DICTIONARY OF GODS AND GODDESSES SECOND EDITION MICHAEL )ORDAN DICTIONARY OF GODS AND GODDESSES SECOND EDITION MICHAEL JORDAN Facts On File, Inc. For Beatrice Elizabeth Jordan Dictionary of Gods and Goddesses, Second Edition Copyright © 2004, 1993 by Michael Jordan All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher. For information contact: Facts On File, Inc. 132 West 31st Street New York NY 10001 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Jordan, Michael, 1941- Dictionary of gods and godesses / Michael Jordan.- 2nd ed. p. cm. Rev. ed. of: Encyclopedia of gods. cl993. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-8160-5923-3 1. Gods-Dictionaries. 2. Goddesses-Dictionaries. I.Jordan, Michael, 1941- Encyclopedia of gods. II. Tide. BL473.J67 2004 202'.ll'03-dc22 2004013028 Facts On File books are available at special discounts when purchased in bulk quantities for businesses, associations, institutions, or sales promotions. Please call our Special Sales Department in New York at (2 12) 967-8800 or (800) 322-8755. You can find Facts On File on the World Wide Web at http://www.factsonfile.com Text design by David Strelecky Cover design by Cathy Rincon Printed in the United States of America VB EOF 10 987654321 This book is printed on acid-free paper. CONTENTS PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION V INTRODUCTION TO THE FIRST EDITION vii CHRONOLOGY OF THE PRINCIPAL RELIGIONS AND CULTURES COVERED IN THIS BOOK xiii DICTIONARY OF GODS AND GODDESSES 1 BIBLIOGRAPHY 361 INDEX 367 PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION It is explained in the introduction to this volume that no database of deities worldwide can ever hope to be comprehensive. There are just too many regional variations amongst the larger reli- gion blocks and, equally, a vast number of very localized cults, each with its own idiosyncratic pantheons of gods and goddesses. The intention of the first edition was to cover all the major the- aters of belief as extensively as was feasible at the time, with the primary object of including most of the names of deities that the student was likely to come across while traveling to religious and archaeological sites around the world, or research- ing in museums and libraries. This meant that much attention was paid to the living polytheistic religions, including Hindu, Buddhist, Taoist, and Shinto. It was also thought constructive to include as many names as possible from Ancient Near Eastern, Egyptian, Classical Roman and Greek, Norse, Celtic, and Germanic pantheons since, in recent decades, there has been a resurgence of interest in many of these among "alternative religion" movements. As a result of these decisions, certain geograph- ical areas were under-represented in the first edi- tion. Most notably they included the Pacific islands of Hawaii, Polynesia, Melanesia and Alicronesia, along with Australia and New Zealand with the venerated traditions of the Australian Aborigines and the Maori. All of these cultures are richly endowed with deities. In recent years some spe- cialized reference works, focusing on the "Pacific traditions," have been published and the additional entries in the book draw on valuable resources of information that were not all widely available when the first edition was compiled. Away from the southern hemisphere cultures, two specific new entries deserve mention. Helen of Troy was omitted fi-om the first edition because she is widely regarded as having been a mortal queen made famous through Homeric legend. According to the great Greek historian Hesiod, however, Helen was a goddess and as such worthy of inclusion here. And, in response to widespread interest in the history of the Knights Templar, I have included an entry on Baphomet, the medieval deity allegedly worshiped by that order of knights. The chronology section has been re-worked and the bibliography substantially expanded to incorporate a large number of titles that have been published since the first edition of the Encyclopedia of Gods, while retaining the details of older references. Many of the newer titles are currently in print and widely available in book- stores and from online sources. Numerous cross-references and a comprehen- sive index have been added to this edition to allow easy access to the information. V INTRODUCTION TO THE FIRST EDITION In compiling a book like Encyclopedia of Gods, one is struck both by the enormous number and vari- ety of deities that occur in different religions around the world, and also by the way patterns repeat themselves — almost every culture has its creator gods, gods concerned with a locally impor- tant aspect of the weather, goddesses of fertility, gods whose duty it is to protect the home. The same mysteries have puzzled people on every continent, the same fears have beset them and they have all attempted to explain the mysteries and allay the fears in the same way — through the worship of gods. We know, beyond reasonable doubt, that a world measured purely in spiritual dimensions has been identified for at least 60,000 years — it may have been present as an innate part of the human psyche since the very beginnings of consciousness. But why does the human spirit harbor such a need for gods? The beginnings of an answer to this question may be found in the beliefs of the simplest cul- tures. Primitive peoples attribute to all of nature, everything which exists in a physical state, a spiritual identity that is ever-present but unseen, conjured or appeased by the special powers placed upon certain individuals of the tribe, the shamans or wise ones. These spirits may be poorly defined, but they are endowed with human form and human habits: they walk, talk, enjoy sexual relations, exhibit anger, sorrow, joy, mischief and so on. Thus one finds in simple shamanistic faiths such characters as "cloud man" and "grass woman," "old man of rocks" and "reindeer child." As this animistic style of religion develops, the rather vague ethereal spirits of clouds, rocks, trees, birds and animals become detached from their temporal "shells" and take on progressively more abstract associations. Thus we find a goddess of childbirth, a god of storms, a god of blacksmiths or sailors, even a deity concerned with the proper use of pots and pans. As the scope of their respon- sibilities broadens, the deities become more clearly defined, more "human" personaHties. We come to know them by their appearances, by their style of dress, by the attributes they carry. Yet some of their animistic traits persist and they may still be identified in inanimate symbols and devices, and be represented as animals or other living things. The social infrastructure of the spirit world may also closely mirror our own: thus deities become arranged in hierarchical orders known as pantheons and may be separated into groups, not only responsible for different areas of worldly control, but also directing their powers toward good or evil. T) explain the precise significance in our Hves of gods and goddesses is more complicated because it may alter according to environment and accord- ing to the stage of social and economic develop- ment. Again it necessitates a return to the template provided in the most simple religions. Without the benefit of science, technology and history, the natural world is a puzzling and frightening place, VII VIII Introduction to the First Edition steered by great invisible forces. If every object in nature has a spiritual identity, which may be con- sidered to act as its protector or guardian, logic dictates that mankind's activities affect the object not only in its physical state but also in its spiritual dimension. Thus the approval of the relevant spirit must be obtained before the slaughter of game, the felling of a tree, the commencement of a jour- ney, the building of a house. Responsibility for our actions is taken irom us and given into the hands of an all-povs^erful, if unseen being. The need to expiate our activities has persisted down the millennia: the prime role of gods is still to protect, to steer, to govern the order of Hfe and to provide answers to conundrums which science and the modern temporal world cannot resolve. This encyclopedia contains more than 2,500 entries of deities derived from both ancient and contemporary cultures. It does not generally include personalities regarded as demigods, demons or mythical heroes. A demigod is defined here as a personaUty who was once mortal but has been elevated to the celestial ranks. Generally speaking, and it is certainly true of the occidental rehgions, gods are iconic figures whose "pedigree" belongs exclusively in the heavens. They are dis- tinct and separate from humankind. In some reh- gions, however, most notably Buddhism, all deities are perceived as having once been mortal beings whose pursuit of excellence and enhghtenment has elevated them ever higher through a series of spheres or planes toward perfection. In the mythologies of other cultures, often of a tribal nature, there exist significant ancestral personaU- ties who have clearly been deified and are treated entirely as gods and goddesses e.g. the Sumerian god Dumuzi or the Norse god Balder. In such instances, personalities that might correctly be regarded as demigods have an entry here. It should be noted, therefore, that while Gautama Buddha is included, there are no entries for Jesus Christ or the prophet Muhammad. Although certain cultures, such as those of Greece and Rome, will be well known to most readers, others will be less famihar, and some his- torical background may be useful. The Sumerians were the first high civilization to inhabit Mesopotamia. Their style of cuneiform writing was only deciphered a few years ago and much of their history and circumstance is still not properly known. In the twenty-fourth century BC they were taken over by the Akkadians under Sar- gon and the style of writing changed to a Semitic cuneiform. The names of many deities changed at the same time. The Old Babylonian era began at about the end of the second millennium BC and was marked largely by the influence of the law- making king Hammurabi. With some interrup- tions, the influence of Babylon continued through the neo-Babylonian period of biblical notoriety, until roughly two hundred years before the birth of Christ. The Hittite Empire arose in the motm- tainous region of what is now Tirkey and its period of influence was comparatively short-Uved. The Hurrians, closely linked with the Hittite Empire, were less a compact culture than a loose-knit and widely traveled people who shared a cormnon lan- guage. They influenced much cross-fertilization of culture in the ancient Near East. The demise of these ancient orders came in 539 BC when the Persians under Cyrus conquered Babylon. Their hegemony was brief and was replaced by the Greek influences of Alexander the Great and his Macedonian Empire in the fourth century BC. The Romans under Pompey came in the first century EC. Muslim expansionism took over key areas of Syrio-Palestine and Persia in the seventh century AD, introducing the new rehgion of Islam to an area which had seen strong, if short- lived, influence from Zoroastrianism. In parallel with the Mesopotamian cultures, that of Egypt survived more or less intact from some- time before 3000 EC until the end of the Roman Empire period, though from the first century AD, Introduction to the First Edition IX under Roman provincial rule, the makeup of its religion becomes increasingly confused. The classical religions of Greece and Rome sup- planted those of the ancient world as the dominant occidental faiths. Greece was the pioneer and, although known properly from about 800 BC, co- incidental with the rise of the city states, her deities were probably well established in much earlier times, perhaps in the Mycenaean age which began circa 1600 BC. Rome seems largely to have bor- rowed deities from Greece and renamed them. Her influence collapsed vnth the sack of Rome by the Visigoths in 410 AD. Elsewhere in Europe the Celtic gods were prob- ably taking substance as early as the late Bronze Age in central Europe (circa 900 BC) but they come under historical scrutiny only from about 400 BC. Celtic culture was effectively a spent force in Europe by the iirst century BC with the defeat of the Gaulish rebellion under Vercingetorix, but its influence continued in Ireland until Christianiza- tion in the fifth century AD. The Celts were never literate and names of deities are known only from Romano-Celtic inscriptions and the questionably accurate writings of Christian monks. The Vikings, vnth whom the Nordic Icelandic culture is most closely associated, began their major period of influence in the eighth century AD, but their deities are often modeled on older Germanic gods who probably held sway from at least the first or second centuries AD. Their culture is better recorded through the Icelandic Eddaic Hterature. In India, Hinduism took shape perhaps as early as 1700 BC with the migration of Aryan peoples from the southern steppes of Russia into the sub- continent. The development of the two great epic poems, the Ramayana and the Mahahharata, between 300 BC and 300 AD swelled the ranks of deities and the process of enlargement continued vnth the more recent Uterature of the Puranas and the development of Tantrism. Though now asso- ciated more with the Far East, Buddhism began in northern India with the teachings of Gautama Buddha in about 500 BC. It was introduced to China in the first centory and to Japan as late as the sixth century AD. Of the major Meso- and South American reli- gions discussed, the earliest is that of the Mayans, in the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico, whose civihza- tion arose in the fourth century BC, reached its peak during the seventh century ad and then waned in influence as the T)ltec Empire began to flourish. The Incas, though established on parts of the Pacific coast of Peru in the fifth century BC, did not begin serious cultoral expansion for several hundred years and their brief empire period com- menced in 143 8 AD. The Aztecs, in Mexico, started their rise to prominence about a hundred years earlier but were largely contemporary with the Incas. These pre-Columbian cultures came to an abrupt end with the arrival of the Conquistadors, Cortez routing the Aztec capital in 1521 and Pizarro taking Peru twelve years later. Almost all their sacred literature was destroyed. To assist in placing the various cultures in a chronological perspective, a chart is provided on page xui. It is notoriously difficult to pinpoint the moment in time at which a personality or a title first becomes identifiable as a deity. Frequendy a name is recognizable from a list or a text but it is not pos- sible to say with certainty whether that word reflects an object of worship or some more secular notion. The word may, at first, refer only to a phe- nomenon, such as the sunrise. Eventaally the term for sunrise is adopted as the proper name of a deity who is the apotheosis of that phenomenon, but precisely when that change in usage has taken place is unknovm. With rare exceptions, deities do not emerge "overnight." They are slow to evolve, often deriving from the personality of an older god or goddess. Likewise they may be highly tenacious, their worship dwindling imperceptibly, sometimes over many centuries. Rarely is the period of rever- X Introduction to the First Edition ence for a deity, from "source to sink," clear-cut. Because of the once enormous number of animistic spirits, a process of merging or syncretization fre- quently takes place when deities who exhibit sim- ilar roles become redundant and join forces as a single personality. Obviously when cultures merged, some deities were also superseded. Some- times a compound name may give a clue to this process, but often only the tide of the dominant figure remains for the record. Thus the chronology can never be precise and is frequently the subject of disagreement between scholars. Where dates are given for a "known period of worship," these are to be regarded as an approximate guide only. Apart from the distinctions outlined below, the deities listed here are treated equably, though many of the entries in large pantheons such as those of Hinduism and Buddhism are probably on a level of importance equal to that of Christian saints. Entries are in alphabetical order, without break- down into ethnic or cultural groups, and each entry is Usted under the name by which the deity is most commonly known. The modern geographical area of the world in which the deity is, or has been, rec- ognized is given in [square brackets]. Two types of entry are employed in the encyclo- pedia. Entries for deities who may be regarded as being, or having been, of major significance within their cultural area are headed by BOLD CAPI- TALS and are accorded a more detailed coverage in the text. The remainder are treated in less detail. In all cases the information includes the original cul- tural source. This may sometimes be reflected by a language e.g. Sumerian; by a cultural movement e.g. Babylonian, Hindu or Buddhist; or by a tribal identity e.g. Yoruba or Navajo. It should be noted that the term "Akkadian-Babylonian" is taken to mean that period influenced by the Akkadian and Babylonian hegemonies, during which texts were composed in the Semitic Akkadian language. Also included is the role of the deity in the pantheon — whether he or she is perceived as a creator, a god of concepts like fertility or death, or taking more specific responsibihty such as for the well-being of a maize crop. His or her immediate genealogy is Usted since gods and goddesses are invariably considered to have celestial parents, sib- lings and offspring. Mythology plays a significant role in sustaining a rehgion and its personaHties, particularly among the broad mass of cultures which are essentially non-literate. The deeds of spirit beings are recorded in word-of-mouth sto- ries. When mythology plays a significant part in the understanding or makeup of the personaUty, its oudines may be included and the literary source identified. Information which may be of use in rec- ognizing a god or goddess from iconography, such as dress, symbols, sacred animals and other attrib- utes is also provided when known, and art refer- ences are given. Attributes may be of particular importance in identifying deities from large and complex pantheons such as those fotmd in Hin- duism and Buddhism. These deities may appear in a number of physical forms or emanations in order to perform different roles i.e. as an ascetic, a lover, a prince or a warrior. Sometimes variations are described as avataras, which may be best explained as reincarnations in which a divine being has been born into the world to save it from danger and to restore order during some particular moment of disruption. Distinction is drawn between sky and astral per- sonalities who are perceived to live in the regions above the temporal world and who are generally concerned with climate, weather, cosmic events and other such heavenly activities, and those asso- ciated with the earth and its well-being. Thus deities of fertility, agriculture, the sea, domestic affairs and death are generally earth-bound and are described as chthonic. Tvo or more deities may be combined into a hybrid. Less than true syncretizations, such deities retain the hyphenated names of the original per- sonalities. Generally such hybridized deities are not given space. This is particularly appropriate in Introduction to the First Edition XI the case of the Hindu pantheon where the effect would be to incorporate very large numbers of names representing litde more than a fusion of two personalities detailed elsewhere in the encyclo- pedia. All significant avataras or incarnations of a deity are, however, included. In some cases we have no names for figures depicted in art, either because none are provided or because we cannot decipher them, but the iconic form is so well represented that academic circles have provided code letters e.g. those Mayan gods listed as God A, God B and so on. When it is generally assumed that a code- named figure is the same as a fully identified deity, the code name may be noted at the end of an entry. Where cross-references to other deities seem appropriate, these are included. The Romans were particularly prone to adopt Greek and Celtic deities, retaining more or less all the original per- sonality, but changing the name. Thus Zeus becomes Jupiter and Aphrodite is re-named Venus. Because of the numbers involved, no attempt has been made to indicate that a god mentioned in another's entry has an entry of his or her own. But if a deity is named without explanation, as Seth in the story of Horus and vice versa, the reader will usually find that an entry exists for that deity. When a name originates in a script form other than Roman, e.g. Sanskrit, the nearest phonetic equivalent is provided in the spelling. In many instances, particularly where there has been Greek influence, the name given is the Hellenized ver- sion. Where appHcable, the word Greek appears in [square brackets] as part of a heading: this applies to a number of Hellenized Egyptian deities whose Greek-style names are more commonly used; the original Egyptian name is then given at the end of the entry. The reader should be aware that other reference sources may interpret phonetics differ- ently and it is worth exploring possible alternative spellings if an entry is not immediately found. For illustration, the Greek god Asklepios may, in some other works, be entered as Asclepius. Spellings are generally those incorporated in the source refer- ence works cited in the bibliography. There are exceptions: the Loeb translations of Greek authors, for instance, tend to use "Romanized" spellings. Wherever applicable, a literal English translation of the meaning is given and alternative names and spellings may also be included under "synonyms" or at the end of the entry. If a form of a name is specific to a certain language or culture, this is also stated. It should be noted that in ancient Near Eastern pantheons, the sound sh is transcribed as /, and that in Baltic and some African languages, sh is tran- scribed as s. Generally, a c placed before the vowel sounds e or / is pronounced soft, Hke an ^. In all cases 2 should be pronounced like the French^ in jardin, though many people will prefer to employ the Anglicized pronunciation of names like Zeus. Although Encyclopedia of Gods represents the most comprehensive worldwide listing of deities available in a single volume, it makes no claim to be exhaustive. Aside from the reservations already stated, the volume of potential entries would make this an tmrealistic objective. The gods of Hatti (Hittite), for example, are described as being "in excess of 10,000." There are at least as many deities known to Japanese Shintoism. Many thousands more find their place in the Chinese pantheons. The volume therefore includes those names which a student or enthusiast of iconography or mythol- ogy would reasonably need to explore and which a casual reader or traveler might encounter in texts or inscriptions. One should always be aware that our present- day knowledge of the names and personalities of deities is strictiy governed. In too many instances ethnologists have simply not bothered to investi- gate local feiths before they have been corrupted or obliterated by the more universal modern reli- gions. Primitive societies have often been reluctant to speak the names of deities to outsiders for fear of divine — or missionary — reprisal. Thus there are accotmtable geographical gaps in what might otherwise be a more complete survey. Chronology of the Principal Religions and Cultures Covered in This Book CULTURE 1 I 1 1 3000 BC 2500 2000 1500 1000 500 1 1 1 1 — AD 500 1000 1500 2000 SUMERIAN EGYPTIAN AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINAL AKKADIAN- BABYLONIAN HINDU HITTITE- HURRIAN GREEK HEBREW MAYAN CELTIC BUDDHIST ROMAN AFRICAN YORUBA POLYNESIAN NORDIC- ICELANDIC CHRISTIAN INCA AZTEC NZ MAORI ISLAMIC ESTIMATED HISTORY KNOWN HISTORY A A-a Sun goddess. Mesopotamian (Babylonian-Akka- dian) and western Semitic. Consort of the sun god Samas. Also Aya. A'as God of wisdom. Hittite and Hurrian. Derived from the Mesopotamian model of Enki/Ea. A'as keeps the tablets of fate. Abandinus God of unknown affinities. Romano-Celtic (British). The name appears in an inscription at Cjodmanchester, Cambridge, England. Abellio Tree god. Romano-Celtic (Galhc). Known from inscriptions in the Garonne valley of southwest- ern France and thought to be associated with apple trees. Abeona Goddess of passage. Roman. Linked with the goddess Adeona, she is concerned with the safe going-out and coming-in of a child. Abgal 1. Desert god. Pre-Islamic northern Arabian. Known from the Palmyrian desert regions as a tutelary god of Bedouins and camel drivers. 2. Minor attendant spirits. Mesopotamian (Sumerian). Associated with Enke and residing in the Abzu or primeval water. Abhijit (victorious) Minor goddess of fortune. Hindu (Puranic). A benevolent naksatra or astral deity; daughter of Daksa and consort of Candra (Soma). Abhijnaraja Physician god. Buddhist-Lamaist [Tibet]. Accounted among a series of sMan-Bla (medi- cine buddhas). Typically depicted with stretched earlobes. Color: red. Abhimiikhi (friendly disposed) Minor goddess. Buddhist (Vajrayana). One of twelve deified Bhumis recognized as different spiritual spheres through which a disciple passes. Color: yellow. Attributes: book and staff. I 2 Abnoba Abnoba Forest and river goddess. Romano-Celtic (Conti- nental European). Known locally from the Black Forest region of Germany. The name "Avon," associated with many rivers, derives from her name. Abonsam Malevolent spirit. West African. Recognized by tribes in the Gold Coast, etc. Traditionally driven away in an annual expulsion ritual by firing guns and shouting loudly, emptying houses of furniture and beating the interiors with sticks. The abonsam was finally driven into the sea. The ritual was pre- ceded by four weeks of total silence in the area. Abu Minor vegetation god. Mesopotamian (Sumer- ian). Said to have sprung from the head of the god Enki, thus symboUzing plants emerging from the earth's soil. Abundantia Minor fertihty goddess. Roman. The personifica- tion of abtmdance. She continued in French myth- ology after the Roman occupation, as a lady who enters houses in the night, bringing prosperity. Abzu Primordial deity of underground waters, the "deep." Mesopotamian (Sumerian). His center of cult is at Eridu (southern Mesopotamia), and he was replaced in Akkadian times by APSU. Ac Yanto (our helper) God of white men. Mayan (classical Mesoameri- can) [Mexico]. The brother of the creator god Hachacyum. Responsible for the creation of European immigrants, including their possessions and products. Acacila Animistic spirit. Aymara Indian [Peru and Bolivia — ^Titicaca Basin]. One of a group of vaguely defined beings who control the weather, including rain, hail and frost. Acala (immovable) 1. Minor goddess. Buddhist (Vajrayana). One of twelve deified Bhumis recognized as different spiritual spheres through which a disciple passes. Color: white. Attributes: staff on a lotus. 2. Tutelary god. Buddhist (Mahayana). Also a dikpala or guardian of the northeastern quarter. Color: blue. Attributes: jewel, lotus, staff and sword. Acan God of wine. Mayan (Yucatec, classical Meso- american) [Mexico]. Identified with the local brew, balche, made from fermented honey to which the bark of the balche tree has been added. Acat God of tattooers. Mayan (classical Mesoameri- can) [Mexico]. Acca Larentia Obscure mother goddess. Roman. Believed in some traditions to be the mother of the Lares, but also the mother of the god Hercules and the adopted mother of Romulus, the founder of Rome. She was celebrated in the Larentalia festival on 23 December, which was also a feast of the dead. Adibuddha 3 Acchupta (untouched) Goddess of learning. Jain [India] . One of sixteen ViDYADEVi headed by the goddess Sarasvati. Acolmiztli (shoulder-lion) Alinor chthonic underworld god. Aztec (classi- cal Mesoamerican) [Mexico]. One of the deities collectively classed as the MiCTLANTECUHTLl complex. Acolnahuacatl Alinor chthonic underworld god. Aztec (classical Mesoamerican) [Mexico]. One of the deities collectively classed as the MiCTLANTECUHTLl complex. ADAD (wind) ORIGIN Mesopotamian (Babylonian-Akkadian). Weather god. KNOWN PERIOD OF WORSHIP circa 1900 BC or earlier to circa 200 BC. SYNONYMS Ramman (thunder); ISKUR (Siimerian). CENTEr(s) OF CULT Karakara and at Aleppo and Mari [Syria]. ART REFERENCES reliefs, stelac, glyptics, etc. LITERARY SOURCES Cuneiform texts including Atrahasis, inscriptions. Adad is derived from the older (Sumerian) model of Iskur. At Mari [Syria] he enjoyed a major cult following. Occasionally the subject of a sacred marriage ceremony in parts of Mesopotamia and Syria. His father is the supreme sky god Anu. He is described as a benevolent giver of life in the fields but is also a more violent storm god. His name in Akkadian cuneiform means "wind." His animal is the bull. In human form he is depicted wearing horned headdress and tiered skirt or robe decorated with astral symbolism. He may carry a scimitar embellished with a single panther head and his symbol is the lightning fork often fixed upon a pair of pincers. See also Hadad [Syrian] . Adatnas Primordial creator being. Gnostic Christian (Nassene). Recognized locally in Phrygia [north- western Turkey] as an androgynous force in the cosmos. Adeona Goddess of passage. Roman. See Abeona. Adhimukticarya Minor goddess. Buddhist (Vajrayana). One of twelve deified Bhumis recognized as different spiritual spheres through which a disciple passes. Color: red. Attributes: red lotus and staff. Adhimiikdvasita (control of confidence) Minor goddess. Buddhist. One of a group of twelve Vasitas or goddesses personifying the dis- ciplines of spiritual regeneration. Color: white. Attribute: flower bud. Adibuddha (the primeval buddha) The original BuDDHA. Buddhist. The primordial force in the cosmos from whom the five Dhyanibuddhas arose. The embodiment of the concept of emptiness. He is considered by some authorities to be identical with Vaharaja and Vajrasattva. His image, sitting on a lotus leaf, is often carried by other Buddhist deities. Epithets include Svabhava (self-creating), Svayambhu (self-enlightened). 4 Adidharma Adidharma (the primeval law) Primordial goddess. Buddhist-Lamaist [Tibet]. Particularly worshiped in Lamaism, she is the Sakti of Adibuddha. Attributes: cup and knife. Adikia Goddess of injustice. Greek. An ugly figure who is depicted on the Kypselos Chest being throttled by the goddess of justice Dike. Adimurti (the primeval personification) Form or avatara of the god ViSNU. Hindu (Epic and Puranic). Probably very similar to Narayana. Conventionally perceived as Visnu seated on the coils of the serpent Sesa (Adisesa) and attended by two wives. Attributes: those of Visnu. Also Vai- kunthanatha, Paramapathanatha. Aditi (the free one) Archaic mother goddess. Hindu (Vedic). Accord- ing to the Rg Veda Aditi is said to be the wife of Kasyapa or of Brahma and mother of the Adityas, a group of minor gods including MiTRA, Aryaman, Bhaga, Varuna, Daksa and Anisa. No other consort is mentioned in the literature. She is also accounted as the mother of Hari. Other leg- ends account her as the mother of the rain god Indra. No human physical features are drawn, though she is sometimes identified in the guise of a cow. Aditi is also perceived as a guardian goddess who brings prosperity and who can free her devo- tees from problems and clear away obstacles. She disappears largely from later Hindu traditions. Aditya (descendant of Aditi) Collective name for sun gods. Hindu (Vedic and Puranic). These numbered six in Vedic times but later increased to twelve. The sons of the pri- mordial goddess Aditi. Also an epithet for Surya. Attributes: two or more lotuses. ADONIS (lord) ORIGIN Hellenic name adopted predominantly in Phoenician and Syrian culture and based on an old western Semitic deity [Lebanon and Syria]. FertiUty and vegetation god. KNOWN PERIOD OF WORSHIP circa 200 BC (Seleu- cid period) to circa ad 400. SYNONYMS Adon (lord, Semitic). CENTER(s) of cult mainly at Berytus and Aphaca. art references sculptures, plaques, votive ste- lae, glyptics, etc. literary sources various literary texts (few inscriptions). Adonis is modeled on the Mesopotamian dying vegetation god DUMUZi (Hebrew: Tammuz). He appears as a youthful deity. The river Adonis [Nahr Ibrahim] is sacred to him largely because its waters flow red after heavy winter rains, having become saturated with ferrous oxide. In Hellenic tradition he is the son of the mythical Cyprian king Cinyras and his mother is Myrrha. Accord- ing to Hesiod he is also the son of Phoenix and Alphesiboea. He is the consort of Aphrodite. Tradition has it that he was killed by a boar dur- ing a hunting expedition and is condemned to the imderworld for six months of each year, during which the earth's vegetation parches and dies under the summer sun and drought. He was hon- ored in a spring festival when priests in effeminate costume gashed themselves with knives. Fre- quently depicted nude and sometimes carrying a lyre. Also Attis (Phrygian); Atunis (Etruscan). Adrastea Mountain goddess. Hellenized Phrygian [north- western Turkey] . Probably derived from a local AENGUS 5 Anatolian mountain deity. Known from inscrip- tions in Greece from circa 400 BC as a deity who defends the righteous. It is uncertain whether she bears any link with the Celtic goddess Andrasta. Adro Tutelary god. Lugbara [Lake Albert, East Africa]. The personification of grass fires and whirlwinds who, in antiquity, created mankind. Thought to hve in the vicinity of rivers with many wives and children. Aeacos Chthonic underworld god. Greco-Roman. One of three judges of Hades assessing the souls of the dead entering the underworld (see also MiNOS and Rhadamanthos). Identified by Plato as the son of Zeus and Aigina. In the Theogony (Hesiod), Aeacos is also the consort of Psamathe and father of Phocos. Also Aiakos. Aed Chthonic underworld god. Celtic (Irish). Known from inscriptions. Aed mac Lir, son of LiR and Aobh was, according to tradition, turned into a swan by his stepmother, Aoife. AEGIR (water) ORIGIN Icelandic (Nordic). God of the ocean. KNOWN PERIOD OF WORSHIP Viking period (circa AD 700) but probably earlier, through to Chris- tianization (circa AD 1 100). SYNONYMS none known. CENTER(s) of cult none known but probably enjoyed sanctuaries along the west coast of Norway and elsewhere in Nordic region. ART REFERENCES runic inscriptions; reliefs in metal and stone. LITERARY SOURCES Icelandic codices; Prose Edda (Snorri); Historia Danica (Saxo). A lesser known Aesir god of Asgard concerned with the moods of the sea and their implications for mariners. The river Eider was known to the Vikings as "Aegir's Door." Aegir is also depicted in some poetry as the "ale brewer," perhaps an allusion to the caldrons of mead which were thought to come from \mder the sea (see also the Celtic deities Dagda and Gobniu). There are references in literature to Saxons sacrificing captives, probably to Aegir, before setting sail for home. Linked in uncertain manner to the goddess Ran he was believed to have sired nine children, the waves of the sea, who were possi- bly giantesses. AENGUS ORIGIN Celtic (Irish). Of uncertain status. KNOWN PERIOD OF WORSHIP circa 500 BC or earlier until Christianization circa AD 400. SYNONYMS Mac Oc; Aengus Oc. CENTER(s) OF CULT Brugh na Boinne (Valley of the Boyne). ART REFERENCES various monumental carvings and inscriptions. LITERARY SOURCES Books of Invasions; Cycles of Kings. The son of the Dagda by "the wife of Elcmar" (one of the kings of Tara) who may have been the goddess BOANN, Aengus lived in the Valley of the Boyne and was closely linked with the ancient funerary tumuh in the region. According to legend, Aengus fell in love with a maiden whose identity he sought in vain. As he wasted away, his father and mother made enquiries until they located Caer, daughter of the king of Cannaught, who lived on Loch Bel Dragon in the shape of a swan with 150 attendant swans. 6 Aeolos Aengus eventually found her and he also changed into a bird. Aeolos God of storms and winds. Greek. One of the sons of Poseidon, said to have presented the winds in a leather bag to the hero Odysseus, and to have given the sail to seafarers. According to legend his home was the Aeolian Island [Lipari Island]. In one legend he is married to Eos and is the father of six sons, the various directional winds. The hexagonal Temple of Winds, on each side of which is depicted a flying figure of one of the winds, and which is dedicated to Aeolos, still stands at Athens. Aeolus God of storms and winds. Roman. Derived from the Greek storm god Aeolos, he is the consort of Aurora and the father of six sons, Boreas the north wind, CoRUS the northwest wind, Aquilo the west wind, NOTUS the south- west wind, Eurus the east wind and Zephyrus the south wind. Aequitas Minor god. Roman. Spirit of fair dealing, known particularly from the second century BC. Aericura Chthonic underworld god. Romano-Celtic. Known only from inscriptions. Aesculapius God of healing. Roman. Developed from the Greek deity ASKLEPIOS and introduced into Rome in 293 BC as a plague god. Attributes include the caduceus (winged scepter), the symbol of modern medicine. AESm ORIGIN Icelandic (Nordic). The major race of sky gods in Norse religion. KNOWN PERIOD OF WORSHIP Viking period (circa AD 700) but developed earlier, until Christian- ization (circa AD 1 100) and in some instances beyond. SYNONYMS none known. center(s) of cult throughout areas of Nordic influence, particularly at Uppsala in Sweden. ART REFERENCES engraving on stone and wea- pons; other art objects etc. LITERARY SOURCES Icelandic codices; Prose Edda (Snorri); Historia Danica (Saxo); various classi- cal authors. The twelve Aesir gods are headed by Othin, the All-Eather (see also the Koryak Siberian deity Quikinn.a'qu) and probably are, in part, derived from a Germanic pantheon established in prehis- tory. The Aesir follow a common pattern whereby cultures estabUsh a "senior" pantheon of great gods which usually number seven or twelve. Some of these are creator gods but do not necessarily include the archetypal founders of the cosmos. In mythology the Aesir exist in a realm known as Asgard, one of a number of heavens perceived in Nordic and Germanic lore. The gods live in great halls. Othin occupies Valaskjalf, roofed with silver, and in a separate building, Valhall, he assembles slain mortal heroes. These warriors will one day serve to defend Asgard in the final onslaught against the estabUshed order by the frost giants and other adversaries. The Aesir fought a primal battle with a rival group of gods, the Vamr. Their constant enemies, though, are the Erost Giants, the Midgard Serpent, a huge sea snake encircling the Nordic lands, and Eenrir, the great wolf who will catch and swallow the sun at the day of doom, Ragnarok. At that time it is foretold that the gods of Asgard will perish, and earth will be consumed by fire, finally to be cleansed by the rising waters of the sea before being born anew. Ah Bolon Dz'acab 7 Aether Primordial god of light. Greco-Roman. A remote cosmic deity, the son of Erebos (darkness) and Nyx (night) who overthrew these archetypal deities of chaos. In Hesiod's Epic Cycle he is also described as the father of OURANOS. Agathos Daimon (good demon) God of fortune. Greco-Roman. Known locally from Alexandria and depicted in the form of a snake. May have originated as an androgynous fertility spirit, but later becomes identified as the consort of Agathe Tyche (see Tyche). Liba- tions were made regularly to this deity after meals and he was regarded as a friendly house- hold guardian. Age God of animals. Fon [Benin, West Africa]. Revered by hunters in the savaimah regions. Aglibol Moon god. Pre-Islamic northern Arabian. Known from Palmyra and linked with the sun god Yarhibol. The cult continued into Hellenic times and was later extended to Rome. Attributes include a sickle moon. AGNI (fire) ORIGIN Hindu [India]. God of fire. KNOWN PERIOD OF WORSHIP circa 1500 BC onward and still recognized. SYNONYMS none. center(s) of cult known throughout areas of Hindu influence. art references sculptures and reliefs in metal and stone. LITERARY SOURCES Rg Veda and other texts. God of the sacrificial fire and the intercessor between gods and mankind, Agni is the son of Kasyapa and Aditi or, alternatively, of Dyaus and Prthivi. His consort is Svaha and, accord- ing to some texts, he is the father of the god Skanda. In a destructive capacity he is seen as an aspect of the god SiVA. He is also a guardian or dikpala of the southeastern quarter. In ancient hymns he is said to have been born in wood as the embryo life force of all trees and plants and he emerges when wood is rubbed together. Vehicles: a she-goat, or a chariot drawn by red horses or parrots. Color: red. Attributes: seven arms and sometimes the head of a goat, carrying a wide variety of objects. Agnikumara God. Jain [India]. One of the groups under the general title of Bhavanavasi (dwelUng in places). They have a youthful appearance and are associ- ated with rain and thunder. Agnostos Theos The unknown god(s) usually addressed in the plu- ral form. Greco-Roman. They were the subject of altar inscriptions, particularly in Athens, probably out of concern lest certain less popular deities be neglected or forgotten. Agu'gux Creator god. Aleut [Aleutian Islands]. The name given to the Christian god under Russian Ortho- dox influence. Ah Bolon Dz'acab (many generations) Chthonic fertility god. Mayan (classical Meso- american) [Mexico]. A god identified with rain and thimder. Also strongly linked with agriculture and young crops. Possibly a vegetation avatara of 8 Ah Cancun the iguana god ITZAM Na. Attributes include a leaf-like ornament worn in the nose. Also God K. Ah Cancun Hunting god. Mayan (classical Mesoamerican) [Mexico]. One of a number of deities in Mayan religion identified with the hunt and the protec- tion of animals. Also Acanum. Ah Chun Caan (he of the base of the sky) Local god. Mayan (Yucatec, classical Mesoamer- ican) [Mexico]. The tutelary deity of the city of Merida. Mentioned in the Vienna Dictionary. Ah CiUz God of solar eclipses. Mayan (classical Meso- american) [Mexico]. He is said to eat the sun dur- ing an eclipse, but at other times attends upon the Sim god, serving him meals. Ah Cuxtal (come to life) God of birth. Mayan (Lacandon, classical Meso- american) [Mexico]. Responsible for the safe delivery of women. Ah Hulneb (he of the spear thrower) God of war. Mayan (classical Mesoamerican) [Mexico]. The local guardian deity of the city of Cozumel. Ah Kin (he of the sun) Sun god. Mayan (classical Mesoamerican) [Mex- ico] . A deity of ambivalent personahty, the young suitor of the moon goddess Acna, also the aged sun god in the sky. He is feared as the bringer of drought, but also protects mankind from the powers of evil associated with darkness. Said to be carried through the underworld at night on the shoulders of the god Sucunyum. Ah Kin is prayed to at sunrise and rituals include the burning of incense. He is invoked to cure illness and to bring wives to bachelors. Attributes include a square third eye subtended by a loop, a strong Roman nose, a squint and incisor teeth filed to a T-shape. Also Acan Chob (Lacandon); Chi Chac Chob; Kinich Ahau; God G. Ah Kin Xoc God of poetry. Mayan (classical Mesoamerican) [Mexico]. Regarded as a great singer and musician since most Mayan poetry is sung or chanted. He may appear as a hummingbird and is considered by some authorities to be an avatara of the sun god. Also Ah Kin Xocbiltun; P'izlimtec. Ah Kumix Uinicob Attendant water gods. Mayan (Yucatec, classical Mesoamerican) [Mexico]. The four diminutive deities which take over from the giant Ah Patnar Uinicob deities during the dry season. AhMun Maize god. Mayan (Yucatec, classical Mesoamer- ican) [Mexico]. The deity responsible for pro- tecting the unripe maize. Ah Muzencab Bee gods. Mayan (Yucatec, classical Mesoameri- can) [Mexico]. The patron deities of apiarists still invoked in parts of the Yucatan. They are thought to be represented iconographically on the tops and bottoms of stone columns at the site of Chichen Itza as aged men with long beards and AHURA MAZDA 9 upraised arms. They wear loin cloths with dis- tinctive cross-hatching. Ah Patnar Uinicob (owners of the jars men) Attendant water gods. Mayan (Yucatec, classical Mesoamerican) [Mexico]. Four huge deities who pour water on to the earth from jars. The end of the dry season is marked on May 3, completing an eight-day rain ceremony. AhPeku Thunder god. Mayan (Lacandon, classical Mesoamerican) [Mexico]. He lives on the tops of hills and climbs into the clouds before it rains. Ah Tabai Hunting god. Mayan (classical Mesoamerican) [Mexico]. One of a number of deities in Mayan religion identified with the hunt and the protec- tion of animals. Ah Uincir Dz'acab God of healing. Mayan (Chorti, classical Meso- american) [eastern Guatemala]. The patron of herbalists and concerned with the preparation of remedies, he is depicted as having male and female identities, each concerned with the healing of their respective sexes. Also Ah Uincir Kopot. Ah Uuc Ticab Chthonic god. Mayan (classical Mesoamerican) [Mexico]. Minor fertility and vegetation deity. Aha (grandmother) River spirit. Yakut [central Siberia]. The guardian and apotheosis of rivers. Ahriman Chthonic god of darkness. Zoroastrian (Farsi-Per- sian). The antagonist of Ahura Mazda, god of light, and his attendant, MiTHRA. The name is a modern derivation of the original Avestan title Angru Mainyu. Ahriman is said to have tried to persuade his attendant animals, including the scor- pion, ant and snake, to drink the blood of the bull slain by Mithra in the primeval legend of dualistic conflict (see Mithra); if he had succeeded he wovild have prevented life from forming on earth. In another legend he tried to thwart Ahura Mazda by sending a flood to destroy the world. Also recog- nized in Roman Alithraism. Rituals included ani- mal sacrifice. Also Arimanius (Roman). AHURA MAZDA ORIGIN Persian [Iran]. God of light. KNOWN PERIOD OF WORSHIP circa 1500 BC to end of Roman Empire period, circa AD 400. SYNONYMS none. center(s) of cult throughout ancient Near East during Persian and Roman Empire periods. ART references various sculptures and rehefs. LITERARY SOURCES Avestia. Ahura Mazda probably originates as the Hindu Vedic god Varuna. In Persian religion he becomes the god of Ught and truth in the Zoroas- trian concept of dualism. His chief attendant god is Mithra(s) and his adversary is Ahriman, the god of darkness. According to tradition his first creation, a wild bull, was confined to a cave by Mithras. When it escaped, Mithras was charged with finding and slaying it. The bull's blood fell to earth and from the drops life formed. Ahura Mazda is not mentioned in Roman Mithraic inscriptions but he is, by implication, the central figure in Mithraism. In the Mithraeum in Rome (S. Prisca), Ahura Mazda is considered to be a recUning figure on whom Mithras attends. I O Ahurani Although never popular among the civilian pop- ulation, Mithraism spread under Flavius and was widespread among the Roman military, though it always enjoyed a greater following in the east than in the west. It was one symptom of the more gen- eral Roman return to sun worship. In AD 307, a sanctuary on the Danube was dedicated to Mithras (and Ahura Mazda) in an effort to sustain military power in the empire. Ahurani (mistress of Ahura) Fertility goddess. Zoroastrian (Persian). Invoked by ordinary people to bring prosperity and chil- dren. Water Ubations were a key part of the ritual. Ai Apaec Supreme god. Mochica Indian (pre-Columbian South America) [northern coast of Peru]. Probably originated as a jaguar god but came to rule the des- tinies of the world. He was thought to live like ordi- nary people and could reveal himself as man or god at will. He is depicted in anthropomorphic form, but with huge fangs and a cat-like wrinkled face with whiskers coming from his nose. He received sacrificial victims hurled fi-om the top of a high diff. Aides See hades. Aine Obscure sky or sun goddess. Celtic (Irish). May have an association with horses. Aj alamo God of unborn children. Yoruba [Nigeria, West Africa]. According to legend, in some vague mythological realm there exist rows of shelves with spirits of the mborn. These are the respon- sibiHty of Ajalamo. Ajaya (invincible) Minor goddess. Buddhist (Mahayana). An atten- dant of BUDDHAKAPALA. Aje Goddess of wealth. Yoruba [Nigeria, West Africa]. She is thought to appear as a fowl scratch- ing the earth and, in creation mythology, was sent down with Oduduwa, the earth goddess. Aji- Shiki-Taka-Hiko-Ne Rain god. Shinto [Japan]. One of the Raijin deities whose name is often linked with that of Kamo-Waka-Ikazuchi. Ajysyt Maternal spirit. Yakut [central Siberia]. The deity who oversees the lying-in of an expectant mother and who brings the child's soul to the child-bed. The term ajysyt can also apply to a male spirit, thus the ajysyt that oversees the birth of horses is male, while that of horned cattle is female. Akasagarbha (essence of the sky) Astral god. Buddhist (Mahayana) and Lamaist [Tibet]. One of the bodhisattv^s or spiritual meditation buddhas. He Hves in the "womb of the sky." Color: green. Attributes: book, jewel, lotus and sun disc. Also Khagarbha. In Japanese Buddhism this deity becomes the god Kokuzo. Akelos River god. Greek. The son of Okeanos and Tethys. According to mythology he was a rival suitor for Deianeira who became the wife of Her- AKLES. He was the consort of Melpomene and his daughters were allegedly the sirenes. A river of the Ala I I same name rans into the Ionian Sea. Attributes include bull horns. Also Achlae (Etrurian). Aken Chthonic imderworld god. Egyptian. The keeper of the underworld ferry boat. Aker Chthonic earth god of passage. Egyptian. Known from the Old Kingdom (circa 2700 BC onward). Controls the interface between eastern and west- ern horizons of the underworld, and is the guardian of the gate through which the king passes into the underworld. Aker provides a safe course for the barque of the stm god during its passage through the underworld at night. He may be seen as the socket holding the boat's mast. He is also considered benevolent against snake bites. Represented by opposite facing pairs of human or Hon heads. Akeru PluraUstic chthonic earth gods. Egyptian. Prob- ably stemming from the pre-Dynastic period. Malevolent deities who can seize and imprison the souls of the deceased. Akonadi Oracular goddess. Ghanaian [West Africa]. Known in the region around Accra where she has had a celebrated oracular shrine. She is regarded as a goddess of justice and a guardian deity of women. Akongo Creator god. Ngombe [Democratic Republic of Congo, central Africa]. The supreme deity con- sidered to have given the world, and all that is in it, form and substance. Aksayajnana-Karmanda (undecaying knowledge of Karma) Deification of literature. Buddhist. One of a group of twelve Dharanis. Color: red. Attrib- utes: basket with jewels, and staff. AKSOBHYA (imperturbable) ORIGIN Buddhist [India]. The second dhyani- buddha or meditation buddha. KNOWN PERIOD OF WORSHIP circa 500 BC tO present. SYNONYMS Vajrasana; Vajraheruka. center(s) of cult pan-Asiatic. ART references metal and stone sculptures, paintings. literary sources Sadhanamala and Tantric rit- ual texts. One of five mystic spiritual counterparts of a human buddha in Vajrayana Buddhism. A product of the AdibuDDHA who represents the branch of the cosmos concerned with consciousness. He originates from the blue mantra HUM and lives in the eastern paradise Abhirati. His Sakti is Locana and he is normally accompanied by two elephants. Color: blue. Attributes include bell, three monk- ish robes and staff, also jewel, lotus, prayer wheel and sword. Aksobhya may also be a totelary deity in Lamaism [Tibet] in which case his attributes are similar. Emanations include Heruka, Manjusri, Vajrapani and a large number of minor names. See also Amitabha, Amoghasiddhi, Rat- nasambhava and Vairocana. Ala Chthonic fertility goddess. Ibo [eastern Nigeria, West Africa] . A popular deity who is also goddess of the underworld linked vnth a cult of the dead (which rest in her womb). Her temple is the Mbari which contains a cult statue depicting the goddess seated with a child in her arms and adorned with 1 2 Alad Udug Lama the crescent moon. She is flanked by attendant deities. She enjoys a profusion of local shrines which are well suppHed with votive offerings. Seri- ous crimes including murder are considered to be offenses against her. An annual yam festival is cel- ebrated in her honor. Also Ale, Ana, Ani. Alad Udug Lama Collective name of guardian deities. Mesopo- tamian (Sumerian and Babylonian- Akkadian). Vague spirits who accompany major deities and dispense good fortune. Alaisiagae Minor goddesses. Romano-Celtic (British). They are identified at Houseteads (Northumberland) in a shrine to Mars Thincsus. Alalu Primordial god. Hittite and Hurrian. The arche- typal deity who precedes An(u) in the formation of the cosmos. He was identified by the Greeks as Hypsistos (the highest). Alatangana Creator god. Kono [eastern Guinea, West Africa] . One of two creator deities; the other is Sa. Ala- TANGANA created land from swamp and placed vegetation on earth. Vajrapani and a large number of minor names. See also Amitabha, Amoghasiddhi, Ratnasam- BHAVA and Vairocana. Alaunus Local god. Romano-Celtic (Continental Euro- pean). Known fi-om areas around Mannheim and Salzburg. The Romans syncretized him with Mercurius. Alcis Unknown status. Germanic and possibly Ice- landic (Nordic). The Alcis are twin deities (brothers) known only as sons of the sky gods. From Germanic times we have a La Tene urn with pictures of paired men on horseback and linked by a wooden beam. Tacitus describes the worship of twin gods by the Naharvali tribe, their priests dressed in effeminate costume (see also the Phrygian deity Attis). They may have been worshiped in forest sanctuaries along the north- ern coast of Europe. Alemona Goddess of passage. Roman. Concerned with the health of the unborn child. Alisanos Local chthonic earth god. Romano-Celtic (Gal- Uc). Known only from inscription in the region of the Cote d'Or and associated with the land. Also AUsonus, AUsanus. Alk'unta'm S\m god. Bella Coola Indian [British Columbia, Canada]. Linked closely with Senx, both are of equal significance. His mother is a cannibal woman, Nunuso' mikeeqone'im, who can turn into a mosquito. ALLAH ORIGIN Nabataean and Arabic. Derived from the western Semitic god II. KNOWN PERIOD OF WORSHIP circa 300 EC until present. SYNONYMS none. center(s) of cult Mecca [Saudi Arabia]. ART REFERENCES none. literary sources Qur'an. AMATERASU-O-MI-KAMI 13 The creator god of Islam. Perceived in pre- Islamic times as the creator of the earth and water. Named by the prophet Muhammad as the one true god and given a hundred names or epithets in the Qur'an, ninety-nine of which are known to mankind and accounted on the rosar}^ beads; the final name remains a mystery. No representation of Allah is made in art. Allat (goddess) Astral and tutelary goddess. Pre-Islamic northern and central Arabian. One of the three daughters of Allah. At Palmyra she was regularly invoked as a domestic guardian either as Allat or AsTARTE with whom she is closely linked. At Ta'if she was symbolized in the form of a white granite stone. In Hellenic times she became syncretized with Athena or, according to Herodotus who called her Ahlat, with Aphrodite. See also Atarsamain. Allatu(m) Chthonic underworld goddess. Western Semitic. Modeled on the Mesopotamian goddess Eres- KIGAL and possibly also equating with Arsay in Canaanite mythology. Recognized by the Carthaginians as Allatu. Almaqah Tutelary astral god. Pre-Islamic southern Ara- bian. Worshiped by the Saba tribe, his sacred ani- mal is the bull. Attributes include lightning bolts and a sinuate weapon. Alpanu Chthonic underworld goddess. Etruscan. Depicted wearing jewels, a loose cloak and san- dals but otherwise naked. Also arguably a goddess of sexual love. Ama-arhus Fertility goddess. Mesopotamian (Babylonian- Akkadian). Mentioned in texts as being among the pantheon at Uruk in Hellenistic times but also found as an earlier manifestation of the god GULA. Also Arad-Ama-arhus, Amat-Ama-arhus. Amaethon God of agriculture. Celtic (Welsh). A son of Don and brother of GWYDION, he is known from a Umited number of Welsh texts and was engaged in a mythical battle against the Arawn. Associ- ated with ploughing and husbandry. The modern Welsh name for a farmer is amaethwr. Amasagnul Fertility goddess. Mesopotamian (Babylonian- Akkadian). Mentioned in prebend documents from the Hellenistic period at Uruk and thought to be the consort of the god Papsukkal. AMATERASU-O-MI-KAMI ORIGIN Shinto Uapan]. Sun goddess. KNOWN period OF WORSHIP circa AD 600 or ear- lier until present. SYNONYMS Shinmei; O-Hiru-Me-No-Muchi; Tensho-Ko-Daijin. center(s) of cult Ise Naiku shrine; many oth- ers throughout Japan. ART references sculptures and paintings, etc. LITERARY SOURCES Nihofigi; Kojiki Japanese sacred texts). The central figure of Shintoism and the ancestral deity of the imperial house. One of the daughters of the primordial god IZANAGI and said to be his favorite offspring, she was born from his left eye. She is the sibling of SUSANO-Wo, the storm god. According to mythology she and Susano-Wo are obliged to join each other in order to survive. I 4 Ama-Tsu-Mara Susano-Wo ascends with her to heaven but is thrown out after trying to enter her house and committing various excesses. Amaterasu reftises to be sullied and obstinately hides herself away in a cave. It requires the combined diplomacy and craft of many other deities to persuade her to come out. The lure is the "perfect divine mirror" in which she sees her reflection. The birth of the two deities is considered to mark the transition between cosmic and material genesis. The Ise Naikxi sanctoary is visited by about five milhon devotees each year and Amaterasu takes pride of place in every family shrine. Sometimes her shrines are placed adjacent to those of Susano-Wo. She is also the tutelary goddess of the emperor. I lers tends to be a monotheistic cult in which all other deities take a subservient place. Though powerful she does not always succeed and is often subject to attack. She has been arguably identified with the god VAlROCANA in Buddhist religion. Ama-Tsu-Mara God of smiths. Shinto [Japan]. Depicted as a one-eyed ithyphallic god comparable to the Greek Cyclopes. He is strongly instrumental in fashioning the "perfect divine mirror" with which the sun goddess, Amaterasu, is lured from her cave. Also Ma-Hiko-Tsu-No-Kami. Amaunet (the hidden one) Fertility goddess. Egyptian (Upper). Amaunet seems to have a taken a role as an early consort of Amun, one of the eight deities of the Ogdoad and representing hidden power. In that context she is depicted anthropomorphically but with the head of a snake. She is shown in reUefs and as the sub- ject of a notable statue from the Record Hall of luthmosis ILL at the Karnak complex of Thebes, where she was recognized as a benign protective deity especially called on at times of royal acces- sion. As a fertihty goddess she was largely ecUpsed by the goddess MUT. She is sometimes equated with Neith, the creator goddess of Sais, and her attributes may include the red crown of the Delta. Ame-No-Kagase-Wo Astral deity. Shinto [Japan]. The most important of the star KAMI said to have been executed by the god FuTSU-NuSHi because he would not be paci- fied during the process of cosmic genesis. Ame-No-Mi-Kumari-No-Kami Water goddess. Shinto Japan]. One of the daugh- ters of Minato-No-Kami, the god of river mouths and estuaries, she is known as the "heavenly water divider" and her cult is linked with that of Kuni- No-Mi-Kumari-No-Kami. AME-NO-MEVAKA-NUSHI-NO- KAMI (the deity master of the august center of heaven) ORIGIN Shinto [Japan]. Supreme god. KNOWN PERIOD OF WORSHIP circa AD 600 until present. SYNONYMS none significant. center(s) OF CULT none. ART REFERENCES none. LITERARY SOURCES Kojiki (Japanese sacred text). The highest deity of the Shinto pantheon and the first to emerge in Takama-No-Hara (the plain of high heaven) when heaven and earth were fash- ioned. He was born alone, resides in the ninth heaven and has always hidden himself from mor- tal eyes. A remote and vague figure of whom no images are ever made and toward whom no cult is directed. His name only appears once in the Kojiki and never in the Nihongi. Originally his identity AMITABHA 15 may have been strongly influenced by Chinese religion. His name is linked closely with those of two other lesser primordial beings, Taka-Mi-Mis- ubi-No-Kami and Kami-Misubi-No-Kami. Ame-No-Tanabata-Hime-No-Mikoto Astral goddess of weavers. Shinto [Japan]. One of two star apotheoses who are, according to tradi- tion, deeply in love with each other. Her partner is HiKOBOSHi. Her name is generally abbreviated to Tanabata, the title of a festival in honor of the goddess which became a national event in Japan in AD 75 5 . The festival later became merged with the Tibetan Bon Ullumbana festival of the dead. Also Shokujo. Ame-No-Toko-Tachi-No-Kami (deity standing eternally in heaven) Primordial being. Shinto [Japan]. The fifth of the deities to emerge in the heavens, named in both the sacred texts of Shintoism, the Kojiki and Nihongi, but probably strongly influenced by Chi- nese religion. Born from a reed floating in the primeval waters. See also UMAsm-Asm-KABi-Hnco-Ji-No-KAMl. Ame-No-Uzume Goddess of dancers. Shinto [Japan]. She plays a part in enticing the sun goddess, Amaterasu, from her cave using the perfect divine mirror. Ame- Waka-Hiko (heavenly young prince) God. Shinto [fapan]. According to tradition he was sent to earth on a vital mission but became preoccupied with a number of mortal women, forgot his purpose and did not report back to heaven. His punishment was to be slain by an arrow fired from the "heavenly true deer bow." Am-Heh Chthonic underworld god. Egyptian. A minor deity said to inhabit a lake of fire. The so-called "devourer of the millions." Depicted with the head of a hound. Amida Primordial deity. Buddhist (Japanese). The Japan- ese equivalent of Amitabha recognized from the eleventh and twelfth centuries ad. Amimitl Minor god of lakes and fish hunters. Aztec (classical Mesoamerican) [Mexico]. One of the deities collectively classed as the MIXCOATL- CAMAXTLI complex. AMITABHA (of unmeasured splendor) ORIGIN Buddhist [India]. The fourth dhyani- buddha or meditation buddha. KNOWN PERIOD OF WORSHIP circa 500 BC tO present. SYNONYMS Vajradharma and possibly Amitayaus. center(s) of cult pan-Asiatic. ART REFERENCES metal and stone sculptures, paintings. LITERARY SOURCES Sadhanamala and Tantric rit- ual texts. One of five mystic spiritual counterparts of a human buddha in Vajrayana Buddhism. A product of the Adibuddha who represents the branch of the cosmos concerned with consciousness. He originates from the red mantra HRIH and Uves in the western paradise Sukhavati. The cult may have been influenced by Iranian hght reUgions. His Sakti is Pandara and he is normally accom- panied by two peacocks. Color: red. Attributes: lock of hair, lotus, monk's robe and water jar. 16 Aimn Amitabha is also taken as a tutelary god in Lamaism [Tibet] in which case his attributes include bell, jewel and three monkish robes. Ema- nations include Padmapani, Manjusri and many other minor names. See also Aksobhya, Amoghasiddhi, Rat- NASAMBHAVA and VAIROCANA. Amm Moon god. Pre-Islamic southern Arabian. The tutelary deity of the Qataban tribe. Also revered as a weather god. Attributes include Ughtning bolts. Amma (1) Local tutelary god. Dravidian (Tamil). Known from southern India. Amma (2) Creator god. Dogon [Mali, West Africa]. He first created the sun by baking a clay pot until it was white hot and coiling a band of copper around it eight times. He created the moon in similar fashion but used brass. Black people were created from sunlight and white from moonlight. Later, having circumcised the earth goddess, whose clitoris was an anthill, he impregnated her and produced the first crea- ture, a jackal. Next he fertilized her with rain to engender plant Hfe and finally became the father of mankind. Ammavaru Primordial mother goddess. Hindu-Dravidian. Known locally from east central India and wor- shiped by the Dravidian tribe of Telugu. She is said to have generated the cosmic egg in the sea of milk from which the major gods Brahma, ViSNU and Siva were born. Ammut (devouress of the dead) Chthonic underworld goddess. Egyptian. A sig- nificant deity who allegedly consumes the dead if their hearts are found weighed down with guilt in the Judgment Hall of the Two Truths during the Weighing of the Heart ceremony. Ammut has a fearsome aspect and sits alongside forty-two juror gods named in the Book of the Dead. Depicted with the head of a crocodile, the trunk and fore-limbs of a lion and the hind part of a hippopotamus. See also Thoth and Maat. Amoghapasa God. Buddhist. A variety of AVALOKITESVARA, depicted with one head and six, eight or twenty hands. Attributes: arrow, bell, lotus, noose, prayer wheel, rosary, staff and tiger skin. AMOGHASIDDHI (unfailing power) ORIGIN Buddhist [India]. The fifth dhyanihuddha or meditation buddha. KNOWN PERIOD OF WORSHIP circa 500 BC tO present. SYNONYMS Kharmaheruka. center(s) of cult pan-Asiatic. ART REFERENCES metal and stone sculptures, paintings. LITERARY SOURCES Sadhanamala and Tantric ritual texts. One of five mystic spiritual counterparts of a human buddha in Vajrayana Buddhism. A product of the Adibuddha who represents the branch of the cosmos concerned with consciousness. He originates from the green mantra HUM and lives in the northern paradise. His Sakti is Arya-Tara and he is normally accompanied by two Garudas or dwarfs. Color: green. Attributes: staff and sometimes seven-headed snake. Amoghasiddhi is also taken as a tutelary deity in Lamaism [Tibet] AMUN 17 in which case his attributes include bell, three monkish robes and prayer wheel. Emanations include Visvapani and many other minor names. See also Aksobhya, Amitabha, Ratnasamb- HAVA and Vairocana. Amor God of love. Roman. Developed from the Greek god Eros. Depicted as a winged youth. According to tradition he awoke the goddess Psyche with a kiss. Attributes include arrows, bow and torch. The popular epithet Cupid was only appUed by poets. Amphion God. Greek. Theban variant on the god POLY- DEUKES. Amphitrite Sea goddess. Greek. According to Theogony (Hes- iod), one of the fifty daughters of Nereus and Doris. Considered to calm stormy seas, traveling in a boat made of mussels. She was among those present at the birth of APOLLO. AMUN (the hidden one) ORIGIN Egypt. Supreme creator god. KNOWN PERIOD OF WORSHIP probably pre- Dynastic but historically circa 2400 BC to end of Egyptian period (circa AD 400). SYNONYMS Amun kem-atef (snake god); Amun kamutef (fertihty god). center(s) of cult Thebes (Luxor) — Great Temple of Amun at Karnak; Luxor Temple south of Karnak dedicated to the ithyphallic form of Amun kamutef. ART REFERENCES many portraits on temple walls, etc; reUefs; statues; obeUsks including notably that of Queen Hatshepsut; stelae. LITERARY SOURCES Pyramid Texts from the end of Dynasty V (2494-2345 BC); temple hymns; the Book of the Dead; the Great Harris Papyrus; many other textual references. Amun is a sun god, lord of the sky and king of the Egyptian world. He is perceived as a primeval deity present in chaos at the creation of the cos- mos and is therefore also one of the eight deities of the Ogdoad coupled with the goddess Amaunet and representing hidden power. He is portrayed as a pharaoh, with blue skin and wear- ing a modius (turban) surmounted by two tall plumes of feathers symbolic of dominance over both Upper and Lower Egj^t. In addition to the major temples at Luxor, further sanctuaries were built beyond the first Nile cataract at Amada, Soleb, Gebel Barkal and Abu Simbel. Amun is symbolized chiefly by a ram with curved horns. The Nile goose is also sacred to him. He is a god regarded as hidden but spread- ing throughout the cosmos, unseen but every- where. Though depicted anthropomorphically, in temple hymns other deities describe him as "hid- den of aspect, mysterious of form." In the New Kingdom, from the middle of the sixteenth cen- tury BC onward, Amun was drawn as a manifesta- tion of the ancient stm god of Heliopolis, which effectively raised his prestige still further and earned him the title "king of the gods." He was also regarded as being the father of each pharaoh. At Thebes he was revered as a snake deity with attendant connotations of immortaUty and end- less renewal. As a member of the Ogdoad he has the head of a snake. Amun's ithyphallic form probably came from the notion that because he was "first formed" of the gods, he could not have a father and therefore had to impregnate his own mother. He is gener- ally regarded as a god with great sexual attributes. The Temple of Queen Hatsepsut at Deir el- Bahari bears a relief of her mother impregnated I 8 Amurru by Amun. A similar scene exists in the Temple of Amenhotep III at Luxor. The Great Hall of Hypostyle is filled with wall paintings of Amun and the pharaoh, and contains several proces- sions honoring Amun. By the twelfth century BC the Amun priesthood was a powerful force in Egypt, leading to the eventual contest between Amun and Aten, the god "created" by Amen- hotep IV Amun's eclipse was short-Hved and he returned to prominence until the end of Egypt- ian history. Amurru Mountain god. Western Semitic. A minor consort of Athirat whose attributes include a shepherd's crook and who was probably worshiped by herders. Known mainly from inscriptions. Also Martu. AN (1) (sky) ORIGIN Mesopotamian (Sumerian) [Iraq]. Supreme creator god. KNOWN PERIOD OF WORSHIP circa 3500 BC tO 2000 BC but continuing as Babylonian creator god (see Anu) until 100 Bc: or later. SYNONYMS Anu (Akkadian). center(s) of cult Unug [modern Warka] . ART REFERENCES none known but probably rep- resented symbolically on seals and seal impres- sions from third millennium onward. LITERARY SOURCES Cuneiform texts including Sumerian creation accounts, and the Babylon- ian epic Enuma Elis. In Sumerian creation mythology An is the supreme being and, with his chthonic female principle, Kl, is the founder of the cosmos. Also, in some texts, identified as the son of Ansar and KiSAR. The head of the older generation of gods. He is believed to have formed the basis for the calendar and is arguably first represented in bovine form having been derived from the old herders' pantheon. He is identified in some texts as the "bull of heaven." According to legends, heaven and earth were once inseparable until An and Ki bore a son, Enlil, god of the air, who cleaved heaven and earth in two. An carried away heaven. Ki, in company with EnlU, took the earth. An is also paired with the goddess Nammu by whom he fathered Enki. Patron god of Unug (Erech in the Vetus Testamentum), An is always a remote shadowy figure who occasionally lends a hand to tilt the balance of fate but otherwise tends to be out of touch with the day-to-day affairs of heaven and earth. His main sanctuary is the Eanna temple. After the Semitic takeover of Sumer by Sargon the Great circa 2500 BC, Enlil supersedes him as supreme national god of the Sumerian city states. An (2) Possibly a female principle of the creator god An. Mesopotamian (Sumerian). Early iconography suggests a celestial sky goddess in the form of a cow whose udders produce rain and who becomes ANTu(m) in the Akkadian pantheon. Anaitis Fertihty goddess. Persian [Iran]. Her influence extended through eastern Europe. In pre-Chris- tian Armenia, the center of her cult was at Acilisena where noble families regularly surren- dered their daughters to service as cultic prosti- tutes. Anala (fire) Attendant god. Hindu (Puranic). One of a group of eight Vasu deities answering to the god INDRA. Axiaulikutsai'x 1 9 Ananke Goddess of destiny. Greek. Considered to be a universal presence. Depicted holding a spindle. Ananta Snake god. Hindu (Puranic). One of a group of seven snake deities or Mahanagas. Anantamukhi (with the face of Ananta) Deification of literature. Buddhist. One of a group of twelve Dharanis. Color: green. Attrib- utes: staff and water jar with treasure. Anantesa Minor deity. Hindu (Puranic). One of a group of eight emancipated "lords of knowledge" or ViDYESVARAS considered to be aspects of SlVA. ANAT ORIGIN Canaanite and Phoenician [northern Israel, Lebanon and Syria]. Fertility and war goddess. KNOWN PERIOD OF WORSHIP From prehistoric times (circa 2500 BC;) until AD 200 or later. SYNONYMS Anath; Lady of the Mountain; Antit (Egyptian). center(s) of cult Ugarit [Ras Samra] and gen- erally in places down the corn-growing coastal regions of the eastern Mediterranean. ART REFFRENCES named specifically in Egyptian hieroglyphic on a stele from Bethsan; described on various other votive inscriptions, clay plaques etc. LITERARY SOURCES Ugaritic texts from Ras Samra; various offering lists. The sister of Baal, Anat is primarily a fertility goddess. In art she is usually depicted naked, with breasts and vaginal area prominent. Often she wears a coiffure similar to that of the Egypt- ian goddess Hathor, with whom at times she has been closely linked. Anat is described vari- ously as "mother of the gods" and "mistress of the sky." In addition to her fertility role, she is a youthful and aggressive goddess of war, a capac- ity in which she was adopted by Egypt from the end of the Middle Kingdom (early eighteenth century BC) and particularly through the Hyksos Dynasty when she was prominent in Lower Egypt. A sanctuary was dedicated to her at Tanis and she was identified as a daughter of the sun god Re with warlike attributes of lance, battle-ax and shield. She impressed Rameses II whose daughter was called Bin-Anat (daughter of Anat). Rameses III adopted her as his "shield" in battle. The Ras Samra stele describes her as "Antit, queen of heaven and mistress of all the gods." Known as the "virgin Anat," she indulged in orgies of violence "wading up to her thighs in blood and gore." She may be one of a triad of goddesses with Athirat and Asera. In the classic Canaanite confrontation legend, after the pri- mordial battle between good and evil in the guise of Baal and MoT, Anat searched out the body of Baal. She buried it and caught up with his slayer. Mot, to take appropriate retribution. She cleaved and winnowed, burned and ground Mot in a curi- ous variation of a common theme associated else- where with gods of vegetation (see OsiRis). She also features in the Legend ofAqhat, in which she sends an eagle to slay the youth when he refuses to give her his magical bow. Anaulikutsai'x River goddess. Bella Coola Indian [British Columbia, Canada]. Said to oversee the arrival and departure of the salmon in the rivers. She Uves in a cave called Nuskesiu'tsta. 20 Anbay Anbay Local tutelary god. Pre-Islamic southern Arabian. Regarded as a god of justice and an oracular source attending the moon god Amm. Ancamna Water goddess. Romano-Celtic (Continental European). Known only from inscriptions at Trier. Andarta Fertility goddess (probable). Celtic (Gallic). Patron goddess of the Vocontii tribe. Her name seems to have derived either from artos (bear) or ar (ploughed land). See also Andrasta. Andjety Chthonic underworld god. Egyptian (Lower). Minor deity in anthropomorphic form known from the Pyramid Texts. Identified with the ninth nome (district). Responsible for rebirth in the afterlife and regarded as a consort of several fertility goddesses. He was revered at Busiris where he clearly heralded the cult of Osiris. Attributes: high conical crown (similar to the atef cTown of Osiris) decorated with two tall plumes, crook and flail. In early Pyramid Texts, the feathers are replaced by a bicornuate uterus. See also Osiris. Andrasta Goddess of war. Romano-Celtic (British). The patron goddess of the Iceni tribe. The warrior queen Boudicca is reported to have prayed to her before batde and she was the recipient of human sacrifice. Andrasta does not appear in Celtic Gaul, though a deity called Andraste is mentioned by the Roman writer Dio Cassius. The name may also be linked to the goddess Andarta. Also Adrastea. Anexdomarus Local tribal deity. Romano-Celtic (British). God of uncertain affinities but hnked with APOLLO. Angru Mainyu (evil spirit) Chthonic underworld god of darkness. Persian [Iran] . The original Zoroastrian name of the chief antagonist of Ahura Mazda. See also Ahriman. Anhouri Minor god. Egyptian. A deity whose mummy was allegedly kept at Tanis. Ani Sky god. Etruscan. Identified as residing in the highest heaven and sometimes depicted with two faces, equating possibly with the Roman god Janus. Anila (wind) Attendant god. Hindu (Puranic). One of a group of eight Vasu deities answering to the god INDRA. Anjea Animistic fertility spirit. Australasia. Known to tribesmen on the Pennefather River, Queensland, AustraUa and believed to place mud babies in the wombs of pregnant women. The grandmother of a newly born infant buried the afterbirth, which was collected by Anjea and kept in a hollow tree or some such sanctuary until the time came to instill it into another child in the womb. Anu (1) 21 Ankalamman Guardian goddess. Hindu-Dravidian (Tamil). Known particularly in southern India where she wards off demons. Alternatively she is an aspect of Kali. Anna Kuari Local vegetation goddess. Indian. Worshiped by the Oraon tribe of Chota Nagpur. The recipient of human sacrifice in the spring months, she was believed to endow riches on the sacrificer and to ensure plentiful harvest while Uving in his house in the form of a child. Anna Perenna Protective goddess. Roman. Allegedly she saved the plebeians from femine in their conflict with the patricians in ancient Roman mythology. An open- air festival dedicated to her was held on March 1 5 each year in a grove lying to the north of Rome. Annamurti Form of the god ViSNU. Hindu (Puranic). The patron deity of kitchens and food. A shrine at Sri- rangam in southern India contains two-armed bronze images of the god. Attributes: a ball of rice in one hand, and in the other a container of payasa (sweetened milk and rice). Ansa Minor sun god. Hindu (Puranic). One of six Aditya descendants of Aditi. Ansar Primordial deity. Mesopotamian (Babylonian- Akkadian). Mentioned in the Babylonian creation epic Enuma Elis as one of a pair of offspring (with Kisar) of Lahmu and Lahamu, and who in turn created Anxj. Ansar is linked with heaven while Kisar is identified with earth. Anti Guardian deity. Egyptian (Upper). Seems to have become assimilated with HORUS and was one of the protectors of the eastern sky in which the sun rises. According to some texts he is also responsi- ble for the decapitation of the goddess Hathor in a conflict for the throne of Egypt. Anti is known from Aliddle Kingdom coffin texts (circa 2000 BC). Depicted as a falcon, or a human with a falcon's head, standing on a crescent-shaped barque. ANTU ORIGIN Mesopotamian (Babylonian-Akkadian) [Iraq]. Creator goddess. KNOWN PERIOD OF WORSHIP circa 2000 BC, but evolving fi-om prehistory, to circa 200 BC. SYNONYMS Antum; ANUNITU. center(s) OF CULT Uruk and Babylon. ART REFERENCES glyptics, stone Carvings, etc. LITERARY SOURCES Babylonian creation epic Enuma Elis documents relating to the akitu festival. Antu is a Babylonian goddess derived from the older Sumerian Kl, though the cosmogony has been altered to suit a separate tradition. The con- sort of the god of heaven, Anu, she was a domi- nant feature of the Babylonian akitu festival until as recently as 200 BC, her later pre-eminence pos- sibly attributable to identification with the Greek goddess Hera. Anu (1) Creator god. Mesopotamian (Babylonian- Akkadian). Consort of ANTU(m). Derived from 22 Anu (2) the older Siimerian god An. Anu features strongly in the akitu festival in Babylon, Uruk and other cities until the Hellenic period and possibly as late as 200 BC. Some of his later pre-eminence may be attributable to identification with the Greek god of heaven, Zeus, and with OURANOS. Anu (2) Chthonic mother goddess. Celtic (Irish). Closely associated with fertility and the primordial mother of the TuATHA DE Danann. Twin hills near Killarney in Munster are called "The Paps of Anu." Also Ana. ANUBIS [Greek] ORIGIN Egyptian. Mortuary god. KNOWN PERIOD OF WORSHIP circa 2700 BC (but extending from pre-Dynastic times) until end of Egyptian history circa AD 400. SYNONYMS Imy-ut (he who is in the mortuary); Khenty-imentiu (chief of the westerners); Khenty-seh-netjer (chief of the gods' pavilion); Neb-ta-djeser (lord of the sacred land); Tepy- dju-ef (he who is upon the mountain). CENTER(s) OF CULT the necropolis at Memphis and elsewhere. ART REFERENCES tomb effigies, wall paintings, statuettes etc. LITERARY SOURCES Pyramid Texts; funerary texts and hymns. The parentage of Anubis is confused but the most popular notion seems to place him as a son of Re and of Nephthys or IsiS. The god of mortuaries, Anubis takes the form of a black dog or jackal usually in a lying down or crouching position, ears pricked and long tail hanging. He wears a collar with magical connotations. Less often he appears in human form with a canine head. The imagery of a dog probably originated from obser- vation of bodies being scavenged from shallow graves and the desire to protect them from such a fate by manifesting Anubis as a dog himself The Book of the Dead has him standing by the scales in which the heart is weighed in the Hall of the Two Truths, and he is sometimes known as the "claimer of hearts." Anubis was perceived to superintend the embalming of kings and courtiers in the mortuary and the subsequent binding with linen bandages. His coat color is thought to be black because of the color of the corpse after the embalming process, which darkened it, and the use of black tar to seal the bindings. His symbol in the context of mortuary god is an animal skin, headless, dripping blood and tied to a pole. At the subsequent funeral ceremony of the Opening of the Mouth the priest wore a jackal headdress. The main cemetery sites are on the west bank of the Nile where the sun sets, hence one epithet for Anubis — "chief of the westerners"; another, "he who is upon the mountain," conjures an image of Anubis watching over the cemeteries from the high escarpments. In the Greco-Roman period he became a cos- mic deity of earth and sky somewhat removed from his older function. Anukis [Greek] Birth goddess. Egyptian (Upper). Minor deity with cult centers in lower Nubia and at Elephan- tine. She is variously the daughter of Re, and of Khnum and Satis. Anukis Uves in the cataracts of the Lower Nile. Her portrait appears in the Tem- ple of Rameses II at Beit-et-Wali where she suck- les the pharaoh, suggesting that she is connected with birth and midwifery, but she also demon- strates a malignant aspect as a strangler (see Hathor). Her sacred animal is the gazelle. Depicted anthropomorphically wearing a turban (modius) with ostrich feathers. Also Anuket (Egyptian). Aparajita 23 Anu-Mate God of space. Polynesian. One of the sons of RangINUI by Pokoharua, the sister of TangAROA, the sea god. He belongs to a group of deities engendered at the time of creation that includes Anu-Mate, Anu-Matao, Anu-Whakarere and Anu-Whakatoro, all of whom rule over different aspects of space above the upper world. Anu- Mate is perceived as the god responsible for the "space of cold death" and in fact all of the group are envisaged as deities ruhng over realms of great cold. Anunitu Mother goddess. Mesopotamian (Babylonian- Akkadian). See also Antu. Anunnaki Children and courtiers of the god of heaven. Mesopotamian (Sumerian and Babylonian-Akka- dian). Known from at least 2500 BC until circa 200 BC (in Babylon). The Anunnaki originate as chthonic fertiUty deities but later feature as the seven fearsome judges of the underworld who answer to Kur and Ereskigal and who are responsible for passing sentences of death includ- ing that placed on the goddess INANA. They are often closely identified with the IGIGI. Anuradha Minor goddess of fortune. Hindu (Puranic). A benevolent naksatra or astral deity, daughter of Daksa and wife of Candra (Soma). Aondo Creator god. Tiv [central Nigeria, West Africa]. An abstract principle who lives in the sky. He sends the sun each morning, roars with the thun- der which heralds his storms and is the creator of the earth. Apa Attendant god. Hindu (Puranic). One of a group of eight Vasu deities answering to the god INDRA. Attributes: hook and plough. Apacita Guardian spirit. Inca (pre-Columbian South America) [Peru, etc]. The apotheosis of a pile of stones marking the top of a pass or some other critical point on a route invoked by travelers with small offerings to strengthen them on their journey. Apatn Napat (grandchild of the water) 1 . God of fresh water. Persian [Iran] . He provides water in arid regions and suppresses rebeUions. 2. God of fresh water. Hindu (Vedic). Mentioned in the Rg Veda, he is described as "golden in appearance." Apap Creator god. Teso [Uganda, East Africa]. Regarded as a benevolent sky god who brings the rain to parched land. Also Akuj. Aparajita (unconquered) 1. God. Hindu (Puranic). One of the eleven Ekadasarudras or forms of Rudra. Attributes: bell, bowl, club, drum, hook, lance, lotus, prayer wheel, rod, rosary, shield, sword and trident. 2. Minor god. Buddhist (Mahayana). 3. Goddess. Hindu (Puranic). Form of DURGA. Her attendant animal is a lion. Attributes: 24 Apedemak arrow, shield, snake and sword. 4. Goddess. Buddhist (Mahayana). She stands or treads on the god Ganesa. Color: yellow. Attributes: bell, hook, image of Ratnasambhava, noose and staff. Apedemak War god. Sudanese (Meroe). An Egyptianized deity, his main sanctuary was contained in a vast religious complex and center of pilgrimage at Musawwarat-es-Sufra, north of the sixth Nile cataract. Sacred animals include cattle and the African elephant. Depicted with the head of a hon and a human body, holding a scepter embellished with a seated lion at the tip. Aphrodisias Fertility goddess. Carian [southwestern Turkey]. Equating with the Greek goddess Aphrodite. APHRODITE (foam-horn) ORIGIN Greek and Cypriot. Goddess of sexual love. KNOWN PERIOD OF WORSHIP identified from circa 1300 BC: (evolving from an earlier prehis- toric Asiatic model), until Christianization (circa AD 400) and later. SYNONYMS equating with ISTAR (Akkadian); ASTARTE (Syrian); AsTORETH (Phoenician); Dione, Cytherea, Venus (Roman). center(s) of cult Paphos, Amathus and Kition (Cyprus), Corinth and elsewhere on Greek mainland. ART references Bronze Age statuettes (Cyprus); votive stelae; the Parthenon frieze and other contemporary sculpture. LITERARY SOURCES Iliad and Odyssey (Homer); Theogony and Hymn to Aphrodite (Hesiod); tem- ple hymns, particularly Hymn of Sappho. Aphrodite is one of the major goddesses of the Greek Homeric pantheon, according to legend born as a cosmic deity from the foam of the ocean after her father OURANOS was castrated by Kro- NOS and his genitals were hurled into the sea. In other accounts she is of a "younger" generation, a daughter of Zeus. She is the consort of Hep- HAISTOS and occasional mistress of other deities, including Ares. Through liaison with the herds- man Anchises she bore Aeneas who is said to have carried his father to safety on his back during the sack of Troy. Her sacred animal is the goat. Aphrodite seems clearly to have evolved from the Phoenician or Mesopotamian model of a goddess of love and one of her strongest early cults was on the island of Cyprus. Her name derives from the Greek word for the sexual act. She is perceived, in some contexts, as being androgynous and even bearded (see also Artemis). As with her Meso- potamian predecessors she is a goddess of war and victory. Lnmediate predecessors to the Hel- lenic model seem to be present in the Mycenaean period particularly at the Kition sanctuary. The Paphos sanctuary definitely suggests Phoenician inspiration. In the Iliad, Aphrodite rescues Paris from his fight with Menelaus and returns him to the arms of Helen in Troy. In Hellenic art Aphrodite is particularly drawn wearing fine clothes and jewelry. She possesses a girdle with magical properties. The femed statue of the goddess from Cnidos (circa 340 BC:), depicting her naked, is the first of many such erotic inter- pretations. The temple at Paphos once dispensed model phalli and lumps of salt to cultic pilgrims, and the Corinthian sanctuary enjoyed, according to Strabo, more than a thousand cultic prostitutes. Apis Bull god. Egyptian. The living personification of the creator god Ptah in Memphis, he acts as an intermediary between the supreme god and APOLLO 25 mankind. His mother is IsiS, who engendered him in a lightning flash. The bull is depicted as wholly black apart from a small white triangle on the forehead, and it bears vulture wings. Between its horns are surmounted the sun disc (or, in later times, the moon) and the uraeus (snake symbol). The cult of the bull is very ancient and is attested in Egypt from at least 3000 BC. Accord- ing to the Greek writer Herodotus, huge stames of Apis supported the temple of Ptah in Memphis, hi a ritual of viriHty, the king paced alongside the charging buU to renew his strength. The average life of an Apis bull was fourteen years, at the end of which each was mummified and interred in huge sarcophagi, which were placed in catacombs at the necropoHs at Seqqara. The bull also has strong underworld connections. See also Sarapis. Aplu Weather god. Etruscan. No cult is identifiably addressed to this deity. He is depicted partly cloaked and wearing a laurel leaf, but otherwise naked. Attributes include a staff and laurel twig. Apo (lord) Mountain god. Inca (pre-Columbian South America) [Peru, etc]. The apotheosis of an Andean mountain, all mountains being sacred to the South American Indians. APOLLO ORIGIN Greek and possibly cultures in Asia Minor. God of hunting and heaUng. KNOWN PERIOD OF WORSHIP circa 1300 BC and earUer until Christianization (circa AD 400) and probably later. SYNONYMS Apellon (pre-Homeric); Atepomarus (Celtic). center(s) of cult Delos, Pylo-Delphi and many other sanctuaries throughout the Greek world. ART REFERENCES the Parthenon frieze; the Belvedere Apollo triumphing over the Python; Apollo and Daphne; a famed but lost statue from Delos; Apollo holding the three Charites in his right hand; other contemporary sculpture and painting. LITERARY SOURCES Iliad and Odyssey (Homer); Theogony and Hymn to Apollo (Hesiod); various other temple hymns. One of the major Greek deities always perceived as a god who epitomizes youthfiil mascuUnity, possi- bly with early links to Lycia in Asia Minor (Hittite) and to Minoan Crete. Generally a distant rather than an intimate and approachable god. His mother is Leto who wandered the world in great suffering until she chanced on the island of Delos where she found refuge, and Apollo is often por- trayed as part of a triad vnth Leto and Artemis. He epitomizes the transition between adolescence and manhood in Greek male society. At Delphi his sanctuary is central to the complex. At Delos it appears secondary to that of Artemis. The paean dance of healing which is particularly known from the Hyakinthia festival at Amyklai (Sparta) is closely identified with the Apollo cult. Not only is he a god of healing but also of pestilence. He is the father of Asklepios, the god of healing, and he is continu- ally associated with purification rites and oracles. Generally Apollo is dravm as a god of hunters carrying a bow and arrow and associated with a stag or roe. He is also pictured with lions. He became, improbably, the patron god of poets and leader of the Muses (daughters of Zeus). Literature often presents Apollo in a dual aspect of fearsome hunter and gracious player of the lyre. In the former capac- ity he was at times merciless, kilMng the many chil- dren of Niobe who had boasted of them to the chagrin of Leto. He fought and slew the Delphic 26 Apsaras python and the Olympic Cyclopes, but in both cases himself became subject to general laws of morality and suffered temporary banishment. Apollo is strongly associated with the mystical num- ber seven (almost certainly a Mesopotamian con- cept). In Ugaritic inscriptions he is referred to as Resep of the Arrow (see Resep). Apollo was widely revered under various local synonyms by the Celts. Apsaras Water spirits. Hindu (Vedic). Identified as musi- cians and protective deities of gamblers bringing good fortune. They may also bring insanity. Apsu God of underground primeval waters. Mesopo- tamian (Babylonian-Akkadian). Derived from the Sumerian AbZU. In the Babylonian creation epic Enuma Elis, Apsu is killed, while sleeping, by Enki, who establishes his ovm abode above the deeps. Apsu's death triggered the cosmic challenge between the forces of Marduk and TiAMAT. Aquilo Weather god. Roman. God of the west winds. A'ra Local tutelary god. Pre-Islamic northern Arabian. Known from inscriptions at Bostra [near Damas- cus] . The name implies an altar or holy place, but its Arabic root also means to dye, suggesting that the altars were stained with the blood of sacrifices, probably children. Arachne Minor goddess. Roman. Concerned vnth the craft of weaving. Aralo Local god of agriculture. Pre-Christian Geor- gian. Probably derived from the Armenian god Aray. Aranyani Minor goddess of woodlands. Hindu (Vedic). Possibly having evolved from a primitive ani- mistic guardian spirit of animals, Aranyani is an elusive, rarely seen, deity who is recognized in the sounds of the trees, particularly at dusk. She is a benign figure, sweet-scented and unvniling to destroy unless severely provoked. Arapacana God. Buddhist. A bodhisattva or spiritual meditation buddha. Originally a Dharani of Manjusri who became deified. Accompanied by four minor deities. Also a collective name for the five huddhas. Color: yellow or red. Attributes: standing wearing a monkish garment and carry- ing book and sword. Arawa Moon goddess. Suk and Pokot [Kenya and Uganda, East Africa]. The two tribes share the same pantheon of deities. Arawa is the daughter of the creator god ToRORUT and his consort Seta. Arawn Chthonic underworld god. Celtic (Welsh). The leader of the phantom hunt seen chasing a white stag with a pack of red-eared hounds. He equates with Gw'YNN Ap Nudd, a similar deity known in South Wales. His chief underworld opponent is Hafgan and he bribes PWYLL, prince of Dyfed, to challenge Hafgan in exchange for a gift of pigs. Areimanios 27 Aray War god. Pre-Christian Armenian. Probably derived locally from the Greek Ares. Some traditions suggests that he was also a dying-and- rising god. ARCHON(S) (rulers) ORIGIN Gnostic Christian (eastern Mediter- ranean]. Primordial creator gods. KNOWN PERIOD OF WORSHIP circa AD 100 tO AD 400 and probably persisting later. SYNONYMS eksousiai (authorities, Greek). center(s) of cult undefined cells within the area of early Christian influence. ART REFERENCES none. LITERARY SOURCES Nag Hawmadi codices. The Archons are the primordial celestial rulers of the cosmos. The Gnostic cosmogony argues that the God of Israel was not the original or sole creator but was a product of other older tyranni- cal forces who were eventually defeated in the conflict of light and dark. The Archons are the original creators of mortal man, though in the form in which they contrived him, he did not possess a soul. The main Hterary texts include the Hypostasis of the Archons, and the treatise on The Origin of the World, both forming part of the Nag Hammadi collection written down during the third or fourth century AD and probably owing much to Greek philosophy. The material was banned under the censorship of the early Christian fathers. Arcismati (brilliant) Minor goddess. Buddhist (Vajrayana). One of several deified Bhumis recognized as different spiritual spheres through which a disciple passes. Color: green. Attributes: blue lotus and staff. Ardhanari(svara) (fhe lord being half woman) God. Hindu (Puranic). The god SiVA combined with his Sakti as a single being. His attendant animal is the bull. In iconography the left side of the image is female and the right male. A tutelary deity of eunuchs in India. Attributes: (right side) blue lotus, cup, hatchet, lute, moon disc, pestle, skin, sword and trident; (left side) ax, mirror, noose, pitcher, rosary, sacred rope and trident. May appear as three-headed. Also Ammaiappan (Tamil); Naranari. Ardra Minor goddess of misfortune. Hindu (Puranic). A malevolent NAKSATRA or astral deity; daughter of Daksa and wife of Candra (Soma). Arduiima Goddess of forests and hunting. Romano-Celtic (Continental European). Known only from inscriptions and figurines in the Ardennes region. Depicted riding on the back of a wild boar and presumed to be a guardian deity of boars. Identified by the Romans with the goddess Diana. Arebati Creator god. Bambuti [Congo, West Africa]. Worshiped by a pigmy tribe living along the banks of the river Ituri. He is considered to have created mankind from clay and blood, covered with skin. Areimanios Chthonic underworld god. Greek. Probably derived fi-om the Persian deity Aheiman. Plutarch identifies him as the embodiment of Hades. 28 Arensnuphis Arensnuphis [Greek] Local god of uncertain affinities. Egyptian (Nubian). Probably significant circa 700 BC to AD 400 as an attendant of ISIS. He appeared in Egyptian sanctuaries during the Greco-Roman period and seems to have been of benevolent nature. There is also a sanctuary known from Philae in Greece where he is linked with Isis. Depicted in anthropomorphic form wearing a plumed crown or in the form of a lion. Also Ari-hes-nefer (Egyptian). ARES (throng of war) ORIGIN Greek. God of War. KNOWN PERIOD OF WORSHIP circa 800 BC, but probably from earlier times, until Christianiza- tion (circa AD 400). SYNONYMS none. CENTER(s) of cult no sanctuaries known until Roman times, when a temple was dedicated in the Agora in Athens. ART REFERENCES the Parthenon frieze; a cele- brated statue by Alkamenes; other contempo- rary sculpture. LITERARY SOURCES chiefly Iliad (Homer) and Theogony (Hesiod). Ares is a lesser known member of the Olympic pan- theon of great gods, the son of Zeus and Hera, who allegedly lived in Thrace. As a warrior god he is contrasted with the more prominent and successful goddess Athena who fought and vanquished him in a war between the gods. Althoug