Guide to the Gods 1.0
Ja... to Jz...
Jabru
Elamite sky god.
Jacy
Moon god of the Brazilian Tupi-Guarani. He was the creator of plant life.
Jaganmatri
Hindu 'World-mother', another name for Durga.
Jagannatha
(Jagannath, Juggernaut)
"Lord of the World". Name for Vishnu in his manifestation as Krishna. Famed for the great wheeled temple car bearing his name which is drawn through the streets of Puri during the festival held in his honour. In the past, devotees often flung themselves beneath the wheels of the tample car to be crushed to death in an act of devotion. This is the origin of the English expression "crushed beneath the wheels of the juggernaut".
Jagaubis
Lithuanian fire-god.
Jahwe
(Jahve, Jahveh)
God of Israel.
Jalandhara
Hindu Asura or demon.
Jambhala
Buddhist god. See Vaisravana.
Jamm
Phoenician-Canaanite god of war.
Jamshid
Another name for Iranian Yima.
Jana
Minor Roman goddess. Consort of Janus.
Janguli
Buddhist goddess invoked in Tibet for snakebite.
Janus
Roman god of passage, of doorways (januae), archways (jani), and of beginnings and endings. Also a god of the threshold between the old year and the new, in token of which he gave his name to the month of January. His jurisdiction included gates, harbours, travel, daybreak -- things which had the sense of beginning or going out. Janus was said to be the son of Apollo and Creusa, although he had no Greek equivalent. His consort was Jana. He was the father of Tiberinus by Camasena, of Fontus by Juturna, and of Canens by Venilia. Janus was depicted either as two-faced (Bifrons) or four-faced (Quadrifons). His attributes included keys and a staff. The doors of his temple in Rome were kept locked in peacetime and thrown open in wartime. His festival was the Agonium, which was held on January 9. The beginning of the day, month, season and year were sacred to him.
Jarih
(Erah)
Canaanite moon-god.
Jarovit
(Gerovitus)
West Slavonic war-god.
Jarri
Hittite god of plague and pestilence.
Jave
Gnostic bear-faced god.
Jehovah
See Yahweh.
Jessis
Early Slavonic deity. Modern scholars have tentatively identified him with Jupiter.
Jesus of Nazareth
Christianity: incarnation of god in a human body.
Jetaita
Demonic earth-spirit of South American Yamana.
Jian Lao
Chinese Buddhist of the earth and of permanence.
Jikoku
One of the Japanese guardians of the four cardinal directions. He was the guardian of the east.
Jimmu Tenno
Legendary founder of the Japanese imperial dynasty, the members of which were believed to be divine.
Jinn
Arabic demonic beings. Their were five orders of jinn: 1) the Marid, who were the most powerful; 2) the Efrit; 3) the Shaitan; 4) the Jinn; and 5) the Jann.
Jizo
Japanese Buddha of great compassion.
Joh
(Jah)
Egyptian moon-god.
John the Baptist
The true divine figure of the Gnostics, not Jesus.
Jord
(Iord)
Nordic earth goddess, Norse giantess.
Jotun
(Joten)
Nordic demonic beings.
Jo-Uk
See Juok.
Jove
An alternative name for the Roman god Jupiter (qv).
Juesaes
(Jusas, Iusas)
Egyptian goddess.
Juggernaut
See Jagannatha.
Juichimen
Japanese Buddhist god of mercy.
Julunggul
Creator god, Great Rainbow Snake of Australia.
Juma
Sky god of Finno-Ugric Mari people (Cheremis).
Jumala
(Mader-Atcha, Ukko)
Finnish sky and thunder god, later name of the Christian god.
Jumis
Latvian god of fertility.
Junit
Egyptian goddess.
Juno
Iuno
The chief Roman goddess, equivalent to the Greek goddess Hera. In general she was the goddess of women, particularly associated with the institution of marriage. Juno was also the female counterpart of the male Genius: just as each man had his individual genius, so every woman had her individual juno. She was also known as Juno Lucina in her capacity as goddess of childbirth, Juno Moneta in her capacity as goddess of finance, and Juno Regina in her capacity as protectress of the Roman Empire. She was the daughter of Saturn and Rhea, and the sister and consort of Jupiter. Mother of Mars, Vulcan and Juventas. The month of June was named after her. Juno was honoured with two festivals: the Matronalia on March 1 and the Nonae Caprotinae ("The Nones of the Wild Fig") on July 7.
Juno Caelestis
Tutelary goddess of Roman Carthage.
Juok
(Jo-Uk)
Creator god of the Shilluk peoples of East Africa.
Jupiter
(Iuppiter, Juppiter, Jove, Diespiter)
Chief Roman god, originally a sky god and a god of light. He was later equated with the Greek Zeus, although the origins of both have been traced back to a hypothetical Indo-European sky god, indicating that the similarity in their roles was not entirely due to Roman copying of a Greek original. Jupiter was also a god of thunder (Jupiter Tonans) and lightning (Jupiter Fulgurator). With the military expansion of Rome, Jupiter took on appropriate characteristics as Jupiter Victor and Jupiter Stator ("Jupiter Protector"). Jupiter was also important as a god of oaths, contracts and treaties. His consort was Juno. Jupiter's main sanctuary was the temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus ("Jupiter, Best and Greatest") on the Capitoline Hill in Rome, which was originally constructed by the Etruscans before they were overcome by the nascent Roman Republic. On the Capitol, he formed a trinity with Juno and Minerva. The Ides of each month (13 or 15) and the full moon were sacred to him. He was also worshipped at the festival of the Vinalia on August 19, which he shared with Venus.
Jupiter Ammon
Syncretic Egypto-Roman deity.
Jupiter Dolichenus
Romanized name of a Hittite-Hurrian god of fertility and thunder worshipped at Doliche in Anatolia (modern Turkey).
Juras mate
Latvian water goddess.
Jurawadbad
Australian snake man.
Jurojin
(Jorojin)
Japanese god of longevity; one of the seven Gods of Luck.
Jurupari
Principal deity among the Brazilian Tupi-Guarani. He was regarded as a god of men, and women were forbidden any knowledge of his worship, on pain of death.
Justitia
(Iustitia)
Roman goddess of justice.
Juturna
(Iuturna)
Roman goddess of wells and springs. She was the mother of Fontus by Janus. Her festival was held on January 11 (the Carmentalia).
Juventas
(Iuventas)
Roman goddess of youth, particularly young men of military age. Her Greek equivalent was Hebe.
Jw
(Ja'u, Jawi)
Ancient Syrian god.
Jyotiska
Jain stellar gods.
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