Ancient Religions & Mythology, DEU-FOR
What did our ancestors believe in? What myths and stories did they use to explain the world around them and find meaning in it? How have their beliefs influenced modern religion and spirituality? Explore these questions and more while discovering notable traditions, figures, and legends that figured prominently in ancient religion and mythology.
Ancient Religions & Mythology Encyclopedia Articles By Title
deus otiosus, (Latin: “neutral god,” or “hidden god”), in the history of religions and philosophy, a high god who......
deva, in the Vedic religion of India and in later Hinduism, one of many gods, often roughly divided into sky, air,......
Dhanvantari, in Hindu mythology, the physician of the gods. According to legend, the gods and the demons sought......
Dharma-Thakur, folk deity of eastern India whose origins are obscure. Dharma-Thakur is worshipped as the “high......
dharmapāla, in Tibetan Buddhism, any one of a group of eight divinities who, though benevolent, are represented......
Dhyani-Buddha, in Mahayana Buddhism, and particularly in Vajrayana (Tantric) Buddhism, any of a group of five “self-born”......
Dian Cécht, one of the Tuatha Dé Danann, the gods of Celtic Ireland. He was the physician of the gods and father......
Diana, in Roman religion, goddess of wild animals and the hunt, identified with the Greek goddess Artemis. Her......
Dido, in Greek legend, the reputed founder of Carthage, daughter of the Tyrian king Mutto (or Belus), and wife......
Dietrich von Bern, heroic figure of Germanic legend, apparently derived from Theodoric the Great, an Ostrogothic......
Dievs, in Baltic religion, the sky god. Dievs and Laima, the goddess of human fate, determine human destiny and......
Diomedes, in Greek legend, the son of Tydeus, the Aetolian hero who was one of the Seven Against Thebes. Diomedes......
Dione, in Greek mythology, a consort and, at Dodona in Epirus, a cult partner of Zeus, the king of the gods. Since......
Dionysus, in Greco-Roman religion, a nature god of fruitfulness and vegetation, especially known as a god of wine......
Dioscuri, (Dioscuri from Greek Dioskouroi, “Sons of Zeus”), in Greek and Roman mythology, twin deities who succoured......
dipsas, a serpent with a bite said to produce intense thirst. The snake was the subject of a story told by several......
Dis Pater, (Latin: Rich Father), in Roman religion, god of the infernal regions, the equivalent of the Greek Hades......
Dizang, in Chinese Buddhism, bodhisattva (buddha-to-be) who is especially committed to delivering the dead from......
Docetism, (from Greek dokein, “to seem”), Christian heresy and one of the earliest Christian sectarian doctrines,......
Dodona, ancient sanctuary of the chief Greek god, Zeus, in Epirus, Greece; the ceremonies held there had many remarkable......
dolmen, a type of stone monument found in a variety of places throughout the world. Dolmens are made of two or......
Don Juan, fictitious character who is a symbol of libertinism. Originating in popular legend, he was first given......
doppelgänger, (German: “double goer”), in German folklore, a wraith or apparition of a living person, as distinguished......
dragon, in the mythologies, legends, and folktales of various cultures, a large lizard- or serpent-like creature,......
Druid, member of the learned class among the ancient Celts. They acted as priests, teachers, and judges. The earliest......
Druon Antigonus, legendary giant of Antwerp, who cut off the right hands of mariners refusing him tribute. His......
dryad, in Greek mythology, a nymph or nature spirit who lives in trees and takes the form of a beautiful young......
Dumuzi-Abzu, in Mesopotamian religion, Sumerian deity, city goddess of Kinirsha near Lagash in the southeastern......
Dumuzi-Amaushumgalana, in Mesopotamian religion, Sumerian deity especially popular in the southern orchard regions......
Durga, in Hinduism, a principal form of the supreme Goddess, also known as Devi and Shakti. The divine feminine......
dwarf, an individual who is much below the ordinary stature or size for his ethnic group or species. (For the physiology......
dziady, in Slavic religion, all the dead ancestors of a family, the rites that are performed in their memory, and......
Dôn, in Celtic mythology, leader of one of two warring families of gods; according to one interpretation, the Children......
Ea, Mesopotamian god of water and a member of the triad of deities completed by Anu (Sumerian: An) and Enlil. Ea......
Ebisu, in Japanese mythology, one of the Shichi-fuku-jin (“Seven Gods of Luck”), the patron of fishermen and tradesmen.......
Echidna, monster of Greek mythology, half woman, half serpent. Her parents were either the sea deities Phorcys......
Echo, in Greek mythology, a mountain nymph, or oread. Ovid’s Metamorphoses, Book III, relates that Echo offended......
Edda, body of ancient Icelandic literature contained in two 13th-century books commonly distinguished as the Prose,......
Egeria, in Roman religion, a water spirit worshiped in connection with Diana at Aricia and also with the Camenae......
ancient Egyptian religion, indigenous beliefs of ancient Egypt from predynastic times (4th millennium bce) to the......
Eileithyia, pre-Hellenic goddess of childbirth, who hindered or facilitated the process according to her disposition.......
El, the general term for “deity” in Semitic languages as well as the name of the chief deity of the West Semites.......
Eldorado, originally, the legendary ruler of an Indian town near Bogotá, who was believed to plaster his naked......
Electra, in Greek legend, the daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, who saved the life of her young brother Orestes......
Eleusinia, ancient Greek festival in honour of Demeter (the goddess of agriculture), unconnected with the Eleusinian......
Eleusinian Mysteries, most famous of the secret religious rites of ancient Greece. According to the myth told in......
elf, in Germanic folklore, originally, a spirit of any kind, later specialized into a diminutive creature, usually......
Mircea Eliade was a historian of religions, phenomenologist of religion, and author of novels, novellas, and short......
Elysium, in Greek mythology, originally the paradise to which heroes on whom the gods conferred immortality were......
Emma-ō, in Japanese Buddhist mythology, the overlord of hell (Jigoku), corresponding to the Indian deity Yama.......
enarean, member of an ancient group of magicians and soothsayers, most likely eunuchs, who spoke in high-pitched......
Endymion, in Greek mythology, a beautiful youth who spent much of his life in perpetual sleep. Endymion’s parentage......
Enlil, Mesopotamian god of the atmosphere and a member of the triad of gods completed by Anu (Sumerian: An) and......
Enuma elish, ancient Mesopotamian creation epic that tells the tale of Marduk, the chief god of the city of Babylon.......
Eos, in Greco-Roman mythology, the personification of the dawn. According to the Greek poet Hesiod’s Theogony,......
Epona, goddess who was patron of horses and also of asses and mules (epo- is the Gaulish equivalent of the Latin......
Erato, in Greek religion, one of the nine Muses, the patron of lyric and erotic poetry or hymns. She is often depicted......
Erechtheum, ionic temple of Athena, built during 421–405 bc on the Acropolis at Athens, famous largely for its......
Erechtheus, legendary king and probably also a divinity of Athens. According to the Iliad, he was born from the......
Ereshkigal, in Mesopotamian religion, goddess in the Sumero-Akkadian pantheon who was Lady of the Great Place (i.e.,......
Erigone, in Greek mythology, daughter of Icarius, the hero of the Attic deme (township) of Icaria. Her father,......
Eris, in Greco-Roman mythology, the personification of strife. She was called the daughter of Nyx (Night) by Hesiod,......
Eros, in Greek religion, god of love. In the Theogony of Hesiod (fl. 700 bce), Eros was a primeval god, son of......
Eshu, trickster god of the Yoruba of Nigeria, an essentially protective, benevolent spirit who serves Ifa, the......
Esus, (Celtic: “Lord,” or “Master”), powerful Celtic deity, one of three mentioned by the Roman poet Lucan in the......
Euhemerus was an author of a utopian work that was popular in the ancient world; his name was given to the theory......
Eumolpus, mythical ancestor of the priestly clan of the Eumolpids at Eleusis, a town west of Athens, and the site......
Europa, in Greek mythology, the daughter either of Phoenix or of Agenor, king of Phoenicia. The beauty of Europa......
Eurydice, in Greek mythology, the wife of Orpheus. Following Eurydice’s death, Orpheus attempted to retrieve her......
Euterpe, in Greek religion, one of the nine Muses, patron of tragedy or flute playing. In some accounts she was......
Evander, in Classical mythology, a migrant from Pallantium in Arcadia (central part of the Peloponnesus) who settled......
Eye of Horus, in ancient Egypt, symbol representing protection, health, and restoration. According to Egyptian......
fable, narrative form, usually featuring animals that behave and speak as human beings, told in order to highlight......
Fafnir, in Nordic mythology, name of the great dragon slain by Sigurd, the Norse version of the German hero Siegfried.......
fairy, a mythical being of folklore and romance usually having magic powers and dwelling on earth in close relationship......
Fama, in Greco-Roman mythology, the personification of popular rumour. Pheme was more a poetic personification......
Fate, in Greek and Roman mythology, any of three goddesses who determined human destinies, and in particular the......
faun, in Roman mythology, a creature that is part human and part goat, akin to a Greek satyr. The name faun is......
Fauna, in ancient Roman religion, a goddess of the fertility of woodlands, fields, and flocks; she was the counterpart—variously......
Faunus, ancient Italian rural deity whose attributes in Classical Roman times were identified with those of the......
Faust, hero of one of the most durable legends in Western folklore and literature, the story of a German necromancer......
Felicitas, Roman goddess of good luck to whom a temple was first built in the mid-2nd century bc. She became the......
The Fellowship of the Ring, first volume (1954) in the trilogy that forms the famed fantasy novel The Lord of the......
fenghuang, in Chinese mythology, an immortal bird whose rare appearance is said to be an omen foretelling harmony......
Fenrir, monstrous wolf of Norse mythology. He was the son of the demoniac god Loki and a giantess, Angerboda. Fearing......
feriae, ancient Roman festival days during which the gods were honoured and all business, especially lawsuits,......
Feriae Latinae, in Roman religion, the Festival of Jupiter Latiaris (Latialis), held in the spring and fall each......
fetial, any of a body of 20 Roman priestly officials who were concerned with various aspects of international relations,......
Fides, Roman goddess, the deification of good faith and honesty. Many of the oldest Roman deities were embodiments......
Publius Nigidius Figulus was a Roman savant and writer, next to Marcus Terentius Varro the most learned Roman of......
Finn, legendary Irish hero, leader of the group of warriors known as the Fianna Éireann. See Fenian...
Finno-Ugric religion, pre-Christian and pre-Islamic religious beliefs and practices of the Finno-Ugric peoples,......
Five Great Kings, in Tibetan Buddhism, a group of five deified heroes popularly worshiped as protection against......
flamen, in ancient Rome, a priest devoted exclusively to the worship of one deity; the name derives from a root......
flood myth, any of numerous mythologies in which a flood destroys a typically disobedient original population.......
Flora, in Roman religion, the goddess of the flowering of plants. Titus Tatius (according to tradition, the Sabine......
Flying Dutchman, in European maritime legend, spectre ship doomed to sail forever; its appearance to seamen is......
Flying Spaghetti Monster, the deity of what began as a parody religion and grew to become a social movement. The......
Fomoire, in Irish myth, a race of demonic beings who posed a threat to the inhabitants of Ireland until they were......
Fortuna, in Roman religion, goddess of chance or lot who became identified with the Greek Tyche; the original Italian......