A (Babylonia) A Chaldean moon goddess. Her emblem is a disk with eight
rays, a number that is associated with the goddess of light in many cultures. Adad (Babylonian/Mesopotamian) Babylonian: The god of wind, storm, and
flood. Mesopotamian: Embodiment of violent thundering rainstorms. Portrayed
both as a bull and a lion. His symbol is a forked lightning bolt. Adapa (Babylonian/Mesopotamian) One of the Seven Sages and the
hero of Akkadian myth which features him as a priest of Ea, who is tricked
into refusing the food and drink of immortality. Adrammelech God to whom infants were burnt in sacrifice. Aeon (Phoenicia) Discoverer of edible fruits. Agasaya Semitic war goddess who was merged into Ishtar in her identity as
fearless warrior of the sky. Ahriman (Persia) Also known as Angra Mainyu. The son of Zurvan. Ahura Mazda (Persia) The supreme god, and another son of Zurvan. Ahurani (Persia) Goddess of rain and water. Ai-ada (Turk) The moon god. Aja The Babylonian dawn goddess and consort of the sun god. Aka The mother goddess in ancient Turkey. Al-Lat A mythic figure of great antiquity she is one (she represented the
earth and its fruits) of the trinity of desert goddesses named in the Koran;
Al-Uzza (goddess of the morning star) and Menat (goddess of fate and time)
being the others. An (Sumeria) God of the Underworld and chief deity. Anahita Persian goddess, both protective mother and warrior defender of
her people, she was also the goddess of rivers and waters. Anath (Anat) (Phoenician) Chief West Semitic goddess of love and war, the sister
and helpmate of the god Baal (Bel). A goddess with four differing aspects:
mother, virgin, warrior, and wanton. Though a "mother" she was ever a "virgin".
Her lust for blood, and or sex, was legendary. Anatu Mesopotamian goddess, ruler of the earth and queen of the sky. Anu (Babylonian) The head of the gods, he had an army of stars to destroy
evildoers. Anunitu An early Babylonian goddess of the moon who was symbolized by a
disk with eight rays. She was later merged with Ishtar. An-Zu Assyrian goddess of chaos, who like Tiamat, was killed in order
to form the universe. Apsu In the Babylonian creation story Enuma elish, the world parents,
Apsu and Tiamat, bear off-spring who later find themselves opposed to the
parents. The off-spring defeat the parents in a battle, and from the immolated
body of Tiamat the world is created. Ararat The ancient Anatolian (Turkey) creator goddess. Arinna (Hittite) Goddess of the sun. Asherali (Canaan) Moon goddess of fertility. Ashnan Sumerian goddess of grain. Ashtoreth (Astarte or Ashtart) The supreme female divinity of the Phoenician nations, the goddess
of love and fruitfulness. She symbolized the female principle, as Baal
symbolized maleness. The Babylonian and Assyrian counterpart of Ashtoreth
was Ishtar. Ashur (Assyria) Chief deity; god of war and fertility. Astarte The supreme female divinity of the Phoenician nations. The goddess
of love and fruitfulness. She symbolized the female principle. Astarte
has been identified with various Greek goddesses: the goddess of the moon,
Selene; the goddess of wild nature, Artemis; and the goddess of love and
beauty, Aphrodite. The Babylonian and Assyrian counterpart of Astarte was
Ishtar. Atar (Iran) God of fire. Athirat (Canaan) Goddess of the sea. Athtart (Canaan) Goddess of fertility and sex. Another name for Astarte. Aya (Mesopotamia) Goddess of dawn. Baal (Bel) (Phoenicia) Baal has the titles "Almighty" and "Lord of the Earth."
He is the god of the thunderstorm, war, good harvests, and fertilty; the
most vigorous and aggressive of their gods. Baal is usually depicted holding
a thunderbolt. There is a myth that tells of a challenge to him from Yamm,
the Sea God. Armed with magical weapons made by the craftsman god, Kothar,
Baal manages to overcome Yamm. Another myth concerns Baal's relations with
Mot, god of Death, whom he initially defies, but to whom he eventually
succumbs. Anath disposes of Mot, and then dreams that Baal is alive again,
and so it is. Mot also returns to life and they renew their war. This occurs
year after year, synbolizing the return of the seasons. Baalat (Ba'Alat) (Phoenicia) Baalat is queen of the gods. She is associated with
books, libraries, and writers. She was worshipped primarily in the city
of Byblos (which is the original source of papyrus) and Byblos is what
the Greeks called papyrus and, eventually, books. Baau (Phoenicia) Creator goddess. Beelsamin (Phoenicia) Sun god and lord of the sky. Belit-Seri Babylonian scribe of the underworld who kept the records of human
activities so she could advise the queen of the dead on their final judgement. Beruth Earth mother goddess of the Phoenicians. Today's Beirut is her city. Broxa In Jewish folklore the name of a bird believed to suck the milk
of goats during the night. Caelestis (Carthage) A moon goddess. Cassios, Lebanon, Antilebanon,
and Brathy (Phoenicia) Giants who lived on the mountains that bear their names. Chaos (Babylonia) Mother of the gods. Chemosh (Moab) The national god of the Moabites; human sacrifices were made
to him. Cotys (Phrygian) Earth goddess who presided over debauchery. Cybele (Phrygian) A goddess of forests, mountains, and fertility. Daena (Persia) The goddess who meets the souls of the dead (on the fourth
day after death) and leads them to heaven or hell. She has a dog who sniffs
at the soul and tells her if it is good or bad. Daevas (Persia) Zoroastrianism religion referred to demons as daevas, hence
the word devil. Dagon (Mesopotamia) God of vegetation. He was half-man and half-fish. Damkina (Sumeria) The earth mother goddess. Dazimus (Sumer) Goddess of healing. Derketo (Chaldea) A moon goddess associated with fertility. She is sometimes
depicted as a mermaid. Dhat-Badan The primary goddess of the Arabs of Yemen. She was a goddess of
the natural forces of the wilderness, worshiped especially in tree-circled
oases. Dilmun (Sumeria) God of fresh water. Dumuzi (Du'uzu)-shepherd
god (Sumerian) (The biblical Tammuz) Dumuzi was originally a mortal
ruler whose marriage to Inanna ensured the fertility of the land and the
fecundity of the womb. This marriage, however, according to a myth whose
denouement has only recently come to light, ended in stark tragedy when
the goddess, offended by her husband's unfeeling behavior toward her, decreed
that he be carried off to the netherworld for six months of each year-hence
the barren, sterile months of the hot summer. At the autumnal equinox,
which marked the beginning of the Sumerian new year, Dumuzi returned to
the earth. His reunion with his wife caused all animal and plant life to
be revitalized and made fertile once again. Duttur (Sumer) Mother of Dumuzi, and goddess of ewes. Ea (Babylonian) The god of wisdom, spells, incantations, and the seas. El (Phoenicia) Leader of the gods. Endukugga (Sumeria) God of the Underworld. Enki (Sumerian) A creator god in Mesopotamia, later called Ea. The Sumerian
god of water. Enlil (Sumerian) The god of air and weather. Ennugi (Mesopotamia) God of canals. Eriskegal, Ereshkigal (Allatu) (Babylonia) She is one of the divinities who ruled the netherworld.
The goddess that ruled over the dead. Wife of Nergal. Eshara (Chaldean) Goddess of war, and of productive fields. Eshmun (Canaan) God of healing. Firanak (Persia) She was the mother of the hero Feridun, whom she saved
from a threatened massacre by hiding him in a garden where a miraculous
cow named Prumajeh suckled him. Fravashi (Persia) Her name means "She-who-is-many". She is made up of the
souls of all living creatures, including those Not-Yet-Born. Gatamdug (Babylonia) A mother goddess along the Tigris River. She was an
interpreter of dreams, who was later assimilated into the goddess Gula. Genea (Phoenicia) Daughter of Kolpia and Baau, and, with Genos, the first
inhabitants of Phoenicia. Genos (Phoenicia) Son of Kolpia and Baau, and, with Genea, the first inhabitants
of Phoenicia. Gestinanna (Sumerian) Sister of Dumuzi. The dying Dumuzi, tortured by nightmares,
brought the dreams to his sister for interpretation. Gestinanna realized
her brother was under attack by demons. She tells him this and advises
him to flee. Dumuzi flees, swearing Gestinanna to secrecy as to where he
is going into hiding. The demons attacked Gestinanna to force her to reveal
her brother's whereabouts, but she remained silent. The demons, however,
soon found Dumuzi, hiding in the form of a gazelle in his sister's sheepfold.
He was carried off to the underworld by them; Gestinanna then set out to
rescue him. They were eventually reunited after many adventures. The goddess
then persuaded the underworld divinities to grant Dumuzi half her own life;
thus each was allowed to live on earth six months of each year. Gula (Babylonia) Sometimes called Gula-Bau. A mother goddess, with the
power to inflict disease, or to cure disease. She lived in a garden at
the center of the world, and watered the tree that forms its axis. Hadad (Canaan) God of lightning and thunder. Hannahanna (Hittite) God of agriculture. Hatti (Hittite) The throne goddess, protector of the king. Hea (Mesopotamia) Goddess of wisdom. Hiribi (Canaan) Goddess of summer. Houri, The (Persia) The nymphs who accompany the faithful in paradise. Humban (Mesopotamia) The supreme deity. Innana Sumerian goddess that later became known as Ishtar. She was the
queen of heaven. also the goddess of love, procreation, and war. Ishkur (Mesopotamia) God of rain. Ishtar (Babylonian) The daughter of Sin, she was the goddess of sexuality,
and the ambitious, dynamic goddess of love and war. The Babylonian goddess
Ishtar was a later, more complex form of the Sumerian goddess Inanna and
their myths were similar. Both loved a vegetation god who died yearly and
was reborn yearly. Both were responsible for the death as well as the rebirth
of the beloved. Like Inanna (her lover was Dumuzi), Ishtar descended to
the underworld in search of Tammuz, the lover whose death she had caused.
But even a divine visitor to the hell queen, Eriskegal, must go naked,
so Ishtar was forced to give up her jewels and clothes (some article at
each of the seven gates) as she descended. So Ishtar was stripped: her
crown taken from her at the first gate, then her earrings, her necklace,
her diadem, her belt, her bracelets, and finally-at the seventh gate- her
very garment. All these were courting presents from Tammuz, and Ishtar
was loath to part with them. But to gain her desire-the resurrection of
the vegetation god Tammuz for whom earth's women were wailing-Ishtar allowed
herself to be stripped and stood naked before Eriskegal. Eriskegal (Ereshkigal)
had Ishtar imprisoned and assaulted her with illness after illness, sixty
in all. (That's winter-time). Finally Ea, the god of wisdom, intervened
and through his magic Ishtar was released. (That's spring-time). Ithm (Canaan) God of herds. Jamshid or Jamshyd [Persia Myth (Iran)] An early legendary king of Persia who reigned
for 700 years, and had demons (Devs) as his slaves. Kabta (Sumeria) God of bricks. Kadi (Assyria) Goddess of justice. Kamrusepas (Hittite) God of healing and magic. Ki (Kiki) (Sumerian)The goddess of earth. Kingu The dragon of chaos. Kolpia (Phoenicia) Male creator god; husband to Baau, and father of Aeon
and Protogonis. Kothar-u-Khasis (Canaan) God of crafts. Lahar (Babylonian) Goddess of herds, especially sheep. Marduk The fertility god and the lord of all the gods. In Babylonian religion,
the supreme god. Originally, he was a god of thunderstorms. According to
Enuma
elish, an ancient epic poem of creation, Marduk defeated Tiamat and
Kingu, the dragons of chaos, and thereby gained supreme power. Acknowledged
as the creator of the universe and of humankind, the god of light and life,
and the ruler of destinies, he rose to such eminence that he claimed 50
titles. Eventually, he was called simply Bel, meaning "Lord." Mari (Middle East) "Mother Sea". Basic name of the goddess known as Marian,
Mariamne, Myrrhine, Myrrha, Marratu, Maria, Maerin, Mariana and Marina.
Also the basic name for the merry-maid, or mermaid (also mare-mynd, mareminde,
marraminde, maraeman or mereminne). She was often seen dressed in a blue
robe and pearl necklace, edged with pearly foam. Meni (Phoenicia) God of luck, both good and bad. Merodach (Babylonia) A sun god. Misor (Phoenicia) He, with Sydyk, discovered salt and its uses. Moloch (Canaan) Sun god. Mot Ancient Phoenician god of the dead and of all the powers that opposed
life and fertility; he was the favorite son of the god El, and the most
prominent enemy of the god Baal. Mot was the god of sterility and the master
of all barren places. Traditionally, Mot and Baal (a god of springs, sky,
and fertility) were perpetually engaged in a seasonal struggle in which
Baal, like many similar harvest deities, was annually vanquished and slain.
Mot, however, was also annually killed by Baal's sister Anath, who thus
aided Baal's resurrection. Mushdama (Mesopotamia) God of architecture. Mylitta (Babylonian) Goddess of fertility. Naamah (Canaan) Goddess of sexuality. Nabu (Nebo) Son of Marduk, and the scribe and herald of the gods. Nairyosangha (Iran) God of fire. Nammu (Sumerian) Early goddess of the formless waters of creation. Namtaru (Assyria) God of plagues. Nanna (Sumerian) The god of the moon, and the father of Utu and Inanna. Nebo (Assyria) The god of teaching and writing. Nergal One of the divinities who ruled the netherworld in Assyro-Babylonian
mythology. Nidaba (Sumeria) Goddess of writing. Ninhursag or Nintu Sumerian goddess of the earth and creator of humans. She became
enraged at her husband's (Enki) incestuous adventures with his daughters
and other goddesses forcing him to retreat to the underworld, leaving the
earth parched, accounting for the seasonal cycle. Ninlil (Sumeria) God of air and grain. Ninsar (Sumeria) Goddess of plants. Nintur (Babylonian) Goddess of the womb. Ninurta (Sumerian) The deity in charge of the violent and destructive south
wind. Pa (Canaan) Goddess of droughts. Qadshu (Syria) Goddess of fertility. Rapithwin (Persia) God of the noon-day heat. Resheph (Mikal or Mekal) Ancient Phoenician god of the plague and of the underworld, the
companion of Anath, and the equivalent of the Babylonian god Nergal. He
was also a war god and was thus represented as a bearded man, brandishing
an ax, holding a shield, and wearing a tall, pointed headdress with a goat's
or gazelle's head on his forehead. Resheph was usually believed to be related
to Mot, the god of sterility and death, but he also seems to have been
a god of well-being, plenty, and fertility, and in that respect he may
have been a form of the god Baal. Rimmon (Babylonia) Another sun god. Sadarnuna (Sumeria) Goddess of the new moon. Shahar (Canaan) God of the dawn. Shalim (Canaan) God of the dusk. Shamish (Babylonian) The son of Sin, he was the sun god and the god of justice. Shapshu (Canaan) Goddess of the sun. Sheger (Canaan) God of cattle. Sin The Babylonian moon god (counterpart of the Sumerian Nanna). Siris (Sirah) (Babylonia) Goddess of Banquets. Taautos (Phoenicia) Descendant of Misor; devolved into the Egyptian Thoth. Tammuz The harvest god and husband of Ishtar, whose violent love sessions
sent him comatose to the underworld, where she would go yearly to revive
him, thus accounting for the seasons. Tanit (Canaan) Goddess of the moon. Taru (Hittite) The weather god. Tasimmet (Hittite) Goddess of weather. Telipinu (Hittite) God of agriculture. Tiamat The savage and defiant goddess of chaos in the Mesopotamian creation
myth. From her corpse, (she was a dragonlike personification of the oceans,
whose destruction was prerequisite to an orderly universe) the world is
created. Tishtrya (Iran) God of clouds, sea, and water. Tsehub (Hittite) The weather god. Utnapishtim (Babylonian) This man and his family are the survivors of the flood
in the Gilgamesh epic. Utu (Sumerian) The sun god. Wurusemu (Hittite) The sun goddess, also called Arinna. Her consort was the
weather god. Yam (Canaan) God of the sea. Yarih (Yarikh) (Canaan) Moon god. Yima (Persia) God of light. He is responsible for the fact that the earth
is three times larger than originally intended. Mortal humans and mortal
animals have overpopulated the planet three times and each time Yima has
enlarged it for them. Zaba The Hurrite god of war. Zababa (Kish) Chief of the gods. Zam A Persian earth-spirit. Zanahary (Zanaharibe) (Madagascar) He was Zanahary the "creator god" and he was also Railanitra
the "father of heaven". He was a terrifying god that spoke in thunder and
lightning. He was careless, however, and was deceived by his double from
down below. In the beginning there were two Zanaharys: one above called
Andriamanitra and one below. The one below amused himself by making clay
figures representing men, women and animals. But he could not bring them
to life. The Zanahary above asked him for some of these figures in exchange
for sunlight. The one below offered him fish but the one above wanted women.
They then agreed and the Zanahary above gave them life but the one below
refused to be separated from the women. The two gods became enemies, and
that is how the worlds above and below came to be separated. Zarpandit (Assyro-Babylonian) An early pregnancy goddess who was worshiped
each night as the moon rose. Zarathustra (Persia) A priest-magician who spoke with the gods, fought against
the demons and performed miracles. Zatavu (Madagascar) A great magician, he asked for the hand of a sky goddess
in marriage. His marriage request was denied by the gods because a marriage
between a mortal and a goddess was deemed improper. However, Zatavu was
able to prove that he created himself, and was not therefore to be considered
as other mortals. So logical was his argument that the marriage was approved. Zazavavindrano (Madagascar) Water spirits of whom mortal males make the claim that
there is nothing a Zazavavindrano wants more than to marry a mortal male. Ziusudra (Sumerian) The survivor in the Sumerian flood myth, which was probably
the source of the later Babylonian flood myth (he becomes Utnapishtim in
Gilgamesh),
which was undoubtedly the source of the biblical flood myth (where he is
now Noah). Zu (Imdugud) (Assyria) The god of thunder and storms. Zurvan (Persia) Father of Ahriman and Ahuramazda. The god of infinite time.
