| Name ▲▼ | Origin ▲▼ | Description ▲▼ |
|---|---|---|
| God name "Vata" | Hindu / Vedic / / Persian / Iran | God of wind. The name appears in the Rg Veda as a deity of violent personality. According to Asvestan tradition the god of victory, VERETHRAGNA, appeared to Zarathustra in the guise of Vata.... |
| God name "Vidar" | Nordic / Icelandic | God of war. A little known AESIR god, described as the silent one. One of the sons of OTHIN. An alternative tradition places him as the offspring of a brief liaison between THOR and the giantess Gird. A god of great strength and support in times of danger. The prospective avenger of Othin's death by the wolf Fenrir at Ragnarok, he is said to wear a shoe made of material collected throughout time which he will place between Fenrir's jaws before he tears them apart and runs the beast through with his sword. One of the survivors of the final great fire and flood, destined to live in Asgard's successor, Idavoll.... |
| Goddess name "Virbius" | Roman | An ancient mythical king of Aricia and a favourite of Diana, who, when he had died, called him to life and intrusted him to the care of the nymph Aegeria. The fact of his being a favourite of Diana, the Taurian goddess, seems to have led the Romans to identify him with Hippolytus who, according to some traditions, had established the worship of Diana. Roman |
| God name "Visvaksena (tbe all-conquering)" | Hindu / Puranic | Minor god. The bodyguard and gatekeeper of VISNU. Tradition maintains that Visvaksena was slain by SIVA when he refused the latter an audience with Vis'nu. For this reason he is generally depicted in the form of a skeleton impaled on the trident weapon carried by Siva in his aspect of KANKALAMURTI. His attributes include a wheel, club and conch shell.... |
| Goddess name "Vivasvan (shining)" | Hindu / Vedic / Puranic | Sun god. The original Vedic list of six descendants of the goddess ADITI or ADITYAS, all of whom take the role of Sun gods was, in later times, enlarged to twelve, including Vivasvan. One of his titles is the embodiment of ancestral law. His consort is SARANYU and he is identified as the father of YAMA and YAMI, as well as MANU and the ASVINS. His color is golden and his attributes a Forest garland, two lotuses and a trident. Also Vivasvat.... |
| God name "Vulcan" | Greek | The Roman smith god, identified with the Greek god Hephaestus. He was traditionally introduced to Rome by either Romulus or Titus Tatius. There were no specific legends concerning Vulcan but he played an important part in the success of various heroes by providing invincible armour for them. In Virgil's Aeneid, Vulcan made a superb suit of armour for Aeneas at Venus' request. He made a shield (called the Aegis) and thunderbolts for Jupiter and in return received Venus as his wife. |
"Wandering Jew" | Greek | (1) Of Greek tradition. Aristeas, a poet who continued to appear and disappear alternately for above 400 years, and who visited all the mythical nations of the earth. |
| Deities name "Whiro" | Polynesian / Maori | God of death. Regarded as an errant son of the creator deities, RANGINUI and PAPATUANUKU, Whiro stands as the chief antagonist of TANEMAHUTA, the creator god of light. He is, therefore, the personification of darkness and evil. During the time of creation from chaos, Whiro is said to have fought an epic battle against Tanemahuta in the newly formed heavens. He was vanquished and forced to descend into the underworld where he became ruler over the dead and chief among the lesser underworld deities who are responsible for various forms of disease and sickness. In the temporal world the lizard, a symbol of death, embodies him, and various creatures of the night, including the owl and the bat, are earthly representatives from his kingdom, as are such malignant insect pests as the mosquito. This deity is not to be confused with the legendary human voyager and adventurer of the same name whose traditions have, in the past, often been muddled with those of the god.... |
"Wild Huntsman" | German | The German tradition is that a spectral hunter with dogs frequents the Black Forest to chase the wild animals. The English name is "Herne the Hunter," who was once a keeper in windsor Forest. In Winter time, at midnight, he walks about Herne's Oak, and blasts trees and cattle. He wears horns, and rattles a chain in a "most hideous manner". Another legend is that a certain Jew would not suffer Jesus to drink out of a horse-trough, but pointed to some water in a hoof-print as good enough for "such an enemy of Moses," and that this man is the "Wild Huntsman." Various |
| God name "Willow Pattern" | s | The tradition. The mandarin had an only daughter named Li-chi, who fell in love with Chang, a young man who lived in the island home represented at the top of the pattern, and who had been her father's secretary. The father overheard them one day making vows of love under the orange-tree, and sternly forbade the unequal match; but the lovers contrived to elope, lay concealed for a while in the gardener's cottage, and thence made their escape in a boat to the island home of the young lover. The enraged mandarin pursued them with a whip, and would have beaten them to death had not the gods rewarded their fidelity by changing them both into turtle-doves. The picture is called the willow pattern not only because it is a tale of disastrous love, but because the elopement occurred "when the willow begins to shed its leaves." |
| God name "Xolotl (monster)" | Aztec / Mesoamerican / Mexico | Monstrous deity. He performed the role of executioner when the gods sacrificed themselves to create mankind. He then sacrificed himself. In alternative tradition he tried to evade his own fate, but was himself executed by EHECATL-QUETZALCOATL. Also one of a pair of twins in the group clåśśed as the XIUHTECUHTLI complex, regarded as patron of the ball game.... |
| Deity name "Yamantaka (destroyer of Yama)" | Buddhist - Lamaist / Tibet | Guardian deity. An emanation of AKSOBHYA and one of a group of DHARMAPALA with terrible appearance and royal attire who guard the Dalai Lama. By tradition he stifled the great rage of YAMA. His SAKTI is Vidyadhara. He is also a dikpala or guardian of the easterly direction. He tramples a number of creatures including a man, and possesses thirty-two arms and sixteen legs. Color: red, blue, black or white. Attributes: many.... |
| God name "Yemeoonji" | Mongo / Nkundo / Democratic Republic of Congo, central Africa | Creator god. According to tradition, he gave the Sun god Nkombe three parcels when the people complained the world was too dark; two were brightly colored and one was a dull gray. Realizing that he was about to be tricked, Nkombe opened the gray parcel and the world was flooded with light.... |
| God name "Yng" | Nordic / Icelandic | Creator god. Progenitor of the earliest Swedish kings. Also, in Germanic tradition, ING, the father of the Baltic coastal tribe, the Ingwaeones.... |
| God name "Yum Caax" | Mayan | lord of the woods is a god of wild plants and animals important to the hunters. He is equally a protector of the fields against the incursions of wild nature and invoked by traditional farmers. Mayan |
| God name "Zalmoxis" | Thracian | sky god. Known from the writings of Herodotus. According to tradition he lived for some time on earth and then became ruler of the underworld. His makeup may have been influenced by the Osirian cult in Egypt.... |
"Zem" | Arabic | The sacred well of Mecca. According to Arab tradition, this is the very well that was shown to Hagar when Ishmael was perishing of thirst. Mecca is built round it. |
| God name "Zhang Guo-lao" | Taoist / Chinese | God. One of the eight immortals of Taoist mythology. Once mortal beings, they achieved immortality through their lifestyle. According to tradition, Zhang Guo-lao was a bat before he took human form. Attributes include a bamboo drum and sticks and his attendant animal is an åśś.See also BA XIAN.... |
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