Radegast (god) Statue of "Radegast" on a Czech mountain Radhošť Radegast, also Radigost, Redigast, Riedegost or Radogost is an old god of Slavic mythology. Since the name can easily be etymologised as meaning something like “Dear guest”, Radegast was proclaimed as the Slavic god of hospitality and as such entered the hypothetical, reconstructed Slavic pantheon of modern days. Even myths concerning him were constructed based on various folk customs of sacred hospitality. Similar customs, however, are known in many Indo-European mythologies without a distinct deity associated explicitly with them. Mt. Radegast is mentioned by Adam of Bremen in his Gesta Hammaburgensis Ecclesiae Pontificum as the deity worshipped in the Lutician (West Slavic tribes) city of Radgosc. The original statue once found on Mt. Media related to Radhošť at Wikimedia Commons
Sol (mythology) Sol was the solar deity in Ancient Roman religion. It was long thought that Rome actually had two different, consecutive sun gods. The first, Sol Indiges, was thought to have been unimportant, disappearing altogether at an early period. Only in the late Roman Empire, scholars argued, did solar cult re-appear with the arrival in Rome of the Syrian Sol Invictus, perhaps under the influence of the Mithraic mysteries. Sol Invictus ("Unconquered Sun") was long thought to have been a Greek state-supported sun god introduced from Asia Minor by the emperor Aurelian in 274 and overshadowing other Eastern cults in importance,[9] until the abolition of Classical Roman religion under Theodosius I. There is some debate over the significance of the date December 21 for the cult of Sol. The official status of the cult of Sol after Aurelian was significant, but there is no evidence that it was the supreme cult of the state. Jump up ^ see e.g.
Hyperion (mythology) Hyperion's son Helios was referred to in early mythological writings as Helios Hyperion (Ἥλιος Ὑπερίων, "Sun High-one"). In Homer's Odyssey, Hesiod's Theogony and the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, the Sun is once in each work called Hyperionides (Ὑπεριωνίδης, "son of Hyperion"), and Hesiod certainly imagines Hyperion as a separate being in other writings. In later Greek literature, Hyperion is always distinguished from Helios; the former was ascribed the characteristics of the "God of Watchfulness, Wisdom and Light", while the latter became the physical incarnation of the Sun. Of Hyperion we are told that he was the first to understand, by diligent attention and observation, the movement of both the sun and the moon and the other stars, and the seasons as well, in that they are caused by these bodies, and to make these facts known to others; and that for this reason he was called the father of these bodies, since he had begotten, so to speak, the speculation about them and their nature.
Agni Agni (Sanskrit: अग्नि) is a Hindu deity, one of the most important of the Vedic gods. He is the god of fire[1] and the acceptor of sacrifices. The sacrifices made to Agni go to the deities because Agni is a messenger[2] from and to the other gods. He is ever-young, because the fire is re-lit every day, and also immortal. Agni, the Vedic god of fire, has two heads, one marks immortality and the other marks an unknown symbol of life. Etymology[edit] The word agni is Sanskrit for "fire" (noun), cognate with Latin ignis (the root of English ignite), Russian огонь (ogon), Polish "ogień", Slovenian "ogenj", Serbo-Croatian oganj, and Lithuanian ugnis—all with the meaning "fire", with the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European root being h₁égni-. Vedas[edit] Agni is the first word of the first hymn of the Rigveda: He is the supreme director of religious ceremonies and duties, and figures as messenger between mortals and gods. The Rigveda often says that Agni arises from water or dwells in the waters.
Heracles Origin and character Heracles was the greatest of Hellenic chthonic heroes, but unlike other Greek heroes, no tomb was identified as his. Heracles was both hero and god, as Pindar says heroes theos; at the same festival sacrifice was made to him, first as a hero, with a chthonic libation, and then as a god, upon an altar: thus he embodies the closest Greek approach to a "demi-god".[8] The core of the story of Heracles has been identified by Walter Burkert as originating in Neolithic hunter culture and traditions of shamanistic crossings into the netherworld.[9] Hero or god Heracles' role as a culture hero, whose death could be a subject of mythic telling (see below), was accepted into the Olympian Pantheon during Classical times. And next I caught a glimpse of powerful Heracles— His ghost I mean: the man himself delights in the grand feasts of the deathless gods on high... Around him cries of the dead rang out like cries of birds scattering left and right in horror as on he came like night
Helios Names[edit] Greek mythology[edit] Helios in his chariot, early 4th century BC, Athena's temple, Ilion The best known story involving Helios is that of his son Phaëton, who attempted to drive his father's chariot but lost control and set the earth on fire. Helios was sometimes characterized with the epithet Helios Panoptes ("the all-seeing"). In the Odyssey, Odysseus and his surviving crew land on Thrinacia, an island sacred to the sun god, whom Circe names Hyperion rather than Helios. Though Odysseus warns his men, when supplies run short they impiously kill and eat some of the cattle of the Sun. In one Greek vase painting, Helios appears riding across the sea in the cup of the Delphic tripod which appears to be a solar reference. Helios and Apollo[edit] Helios is sometimes identified with Apollo: "Different names may refer to the same being," Walter Burkert observes, "or else they may be consciously equated, as in the case of Apollo and Helios Cult of Helios[edit] Helios Megistos[edit]
Freyr Freyr (sometimes anglicized Frey, from *frawjaz "lord"[1]) is one of the most important gods of Norse paganism. Freyr was associated with sacral kingship, virility and prosperity, with sunshine and fair weather, and was pictured as a phallic fertility god, Freyr "bestows peace and pleasure on mortals". Freyr, sometimes referred to as Yngvi-Freyr, was especially associated with Sweden and seen as an ancestor of the Swedish royal house. In the Icelandic books the Poetic Edda and the Prose Edda, Freyr is presented as one of the Vanir, the son of the sea god Njörðr, brother of the goddess Freyja. The gods gave him Álfheimr, the realm of the Elves, as a teething present. Adam of Bremen[edit] Written around 1080, one of the oldest written sources on pre-Christian Scandinavian religious practices is Adam of Bremen's Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificum. Later in the account Adam states that when a marriage is performed a libation is made to the image of Fricco. Prose Edda[edit] Völuspá[edit]
Surya Surya (Sanskrit: सूर्य Sūrya, "the Supreme Light"[2]) Suraya or Phra Athit is the chief solar deity in Hinduism. The term Surya also refers to the Sun, in general. Surya as the Sun is worshipped at dawn by most Hindus and has many temples dedicated to him across India. He also enjoys worship as a part of the Navagraha. He is especially worshipped in the Hindu festivals of Ratha Saptami, Makar Sankranti, Chhath and Samba Dashami. Depictions[edit] Surya sculpture Surya is sometimes depicted with two hands holding a lotus in each hand. Arka form[edit] Surya is worshiped in various forms throughout India. The grandest Surya temple is Konark Surya Temples built by Ganga Vamsi king Narasimha Dev of Orissa. The Sun Temple, Modhera, at Modhera in Gujarat, is a temple dedicated to the Hindu Sun-God, Surya. 'Mitra' form of Surya[edit] 'Surya' is also known as 'Mitra' (meaning friend) for his life nourishing properties. Religious role and relationships[edit] Surya with consorts Saranyu and Chhaya
Eos Etymology[edit] Greek literature [edit] From The Iliad: Now when Dawn in robe of saffron was hastening from the streams of Oceanus, to bring light to mortals and immortals, Thetis reached the ships with the armor that the god had given her.—Iliad xix.1 Quintus Smyrnaeus pictured her exulting in her heart over the radiant horses (Lampus and Phaëton) that drew her chariot, amidst the bright-haired Horae, the feminine Hours, climbing the arc of heaven and scattering sparks of fire.[5] She is most often associated with her Homeric epithet "rosy-fingered" (rhododactylos), but Homer also calls her Eos Erigeneia: That brightest of stars appeared, Eosphoros, that most often heralds the light of early-rising Dawn (Eos Erigeneia). Hesiod wrote: And after these Erigeneia ["Early-born"] bore the star Eosphoros ("Dawn-bringer"), and the gleaming stars with which heaven is crowned. Genealogy[edit] Lovers and children[edit] Etruscan interpretations[edit] Roman interpretations[edit] See also[edit] Dawn goddess