| Name ▲▼ | Origin ▲▼ | Description ▲▼ |
|---|---|---|
| God name "ADAD (wind)" | Mesopotamian / Babylonian - Akkadian | weather god. His father is the supreme sky god ANU. He is described as a benevolent giver of life in the fields but is also a more violent storm god. His name in Akkadian cuneiform means wind. His animal is the bull. In human form he is depicted wearing horned headdress and tiered skirt or robe decorated with astral symbolism. He may carry a scimitar embellished with a single panther head and his symbol is the lightning fork often fixed upon a pair of pincers.... |
| God name "ATUM" | Egypt | Sun god and creator god. Atum is generally represented in human form and often wears a crown which combines those of Upper and Lower Egypt. He is represented as various animals including the bull, lion, snake and lizard. Atum was regarded as the progenitor of the Egyptian pharaohs. Both Atum and Re are represented by a Divine black bull, Mnevis or Mer-wer, wearing the Sun disc and uraeus or snake between its horns. It acts as an intercessor between the Sun god and his priests in Heliopolis.... |
| God name "Ahriman" | Zoroastrian / Farsi Per sian | Chthonic god of darkness. The antagonist of AHURA MAZDA, god of light, and his attendant, MITHRA. The name is a modern derivation of the original Avestan title ANGRU MAINYU. Ahriman is said to have tried to persuade his attendant animals, including the scor pion, ant and snake, to drink the blood of the bull slain by Mithra in the primeval legend of dualistic conflict (see Mithra); if he had succeeded he would have prevented life from forming on earth. In another legend he tried to thwart Ahura Mazda by sending a flood to destroy the world. Also recog nized in Roman Mithraism. Rituals included ani mal sacrifice. Also ARIMANIUS (Roman).... |
| God name "Akelos" | Greek | River god. The son of OKEANOS and TETHYS. According to mythology he was a rival suitor for Deianeira who became the wife of HERAKLES. He was the consort of Melpomene and his daughters were allegedly the sirenes. A river of the same name runs into the Ionian Sea. Attributes include bull horns. Also Achlae (Etrurian).... |
| God name "Almaqah" | Pre - Islamic southern Arabian | Tutelary astral god. Worshiped by the Saba tribe, his sacred animal is the bull. Attributes include lightning bolts and a sinuate weapon.... |
| God name "Apis" | Egyptian | Apis the Bull of Memphis, is called the greatest of gods, and the god of all nations, while others regard him more in the light of a symbol of some great divinity. Egyptian |
| God name "Ardhanari(svara) (the lord being half woman)" | Hindu / Puranic | God. The god SI IVA combined with his SAKTI as a single being. His attendant animal is the bull. In iconography the left side of the image is female and the right male. A tutelary deity of eunuchs in India. Attributes: (right side) blue lotus, cup, hatchet, lute, moon disc, pestle, skin, sword and trident; (left side) ax, mirror, noose, pitcher, rosary, sacred rope and trident. May appear as three-headed. Also Ammaiappan (Tamil); Naranari.... |
| Spirit name "Ba (2)" | Egypt / Lower | Ram god. A fertility deity from early in Egyptian religion invoked particularly at Mendes. In a later cult, the name ba comes to represent the spirituality of a deity, often represented in an animal, e.g. the bull, or the mortal manifestation of a god as pharaoh.... |
| Angel name "Behemoth" | Islam | When God created the earth, he realized that it was not secure. To stabilize it, he placed under it first an angel, then a huge rock made of ruby, then a bull with four thousand eyes, ears, nostrils, mouths, tongues, and feet. But even the bull did not stand firm. So below it God placed Behemoth, who rested on water which was surrounded by darkness. Islam |
| God name "DARARIA" | Hindu / India | Jjustice. The god of law who originates as a creator god and one of the sons of Brahma, but almost certainly derives from the dharmas or archetypal patterns of society identified in the Rg Veda. According to tradition he is the consort of thirteen daughters of DAKSA and the father of Yudhisthra. Also regarded as a minor avatara of VISNU, appearing as a bull standing for the redemption of souls.... |
| God name "Dolichenus" | Western Semitic / Syrian | weather god. Depicted bearded and standing upon a bull. Attributes include a double ax and lightning. He became syncretized with the Roman god JUPITER.... |
| Goddess name "Eabani" | Armenian | The companion of Gilgamesh, the first primaeval man who was turning his rugged face towards civilization through the love of a woman. He takes part in the wanderings of Gilgamesh, and fights with him against Ishtar and the heavenly bull sent by Anu to avenge the insulted goddess. Apparently wounded in this struggle Eabani dies. Armenian Mythology |
| God name "Esus" | Celtic / Continental / European | God of war. Mentioned by the Roman writer Lucan but otherwise virtually unknown. He may have originated as a tree god. One carving [Trier] identifies Esus felling a tree with birds in the branches (see also INANA). Elsewhere he is åśśociated with three cranes and a bull.... |
| God name "Gurzil" | Libya | God in the shape of a bull. Libya |
| God name "IS KUR" | Mesopotamian / Sumerian / Iraq | storm god. The chief Rain and thunder god of herdsmen, Iskur is described as the brother of the Sun god UTU. In creation mythology Iskur is given charge over the winds, the so-called silver lock of the heart of heaven, by the god ENKI. According to some authors, in prehistoric times he was perceived as a bull or as a lion whose roar is the thunder. He may be depicted as a warrior riding across the skies in a chariot, dispensing Raindrops and hailstones. In one text he is identified as the son of AN and twin brother of Enki. He is to be compared with NINURTA who was primarily a god of farmers. He was also adopted by the Hittites as a storm god.... |
| God name "Imana" | Burundi / East Africa | Creator god. He engendered the first man, Kihanga, who descended from heaven on a rope. Symbolized by a lamb or a young ram, he is also thought to speak through the roar of the bull.... |
| God name "Kemwer" | Egypt | A description of the Mnevis bull, a manifestation of the Ka (life-force / power) of the chief god, Atum-Ra. Egypt |
| Goddess name "Liluri" | Syria | Goddess of mountainses who accepted a bull for a sacrifice Syria |
Table of Gods
Your guide to the World gods, spirits,
demons and legendary monsters
Apis
took the form a bull. In most statues he was pictured with his head facing up toward the sun, and chest pushed out. This pose was considered a very noble and strong stance. The way priests would be able to recognize Apis, from other bulls, was from the mystical marks he was given. On his forehead he had a white triangle, on his back was a figure of a vulture with outstretched wings, his right side had a crescent moon, his tongue had the image of a scarab, and finally, the hairs on his tail were doubled. He is usually featured as black statue, with a sun disk on his head. His horns curled around the sun disk holding it in place. Apis was always featured having a long fluffy tail, with extra detail around the tip.
Significance:
Apis was an important mythical beast; he represented strength, fertility and vigor. He is a god of the dead, included in the Osiris cult. It is well known that the testicles of a bull contain an aphrodisiac. This is sometimes associated with Apis, being the god of Fertility. There were many bulls thought to be Apis, and each one was identified by the mythical marks. Each bull that was the reincarnation of the god Apis, was brought to the temple in Memphis that the kings had built. Apis’s temple was adjacent to that of Ptah’s. In the courtyard of Apis’s temple, he was allowed to roam around, going wherever he pleased. During his walks around the temple, his movements were thought to tell of the future.
Scholars would spend great amounts of time trying to decipher his actions. Apis also brought a great amount of tourism to the area. People would come from all around the world to watch the future be decoded before their eyes. Apis was thought to be immortal; however his host body was expected to die. Apis was allowed to live until his old age killed him. However, he was sometimes drown when he lived too long, as a sacrifice, or cleansing process. He was shoved into a sacred fountain by his caregiver and smothered until dead. On two occasions he was assassinated, the first time he was killed by Cambyses, and second by Ochus. When the mythical beast died, a great ceremony was held to honor his life. Each time a new successor was found, it was a joyous event and a celebration was held in his honor.
Family:
Apis was not known for having an intricate family, like all beings he was a child of Ra. His mother and father are not known because he was a mythical bull god; such family lines were not recorded. In 1850 a tomb was uncovered that had all the bodies of Apis in individual sandstone coffins. These bulls were said to be all the family that Apis had. The underground tomb that the sandstone coffins were in does not exist anymore. In the 1850’s there wasn’t a well known standard on how to handle ancient artifacts, so a lot of the coffins were sold to private owners, or destroyed for the jewels inside.
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