| Name ▲▼ | Origin ▲▼ | Description ▲▼ |
|---|---|---|
| Deities name "Baa! Samin (lord of heaven)" | Western Semitic / Phoenician | Head of the pantheon. Probably originated in Canaanite culture as a god of Rain and vegetation, but became extensively revered in places as far apart as Cyprus and Carthage. Epithets include bearer of thunder. Baal Samin is first mentioned in a fourteenth century BC treaty between the Hittite king Suppiluliuma and Nigmadu II of Ugarit. He had a major sanctuary at Byblos, according to inscription, built by Yehemilk. Josephus confirms that his cult existed at the time of Solomon. At Karatepe his name appears at the head of a list of national deities and on Seleucid coinage he is depicted wearing a half-moon crown and carrying a radiate Sun disc. Other epithets include lord of eternity and he may also have been god of storms at sea, a patron deity of mariners. By Hellenic times he equated with ZEUS in the Greek pantheon and the Romans identified him as Caelus (sky). Also Baal-Samem.... |
| Goddess name "Balarama (strength of Rama)" | Hindu / Epic / Puranic | Incarnation of the god VIS'NU. May have originated in Vedic times as an agricultural fertility deity. He is the son of VASUDEVA and DEVAKI, though born from the womb of ROHINI. Jointly with KRSNA (his brother), he is identified as the eighth avatara (incarnation) of Vis'nu, or, with RAMA, as the seventh. Legend describes how Vis'nu impregnated the belly of the goddess Devaki with two hairs, one black, one white. To ensure their safety against a demon king, they were transferred before birth to Rohini. Krsna grew to be dark-skinned, and Balarama light. The latter enjoys similar characteristics to Krsna but fails to attract the same popularity. He is usually depicted on the right side of Krsna, rarely standing alone. The consort of Balarama is REVATI and his sons are Nisatha and Ulmuka. Epithets included Ananda (joy). In Jainism he is known as Baladeva. Attributes: arrow, club, drinking cup, fan palm, honey pot, lotus, pestle, pitcher, plough, prayer wheel, shield and sword.... |
| Goddess name "Bat" | Egypt / Upper | cow goddess of fertility. She was probably well known in the Old kingdom (circa 2700 BC onward). Associated principally with Upper Egypt, for a while she may have rivaled Hathor in Lower Egypt but by the time of the New kingdom (sixteenth century BC) her influence had waned. She may be represented on the Narmer Palette (Cairo Museum) which com memorates the unification of the two kingdoms. Bat is only rarely found in large sculptures and paintings, but is often the subject of Egyptian period jewelry, including amulets and ritual sistrum rattles. Depicted as a cow or anthropo morphically with bovine ears and horns. Also Bata.... |
| God name "Bethel" | Western Semitic / Phoenician | Local tutelary god. Probably of Aramaean or Syrian origin. First mentioned in a fourteenth century treaty between the Hittite king Suppiluliuma and Nigmadu II of Ugarit [Ras Samra]. He appears more regularly on inscriptions from the end of the seventh century BC and enjoyed considerable popularity during the neo-Babylonian period. Bethel is mentioned in the Biblical text of Jeremiah 48.13, implying that some Israelites acknowledged this deity. There is no evidence of links with the historical place names, including that mentioned in Genesis 38.13.... |
| Goddess name "CIPACTLI (great earth mother)" | Aztec / Mesoamerican / Mexico | Primordial goddess. Not strictly a goddess, but significant enough in Aztec cosmogony to be included here. According to tradition she was created in the form of a huge alligator-like monster by the underworld deities MICTLANTECUHLTI and MICTECACIHUATL. She may equate with TLALTECUHTLI, the toad-like earth monster torn apart to form heaven and earth. According to one tradition she emerged from the primordial waters and engaged in a fierce struggle with the Sun god TEZCATLIPOCA during which he tore off her lower jaw to prevent her sinking back into the depths and she bit off his right foot. The mountains are said to be the scaly ridges of her skin.... |
| Goddess name "Devaki (divine)" | Hindu / Epic / Puranic | Mother goddess. Daughter of Devaka and consort of the mythical king VASUDEVA, Devaki bore eight sons, including KRSNA and BALARAMA. Her brother Kamsa believed that the eighth child would kill him and he slaughtered the first six sons. In order to save the remaining two, VISNU implanted the seed of his avataras in Devaki's womb (in the form of hairs from his head), before transferring Balarama to the womb of the goddess ROHINI and Krsna to Yasoda, the wife of a cowherd, Nanda.... |
| King name "Erh Lang (master)" | Chinese | Tutelary deity. Associated with a celestial dog, Erh Lang was once honored with a sanctuary in Beijing (Peking). According to tradition he and the dog saved the city from flooding. His attributes include a bow which he is depicted drawing, and arrows. The dog may be replaced by a rat, in which case the arrows are not included. The rat is a sign of impending wealth and therefore the drawing of an empty bow at the rat is a sign which invokes wealth of children.... |
| God name "Gynaecothoenas" | Greek | the god feasted by Women, a surname of Ares at Tegea. In a war of the Tegeatans against the Lacedaemonian king Charillus, the women of Tegea made an attack upon the enemy from an ambuscade. This decided the victory. The women therefore celebrated the victory alone, and excluded the men from the sacrificial feast. Greek |
| God name "Lu Pan" | Chinese | God of artisans. The deity concerned with builders, bricklayers, housepainters and carpenters. He is particularly revered in Hong Kong. According to tradition he was born in 606 BC in the kingdom of Lu, where he became a skilled carpenter. He turned into a recluse on the Li Shan mountain, where he perfected his skills. He is said to have constructed the palace of the queen of the western heaven. Because of his powers he was murdered. He is also an invoker of harmonious relationships. His festival takes place on the thirteenth day of the sixth month, when the Rains are due. Attributes include a set square and carpenter's plane. He is also depicted with an ax, the symbol of a marriage go-between.... |
| King name "Lud" | Celtic / British | London; so called from Lud, a mythical king of Britain. Ludgate is, by a similar tradition, said to be the gate where Lud was buried. Celtic / British |
| King name "Midas" | Greek | A son of Gordius by Cybele, a wealthy but effeminate king of Phrygia, a pupil of Orpheus, and a promoter of the worship of Dionysus. His wealth is alluded to in a story connected with his childhood, for it is said that while yet a child, ants carried grains of wheat into his mouth to indicate that one day he should be the richest of all mortals. Greek |
| Deities name "Ninurta" | Sumeria | Worshipped as part of a triad of deities including his father Enlil and his mother Ninlil. Ninurta often appears holding a bow and arrow and a mace named Sharur to which he speaks when attacking the monster Imdugud, and which answers back. Sumeria |
| God name "Nuada" | Irish | Silver Arm a king of the Tuatha De Danann. He is cognate with the Gaulish and British god Nodens. His Welsh equivalent is Nudd or Lludd Llaw Eraint. Irish |
| Goddess name "Pattinidevi (queen of goddesses)" | Hindu / Singhalese / Sri Lanka | Mother goddess. A deification of Kannaki, the consort of Kovolan who, according to ancient Tamil tradition, journeyed to the town of Madurai to sell a gold anklet. Through trickery she was convicted of theft and executed, but was canonized. According to another tradition, she was born from a mango pierced by a sacred arrow. In southern India and Sri Lanka a goddess of chastity and fidelity in marriage. Also a guardian against diseases, including measles and smallpox. She is åśśociated with fire-walking rituals. Attributes: cobra-hood behind the head, and a lotus.... |
| God name "Shango" | Yoruba / Nigeria, West Africa | Chthonic storm god. As an earth deity he was once a mortal man, the king of Oyo, who transformed himself into an immortal. According to tradition, during his life he breathed tongues of fire. He then ascended into the sky by climbing a golden chain and became the god of thunder and lightning. He is also god of justice, punishing thieves and liars. His consorts include OYA, Oshun and Oba. Cult followers of Shango are believed to be able to make lightning strike an adversary. In shrines to Shango, the image of the god is adorned with a ram's head. Also SANGO.... |
| King name "The pendragon Naud" | s | Cedric, founder of the West Saxon kingdom, slew Naud, the pendragon, with 5,000 men. This Naud is called Natanleod, a corruption of Naudan ludh (Naud, the people's refuge). Anglo Saxon |
| 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.... |
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