar who travelled through seven gates of the underworld. to get to her sister Ereshkigal, named Allatu too. Allatu is suggested an older name of Allat.

    Her name occurs in early Safaitic graffiti (Safaitic han-'Ilat "the Goddess") and she was worshipped by the Nabateans of Petra and the people of Hatra, who equated her with the Greek Athena and the Roman Minerva. According to Wellhausen, the famous Islamist, they believed that Allat was the mother of Hubal (and hence the mother-in-law of Manat).

    The Greek historian Herodotus, writing in the 5th century BC, considers her the equivalent of Aphrodite:"The Assyrians call Aphrodite Mylitta, the Arabians Alilat, and the Persians Mitra" (Histories I:131). According to Herodotus, the ancient Arabians believed in only two gods: "They believe in no other gods except Dionysos 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 Dionysos, Orotalt; and Aphrodite, Alilat." (Histories III:38).

    Acoording to Wellhausen, names containing Allat were frequently met in the Palmyrian region, where e.g. the son of Odenathus and Zenobia was Vab-allatus. Comparison of names results in hints that in later times (but pre-Islamic too) the name al-Lat merged in Allah. In contradiction to the theory of merging the contemporary discussion about the early times of Islam debates wether al-Lat could be one of the daughters of Allah. But this contradicts the monotheism of the Islam. Remarkable nevertheless is the spelling of both names. By the lonely addition of two dots over the last letter of 'Allah' the 'h' becomes a 't', and we have 'Allat'.

    According to the 'Book of Idols (Kitab al-Asnam)' by Hisham Ibn al-Kalbi, the pre-Islamic Arabs believed that Allat resided in the Kaaba and also had an idol inside the sanctuary: Her custody was in the hands of the Banu-Attab ibn-Malik of the Thaqif, who had built an edifice over her. The Quraysh, as well as all the Arabs, were used to worship Allat. They also used to name their children after her, calling them Zayd-Allat and Taym-Allat. Allat continued to be venerated until the Thaqif embraced Islam, when the Apostle of God dispatched al-Mughirah ibn-Shubah, who destroyed her and burnt her temple to the ground.

    The Quraysh was the dominant tribe of Mecca upon the appearance of the religion of Islam. It was the tribe to which the Prophet Mohammed belonged, as well as the tribe that led the initial opposition to his message.

    Originally we have some different version of the Koran, as we have from the Gospels
    as well. The definite version was compiled by the Caliph Osman in the 7th century AD. Is it possible that the original Koran contained verses which were eliminated because they were against the orthodox belief? We know of the famous folk memory that not only the Archangel Gabriel but Satan too has supplied the Prophet with some verses. By these verses the three pagan goddesses al-Lat, al-Uzza and Manat were called 'high-flying cranes', and seen as a kind of mediators between men and God. Because these local deities of Mecca in the first time were tolerated by the Prophet, the people of Mecca followed his appeal to prostrate before God.

    When later the Archangel Gabriel informed the Prophet that these verses came from Satan they were eliminated. The legend of these verses - being the background of Salman Rushdies disputed novel of AD 1988 - is dicussed controversially until today. Most of the Muslim scholars deny this story as being fictional. But some western Islamists tend to accept it as true. It would be the evidence that Mohammed has convinced the people of Mecca of the magnanimity of Allah by flatteries for their three goddesses (from 'Der Spiegel', Nr.52, 22.12.07, 'Der Koran')


    I have added the pic of the statue of Athena from the temple of Allat at Palmyra, and the pic of a plate showing Allat sitting on a camel.
    al_lat.jpg

    Literature:

    (1) 'Der Koran', in ''Der Spiegel', Nr.52, 22.12.07
    (2) Wellhausen, Julius: Reste arabischen Heidentums, DeGruyter Verlag. Berlin,
    Leipzig. 2. Ausgabe 1927.
    (2) Salman Rushdie, Die Satanischen Verse

    Online Sources:
    (3) http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altarabische_Gottheiten
    (4) http://www.indigogroup.co.uk/edge/blston2.htm
    (5) http://hindustan.org/forum/archive/index.php/t-2955.html
    (6) http://www.nabataea.net/gods.html (The Nabatean Pantheon)
    (7) http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Lat
    (8) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allat
    (9) http://www.muslim.org/islam/allah.htm

    Best regards
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Apr 23, 2019
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  3. Parthicus

    Parthicus Well-Known Member

    I don't have anything substantive to add, just wanted to thank you for such an interesting and well-researched article.
     
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  4. Ryro

    Ryro Trying to remove supporter status

    Agreed! Another beautiful coin and excellent read!!
     
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  5. ancient coin hunter

    ancient coin hunter 3rd Century Usurper

    Thank you for the thoughtful article. I have often that there is a contradiction in Islam between the monotheistic declaration and the sura where God is reputed to have 99 aspects. Are these other faces of God representative of an early version of the revealed texts which honored older gods of the Arabian Peninsula and the MidEast?

    I also have wondered for a long time about Elagabal's name - Allah Gebel or Allah's mountain and the fact that the texts of Islam were delivered to Muhammad in a cave on a mountain. The black stone of Emesa adds to the mystery as we have the black stone of the Ka'aba as a potential parallel. Was this Syriac religion influential in the development of Islam, to some extent, no matter how tenuous?
     
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  6. Roman Collector

    Roman Collector Well-Known Member

    Indeed, a thought-provoking article, @Jochen . Seated goddesses wearing a helmet and holding a spear are sometimes difficult to identify with absolute certainty.

    Consider these two issues of Pautalia in Thrace. Both are the same denomination (same size and weight, anyway) and both are of Faustina Jr. The figure on the reverse of this one is clearly Athena, for she is holding an owl. Note she has a shield at the base of her throne.


    Faustina Jr Pautalia Athena.jpg

    But the figure on the reverse of this coin holds a statuette of Nike and there is no shield at her feet. Is she Roma (Ruzicka)? Athena? Some local Thracian goddess?

    Faustina Jr Pautalia Roma.jpg
     
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  7. 7Calbrey

    7Calbrey Well-Known Member

    Everything seems vague here. Ideas seem like mere suppositions. Sorry to say that, but we're used to talk with open heart. Out of respect, I wonder how can we easily link some myths with beliefs of a monotheist religion. We know that the ten commandments were revealed to Moses on a mountain. So what? Elagabalus has nothing to do here. His most referred name was also Helio gabalus { Mountain of the sun, or maybe worshiper of the sun).
    As far as I know, Al Uzza was the Arab goddess of love, before Islam just like Astarte for the Phoenicians or Venus for the Romans.
    I believe that the seated goddess on the OP coin is Roma. Any other opinion needs to be much more corroborated. Though Mythology studies myths, it remains a science or a branch of History. Myth and fiction in the large meaning would lead to ignorance. Sometimes , knowing too much could lead unwillingly to blindness. I don't know.. But we always ought to stick to strict scientific evidence in research with enough common sense and seriousness along with some modesty towards those who always know more than us.
     
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  8. Jochen1

    Jochen1 Well-Known Member

    First of all: Thank you very much, 7Calbrey, for your contribution! But I should add this:

    (1) I am not a scientist, nor do I claim that my article meets scientific standards. In this sense I am a dilettante, a lover!
    (2) My goal is always to learn as much as possible about my coins and to collect information that is unknown to many.
    (3) I hope that other collectors will also think about their coins so that they do not remain simple metal discs.
    (4) If any articles that I have written about coins from my collection do not correspond to the latest state of the art, I have the satisfaction that one or the other facts are learned which were unknown to him before and to which he can tie.
    (5) And finally, through an open discussion, which hopefully will develop, something like a new knowledge will emerge.

    Jochen
     
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  9. 7Calbrey

    7Calbrey Well-Known Member

    I'm more than satisfied with your convincing and gentle reply. And of course, I hope , as you said, that a new knowledge will emerge through an open discussion. Cheers.
     
  10. Loong Siew

    Loong Siew Well-Known Member

    Excellent write up
     
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