The Temple of the Winged Lions, Petra. Reassessing a Nabataean Ritual Complex
Résumé
The Temple of the Winged Lions (TWL) in Petra is a
Nabataean- and Roman-era ritual complex thought to
have been founded in the early first century CE (banner photograph and fig. 1). It fell out of use following a major
earthquake in 363 CE. This is a contextually rich site for the
study of ancient ritual, economy, and society in the Nabataean
and Greco-Roman world and part of a larger complex including workshops and domestic spaces. The deity (or deities) once
worshiped there remains unknown. The most common suggestion is that the temple was dedicated to Al-‘Uzza, the Arabian
divinity whose Greek equivalent was Aphrodite.