Guide to the Gods 1.0
Ae... to Ah...
Aeacos
(Aiakos, Latin Aeacus)
Greek god of the underworld and judge of the dead. According to Plato, who was the first to mention this god, he is the son of Zeus and Aegina. With Minos and Rhadamanthys, Aeacos was one of the three judges of the souls of the dead in the underworld. A temple was constructed in his honour on the Aegean island of Aegina, and the festival of the Aiakeia was celebrated there in commemmoration of his supposed intercession to end a drought.
Aed
An Irish (Celtic) underworld god. Son of Lir and Aobh.
Aegir
Norse god of the ocean, husband of Ran. They had nine daughters, the waves. Aegir was one of the primeval Vanir gods, along with Loki and Kari, whose pre-eminence had been usurped by the younger Aesir under Odin. He was said to live in a great hall at the bottom of the sea. Aegir was feared by sailors who believed that he appeared occasionally on the surface of the waters to destroy ships, taking their men and cargoes with him down to his hall. There are indications that human sacrifices were made by the early Saxons to appease Aegir.
Aegle
See Aglaia.
Aeneas
The Roman emperor claimed descent from this deified Greek/Roman hero of the Trojan War and an epic voyage to Rome.
Aenghus
See Aengus.
Aengus
(Angus, Aonghus, Oengus of the Bruig)
Irish (Celtic) god, apparently of love and youth. Son of the Dagda and 'the wife of Elcmar', generally believed to be the goddess Boann. He is associated with the valley of the River Boyne. Aengus was said to have dreamed of a beautiful maiden, for whom he searched all Ireland. He eventually found her, named Caer, chained to 150 maidens who were destined to turn into swans at the feast of Samhain (November 1). Aengus transformed himself into a swan and was so united with Caer, who followed him back to his palace at Brugh na Boinne on the River Boyne (modern New Grange).
Aeolos
(Aiolos)
Greek god of storms and winds. He is best known from Homer's Odyssey, where he lives on the floating island of Aeolia (Lipari), and gives Odysseus a bag containing all the unfavourable winds. He was regarded as human in Homer's time, but was later elevated to the status of a god.
Aeolus
Roman version of the Greek god of the winds, Aeolos (qv).
Aequitas
Roman god of fair dealing.
Aera Cura
Roman goddess of the infernal regions.
Aericura
Romano-Celtic chthonic underworld god.
Aesculapius
Roman form of the Greek Asklepios, god of healing and medicinal arts, his cult was introduced to Rome during the plague of 293 BC. In Rome he took the form of a snake, and the caduceus (a snake entwined around a staff) became his attribute.
Aesir
Nordic race of gods founded by Odin. These gods dwell in the realm of Asgard.
Aesma Daeva
Parsee demon of lust and anger.
Aes Sidhe
'The people of the hills', collective name for the old Irish gods who dwell in hills.
Aeternitas
Roman personification of eternity. Symbolized by the phoenix rising from its own ashes and by the Uroboros (a snake biting its own tail).
Aether
Greek god of light. One of the primordial cosmic deities, a personification of the upper sky. Hesiod makes him the son of Erebus (darkness) and Nyx (night). The union of Aether and Hemera (day) resulted in the birth of Earth, Sea and Sky along with many deities including Saturn, Oceanus, Atlas and the Furies.
Aetna
Daughter of Uranus and Gaia, who gave her name to the Sicilian volcano after settling a dispute between Hephaistos and Demeter for the ownership of the island.
Afi
Abkhaz god of rain and thunderstorms (The Abkhaz are a people of the western Caucasus).
Afreet
(Afrit)
In Islam, a giant and malicious class of Jinn. The second most powerful of the five classes of Jinn.
Agas
Iranian demon of illness.
Agassou
Panther fetish of Benin (formerly Dahomey). Each tribe in Benin has its own fetish.
Agastya
Hindu protector of the god Rama.
Agathos Daimon
"Good Spirit". Greek guardian spirit of individuals and families. In Hellenistic times he came to be associated with Tyche, the goddess of luck. Portrayed as a serpent or as a young man bearing a cornucopia. Libations of wine were typically made to Aether after meals.
Agdistis
Mother god of Phrygian origin, often associated with the mother goddess Kybele. In Greek mythology, she was the product of the combination of a rock with the semen of Zeus. Originally a hermaphrodite, Agdistis was made female through castration. The vegetation god Attis was the ultimate product of her severed sexual organs which became either a pomegranate tree or an almond tree. Attis grew to become a beautiful youth, but ultimately died of self-castration in an effort to avoid the amorous pursuit of Agdistis and/or Kybele.
Age
Fon god of animals, Benin.
Aghora
Double of the Hindu god Shiva.
Aglaia
(Aglaea, Aegle)
One of the three Graces, or Charites. Daughter of Zeus and Eurynome.
Aglibol
Moon-god of Palmyra in ancient Syria. His cult ultimately spread to Greece and Rome.
Agloolik
A good spirit of the Eskimo, who lives under the ice and helps hunters and fishermen.
Agni
Fire god of the Vedic Hindu pantheon of India. 'Agni' is Sanskrit for fire. He carries sacrificial burnt offerings to the gods.
Agnikumara
Jain gods of rain and thunder.
Agnostos Theos
"Unknown god". Greek cities made offerings to the 'unknown gods' so that no gods should be overlooked in religious observances.
Agrona
Celtic goddess of strife and slaughter. The river Aeron in Wales is named after her.
Agu'gux
Aleut creator god.
Agunua
Primary serpent god of the Solomons.
Agwe
Haitian god of waters, wind, thunder, cannon-fire, boats, sea- shells.
Aha
Yakut river spirit.
Ahayuta Achi
Zuni twin war gods.
Ah Bolom Tzacab
(Ah Bolon Dz'acab, God K)
The 'leaf-nosed god'. Mayan god of agriculture, controller of rain and thunder.
Ah Cancum
Mayan hunting god.
Ah Chun Caan
Mayan tutelary deity of city of Merida.
Ah Ciliz
Mayan god of solar eclipses.
Ah Cuxtal
Mayan god of birth.
Ah Hulneb
Mayan god of war.
Ah Kin
(Ak Kinchil)
Mayan sun god. Regarded as having control over drought and disease.
Ah Kin Xoc
Mayan god of poetry.
Ah Kumix Uinicob
Mayan attendant water gods.
Ah Mun
Mayan maize god.
Ah Muzencab
Mayan bee gods.
Ahone
Supreme god of the indigenous peoples of the Virginia area.
Ah Patnar Uinicob
Mayan attendant water gods.
Ah Peku
Mayan thunder god.
Ah Puch
The Mayan god of death. Also referred to by modern scholars as God A. Ruler of Mitnal, the lowest of the nine underworlds of Mayan cosmology. He was depicted as a skeleton or human corpse. Ah Puch survives in modern Mayan belief as Yum Cimil (Lord of Death).
Ahriman
(Angra Mainyu: 'destructive spirit')
The evil spirit in the dualistic doctrine of Zoroastrianism. Ahriman is locked in eternal conflict with Ahura Mazda. Ahriman is the personification of Druj, 'the Lie', representing deceit and evil. His symbolic creature is the snake. Ahura Mazda will eventually triumph over Ahriman at the end of time. Ahriman is 'worshipped' in Mithraism and Zervanism, whose adherents sacrifice to him those animals proper to the forces of evil.
Ahsonnutli
Navaho creator-god. Hermaphroditic creator of heaven and earth. Also known as the "Turquoise Hermaphrodite".
Ah Tabai
Mayan hunting god.
Ahto (Ahti)
Chief ancient Finnish god of the waters.
Ah Toltecat
A god of the Toltecs in Mesoamerica.
Ah Uincir Dz'acab
Mayan god of healing.
Ahura Mazda
(Ormuzd)
Avestan: Lord Wisdom or Wise Lord. Supreme god of ancient Iranian religion and in Zoroastrianism. Ahura Mazda created the universe and maintains the cosmic order of truth and light against the forces of darkness and deception led by Ahriman (Angra Mainyu).
Ahurani
Old Iranian water goddess: 'she who belongs to Ahura'.
Ah Uuc Ticab
Mayan chthonic god.
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