Dictionary of Gods and Goddesses

420 Pages·2008·2.64 MB·English

by  Michael Jordan

d i c t i o n a r y o f
G O D S AN D
G O D D E S S E S
second edition
michael jordan
For Beatrice Elizabeth Jordan
Dictionary of Gods and Goddesses, Second Edition
Copyright © 2004, 1993 by Michael Jordan
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or
by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any
information storage or retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher.
For information contact:
Facts On File, Inc.
132 West 31st Street
New York NY 10001
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Jordan, Michael, 1941–
Dictionary of gods and godesses / Michael Jordan.– 2nd ed.
p. cm.
Rev. ed. of: Encyclopedia of gods. c1993.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-8160-5923-3
1. Gods–Dictionaries. 2. Goddesses–Dictionaries. I. Jordan, Michael, 1941– Encyclopedia of gods. II. Title.
BL473.J67 2004
202'.11'03–dc22
2004013028
Facts On File books are available at special discounts when purchased in bulk quantities
for businesses, associations, institutions, or sales promotions. Please call our Special
Sales Department in New York at [phone] or [phone].
You can find Facts On File on the World Wide Web at http://www.factsonfile.com
Text design by David Strelecky
Cover design by Cathy Rincon
Printed in the United States of America
VB FOF 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
CONTENTS
6
PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION
v
INTRODUCTION TO THE FIRST EDITION
vii
CHRONOLOGY OF THE PRINCIPAL RELIGIONS
AND CULTURES COVERED IN THIS BOOK
xiii
DICTIONARY OF GODS AND GODDESSES
1
BIBLIOGRAPHY
361
INDEX
367

PREFACE TO THE
SECOND EDITION
6
It is explained in the introduction to this volume and the Maori. All of these cultures are richly
that no database of deities worldwide can ever endowed with deities. In recent years some spe-
hope to be comprehensive. There are just too cialized reference works, focusing on the “Pacific
many regional variations amongst the larger reli- traditions,” have been published and the additional
gion blocks and, equally, a vast number of very entries in the book draw on valuable resources of
localized cults, each with its own idiosyncratic information that were not all widely available when
pantheons of gods and goddesses. The intention the first edition was compiled.
of the first edition was to cover all the major the- Away from the southern hemisphere cultures,
aters of belief as extensively as was feasible at the two specific new entries deserve mention. Helen
time, with the primary object of including most of of Troy was omitted from the first edition because
the names of deities that the student was likely to she is widely regarded as having been a mortal
come across while traveling to religious and queen made famous through Homeric legend.
archaeological sites around the world, or research- According to the great Greek historian Hesiod,
ing in museums and libraries. This meant that however, Helen was a goddess and as such worthy
much attention was paid to the living polytheistic of inclusion here. And, in response to widespread
religions, including Hindu, Buddhist, Taoist, and interest in the history of the Knights Templar, I
Shinto. It was also thought constructive to include have included an entry on Baphomet, the medieval
as many names as possible from Ancient Near deity allegedly worshiped by that order of knights.
Eastern, Egyptian, Classical Roman and Greek, The chronology section has been re-worked
Norse, Celtic, and Germanic pantheons since, and the bibliography substantially expanded to
in recent decades, there has been a resurgence incorporate a large number of titles that have
of interest in many of these among “alternative been published since the first edition of the
religion” movements. Encyclopedia of Gods, while retaining the details
As a result of these decisions, certain geograph- of older references. Many of the newer titles are
ical areas were under-represented in the first edi- currently in print and widely available in book-
tion. Most notably they included the Pacific islands stores and from online sources.
of Hawaii, Polynesia, Melanesia and Micronesia, Numerous cross-references and a comprehen-
along with Australia and New Zealand with the sive index have been added to this edition to allow
venerated traditions of the Australian Aborigines easy access to the information.
v

INTRODUCTION
TO THE FIRST EDITION
6
In compiling a book like Encyclopedia of Gods, one faiths such characters as “cloud man” and “grass
is struck both by the enormous number and vari- woman,” “old man of rocks” and “reindeer child.”
ety of deities that occur in different religions As this animistic style of religion develops, the
around the world, and also by the way patterns rather vague ethereal spirits of clouds, rocks, trees,
repeat themselves—almost every culture has its birds and animals become detached from their
creator gods, gods concerned with a locally impor- temporal “shells” and take on progressively more
tant aspect of the weather, goddesses of fertility, abstract associations. Thus we find a goddess of
gods whose duty it is to protect the home. The childbirth, a god of storms, a god of blacksmiths
same mysteries have puzzled people on every or sailors, even a deity concerned with the proper
continent, the same fears have beset them and they use of pots and pans. As the scope of their respon-
have all attempted to explain the mysteries sibilities broadens, the deities become more
and allay the fears in the same way—through the clearly defined, more “human” personalities. We
worship of gods. come to know them by their appearances, by their
We know, beyond reasonable doubt, that a style of dress, by the attributes they carry. Yet
world measured purely in spiritual dimensions has some of their animistic traits persist and they may
been identified for at least 60,000 years—it may still be identified in inanimate symbols and
have been present as an innate part of the human devices, and be represented as animals or other
psyche since the very beginnings of consciousness. living things. The social infrastructure of the spirit
But why does the human spirit harbor such a need world may also closely mirror our own: thus
for gods? deities become arranged in hierarchical orders
The beginnings of an answer to this question known as pantheons and may be separated into
may be found in the beliefs of the simplest cul- groups, not only responsible for different areas of
tures. Primitive peoples attribute to all of nature, worldly control, but also directing their powers
everything which exists in a physical state, a toward good or evil.
spiritual identity that is ever-present but unseen, To explain the precise significance in our lives of
conjured or appeased by the special powers gods and goddesses is more complicated because
placed upon certain individuals of the tribe, the it may alter according to environment and accord-
shamansor wise ones. These spirits may be poorly ing to the stage of social and economic develop-
defined, but they are endowed with human form ment. Again it necessitates a return to the template
and human habits: they walk, talk, enjoy sexual provided in the most simple religions. Without
relations, exhibit anger, sorrow, joy, mischief the benefit of science, technology and history, the
and so on. Thus one finds in simple shamanistic natural world is a puzzling and frightening place,
vii
viii
Introduction to the First Edition
steered by great invisible forces. If every object in Although certain cultures, such as those of
nature has a spiritual identity, which may be con- Greece and Rome, will be well known to most
sidered to act as its protector or guardian, logic readers, others will be less familiar, and some his-
dictates that mankind’s activities affect the object torical background may be useful.
not only in its physical state but also in its spiritual The Sumerians were the first high civilization to
dimension. Thus the approval of the relevant spirit inhabit Mesopotamia. Their style of cuneiform
must be obtained before the slaughter of game, writing was only deciphered a few years ago and
the felling of a tree, the commencement of a jour- much of their history and circumstance is still not
ney, the building of a house. Responsibility for our properly known. In the twenty-fourth centuryBC
actions is taken from us and given into the hands they were taken over by the Akkadians under Sar-
of an all-powerful, if unseen being. gon and the style of writing changed to a Semitic
The need to expiate our activities has persisted cuneiform. The names of many deities changed at
down the millennia: the prime role of gods is still the same time. The Old Babylonian era began at
to protect, to steer, to govern the order of life and about the end of the second millennium BC and
to provide answers to conundrums which science was marked largely by the influence of the law-
and the modern temporal world cannot resolve. making king Hammurabi. With some interrup-
This encyclopedia contains more than 2,500 tions, the influence of Babylon continued through
entries of deities derived from both ancient and the neo-Babylonian period of biblical notoriety,
contemporary cultures. It does not generally until roughly two hundred years before the birth of
include personalities regarded as demigods, Christ. The Hittite Empire arose in the moun-
demons or mythical heroes. A demigod is defined tainous region of what is now Turkey and its period
here as a personality who was once mortal but has of influence was comparatively short-lived. The
been elevated to the celestial ranks. Generally Hurrians, closely linked with the Hittite Empire,
speaking, and it is certainly true of the occidental were less a compact culture than a loose-knit and
religions, gods are iconic figures whose “pedigree” widely traveled people who shared a common lan-
belongs exclusively in the heavens. They are dis- guage. They influenced much cross-fertilization
tinct and separate from humankind. In some reli- of culture in the ancient Near East.
gions, however, most notably Buddhism, all deities The demise of these ancient orders came in 539
are perceived as having once been mortal beings BC when the Persians under Cyrus conquered
whose pursuit of excellence and enlightenment has Babylon. Their hegemony was brief and was
elevated them ever higher through a series of replaced by the Greek influences of Alexander the
spheres or planes toward perfection. In the Great and his Macedonian Empire in the fourth
mythologies of other cultures, often of a tribal centuryBC. The Romans under Pompey came in
nature, there exist significant ancestral personali- the first century BC. Muslim expansionism took
ties who have clearly been deified and are treated over key areas of Syrio-Palestine and Persia in the
entirely as gods and goddesses e.g. the Sumerian seventh centuryAD, introducing the new religion
god Dumuzi or the Norse god Balder. In such of Islam to an area which had seen strong, if short-
instances, personalities that might correctly be lived, influence from Zoroastrianism.
regarded as demigods have an entry here. It should In parallel with the Mesopotamian cultures, that
be noted, therefore, that while Gautama Buddha is of Egypt survived more or less intact from some-
included, there are no entries for Jesus Christ or time before 3000 BC until the end of the Roman
the prophet Muhammad. Empire period, though from the first centuryAD,