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.... |
Deities name "Baa! Sapon" | Western Semitic / Phoenician | Local tutelary god. Probably of Canaanite origin and closely equating with BAAL SAMIN. According to Ugaritic texts he lives on a mountain in the north of Phoenicia known as Saphan, which may have served as a beacon for mariners. Other local variations of mountain deities include Baal Hermon and Baal Brathy.... |
Deities name "Bacabs" | Mayan / Mesoamerican / Mexico | Attendant gods. Four deities identified with points of the compåśś and colors, thus Hobnil (red) resides in the east, Can Tzicnal (white) in the north, Zac Cimi (black) in the west and Hozanek (yellow) in the south. They are also identified as the Toliloch (opossum actors) in the Codex Dresden, where each carries the image of the ruling god for the incoming year on his back. Hobnil is also a patron deity of beekeepers.... |
Deities name "Balakrsna" | Mayan | They are guardian deities. Mayan |
Deities name "Balam (jaguar)" | Mayan / Yucatec, Mesoamerican / Mexico | Guardian deities. Poorly defined spirits who protect individuals in daily life. Four balam stand at the cardinal points around a village to guard against dangerous animals. They also protect the four sides of a milpa (smallholding) against thieves.... |
Goddess name "Benten-San" | Japan / Shinto | The only goddess among of the seven deities of good fortune |
Goddess name "Benten-San" | Shinto / Japan | Goddess of luck. One of seven deities clåśśed as gods of fortune and the only goddess in the group. A popular deity with many sanctuaries dedicated to her, she is a patron of music and holds a biwa instrument in her hand. Snakes, believed to stand for jealousy, are often coiled around her statues. Because of this, married couples are reluctant to visit her shrines together. Her priesthood is both Shinto and Buddhist and she is closely linked with the goddess SARASVATI.... |
Deities name "Bhavariavasi" | Jain / India | Gods. A generic name given to deities of youthful appearance who are arranged in ten groups all with the suffix -kumara. Thus AGNI-; ASURA-; DIK-; DVIPA-; NAGA-; STANITA-; SUPARNA-; UDADHI-; VAYU-; VIDYUT-.... |
Deities name "Bhumi" | Buddhist | Collective name for a group of deities Buddhist / Vajrayana |
Deities name "Bhumi (the earth on which all things are formed)" | Buddhist / Varyana | Collective name for a group of deities. Twelve personifications of the spiritual spheres through which a BODHISATTVA or buddha-designate påśśes in his quest for perfection of knowledge. Common attribute: a staff.... |
Deities name "Bishamon" | Shinto / Japan | God of luck. One of seven deities concerned with fortune, he appears as a warrior clad in full armor holding a spear in one hand and a toy pagoda, identified as a tower of treasure in the other. He has been linked with the Buddhist god Vaisravana (KUBERA).... |
Deities name "Bitol" | Mayan | A sky god and one of the creator deities who participated in the last two attempts at creating humanity. Mayan |
Deities name "Bolon Ti Ku" | Mayan / Mesoamerican / Mexico | Chthonic underworld gods. A collective term for a group of nine deities not otherwise clearly defined. They are probably still invoked by modern Mexican Indians.... |
Demon name "Bossum" | African | One of the two chief deities of the Gold Coast, the other being demonio. Bossum, the principle of good, is said to be white; and demonio, the principle of evil, black. African |
Goddess name "Brigantia" | Roman / Celtic / British | Tutelary goddess. The goddess of the Brigantes in the West Riding of Yorkshire. She became identified with CAELESTIS. At Corbridge, Northumberland, there is an altar inscribed to various deities, including Caelestis Brigantia. In a carved stone relief at Birrens, on the Antonine Wall in Scotland, she is depicted with the attributes of MINERVA. She may also bear links with the goddess BRIGIT. She is frequently åśśociated with water and herding.... |
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.... |
Deities name "Cacoch" | Mayan / Mesoamerican / Mexico | Creator god. According to tradition he engendered the water lily from which sprang all the other deities of the Mayan pantheon. He is also portrayed as a messenger of the creator god HACHACYUM. Also Kacoch.... |
Deities name "Cacodaemons" | Greek | Minor deities, one of whom it was believed was attached to each mortal from his birth as a constant companion and acting as a sort of messenger between the gods and men. |