Name ▲▼ | Origin ▲▼ | Description ▲▼ |
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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 "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" | China | A goddess & stellar deity |
Goddess name "Maat" | Egypt | Minor goddess of cosmic order. Epitomizing the harmonious laws of the cosmic order. She is recognized from the middle of the third millennium, and probably earlier, closely åśśociated with the creator deities and particularly the Sun god. In later times she was described as the daughter of Re. Her only known sanctuary is in the complex of Karnak at Thebes. Maat is depicted either in human form wearing an ostrich plume on her head or by an ostrich feather alone. The rulers of Egypt believed that they governed under her aegis and frequently had themselves described as beloved of Maat. Maat was also integral to the success of a soul påśśing through the Hall of the Two Truths, where the heart was weighed, to reach Paradise.... |
God name "Madhukara (honey maker)" | Buddhist | God. Derived from a Hindu deity and equating with Kama. He rides in a chariot drawn by parrots. Color: white. Attributes: arrow, banner, bow and wine glåśś.... |
God name "Mahadeya (mighty god)" | Hindu / Puranic | God. An important epithet of SIVA with three heads (two male, one female) signifying the three aspectsAghora (right), Saumya (center) and Sakti (left). Attributes: ax, bell, hook, mirror, noose, staff, sword, tree and trident. Also identified as a manifestation of Siva and one of the EKADASARUDRAS (eleven forms of RUDRA). In northern India among tribes including the Gonds, the expression Mahadeo (great god) is directed toward Siva as the supreme deity.... |
God name "Mahakala (the great death)" | Hindu / Puranic | (1) God. A violent aspect of S IVA. His SAKTI is Mahakah. Rides upon a lion. Color: black. Attributes: five arrows, ax, Brahma-egg, club, cup, rosary of skulls, staff and trident. Three-eyed. Also considered to be a form of the god BHAIRAVA in which context he is a guardian of the faith.(2) Guardian god of tents and science. BuddhistLamaist [Tibet]. Derived from the Hindu god S iva and an emanation of the five DHYANIBUDDHAS. Also one of a group of DHARMAPALAS with terrible appearance and royal attire. A deity of riches. He treads on the god Vinayaka, or on a man, a corpse, or on two elephant-headed men. Color: black, blue or white. Attributes: mainly elephant skin, prayer wheel and trident, but may hold various other objects.... |
Goddess name "Mahamayuri (great daughter of the peaçõçk)" | Buddhist / Mahayana | Goddess. An extremely popular deity and an emanation of AMOGHASIDDHI. A female BODHISATTVA or buddha-designate. Also one of a group of five MAHARAKSAS (protectresses) who are thought to be personifications of amulets or mantras. Color: green, red or yellow. Attributes: alms bowl, arrow, banner, bow, fly whisk, image of Amoghasiddhi on crown, jewel, mendicant, peaçõçk feather, prayer wheel, sword and water jar. Three-eyed and may occasionally appear three or four-headed.... |
Deities name "Mahanaga" | Hindu | Snake god. A group of seven deities identical with a group of seven nagadevas.... |
God name "Mahaprabhu" | Orissa / India | Tutelary god. The local supreme deity of the Bondo tribe.... |
God name "Mahes" | Egypt | Sun god. An ancient deity worshiped chiefly in the region of the Nile delta and representing the destructive power of the Sun's heat. Depicted in the form of a lion. Also Miysis (Greek).... |
God name "Majas Gars" | Pre - Christian Latvian | household god. Invoked until very recent times in country districts as a deity who would bring prosperity to the family home.... |
God name "Make Make" | Polynesian / Easter Island | Sea god. The tutelary deity of the Easter Islanders, he created mankind and animals. His sacred animal is the sea swallow and the huge anthropomorphic stone figures which characterize the island's archaeology form part of his cult.... |
God name "Mal" | Early Dravidian / Tamil | Creator god. Probably equating with a syncretization of VIS'NU and KRSNA. The name implies a deity of great stature. In Sangam texts, his face is like the moon, his eyes are lotuses and his CAKRA is the beams of the Sun. Also TIRUMAL.... |
Goddess name "Mala (garland)" | Buddhist - Lamaist / Tibet | Mother goddess. One of a group of ASTAMATARA deities. Color: red or yellow. Attributes: garland of Forest flowers, or of jewels.... |
God name "Mam" | Mayan / Yucatec, Mesoamerican / Mexico | God of evil. A much-feared deity who lives beneath the earth and only emerges in times of crisis. Depicted in the form of a flat, life-sized piece of wood dressed as a scarecrow and set upon a stool. He is offered food and drink during Uayeb, the period of five unlucky days at the end of the year, after which the figure is undressed and unceremoniously thrown away. During Uayeb devotees fast and refer to the god as grandfather.... |