Ra Ra /rɑː/[1] or Re /reɪ/ (Egyptian: 𓂋ꜥ, rˤ) is the ancient Egyptian solar deity. By the Fifth Dynasty (2494 to 2345 BC) he had become a major god in ancient Egyptian religion, identified primarily with the midday sun. The meaning of the name is uncertain, but it is thought that if not a word for 'sun' it may be a variant of or linked to words meaning 'creative power' and 'creator'.[2] In later Egyptian dynastic times, Ra was merged with the god Horus, as Re-Horakhty ("Ra, who is Horus of the Two Horizons"). He was believed to rule in all parts of the created world: the sky, the earth, and the underworld.[3] He was associated with the falcon or hawk. When in the New Kingdom the god Amun rose to prominence he was fused with Ra as Amun-Ra. All forms of life were believed to have been created by Ra, who called each of them into existence by speaking their secret names. Role[edit] Ra and the sun[edit] To the Egyptians, the sun represented light, warmth, and growth. Ra in the underworld[edit]
Odin Etymology[edit] Odin's name is formed from "óðr" and the suffix "-inn". Old Norse had two different words spelled óðr, one an adjective and the other a noun. The adjective means "mad, frantic, furious, violent",[3] and is cognate with Old English wōd (hence the anglo-saxon Wōden).[4] The noun means "mind, wit, soul, sense" and "song, poetry".[5] Origin[edit] The 7th century Tängelgarda stone shows Odin leading a troop of warriors all bearing rings; Valknut symbols are drawn beneath his horse, which is depicted with four legs Originally, Odin was possibly considered mainly a shamanistic god and the leader of the war band. Parallels between Odin and the Celtic Lugus have often been pointed out. 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. Poetic Edda[edit] Völuspá[edit] Lokasenna[edit] Hávamál[edit] The sacrifice of Odin (1895) by Lorenz Frølich
Shiva Shiva (Śiva; /ˈʃɪvə/ listen meaning "The Auspicious One"), also known as Mahadeva ("Great God"), is a popular Hindu deity and is considered to be the Supreme God within Shaivism, one of the three most influential denominations in Hinduism.[1][2] Shiva is regarded as one of the primary forms of God, such as one of the five primary forms of God in the Smarta tradition,[1] and "the Destroyer" or "the Transformer"[3] among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. Shiva is also regarded as the patron god of yoga and arts.[4][5][6] Shiva, as we know him today, shares features with the Vedic god Rudra. Etymology and other names[edit] Shiva absorbed in meditation, as depicted commonly in Hinduism The Sanskrit word Shiva (Devanagari: शिव, śiva) comes from Shri Rudram Chamakam of Taittiriya Samhita (TS 4.5, 4.7) of Krishna Yajurveda. The Tamil word Sivan, Tamil: சிவன் ("Fair Skinned") could have been derived from the word sivappu. The Pashupati seal[edit] Rudra[edit]
Týr Týr (/ˈtɪər/;[1] Old Norse: Týr [tyːr]) is a god associated with law and heroic glory in Norse mythology, portrayed as one-handed. Corresponding names in other Germanic languages are Gothic Teiws, Old English Tīw and Old High German Ziu and Cyo, all from Proto-Germanic *Tīwaz. The Latinised name is Tius or Tio.[2] Name[edit] The earliest attestation for Týr's continental counterpart occurs in Gothic tyz "the t-rune" (𐍄) in the 9th-century Codex Vindobonensis 795.[4] The name is later attested in Old High German as Cyo in the A Wessobrunn prayer ms. of 814. Týr in origin was a generic noun meaning "god", e.g. West Germanic Ziu/Tiw/Tiwaz[edit] A gloss to the Wessobrunn prayer names the Alamanni Cyowari (worshipers of Cyo) and their capital Augsburg Ciesburc.[5] Tacitus also named the German "Mars" as the primary deity, along with the German "Mercury" (believed to be Odin), Hercules (believed to be Thor) and "Isis". North Germanic Tyr[edit] Tyr appears in the Eddic Poem Hymiskviða.
Marduk Marduk (Sumerian spelling in Akkadian: AMAR.UTU 𒀫𒌓 "solar calf"; perhaps from MERI.DUG; Biblical Hebrew מְרֹדַךְ Merodach; Greek Μαρδοχαῖος,[1] Mardochaios) was the Babylonian name of a late-generation god from ancient Mesopotamia and patron deity of the city of Babylon, who, when Babylon became the political center of the Euphrates valley in the time of Hammurabi (18th century BCE), started to slowly rise to the position of the head of the Babylonian pantheon, a position he fully acquired by the second half of the second millennium BCE. In the city of Babylon, he resided in the temple Esagila.[2] According to The Encyclopedia of Religion, the name Marduk was probably pronounced Marutuk. In the perfected system of astrology, the planet Jupiter was associated with Marduk by the Hammurabi period.[4] Mythology[edit] Marduk and his dragon Mušḫuššu, from a Babylonian cylinder seal Babylonian[edit] In the case of Ea, the transfer proceeded pacifically and without effacing the older god.
Jupiter (mythology) The consuls swore their oath of office in Jupiter's name, and honoured him on the annual feriae of the Capitol in September. To thank him for his help (and to secure his continued support), they offered him a white ox (bos mas) with gilded horns.[10] A similar offering was made by triumphal generals, who surrendered the tokens of their victory at the feet of Jupiter's statue in the Capitol. Some scholars have viewed the triumphator as embodying (or impersonating) Jupiter in the triumphal procession.[11] During the Conflict of the Orders, Rome's plebeians demanded the right to hold political and religious office. The augures publici, augurs were a college of sacerdotes who were in charge of all inaugurations and of the performing of ceremonies known as auguria. The role of Jupiter in the conflict of the orders is a reflection of the religiosity of the Romans. The first secession was caused by the excessive burden of debts that weighed on the plebs.
Janus In ancient Roman religion and myth, Janus (Latin: Ianus, pronounced [ˈiaː.nus]) is the god of beginnings and transitions,[1] thence also of gates, doors, passages, endings and time. He is usually depicted as having two faces, since he looks to the future and to the past. The Romans named the month of January (Ianuarius) in his honor. Janus presided over the beginning and ending of conflict, and hence war and peace. The doors of his temple were open in time of war, and closed to mark the peace. Janus had no flamen or specialized priest (sacerdos) assigned to him, but the King of the Sacred Rites (rex sacrorum) himself carried out his ceremonies. The ancient Greeks had no equivalent to Janus, whom the Romans claimed as distinctively their own. Etymology[edit] Three etymologies were proposed by ancient erudites, each of them bearing implications about the nature of the god.[2] Other modern scholars object to a Indo-European etymology either from Dianus or from root *yā-.[10] Temples[edit]
Hunab Ku Hunab Ku (Mayan pronunciation: [huˈnaɓ ku]) is a Yucatec Maya word meaning "The Only God" used in colonial, and more particularly in doctrinal texts, to refer to the Christian God. Since the word is found frequently in the Chilam Balam of Chumayel, regarded by some as indigenous writing not influenced by Christianity, some authors have proposed that the name was originally used for an indigenous Maya deity, which was later transferred to the Christian god but recent research has shown this to be unlikely. Rather the word was a translation into Maya of the Christian concept of the "One God", used to enculturate the previously polytheist Maya to the new Colonial religion.[1] References to Hunab Ku have figured prominently in New Age Mayanism such as that of José Argüelles. Hunab Ku as the Christian God[edit] However, the interpretation of Hunab Ku as a pre-Hispanic deity is not widely accepted by Mayanist scholars today. Hunab Ku in New Age Belief[edit] Hunab Ku as Symbol[edit] See also[edit]
Vishnu Vishnu's eternal and supreme abode beyond the material universe is called Vaikuntha, which is also known as Paramdhama, the realm of eternal bliss and happiness and the final or highest place for liberated souls who have attained Moksha. Vaikuntha is situated beyond the material universe and hence, cannot be perceived or measured by material science or logic.[5] Vishnu's other abode within the material universe is Ksheera Sagara (the ocean of milk), where he reclines and rests on Ananta Shesha, (the king of the serpent deities, commonly shown with thousand heads). In almost all Hindu denominations, Vishnu is either worshipped directly or in the form of his ten avatars, the most famous of whom are Rama and Krishna.[6] The Puranabharati, an ancient text, describes these as the dashavatara, or the ten avatars of Vishnu. Name[edit] A 4th–6th century CE Sardonyx seal representing Vishnu with a worshipper. Sacred texts - Shruti and Smriti[edit] Shruti[edit] [edit] Vedas[edit] Rigveda[edit]
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]
Wōden Woden or Wodan (Old English: Ƿōden,[1] Old High German: Wôdan,[2] Old Saxon: Uuôden[3]) is a major deity of Anglo-Saxon and Continental Germanic polytheism. With his Norse counterpart,[4] Odin, Woden represents a development of the Proto-Germanic god *Wōdanaz. He is the namesake for the English-language day of the week Wednesday. Though less is known about the pre-Christian religion of Anglo-Saxon and continental Germanic peoples than is known about Norse paganism, Woden is attested in English, German, and Dutch toponyms as well as in various texts and in archeological evidence from the Early Middle Ages. Etymology and origins[edit] *Wōđanaz, or *Wōđinaz, is the reconstructed Proto-Germanic name of a god of Germanic paganism. The earliest attestation of the name is Wodan (ᚹᛟᛞᚨᚾ) in an Elder Futhark inscription: possibly on the Arguel pebble (of dubious authenticity, if genuine dating to the early 6th century), and on the Nordendorf fibula (early 7th century). Continental Wodan[edit]
Yahweh By early post-biblical times, the name of Yahweh had ceased to be pronounced. In modern Judaism, it is replaced with the word Adonai, meaning Lord, and is understood to be God's proper name and to denote his mercy. Many Christian Bibles follow the Jewish custom and replace it with "the LORD". Name[edit] The Tetragrammaton in Paleo-Hebrew (10th century BCE to 135 CE), old Aramaic (10th century BCE to 4th century CE) and square Hebrew (3rd century BCE to present) scripts. History[edit] Origins and adoption as the God of Israel[edit] A YHD drachm, a silver coin probably struck by the Persian administration in Jerusalem (4th century BCE). The earliest putative reference to Yahweh in the historical record occurs in a list of Bedouin tribes of the Transjordan made by Amenhotep III (c. 1391- BCE - 1353 BCE) in the temple of Amon at Soleb. Yw in the Baal Cycle[edit] More recently, the damaged Ugaritic cuneiform text KTU 1.1:IV:14-15 is also included in the discussion:[30] From KTU II:IV:13-14