Dushara

Supreme 'Lord of the Shara' and dynastic god of the Nabataeans; aniconic mountain/weather god of Petra worshipped as a stone baetyl.

Domains

• supreme sky
• fertility

Powers

• Stand as dynastic god of the Nabataean kings
• Reside aniconically within a squared stone block

Epithets

• 𐢅𐢈𐢔𐢛𐢀 nabataean · dwšrʾ'Lord of the Shara (mountains)' — supreme dynastic god of PetraHegra/Mada'in Salih tomb inscriptions (CIS II 197 ff.) (primary)
• 𐢍𐢀 𐢊𐢄𐢀 𐢊𐢍𐢃𐢈 nabataean · dʾ gyʾDushara 'A'ra of Bosra' — his Bostran cult-bynameJ. Healey, The Religion of the Nabataeans (2001) (secondary)
• Actia Dusaria Greek/Latin (coin legend) · Aktia Dousaria · cultthe Actian Dushara (of the games)Bostra and Adraa coin legends; Healey, The Religion of the Nabataeans (secondary)

Relations

• spouse: al-UzzaReciprocal of nabataean_al_uzza.spouse — Venus-goddess honored as a bride of Dushara in Nabataean cult.John F. Healey, The Religion of the Nabataeans: A Conspectus (2001) (secondary)
• spouse: AllatReciprocal of nabataean_allat.spouse — 'The Goddess', paired with Dushara as his bride in Nabataean dedications.John F. Healey, The Religion of the Nabataeans: A Conspectus (2001) (secondary)
• ally: ManatReciprocal of nabataean_manat.ally — Invoked jointly with Dushara in the Hegra tomb inscriptions to curse violators.John F. Healey, The Religion of the Nabataeans: A Conspectus (2001) (secondary)
• interpretatio: DionysusReciprocal of greek_hesiod_dionysus.interpretatio — Hesychius glosses Dusares as the Nabataeans' Dionysus; wine-god reading fits Nabataean viticulture. Breaks on Dushara's aniconic betyl cult and supreme dynastic role, which Greeks elsewhere read as Zeus.Hesychius, Lexicon s.v. Δουσάρης (primary); J. F. Healey, The Religion of the Nabataeans (2001) (secondary)

Sources

• existence: Nabataean inscriptions, Petra and Hegra; Khirbet et-Tannur (primary); Healey, The Religion of the Nabataeans: A Conspectus (secondary)