Dhat-Ba'dan, Sabaean / Yemen, mosaic art nouveau portrait

Sabaean / Yemen

Dhat-Ba'dan

She of the Distant Sun

Sabaean inscriptions, ancient Yemen

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Her story

Historical context

goddess · Sabaean inscriptions, ancient Yemen

Dhat-Ba'dan appears in Sabaean inscriptions as a solar goddess, often understood as the sun of the hot season, honoured in temples near oases.

Mythology & traditions

Knowledge of Dhat-Ba’dan comes primarily from inscriptions rather than a surviving narrative cycle, and interpretations of her solar character are not unanimous. Temples, oasis agriculture and South Arabian ibex imagery evoke a world where fierce sunlight and hoped-for rain were interdependent. The missing myths should remain an honest silence rather than be filled with modern invention.

Domains

  • sun
  • oasis
  • rain
  • abundance

Symbols

  • ibex
  • palms
  • sun

In the oracle

Her guidance

Maiden

What you need to sow

Seed something that can withstand heat.

Mother

What you need to grow

Grow reserves for the dry season.

Crone

What you need to know

Know that intensity has its purpose.

Her tradition

South Arabian Tradition

Sun goddesses of ancient Saba and Himyar.

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