El (deity) El, seated on a throne with lion feet, wears conical horned headdress, a tunic and mantle. He receives gifts from a priest or king or lesser deity. The winged globe is above them in the background. Stele found in Palestine.[1][2] ʾĒl (written aleph-lamed, e.g. In the Canaanite religion, or Levantine religion as a whole, El or Il was a god also known as the Father of humanity and all creatures, and the husband of the goddess Asherah as recorded in the clay tablets of Ugarit (modern Ra′s Shamrā—Arabic: رأس شمرا, Syria). Cognate forms are found throughout the Semitic languages. In northwest Semitic use, El was both a generic word for any god and the special name or title of a particular god who was distinguished from other gods as being "the god". However, because the word sometimes refers to a god other than the great god Ēl, it is frequently ambiguous as to whether Ēl followed by another name means the great god Ēl with a particular epithet applied or refers to another god entirely.
Nuada Airgetlám In Irish mythology, Nuada or Nuadu (modern spelling: Nuadha), known by the epithet Airgetlám (modern spelling: Airgeadlámh, meaning "silver hand/arm"), was the first king of the Tuatha Dé Danann. He is cognate with the Gaulish and British god Nodens. His Welsh equivalent is Nudd or Lludd Llaw Eraint. Description[edit] Nuada was king of the Tuatha Dé Danann for seven years before they came to Ireland. Bres, aided by the Fomorian Balor of the Evil Eye, attempted to retake the kingship by force, and war and continued oppression followed. Nuada's great sword was one of the Four Treasures of the Tuatha Dé Danann, brought from one of their four great cities.[5] Legacy[edit] Mythological parallels[edit] Etymology[edit] The name Nuada probably derives from a Celtic stem *noudont- or *noudent-, which J. References[edit]
Brahman Not to be confused with Brahma, the Hindu god, or brahmin, the caste or varna. In Hinduism, Brahman (/ˈbrɑːmən/; Sanskrit: ब्रह्मन् brahman) is "the unchanging reality amidst and beyond the world",[1] which "cannot be exactly defined". It has been described in Sanskrit as Sat-cit-ānanda (being-consciousness-bliss) and as the highest reality.[note 1][note 2] Brahman is a Vedic Sanskrit word, and is conceptualized in Hinduism, states Paul Deussen, as the "creative principle which lies realized in the whole world".[7] Understanding the concept of Brahman[edit] An old Indian legend says that when a child asked his teacher what Brahman was, his teacher puzzled over a way to explain Brahman, and after some thought came up with this answer: "Imagine that here in front of me I have a sachet of salt, a spoon and a bowl of water, I then mix the salt into the water and let it dissolve; after some time I try and remove a spoonful of water from the bowl, a spoonful of water that does not taste salty.
Mythology Some (recent) approaches have rejected a conflict between the value of myth and rational thought, often viewing myths, rather than being merely inaccurate historical accounts, as expressions for understanding general psychological, cultural or societal truths. Etymology[edit] The English term mythology predates the word myth by centuries.[5] It appeared in the 15th century,[7] borrowed whole from Middle French mythologie. The word mythology "exposition of myths" comes from Middle French mythologie, from Late Latin mythologia, from Greek μυθολογία mythologia "legendary lore, a telling of mythic legends; a legend, story, tale," from μῦθος mythos "myth" and -λογία -logia "study."[8][9] Both terms translated the subject of Fulgentius's 5th-century Mythologiæ, which was concerned with the explication of Greek and Roman stories about their gods. Terminology[edit] Origins[edit] Euhemerism[edit] Allegory[edit] Some theories propose that myths began as allegories. Personification[edit] See also[edit]
Brahma Etymology[edit] In Sanskrit grammar, the noun stem brahman forms two distinct nouns; one is a neuter noun bráhman, whose nominative singular form is brahma ब्रह्म; this noun has a generalized and abstract meaning. Contrasted to the neuter noun is the masculine noun brahmán, whose nominative singular form is brahmā ब्रह्मा. Origin[edit] According to Shri Madha Bhagawata Mahapurana, Brahmā was born through Vishnu's navel, Vishnu is the main source of whatsoever exists in the world; that is created by him of a part of his own body materials in this universe,;later he was wondered about the establishment of Mankind in the planet, hence at first he has created a lotus from his navel and from lotus Brahmā origin. Creations[edit] Head of Brahma in sandstone from the Phnom Bok in Bakheng style now in Guimet Museum in Paris. At the beginning of the process of creation, Brahmā creates the four Kumāras or the Caturṣaņa. Attributes[edit] Appearance[edit] A handcoloured engraving of Brahma. Vehicle[edit]
Myth of Osiris and Isis From right to left: Isis, her husband Osiris, and their son Horus, the protagonists of the Osiris myth, in a Twenty-second Dynasty statuette The Osiris myth reached its basic form in or before the 24th century BCE. Many of its elements originated in religious ideas, but the conflict between Horus and Set may have been partly inspired by a regional struggle in Egypt's early history or prehistory. Parts of the myth appear in a wide variety of Egyptian texts, from funerary texts and magical spells to short stories. Sources[edit] The same elements from the myth that appear in the Pyramid Texts recur in funerary texts written in later times, such as the Coffin Texts from the Middle Kingdom (c. 2055–1650 BCE) and the Book of the Dead from the New Kingdom (c. 1550–1070 BCE). Other types of religious texts give evidence for the myth, such as two Middle Kingdom texts, the Dramatic Ramesseum Papyrus, and the Ikhernofret Stela. Rituals in honor of Osiris are another major source of information.
Enlil Enlil with his wife, Ninlil Origins[edit] Enlil was known as the inventor of the mattock (a key agricultural pick, hoe, ax or digging tool of the Sumerians) and helped plants to grow.[5] Cosmological role[edit] Enlil, along with Anu/An, Enki and Ninhursag were gods of the Sumerians.[6] Cultural histories[edit] Enlil is associated with the ancient city of Nippur, sometimes referred to as the cult city of Enlil.[7] His temple was named Ekur, "House of the Mountain At a very early period prior to 3000 BC, Nippur had become the centre of a political district of considerable extent. His chief temple at Nippur was known as Ekur, signifying 'House of the mountain'. Grouped around the main sanctuary, there arose temples and chapels to the gods and goddesses who formed his court, so that Ekur became the name for an entire sacred precinct in the city of Nippur. See also[edit] References[edit] External links[edit]
Mesopotamian religion The god Marduk and his dragon Mušḫuššu Mesopotamian religion refers to the religious beliefs and practices followed by the Sumerian and East Semitic Akkadian, Assyrian, Babylonian and later migrant Arameans and Chaldeans, living in Mesopotamia (a region encompassing modern Iraq, Kuwait, southeast Turkey and northeast Syria) that dominated the region for a period of 4200 years from the fourth millennium BCE throughout Mesopotamia to approximately the 10th century CE in Assyria.[1] Mesopotamian polytheism was the only religion in ancient Mesopotamia for thousands of years before entering a period of gradual decline beginning between the 1st and 3rd centuries CE. Reconstruction[edit] As with most dead religions, many aspects of the common practices and intricacies of the doctrine have been lost and forgotten over time. History[edit] Overview map of ancient Mesopotamia. Akkadian names first appear in king lists of these states circa 2800 BCE. Religion in the Neo-Assyrian Empire[edit] "Enlil!