| Name ▲▼ | Origin ▲▼ | Description ▲▼ |
|---|---|---|
| God name "Vertumnus" | Roman | Is said to have been an Etruscan divinity whose worship was introduced at Rome by an ancient Vulsinian colony. The name signifies "the god who changes or metamorphoses himself." For this reason the Romans connected Vertumnus with all occurrences to which the verb verto applies, such as the change of seasons, purchase and sale, the return of rivers to their proper beds,etc. But in reality the god was connected only with the transformation of plants, and their progress from being in blossom to that of bearing fruit. Roman |
| Spirit name "Veteema" | Estonian | The water Mother, a spirit believed to rule the waters and their bounty. Estonian |
"Virmalised" | Estonian | The personification of the Polar Lights. Estonian |
| Goddess name "Wang Mu Niang" | China | Goddess of female energy, very fond of peaches. China |
| Goddess name "Wang Mu Niang Niang" | China | A goddess of female energy |
| God name "Wer" | Mesopotamian / Babylonian - Akkadian | storm god. A minor deity linked with ADAD and AMURRU. His attendant is the fierce guardian of the pine Forest, Huwawa, the focus of one of the Gilgames epic sagas. Cult centers include Afis, south of Aleppo.... |
| Spirit name "Xhindi" | Albanian | Put scissors and broomsticks under your baby's mattress to keep these invisible spirits away. Albanian |
| Goddess name "Yen Kuang Niang Niang" | Chinese | Mother goddess. One of a group of nine dark ladies who have a protective function. She cures the eye disease ophthalmia.... |
| Goddess name "Yingxi Niang" | China | Goddess of happiness China |
| God name "Zababa" | Mesopotamian / BabylonianAkkadian | God of war. The tutelary god of the city of Kis,, whose sanctuary is the E-meteursag. Also Zamama.... |
| God name "Zakar" | Babylonian | God of dreams as messages from the gods. Babylonian |
"Zam" | Iranian | The Indo-Iranian concept for "earth", prototyped as a chemical element in ancient philosophy, and as a minor divinity in Zoroastrianism and later Persian mythology. |
| Goddess name "Zarpandit aka Zerbanit" | Babylonian | Zerbanitu, Zerpanitum, and Beltis. Babylonian Goddess worshipped nightly at the appearance of the moon. |
| Goddess name "Zarpanitu" | Babylonian | A birth goddess and a consort of Marduk. Babylonian |
| Goddess name "Zarpanitu(m)" | Mesopotamian / Babylonian - Akkadian | Birth goddess. The consort of MARDIJK whose marriage was celebrated annually at New Year in Babylon. Also Erua; SARPANITJM.... |
| God name "Zemepatis" | Pre - Christian Lithuanian | Chthonic god. A tutelary deity of farmers and guardian of cattle.... |
| Goddess name "Zemyna" | Pre - Christian Lithuanian | Chthonic goddess. A deity with responsibility for vegetation andcrops. She was invoked at sowing and harvesting times.... |
| Goddess name "Ziçúɱ aka Zikun" | Babylonian | Zigara, the primeval goddess, the mother of Anu and the gods. Babylonian |
Table of Gods
Your guide to the World gods, spirits,
demons and legendary monsters
The Legend of Nian Monster
Chinese people held the first New Year Festival more than 3,000 years ago. Farmers gave thanks for the harvest and prayed. They asked the gods for good crops in the coming year.
But there is a story behind all the celebration, below is the legend of how the Chinese New Year celebration began.
Legend has it that in ancient times, there was a monster called "Nian" ("year") that would come out to eat people and animals on the eve of every New Year. To avoid the monster's attack, people would flee to the depth of the mountains and call this day "Nian Guan" (meaning "the Pass of Nian"). On one New Year's Eve, there came an old beggar in Peach Blossom Village, where an old lady gave him some food and asked him to hide himself in the mountain to avoid the monster Nian. The old man promised that he could drive the monster away as long as he was put up for the night at the old lady's home. Being unable to persuade the old man into hiding in the mountain, the old lady went alone. In the middle of the night, the monster Nian dashed into the village. He trembled and cried when he saw the red paper on the door of the old lady's house, which was brightly lit. Just as the monster reached the entrance, there came blasting sounds that prevented him from moving any further. At that time, the old man, wearing a red robe, opened the door and the monster was scared away.
The following year, the villagers were ready for it. They set off firecrackers, lit all their lamps and decorated their houses in red, they paste red paper on the doors, wear red clothing, hang up red lanterns. They made loud music, play the gong and drums and they dance and burn the fireworks whenever Nian was about to arrive, to scared away the beast.This is how these customs came into being.
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