Name ▲▼ | Origin ▲▼ | Description ▲▼ |
---|---|---|
God name "Luna" | Greek | The moon. The Sun and the moon were worshipped both by Greeks and Romans, and among the latter the worship of Luna is said to have been introduced by the Sabine T. Tatius, in the time of Romulus. But, however this may be, it is certain, notwithstanding the åśśertion of Varro, that Sol and Luna were reckoned among the great gods, that their worship never occupied any prominent place in the religion of the Romans, for the two divinities had between them only a small chapel in the Via Sacra. Greek |
Goddess name "Lunang" | Kafir / AfghanistanHindukush | River goddess. The patron goddess of the Prasun river, Lunang is perceived as a young and capricious girl, reflecting the turbulent moods of the river. She rules over the watermills.... |
Goddess name "Luot Hozjit" | Saami | Goddess of summer Saami / Lappland |
God name "Lupercal" | Roman | The place where Romulus and Remus were suckled by the wolf (lupus). A yearly festival was held on this spot on Feb. 15, in honour of Lupercus, the god of fertility. On one of these festivals Antony thrice offered to Julius C?sar a kingly crown, but seeing the people were only half-hearted, C?sar put it aside, saying, "Jupiter alone is king of Rome." Roman |
God name "Lycurgus" | Greek | A son of Dryas, and king of the Edones in Thrace. He is famous for his persecution of Dionysus and his worship on the sacred mountain of Nyseion in Thrace. The god himself leaped into the sea, where he was kindly received by Thetis. Zeus thereupon blinded the impious king, who died soon after, for he was hated by the immortal gods. Greek |
God name "Lyre" | Greek | A lyre is a stringed musical instrument well known for its use in Clåśśical Antiquity. The recitations of the Ancient Greeks were accompanied by it. According to ancient Greek mythology, the young god Hermes created the lyre from the body of a large tortoise shell (khelus) which he covered with animal hide and antelope horns. Lyres were åśśociated with Apollonian virtues of moderation and equilibrium, contrasting the Dionysian pipes which represented ecstasy and celebration. Greek |
Goddess name "Lysizona" | Greek | I. e. the goddess who loosens the girdle, is a surname of Artemis and Eileithyia, who were worshipped under this name at Athens. Greek |
God name "MIMIR" | Nordic / Icelandic | God of wisdom and inspiration. An AESIR god who lives in the world of the Frost Giants. He guards the well of knowledge, filled by a spring which flows beneath the world Tree, Yggdrasil, and which is supplied from the primeval waters. The god OTHIN drank from the spring to acquire knowledge, having forfeited one of his eyes to Mimir. Said to be the wisest among the gods. According to some sources he was sent as hostage to the VANIR in their war with the Aesir and was killed by them (see Othin). Some authors argue that he is more properly a giant than a god. Said to be accompanied often by the silent god HOENIR. Mimir warns Othin of the final onslaught at Ragnarok (doom).... |
God name "MIN" | Egypt | Fertility god. Min is the most significant deity in the Egyptian pantheon in respect of sexual virility. In some genealogies he is the son of ISIS, in others he represents Isis's consort with HORUS as their child. Min is depicted in anthropomorphic form wearing a modius bearing two plumes and a hanging ribbon. He is generally drawn in profile, legs together and with his left arm raised into the angle made by his royal flail. The most obvious feature of the iconography is a strongly erect śéméñ. Min is represented in older art by two serrated cones projecting horizontally from a disc. His sacred animal is probably a white bull and he is also åśśociated with the tall lettuce species (Lac tuca sativa), the shape of which may be reminiscent of an erect phallus.... |
God name "MITHRA (friend)" | Persian / Iran | God of the upper air. Originating in India, Mithra is a god of light who was translated into the attendant of the god AHURA MAZDA in the light religion of Persia; from this he was adopted as the Roman deity Mithras. He is not generally regarded as a sky god but a personification of the fertilizing power of warm, light air. According to the Avesta, he possesses 10,000 eyes and ears and rides in a chariot drawn by white horses. In dualistic Zoroastrianism, which effectively demoted him, Mithra is concerned with the endless battle between light and dark forces; he represents truth. He is responsible for the keeping of oaths and contracts. He was born from a rock and, according to legend, engaged in a primeval struggle with Ahura Mazda's first creation, a wild bull, which he subdued and confined to a cave. The bull escaped, but was recaptured by Mithra, who slit its throat. From the blood sprang plant life on earth. His chief adversary is AHRIMAN, the power of darkness. Mithra is not generally worshiped on his own, but as an integral part of the Mithraic worship of Ahura Mazda, where he acts as an intercessor between gods and men. In the Hellenic period he was transformed more closely to the role of a Sun god. See also AHURA MAZDA.... |
Demon name "MON (great god)" | Kafir / AfghanistanHindukush | warrior god and hero. Mon is a senior deity in the Kafir pantheon who challenges and defends mankind against demons and giants. He is the first offspring of the creator god Imra. He is also a weather god who controls clouds and mist. Mon is perceived as a deity of vast size and vigor who creates glaciers with his footprints. He is also a god of flowing water. Some legends place him as a creator of mankind and law-giver, but only mirroring the actions of the supreme creator IMRA. He appears as a mediator between heaven and earth.... |
Goddess name "MORRIGAN (queen of demons)" | Celtic / Irish | war, fertility and vegetation goddess. A complex goddess displaying various characteristics which are both generative and destructive (see also ANAT, INANA, IS'TAR, ATHENE). At the festival of Samain, she mates with the DAGDA to ensure the future prosperity of the land and as queen Maeve (Medb) of Connaught she was ritually wedded to the mortal king whose antecedent was Ailill. As Nemain (panic) and Badb Catha (raven of battle), she takes on a more warlike and destructive aspect. Rather than engaging directly in conflict, she uses her supernatural powers to spread fear and disarray. The Irish hero Cu Chulainn was thus visited on the battle field by BADB driving a chariot and dressed in a red cloak and with red eyebrows presenting an intimidating appearance. She is capable of changing her shape into various animal forms and in the guise of a raven or a crow is able to foretell the outcome of battle.... |
God name "MOT (death)" | Canaanite / Phoenician / northern Israel, Lebanon / Syrian coastal regions | God of natural adversity. ot is the Canaanite representation of adversity in the natural world. He lives in a pit within the earth and is responsible for its annual death from drought and heat: he has scorched the olive, the produce of the earth and the fruit of the trees. He engages in the clåśśic confrontation with the Canaanite hero and national god, BAAL. Though the duel results in Baal's demise, his death is avenged by his twin sister ANAT, who slays Mot, then cleaves, winnows, burns and grinds him with a millstone, in what appears to be a ritual allied to the sowing of seed and harvesting (see OSIRIS). Baal is later restored. The conflict probably formed the basis of an annual ritual drama at the Canaanite New Year which was held in the autumn. In the texts Mot is the son of Il and his mother is AS'ERAH (ATHIRAT).... |
Goddess name "Ma" | Africa | The Goddess of Creation, and mother of Mbali-yamswira. South Africa |
Goddess name "Ma" | Anatolia | mountain Mother and a fertility and vegetation goddess. Anatolia |
Goddess name "Ma" | Cappadocian / Anatolia / Turkey | Fertility and vegetation goddess. The tutelary goddess of Pontic Comana, she was served by votary priestesses acting as sacred prostitutes, and biennial festivals were celebrated in her honor. Gradually she took on an added role as a warrior goddess with solar connotations and ultimately became syncretized with the Roman goddess BELLONA. On coins of the Comana region she is depicted with the radiate head of a solar deity carrying weapons and a shield.... |
Goddess name "Ma Shi-Ko" | China | queen of heavens and Goddess of the Seven Seas. China |
Goddess name "Ma-zu" | Chinese | Sea goddess. Known from the coastal regions of southeastern China as a benevolent guardian of fishermen, and closely linked with the goddess KUAN YIN.... |