Guide to the Gods 1.0
Na... to Nm...
Naaki
Finnish spirit of the waters.
Nabu
(Nebo)
Babylonian god of writing and wisdom. The son of Marduk and husband of Tashmetu. He was the scribe and messenger of the gods, a god of wisdom and justice, and the guardian of the Tablets of Wisdom. His cult centre was at Borsippa.
Naenia
Roman goddess of funerals.
Nagakumara
Jain subdivision of Bhavanavasin gods.
Nagas
Hindu race of evil snakes who live in an underworld kingdom called Patala.
Nagenatzani and Thobadestachin
Navajo twin sons of the sun.
Nagual
Aztec personal tutelary spirit.
Nahar
Ugaritic sun goddess.
Nahhundi
(Nachunte)
Elamite sun-god.
Nahhunte
Elamite god of truth and justice.
Nahi
Thamudic (North Arabian) god.
Naiads
(Naiades)
Greek nymphs of freshwater: lakes, rivers, springs and fountains. They were depicted as beautiful women, and believed to be long- lived, but not immortal.
Nai-No-Kami
Japanese god of earthquakes.
Nainuema
Primeval being of South American Uitoto.
Nakaa
Gilbertese god, guardian of tree life and of the fish-trap.
Naka-Yama-Tsu-Mi
Japanese god of mountain slopes.
Nakshatras
The daughters of Daksha who became astral goddesses.
Namita
(Namite)
Primeval female deity of some Papuans.
Nammu
Sumerian mother of Enki.
Nampa
Personal fetish spirit of Senegal.
Namtar
(Namtara)
Sumerian god of fate, messenger of the underworld goddess Ereshkigal. Namtar brings death to humans when their time has come.
Namuci
One of the greatest of the Hindu Asuras.
Nana
Armenian goddess.
Nanabozho
(Nanabush)
Algonquin creator god.
Nanaja
Mesopotamian goddess of sex.
Nana-Bouclou
Primal god of Benin (Dahomey), both male and female, who created the twins from whom all the Voodoo gods descended.
Nana-Bouclou
Original god of the Ewe tribe of Benin (Dahomey).
Nana Buluku
Primordial creator goddess of the Fon tribe of Benin (Dahomey).
Nanauatzin
The Aztec god who sacrificed himself in a fire so that the sun should continue to shine over the world.
Nanderuvucu
Creator/destroyer of Apapocuva of Brazil.
Nang Lha
Tibetan house-god.
Nanna (1)
Sumerian moon god, whose cult centre was at Ur. He is the son of Enlil, the husband of Ningal, and the father of Inanna, Utu and Iskur. His Akkadian counterpart was Sin.
Nanna (2)
Nordic goddess, wife of Balder. She died of grief at the news of his death and was burnt on his funeral pyre.
Nanse
Local god of Sumerian Lagas.
Nanshe
Mesopotamian goddess of springs and water-ways.
Nantosuelta
"Winding River". Gallic protective goddess and goddess of water. Among the Mediomatrici of Alsace she is often portrayed holding a model of a house, indicating a domestic function.
Napaeae
Greek nymphs associated with valleys (Greek nape = dell).
Na'pi
'Old man', creator god of the Blackfoot Indians.
Napir
Moon-god of Elam.
Narada
Hindu chief of the Gandharvas.
Naraka
Evil Asura of Hindu myth.
Narasinha
"Man-Lion". The fourth avatar of Vishnu, in the form of a man- lion. It is in this form that Vishnu slew the demon Hiranyakasipu, who had gained control over the world.
Narayana
Hindu creator god, considered to be a manifestation of Vishnu or Brahma. He is said to have floated over the primeval ocean seated upon a banana leaf, sucking his toe, until he created the world out of his own divine inspiration or creative energy.
Narbrooi
Woodland spirit of Papua New Guinea.
Nareau
Creator god of the Gilbert Islands in Melanesia. He created the world from a mussel shell, and then created the first humans from sand and water. These first beings then created the sun and the moon from Nareau's eyes, the stars from his brain, and the islands and trees from his flesh and bones.
Nari
Slavic demonic beings.
Narisah
Manichaean 'god of the world of light'.
Nasr
(Nusur)
Ancient Arabian god.
Natha
1 of 4 chief gods of Sri Lanka.
Naum
Maya god who created mind and thought.
Naunet
Primordial Egyptian goddess. In the cosmogony of Hermopolis she was a member of the Ogodoad of eight primordial deities. Her male counterpart and consort was Nun. Naunet personified the primordial abyss of the underworld.
Na Ye'Nez Nane
Apache beneficent god.
Ndengei
Fijian serpent god with stone flesh.
Ndjambi
Sky-god of Herero people of south-west Africa.
'Ndriananahary
Supreme god of the Malagasy peoples of Madagascar.
Nduru
'The jungle' of pygmies of Central Africa.
Nebo
Old Testament name for the Babylonian god of wisdom, Nabu.
Nebtuu
(Nebetu)
Egyptian local goddess.
Necessitas
Roman goddess of destiny.
Nechbet
Upper Egyptian tutelary goddess of the monarch.
Nechmetawaj
(Nehmet-awai)
Egyptian goddess.
Neferhor
(Nephoros, Nopheros)
Egyptian god.
Nefertum
(Nefertem; Greek Nephthemis)
Egyptian god of the primordial lotus blossom. A personification of the blue lotus out of which the sun god Re emerged. In the Pyramid Texts he was described as the 'lotus blossom on the nose of Re'. Nefertum ws usually depicted in human form wearing a headdress topped by a lotus blossom. He could also be depicted with a lion's head when given as the child of the Memphite lion goddess Sakhmet out of her union with Ptah. His major cult center was at Memphis. At Buto in the Nile delta region, Nefertum was held to be the child of the cobra goddess Wadjet. Elsewhere, his mother was sometimes said to be the cat goddess Bastet.
Nehalennia
Germanic sea goddess who was worshipped in the Low Countries. She is associated with the Morini, Belgae and Frisians.
Nehebkau
(Nehebu-Kau, Nehebkhau)
Egyptian snake god. In the Pyramid Texts, he was said to be the son of the scorpion goddess Serket. Another tradition made him the son of the earth god Geb and the harvest goddess Renenutet. According to legend, he was tamed by the sun god Re and thenceforward acted as the god's servant, riding with him in the sun barque. His name was invoked in spells providing protection against snake bites and scorpion stings. Nehebkau protected the dead pharaoh in the afterlife. He was depicted in the form of a serpent with human arms and legs.
Neheh
(Heh)
Egyptian personification of eternity.
Neit
Irish god of war. He was a consort of Nemain, an aspect of the triune goddess Morrigan. He was killed at the second Battle of Magh Tuireadh.
Neith
(Neit)
Egyptian creator goddess. Also a goddess of war and of domestic arts. Her symbol was a shield bearing crossed arrows. Said to be a self-begotten virgin. She later came to be identified as the consort of Seth and the mother of the crocodile god Sobek. Her principal sanctuary was at Sais in the Nile delta, where she originally developed as a local goddess. After rising to national prominence, a sanctuary was dedicated to her at Memphis. In the Esna cosmology, Neith was said to have emerged from the primeval waters to create the world, subsequently following the Nile north to the delta where she founded Sais. Depicted in the form of a woman wearing the red crown of Lower Egypt and bearing a shield with crossed arrows.
Nekhbet
(Nekhebet, Nechbet)
"She of Nekheb". Egyptian vulture goddess and tutelary goddess of Upper Egypt. Also a protective goddess of childbirth who was depicted as the nurse of the future monarch during his infancy. In her capacity as protectress of the infant monarch she was known as the "Great White Cow of Nekheb". She was usually depicted as a vulture wearing the white crown of Upper Egypt and holding the eternity symbols in her talons. Her principal sanctuary was at Nekheb (modern El Kab) in Upper Egypt.
Nemain
Celtic battle goddess.
Nemesis
Greek goddess of justice and vengeance. She was essentially an abstraction, although she is given as the daughter of Erebos and Nyx. She was responsible for punishing human misconduct and arrogance (hubris). One of the legends associated with her, that of her rape by Zeus in the form of a swan, by whom she subsequently gave birth to Helen, probably refers to a separate goddess who is the deified form of Leda. The cult of Nemesis was particularly prominent at Rhamnus in Attica and at Smyrna.
Nemetona
Nemeton = "shrine". Celtic goddess of sacred groves or shrines.
Nemu
Primordial demigods of the Kai people of New Guinea.
'Nenaunir
Storm god of the Masai of Kenya.
Nenun
(Nenwen)
Egyptian falcon-god.
Neper
Egyptian god of grain. Particularly associated with barley and emmer wheat.
Nephthys
(Greek form; Egyptian Neb-hut, Nebthet)
"Mistress of the House". Egyptian goddess of the dead. Daughter of Geb and Nut. Sister of Isis, Osiris and Seth. According to one tradition, she was also the mother of Anubis by Osiris. Her principal sanctuary was at Heliopolis. Along with Isis, she was one of the guardians of the corpse of Osiris. Depicted in human form wearing a crown in the form of the hieroglyph for house. Sometimes depicted as a kite guarding funeral bier of Osiris.
Nepit
Egyptian corn goddess: female counterpart of the corn god Neper.
Neptune
(Neptunus)
Roman god of the sea. Neptune was originally a minor Roman god of fresh waters until he was equated with the Greek Poseidon. He may be derived from the Etruscan god of water, Nethuns. Husband of Salacia. Also a god of horse-racing. His festival, the Neptunalia, was held on July 23, the height of the midsummer drought, probably a reference to Neptune's original role as a god of the fresh waters essential to agriculture. Otherwise, Neptune's representation in art and literature was essentially identical with that of Poseidon.
Nereids
Greek sea nymphs and attendants of Poseidon. Daughters of the sea god Nereus and the Oceanid Doris. The most famous Nereids were Amphitrite and Thetis.
Nereus
Greek god of the sea. Son of Pontos and Gaia. Father of the Nereids by the Oceanid Doris. He was believed to live with the Nereids in the depths of the Aegean Sea. Homer referred to him as the "Old Man of the Sea". He was noted for his wisdom, his skill in prophecy, and for the ability to change his own shape. Herakles forced Nereus to divulge the location of the golden apples of the Hesperides by wrestling with Nereus in his many forms.
Nergal
(Sumerian Nerigal)
Babylonian underworld god. Also a god of war. Son of Enlil and Ninlil; consort of Ereshkigal. His cult centres were at Kuthu and Tarbisu. The Greeks later equated him with their Herakles.
Nerio
A minor Roman goddess, best known as the consort of Mars.
Nerrivik
Eskimo sea goddess. The mother of all sea creatures, hunters and fishermen invoked her for success in hunting and fishing.
Nerthus
(Hertha)
Germanic fertility goddess whose worship was described by Tacitus, whose Germania is the only literary source attesting to her existence. Her temple was in a sacred grove on a Baltic island (possibly Sjaeland). Her worship seems to have been centred in Denmark. At her festivals her cult statue was carried about in a covered wagon drawn by oxen. Nerthus has been tentatively identified with the Scandinavian god Njord, who may be a male counterpart or a later development of Nerthus herself.
Nesaru
Sky-god of North American Plains Indians.
Nesshoue
River god of Benin (Dahomey).
Nete
Delphic Muse of the low not of the lyre. The other Delphic Muses were Hypate and Mese.
Nethuns
Etruscan god of water.
Neto
(Neton)
Ancient Hispanic war-god.
Nevinbimbaau
A terrible Melanesian ogress.
Ngai
('Ngai)
Creator god and chief deity of the Masai of Kenya.
Ngewo-wa
Creator god of the Mende of Sierra Leone.
Ngunung Ngunnut The Bat
Australian totemic deity who created sexuality by turning his companion into a woman.
Ngurunderi
(Nurrundere)
Aliases for Daramulun.
Ngurvilu
Araucanian (Chile) god of water, the sea and lakes.
Ngworekara
Demon king of the Fan of the Congo.
Niamye
Supreme god of the Baule people of the Ivory Coast.
Nichant
A god of the Gros-Ventre people (Algonkian) who attempted to destroy the world with fire and flood.
Nidaba
Babylonian grain-goddess.
Nidhoggr
(Nidhogg)
Nordic corpse-eating dragon.
Night
See Nyx.
Nike
Greek goddess of victory. First mentioned in Hesiod's Theogony. Daughter of the giant Pallas and the underworld river Styx. She seems originally to have been an attribute of Zeus or Athena (e.g.: Athena Nike), in which capacity she was wingless and often depicted as a small figure held in the hand of either deity. As an independent deity, she was depicted as winged and bearing the laurel wreath which was delivered to the victor in a competition, whether in war, sport, artistic contests or any other endeavour. However, she was never entirely independent, as she remained the personification of victory delivered by Zeus or Athena. She was known to the Romans as Victoria.
Nikkal
Sumerian sun goddess, and consort of the moon god Yarih.
Nikkal
Ugaritic, Canaanite moon goddess derived from the Sumerian original.
Nin-agal
Mesopotamian god of smiths.
Ninazu
(Nin-azu)
Sumerian underworld god.
Ningal
"Great Queen". Wife of the Mesopotamian moon-god Nanna, by whom she bore the sun god Utu.
Nin-girsu
(Ningursu, Ninurtu)
"Lord of Girsu". Sumerian god of irrigation and fertility. He was the patron god of Girsu (Lagash), where the Sumerian king Gudea built a temple for him called the Eninnu. His symbol is the lion- headed eagle.
Nin-gishzida
(Gishzida)
Sumerian chthonic god.
Ningyo
Japanese mermaid.
Ninhursag
(Ninhursanga, Nintur, Ninmakh)
"Queen of the Mountain". Sumerian mother-goddess, earth goddess and fertility goddess. She is one of the oldest members of the Sumerian pantheon, tentatively identified as early as the beginning of the second millennium BC. She was the tutelary deity of Sumerian rulers, who often styled themselves "children of Ninhursag".
Ninigi
Japanese ruler of the earth, grandson of Amaterasu. See Takamimusubi.
Nin'insina
Sumerian local goddess of Isin.
Ninlil
Sumerian goddess of grain. Wife of Enlil and mother of the moon god Nanna and of the underworld gods Nergal and Ninazu.
Ninmah
Sumerian mother goddess who appears to have been an early syncretization with Ninhursag.
Ninshar
Sumerian goddess of birth and stony ground.
Nin-sun
(Ninsuna)
Sumerian goddess of Erech (Uruk), wife of Lugalbanda and mother of Gilgamesh.
Ninsusinak
(Insusinak, Akkadian Susinak)
National god of Elam.
Nintu
(Nintud)
Mesopotamian goddess. An aspect of Belit-Illi, mother of the gods.
Nintur
Akkadian birth goddess, equivalent of Ninhursag.
Ninurta
(Nin-urta, Nimrod, Enurra)
Mesopotamian god of war, wells, canals, the South Wind, thunderstorms, floods & the plough.
Niord
(Niordhr, Njorthr, Njord)
Germanic god of sea and ships.
Niparaya
Creator of one California tribe.
Nirah
Mesopotamian snake-god.
Nirrta
(Nirrita)
Vedic god of death. See Nirrti.
Nirrti
"Destruction". Indian goddess of destruction and death. She is said to live in the south (regarded as the land of the dead). Her husband and masculine aspect is Nirrta. In later Hinduism, Nirrti herself becomes a male dikpala god of terrifying aspect.
Nisaba
Sumerian goddess of writing and wisdom. She was the daughter of An, the Sumerian sky god.
Nisaba
Babylonian goddess of grain.
Niu-Y'ou
Chinese spirit constable for the Yama kings.
Nixe
Germanic water-sprite.
Njord
Nordic god of seafarers. He was originally a Vanir deity, but he was sent as a hostage to the Aesir to seal a peace between the two races of gods. He was to remain with the Aesir until the end of the world, that is, until Ragnarok. He married the giantess Skadi, by whom he is the father of Freyja and Freyr.
Nkosi Yama'kosi
Supreme being of the Ndebele of Zimbabwe.
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