Al-Lat

al-Lat
Goddess of war, peace, combat, and prosperity
Al-Lāt with a palm branch and her lion from the Temple of Baalshamin in Palmyra, first century AD, Damascus, Syria
Major cult center	Palmyra, Iram,[1] Ta'if (according to Islamic sources)
Symbol	Lion, gazelle, crescent, cubic rock
Region	Arabia
Genealogy
Siblings	Al-Uzza, Manat
Consort	Lion of Al-lat (Palmyrene tradition)[2] Dushara (Nabataean tradition)
Children	Dushara (Nabataean tradition)
Equivalents
Greek	Athena
Roman	Minerva
Canaanite	Astarte, Atargatis
Carthaginian	Allatu

al-Lat (Arabic: اللات, romanized: al-Lāt, pronounced [alːaːt]), also spelled Allat, Allatu, and Alilat, is a pre-Islamic Arabian goddess, at one time worshipped under various associations throughout the entire Arabian Peninsula, including Mecca, where she was worshipped alongside Al-Uzza and Manat as one of the daughters of Allah. The word Allat or Elat has been used to refer to various goddesses in the ancient Near East, including the goddess Asherah-Athirat. She also is associated with the Great Goddess.^[3]

The worship of al-Lat is attested in South Arabian inscriptions as Lat and Latan, but she had more prominence in north Arabia and the Hejaz, and her cult reached as far as Syria.^[4] The writers of the Safaitic script frequently invoked al-Lat in their inscriptions. She was also worshipped by the Nabataeans and was associated with al-'Uzza. The presence of her cult was attested in both Palmyra and Hatra. Under Greco-Roman influence, her iconography began to show the attributes of Athena, the Greek goddess of war, as well as her Roman equivalent Minerva. According to Islamic sources, the tribe of Banu Thaqif in Ta'if especially held reverence to her.

In Islamic tradition, her worship ended in the seventh century when her temple in Ta'if was demolished on the orders of Muhammad.^[5]