Lesser Known Deities Starting With the Letter A

Throughout history, the world has seen the birth of many new religions and the worship of strange, beautiful and mysterious deities. Some of these gods (such as Zeus, Athena, Odin, Loki, Jupiter, Venus, etc) have still stayed with us in these modern times. However, there are thousands of lesser known deities from world mythology who are only really known to scholars.

There is a list of lesser known deities starting with the letter A:

1. Acrasia – the Greek personification of intemperance.

2. Ada-Ea - the Mesopotamian ferryman in the Babylonian underworld.

3. Adda-Nari – the Egyptian goddess of religion and truth.

4. Adhimukticarya – a Buddhist goddess and one of the 12 bhumis.

5. Afi – a storm god from the Caucasus.

6. Afrikete – an African sea goddess of the Fon people who was regarded as a trickster and a gossip.

7. Agas Xenas Xena – the deity of the evening star according to the Chinook of North America.

8. Agwatana – the god of the sun and the Nigerian supreme deity.

9. Aha – a river god of the Yakut people of Siberia.

10. Ah Peku – a Mayan thunder god.

11. Ah Uuc Ticab – a Mayan fertility god.

12. Ahi – the Egyptian goddess of the dawn.

13. Ai Apaec – the supreme god of the Mochica tribe in Central America.

14. Aion – the Greek male personification of time.

15. Akakanet – a vegetation god of the Araucanian tribe in South America. He is said to live in the Pleiades and provides flowers and fruit for the tribe.

16. Akano Jewel – a Japanese god of famine.

17. Ake – a Polynesian water god.

18. Akkruva –a fish-goddess in Finland.

19. Akongo – a creator god of the Ngombe people in Africa, who was said to have found the people so noisy that he left to live in the sky.

20. Akshobhya – one of the five Buddhist Dhyanibuddhas and one of the five Dhyanibodhisattvas.

21. Akua – a creator god of Hawaii.

22. Ala – a goddess of the earth and fertility of the Ibo people in Africa.

23. Alako – the god of the gypsies, according to Norwegian mythology. After teaching the gypsies his secret lore, he returned home in the heavens.

24. Alannus – a Celtic messenger god in Gaul who was worshipped by the Romans as well.

25. Alatanagana – the creator god of the Kono people in Africa.

26. Albunea – a Roman water nymph that had the gift of prophecy. Some of her revelations were recorded in the Sibylline Books.

27. Alcyone – a daughter of the Greek Titan Atlas, she was the leader of the Pleiades and the mother of Aethusa by Poseidon.

28. Algea – the Greek female personification of pain. She was an attendant of the goddess of strife, Eris.

29. Alilat – an ancient Arabian mother-goddess, she was worshipped by the Nabataeans in the form of a four-sided stone idol.

30. Allat – a Babylonian underworld goddess.

31. Almaqah – an Arabian sky god of the Saba tribe.

32. Alo’alo – a weather god in Tonga.

33. Alpan – an underworld deity of the Etruscans in ancient Italy.

34. Alrune-wife – a household goddess from Germany.

35. Aluberi – a distant and supreme god of the Arawak American Indians.

36. Ama – from ancient Mesopotamia, a Sumerian virgin mother-goddess.

37. Ama-no-ho – a divine messenger god in Japanese mythology.

38. Amaethon – a Welsh god of agriculture and the son of Beli and Don.

39. Amana – a creator goddess of the Calina tribe in South America. She lived in the Milky Way and was attended to by sea creatures.

40. Amarok – an Inuit deity in the form of a wolf-like monster.

41. Ar-tojon – a supreme god of the Yakut people in Siberia.

42. Aralo –a Georgian agricultural god.

43. Aramati – the Hindu female personification of devotion.

44. Aranyani – a woodland goddess in Hindu belief.

45. Aranzakh – a river god and the personification of the river Tigris in ancient Persian belief.

46. Areop-Enap – a creator deity in Nauru Island who made men from stones and had them support the sky.

47. Argimpasa – the Scythian goddess of love.

48. Asto-vidhotu –a demon in ancient Persia who was then later promoted to a god of death.

49. Astrild – a Norse god of love.

50. Azacca – an agricultural deity in Haiti.

The Origin of the Name Horus

Horus is one of the most famous and iconic gods from ancient Egypt; the falcon-headed god born from Osiris and Isis after his father had been murdered and cut into pieces by his brother Set (Seth). The pieces of Osiris’ body was scattered throughout Egypt and Isis gathered them all and brought him back to life again to create their son.

But where does the name come from? What does it mean?

Archaeologists have believed that the name Horus stemmed from the root hr, 'to be far', that is to say 'He Who Is Far Away' - an explanation that seems to correspond the original concept of Horus as a sky god. However, this is based on later sources which confuse with the verb hr, and although this may have been the original meaning, “there is no early evidence for such paronomasia with the name of Horus”.

One way of determining the origin of Horus’ name is through the Coffin Texts, where Spell 148 states that his mother Isis says to him, 'O falcon, my son Horus, dwell in this land of your father Osiris in this your name of Falcon who is on (or 'above') the battlements of the mansion of Him-whose-name-is-hidden'. His ornithological name is Bik; it is only after he has been born does she call him Horus, his divine name. She goes on to say, 'Falcon who is on (or 'above') the battlements of the mansion of Him-whose-name-is-hidden’.

The name hr (Horus) was only given to him when he took his first flight after being instructed by Isis. “Consequently, one is tempted to consider the possibility that the present text regards Bik hry znbw hwt Imn-rn as the primary name of Horus, and that Hr may have been derived from it, perhaps even being a short form or a by-name”.

No matter what, Hr became the principal name of Horus. However, there is no firm round for the accepted etymology of Hr, 'He who is far away’; despite the fact that being up and away is a feature of a flying falcon. This does not constitute a etymological value. “The late association of the name Hr in a play on words with the root hr does not actually show anything beyond the propensity of the Ancient Egyptians towards puns, and does not convey anything about the original meaning of the name”.

Bibliography:

Gilula, Mordechai (1982) An Egyptian Etymology of the Name of Horus? The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, Egypt Exploration Society.

The History and Significance of the Egyptian God Geb

Egyptian mythology has fascinated the world for centuries; one of the oldest civilizations in the world, Egyptian mythology reflects the way the ancient people of this society viewed their world. They both feared and worshipped their gods in order to guarantee the annual flooding of the Nile which allowed them to stay alive in this harsh climate. The gods of ancient Egypt reflected the society of the Egyptians and we can see this in the significance and history of their deities.

The ancient Egyptian god Geb was one of the most important deities in the Egyptian pantheon. The god of the earth, Geb was both the brother and consort of Nut, as well as the oldest son of Shu and Tefnut, the deities of air and moisture.

One of his famous myths recounts the legend of how the earth and sky were formed. Geb and Nut were locked in a passionate embrace and Shu, or in other versions, the sun god Ra, separated them so violently that Geb formed the earth and Nut the sky. The distance between them gave enough space for Nut to give birth to their children. According to legends, Geb continued to grieve for Nut and his grief caused earthquakes (Cotterell & Storm, p.281).

Geb also played a leading role among the gods. In the Pyramid Texts (a collection of Egyptian texts concerning funerary rites), he is described as the spokesman of the gods against Set (Brandon, p.117).

The Egyptians viewed astronomy as an important part of life and in this Geb also plays a vital role. The 160 day visible rising phase of the decan stars was called Geb, or evening/night (rising) and the 200 day withdrawing phase was called Nut, or day (rising). This Nut rising period was when the stars withdrew, and could reflect the explanation that the goddess swallowed her star children, although this theory has been amended (Conman, p.64). Geb becomes a prince of the decan stars because he “commands them to rise. He causes the stars to return to life after they have been swallowed. He is responsible for the heliacal risings of the decans. Considered an earth god, Geb has a distinctly non-chthonic side that includes an existence in the sky” (Conman, p.64).

Geb plays an important role in the history of both ancient Egyptian mythology and history. Through the study of this deity, we can gain new insight into the fascinating history of this ancient culture.

Bibliography:

Brandon, S. G. F. (1958) A Problem of the Osirian Judgement of the Dead, Numen, BRILL.

Conman, Joanne (2003) It’s About Time: Ancient Egyptian Cosmology, Studien zur Altägyptischen Kultur, Helmut Buske Verlag GmbH.

Cotterell, Arthur & Storm, Rachel (1999) The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Mythology, Hermes House, Anness Publishing House.

The Goddess Hathor in History and Mythology

Ancient Egypt has fascinated the world for centuries; its long standing history is testament to the power and strength of the Empire and accomplished many remarkable achievements. Ancient Egyptian religion gave birth to a vast array of deities, including the first monotheistic faith under the Pharaoh Akhenaton.

The gods in the Egyptian pantheon reflected the lives of the ancient people; as a crop farming people many of the myths were inspired by the river Nile and the dependence on it to survive. In the early stages of this great civilization, each major city state had their own gods. When Egypt was eventually united under one pharaoh, many of the local gods were admitted into the national pantheon.

The goddess Hathor is still one of the most recognised deities from Ancient Egypt. She was the daughter of the sun god, Ra (also spelt Re), and worshipped as the goddess of joy, love, dance and song as well as being the protector of mothers and children. In addition, she was believed to carry the dead to the underworld where she would refresh them by offering them food and drink from the sycamore tree. As the Divine Cow, Hathor embodied the sky and was the mediating figure between the worlds of the living and the dead.

Hathor was connected with The Eye of Ra, which is one of her most famous myths. Long before Egypt had human rulers, the god Ra ruled the land. Near the end of his rule, Ra became angry with the lack of respect that his subjects offered him. At first he sent a wave of scorching heat, but the humans found shelter in the rocks, thus escaping his fury. Frustrated, he asked the other gods for advice on what to do next. The other gods suggested that he sent his Eye in the form of Hathor-Sekhmet.

Taking the form of a lioness, Hathor-Sekhmet relentlessly pursued the humans, killing whoever she could find. By the time Ra recalled her, Hathor-Sekhmet had acquired the taste for blood and was determined to destroy the rest of mankind.

On seeing this, Ra became alarmed. He had only wanted to teach his subjects a lesson, not to utterly destroy them. While Hathor-Sekhmet rested in the shade, Ra ordered the Priest of Heliopolis to ground a consignment of local red ochre and then mix it with barley beer. When completed, the result was 7,000 jars of what appeared to be blood. Ra then ordered the contents to be emptied over the fields where Hathor-Sekhmet planned her destruction the next day.

Hathor-Sekhmet was fooled. The next morning she saw a field of what looked to her, blood. She drank her fill, became intoxicated and fell into a stupor. When she awoke, she regain her senses; remembering what her original intentions were, she set off for home again and returned to being an benevolent goddess once more. As a gesture of good faith, Ra decreed that the Egyptian people could drink as much as they liked at Hathor’s festivals.

From this myth, we can see the dual nature of Hathor. She was both fierce and gracious, destructive and benevolent, and this can be seen in columns and amulets, and occasionally in reliefs, when two or even four faces of the goddess were depicted.

In art, Hathor’s benevolent nature is shown usually in the form of a cow, as this was the shape in which the goddess fashioned when she nursed the infant Horus when he was hidden from his murderous uncle Seth, in the marshes of Chemmis. At Deir el Bahari a magnificent statue of the Hathor cow was found intact in a rock shrine.

In addition to this, the goddess could be depicted as a beautiful young woman wearing a sun-disc with horns on her head. The two forms could also be combined – there are many instances where Hathor was shown as a beautiful young woman with the ears of a cow. There are very few occurrences where the goddess was shown in full human form.

The numerous aspects of Hathor were reflected in her worship and the offerings made to her. Large amounts of beads, scarabs and amulets made from the glazed composition known as Egyptian faience have been found at Deir el Bahari. Since one of Hathor’s many titles is ‘Lady of Turquoise’ it is possible that these objects were offered to her in the hope that they would please the goddess.

Also dedicated to Hathor were sistra, a musical instrument. Sistra were used in the worship of several goddesses, but particularly associated with Hathor. With these, Hathor, in the form of a cow-eared face, formed the base of the loop on each side.

Although an ancient goddess, known from the pre-dynastic period, Hathor’s worship became more prominent from the Middle Kingdom period onwards (c.2134 – 2040 BCE).

Our first textual reference to the goddess comes from an inscription on either side of the valley temple of Khafre, where the king is said to be beloved of Bastet (on the north side) and beloved of Hathor (on the south side).

With the reign of Menkaure (c.2532 – 2504 BCE), Hathor and her cult rose to prominence, with the king founding the priesthood of Hathor at Tehneh. A number of cylinder seals describe Menkaure as ‘beloved of’ and ‘one who worships’ Hathor. There are numbers of these during the reign of Khafre, but the quantity is much higher under the earlier pharaoh.

Hathor is one of the most fascinating and complex deities in the Egyptian pantheon; her worship was highly regarded during antiquity and her myths and legends still have the power to enthral and entertain us in today’s society.

Bibliography:

Gillam, Robyn A. (1995) Priestesses of Hathor: Their Function, Decline and Disappearance, Journal of the American Research Centre in Egypt, American Research Centre in Egypt.

Pinch, Geraldine (1982) Offerings to Hathor, Folklore, Taylor & Francis on behalf of Folklore Enterprises Ltd.