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Graven Images

Related Images

  • Fig. 1 - Bust of Zeus-Dushara, 1st century (B)CE, Petra, Jordan - Department of Antiquities, Amman - [JP 532](https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/771901).
  • Fig. 2 - Rock-cut Nabataean idol block in niche located at Petra, Jordan - [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nabataean_betyl_4.JPG)

The Nabataeans worshiped a number of gods, whom they represented in different ways. As is the case among the Greeks and Romans, some representations are figurative and anthropomorphic: the gods look like people. But the Nabataeans also shared a practice more common among Semitic-speaking peoples of the Levant: non-figurative representations of gods, “aniconism”. Aniconic slabs or even unshaped rocks were viewed as manifestations of the deity. Some scholars believe that the figurative depictions are due to foreign influence, with the aniconic tradition being more original; others just note that the Nabataeans used both types of representation side by side.Peter Alpass, The Religious Life of Nabataea (Religions in the Graeco-Roman World 175; 2013; Leiden: Brill), 229–232. This stele combines both traditions, representing a goddess with a stylized face in the shape of an idol slab.