Manat, also transliterated Manah, was a pre-Islamic Arabian goddess of fate, fortune, time and destiny, her name derived from Arabic roots meaning to mete out or determine; she was also thought to oversee graves and protect burial sites. She was counted among Mecca's three chief goddesses alongside her sisters Al-Lat and Al-Uzza, both already recorded on this atlas, and was considered the oldest of the three, worshipped especially by the Banu Aus and Banu Khazraj with a major shrine between Mecca and Medina. The Nabataeans knew her as Manotu, and her name appears beside Dushara's in curse formulas within tomb inscriptions at Hegra.
Facts
Attestation
Era of Attestation Veneration TodayHistorically attested; no continuous cult 1 HistoricityNot a historical person: a divine or other-than-human being 1 Belief
TheologyPolytheistic: many gods 1 Function
Domain / Function Sources
1. The Facts on File Encyclopedia of World Mythology and Legend
Anthony S. Mercatante, revised and expanded by James R. Dow, Facts on File
2. The Religion of the Nabataeans: A Conspectus
John F. Healey, Brill, 2001Manat, pre-Islamic Arabian inscriptionsView the Source Reader Challenges (0)
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