Arab Kingdom of Nabataea, Anonymous
Bronze 14mm (2.58 grams) Petra mint, circa 270-72 B.C.
Reference: HGC 10, 671; Meshorer, Nabataea 1-4
Helmeted head of Athena right.
Nike advancing left, holding wreath and cornucopia; crescent above Λ in field to left.

The north-Arabian kingdom of the Nabataeans, with their capital at Petra, continued in existence until the early years of the 2nd Century A.D., when emperor Trajan created the Roman province of Arabia.

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In Greek religion and mythology , Athena or Athene, also referred to as Pallas Athena/Athene , is the goddess of wisdom, courage, inspiration, civilization, law and justice, just warfare, mathematics, strength, strategy, the arts, crafts, and skill. Minerva is the Roman goddess identified with Athena.

Athena as the goddess of philosophy became an aspect of the cult in Classical Greece during the late 5th century B.C. She is the patroness of various crafts, especially of weaving , as Athena Ergane, and was honored as such at festivals such as Chalceia . The metalwork of weapons also fell under her patronage. She led battles (Athena Promachos or the warrior maiden Athena Parthenos) as the disciplined, strategic side of war, in contrast to her brother Ares , the patron of violence, bloodlust and slaughter—"the raw force of war". Athena's wisdom includes the cunning intelligence (metis) of such figures as Odysseus . Not only was this version of Athena the opposite of Ares in combat, it was also the polar opposite of the serene earth goddess version of the deity, Athena Polias.

Athena appears in Greek mythology as the patron and helper of many heroes, including Odysseus , Jason , and Heracles . In Classical Greek myths, she never consorts with a lover, nor does she ever marry,earning the title Athena Parthenos. A remnant of archaic myth depicts her as the adoptive mother of Erechtheus /Erichthonius through the foiled rape by Hephaestus . Other variants relate that Erichthonius, the serpent that accompanied Athena, was born to Gaia : when the rape failed, the semen landed on Gaia and impregnated her. After Erechthonius was born, Gaia gave him to Athena.

Though Athena is a goddess of war strategy, she disliked fighting without purpose and preferred to use wisdom to settle predicaments.The goddess only encouraged fighting for a reasonable cause or to resolve conflict. As patron of Athens she fought in the Trojan war on the side of the Achaeans.

Judgment of Paris

All the gods and goddesses as well as various mortals were invited to the marriage of Peleus and Thetis (the eventual parents of Achilles ). Only Eris , goddess of discord, was not invited. She was annoyed at this, so she arrived with a golden apple inscribed with the word καλλίστῃ (kallistēi, "for the fairest"), which she threw among the goddesses. Aphrodite, Hera, and Athena all claimed to be the fairest, and thus the rightful owner of the apple.

The goddesses chose to place the matter before Zeus, who, not wanting to favor one of the goddesses, put the choice into the hands of Paris, a Trojan prince. After bathing in the spring of Mount Ida (where Troy was situated), the goddesses appeared before Paris. The goddesses undressed and presented themselves to Paris naked, either at his request or for the sake of winning.

Still, Paris could not decide, as all three were ideally beautiful, so they resorted to bribes. Hera tried to bribe Paris with control over all Asia and Europe , while Athena offered wisdom, fame and glory in battle, but Aphrodite came forth and whispered to Paris that if he were to choose her as the fairest he would have the most beautiful mortal woman in the world as a wife, and he accordingly chose her. This woman was Helen , who was, unfortunately for Paris, already married to King Menelaus of Sparta . The other two goddesses were enraged by this and through Helen's abduction by Paris they brought about the Trojan War .

In Greek mythology , Nike was a goddess who personified victory , also known as the Winged Goddess of Victory. The Roman equivalent was Victoria . Depending upon the time of various myths, she was described as the daughter of Pallas (Titan) and Styx (Water) and the sister of Kratos (Strength), Bia (Force), and Zelus (Zeal). Nike and her siblings were close companions of Zeus , the dominant deity of the Greek pantheon . According to classical (later) myth, Styx brought them to Zeus when the god was assembling allies for the Titan War against the older deities. Nike assumed the role of the divine charioteer , a role in which she often is portrayed in Classical Greek art. Nike flew around battlefields rewarding the victors with glory and fame.

Nike is seen with wings in most statues and paintings. Most other winged deities in the Greek pantheon had shed their wings by Classical times. Nike is the goddess of strength, speed, and victory. Nike was a very close acquaintance of Athena , and is thought to have stood in Athena's outstretched hand in the statue of Athena located in the Parthenon. Nike is one of the most commonly portrayed figures on Greek coins.

Names stemming from Nike include amongst others: Nicholas , Nicola, Nick, Nikolai, Nils, Klaas, Nicole, Ike, Niki, Nikita, Nika, Niketas, and Nico.

Al Khazneh or The Treasury at Petra

Petra (Arabic: البتراء, Al-Batrāʾ; Ancient Greek : Πέτρα) is a historical and archaeological city in the southern Jordanian governorate of Ma'an that is famous for its rock-cut architecture and water conduit system. Another name for Petra is the Rose City due to the color of the stone out of which it is carved.

Established possibly as early as 312 BC as the capital city of the Nabataeans , it is a symbol of Jordan, as well as Jordan's most-visited tourist attraction. It lies on the slope of Jebel al-Madhbah (identified by some as the biblical Mount Hor ^[4]) in a basin among the mountains which form the eastern flank of Arabah (Wadi Araba), the large valley running from the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Aqaba . Petra has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1985.

The site remained unknown to the Western world until 1812, when it was introduced by Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt . It was described as "a rose-red city half as old as time" in a Newdigate Prize -winning poem by John William Burgon . UNESCO has described it as "one of the most precious cultural properties of man's cultural heritage". See: UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists . Petra was chosen by the Smithsonian Magazine as one of the "28 Places to See Before You Die".

The Nabataean kingdom, also named Nabatea(Arabic:نبطية) (many times spelled Nabatean), was an Arabic political state of the Nabataeans which existed during classical antiquity and was annexed by the Roman Empire in CE 106.

Geography

Located between the Sinai Peninsula and the Arabian Peninsula , its northern neighbour was the kingdom of Judea , and its south western neighbour was Ptolemaic Egypt . Its capital was the city of Petra in Jordan , and it included the towns of Bostra , Mada'in Saleh , and Nitzana .

Petra was a wealthy trading town, located at a convergence of several important trade routes . One of them was the Incense Route which was based around the production of both myrrh and frankincense in southern Arabia, and ran through Mada'in Saleh to Petra. From here the aromatics were distributed throughout the Mediterranean region.

History

Nabataean origins date from a time when they were nomadic pastoralists in the Negev and the Sinai Peninsula during Achaemenid Persian rule, around the 4th century BCE.

Nabateans and Hasmoneans

The Nabataeans were allies of the first Hasmoneans in their struggles against the Seleucid monarchs. They then became rivals of the Judaean dynasty, and a chief element in the disorders which invited Pompey 's intervention in Judea . Many Nabataeans were forcefully converted to Judaism by the Hasmonean king Alexander Jannaeus . It was this King who, after putting down a local rebellion, invaded and occupied the Nabataean towns of Moab and Gilead and imposed a tribute of an unspecified amount. Obodas I knew that Alexander would attack, so was able to ambush Alexander's forces near Gaulane (Golan) destroying the Judean army in 90 BCE. Under the reign of Aretas III (87 to 62 BCE) the kingdom seems to have reached its territorial zenith, but was defeated by a Roman army under the command of Marcus Aemilius Scaurus . Scaurus' army even besieged Petra, but eventually a compromise was negotiated. Paying a tribute, Aretas III received the formal recognition by the Roman Republic .

The Nabatean kingdom saw itself slowly surrounded by the expanding Roman Empire , which conquered Egypt and annexed Hasmonean Judea. While the Nabatean kingdom managed to preserve its formal independence, it became a client kingdom under the influence of Rome.

Roman annexation

 

In 106 CE, during the reign of Roman emperor Trajan , the last king of the Nabatean kingdom Rabbel II Soter died. This event might have prompted the official annexation of Nabatea to the Roman Empire, although the formal reasons, and the exact manner of annexation, are unknown.

Some epigraphic evidence suggests a military campaign, commanded by Cornelius Palma , the governor of Syria . Roman forces seem to have come from Syria and also from Egypt . It is clear that by 107 CE Roman legions were stationed in the area around Petra and Bostra, as is shown by a papyrus found in Egypt. The kingdom was annexed by the empire, becoming the province of Arabia Petraea . Trade seems to have largely continued thanks to the Nabataens' undiminished talent for trading.

Under Hadrian , the limes Arabicus ignored most of the Nabatæan territory and ran northeast from Aila (modern Aqaba ) at the head of the Gulf of Aqaba . A century later, during the reign of Alexander Severus , the local issue of coinage came to an end. There is no more building of sumptuous tombs, owing apparently to a sudden change in political ways, such as an invasion by the neo-Persian power under the Sassanid Empire .

The city of Palmyra , for a time the capital of the breakaway Palmyrene Empire (fl. 130–270), grew in importance and attracted the Arabian trade away from Petra.

See also

• List of rulers of Nabatea
• Nephesh