ATHENA In Greek religion and mythology, Athena or Athene (/əˈθiːnə/ or /əˈθiːniː/; Attic: Ἀθηνᾶ, Athēnā or Ἀθηναία, Athēnaia; Epic: Ἀθηναίη, Athēnaiē; Ionic: Ἀθήνη, Athēnē; Doric: Ἀθάνα, Athānā), also referred to as Pallas Athena/Athene (/ˈpæləs/; Παλλὰς Ἀθηνᾶ; Παλλὰς Ἀθήνη), is the goddess of wisdom, courage, inspiration, civilization, law and justice, just warfare, mathematics, strength, strategy, the arts, crafts, and skill. Minerva is the Roman goddess identified with Athena.[3] Athena is portrayed as a shrewd companion of heroes and is the patron goddess of heroic endeavour. She is the virgin patroness of Athens. The Athenians founded the Parthenon on the Acropolis of her namesake city, Athens (Athena Parthenos), in her honour.[3] Athena's veneration as the patron of Athens seems to have existed from the earliest times, and was so persistent that archaic myths about her were recast to adapt to cultural changes. Origin traditions[edit] Patroness[edit] Mythology[edit] Birth[edit]
Arianrhod ( Welsh pronunciation: [arˈjanr̥ɔd] ) is a figure in Welsh mythology who plays her most important role in the Fourth Branch of the . She is the daughter of Dôn and the sister of Gwydion and Gilfaethwy ; the Welsh Triads give her father as Beli Mawr . [ 1 ] In the her uncle Math ap Mathonwy is the King of Gwynedd , and during the course of the story she gives birth to two sons, Dylan Ail Don and Lleu Llaw Gyffes , through magical means. According to the Fourth Branch, Arianrhod's uncle Math fab Mathonwy would die if he did not keep his feet in the lap of a virgin when he was not at war. Gwydion suggests his sister, Arianrhod. With her curses, Arianrhod denied Lleu the three aspects of masculinity: a name, arms, and a wife. [ ] One of the Welsh Triads, 35 by Rachel Bromwich 's numbering, establishes a different family connection for Arianrhod.
Apollo Apollo (Attic, Ionic, and Homeric Greek: Ἀπόλλων, Apollōn (GEN Ἀπόλλωνος); Doric: Ἀπέλλων, Apellōn; Arcadocypriot: Ἀπείλων, Apeilōn; Aeolic: Ἄπλουν, Aploun; Latin: Apollō) is one of the most important and complex of the Olympian deities in classical Greek and Roman religion and Greek and Roman mythology. The ideal of the kouros (a beardless, athletic youth), Apollo has been variously recognized as a god of light and the sun, truth and prophecy, healing, plague, music, poetry, and more. Apollo is the son of Zeus and Leto, and has a twin sister, the chaste huntress Artemis. Apollo is known in Greek-influenced Etruscan mythology as Apulu. Etymology Tetradrachm from the Illyro-Paeonian region, representing Apollo The etymology of Apollo is uncertain. Several instances of popular etymology are attested from ancient authors. A Luwian etymology suggested for Apaliunas makes Apollo "The One of Entrapment", perhaps in the sense of "Hunter".[11] Greco-Roman epithets
DEMETER In ancient Greek religion and myth, Demeter (/diˈmiːtər/; Attic: Δημήτηρ Dēmḗtēr; Doric: Δαμάτηρ Dāmā́tēr) is the goddess of the harvest, who presided over grains and the fertility of the earth. Her cult titles include Sito (Σιτώ), "she of the Grain",[1] as the giver of food or grain[2] and Thesmophoros (θεσμός, thesmos: divine order, unwritten law; "phoros": bringer, bearer), "Law-Bringer," as a mark of the civilized existence of agricultural society.[3] Etymology[edit] Demeter's character as mother-goddess is identified in the second element of her name meter (μήτηρ) derived from Proto-Indo-European *méh₂tēr (mother).[11] In antiquity, different explanations were already proffered for the first element of her name. An alternative, Proto-Indo-European etymology comes through Potnia and Despoina; where Des- represents a derivative of PIE *dem (house, dome), and Demeter is "mother of the house" (from PIE *dems-méh₂tēr).[20] Agricultural deity[edit] Festivals and cults[edit] Myths[edit]
Chandra In Hinduism, Chandra (Sanskrit चन्द्र lit, Telugu చంద్ర Tamil சந்திரன். "shining")[1] is a lunar deity and a Graha. Chandra is also identified with the Vedic Lunar deity Soma (lit. "juice").[2] The Soma name refers particularly to the juice of sap in the plants and thus makes the Moon the lord of plants and vegetation.[1] Chandra is described as young, beautiful, fair; two-armed and having in his hands a club and a lotus.[3] He rides his chariot across the sky every night, pulled by ten white horses or an antelope. In astrology[edit] Chandra with Rohini Chandra (pronounced "CHUHN-drah") is a Sanskrit name meaning "illustrious." According to Hindu mythology Chandra has not been very fortunate in life. Chandra is known for having a series of disastrous love affairs. Dark spot on the moon[edit] One popular story to account for the dark spot on the moon is that Ganesha, once filled with food, fell from his mouse and broke his stomach. Other uses[edit] Chandra Vansh of Kshatriyas[edit]
Delos The island of Delos (/ˈdiːlɒs/; Greek: Δήλος, [ˈðilos]; Attic Δῆλος, Doric Δᾶλος), near Mykonos, near the centre of the Cyclades archipelago, is one of the most important mythological, historical and archaeological sites in Greece. The excavations in the island are among the most extensive in the Mediterranean; ongoing work takes place under the direction of the French School at Athens and many of the artifacts found are on display at the Archaeological Museum of Delos and the National Archaeological Museum of Athens. Established as a culture center, Delos had an importance that its natural resources could never have offered. In this vein Leto, searching for a birthing-place for Artemis and Apollo, addressed the island: Delos, if you would be willing to be the abode of my son Phoebus Apollo and make him a rich temple –; for no other will touch you, as you will find: and I think you will never be rich in oxen and sheep, nor bear vintage nor yet produce plants abundantly. History[edit]
APHRODITE Aphrodite ( Because of her beauty, other gods feared that their rivalry over her would interrupt the peace among them and lead to war, so Zeus married her to Hephaestus, who, because of his ugliness and deformity, was not seen as a threat. Aphrodite had many lovers—both gods, such as Ares, and men, such as Anchises. She played a role in the Eros and Psyche legend, and later was both Adonis's lover and his surrogate mother. Many lesser beings were said to be children of Aphrodite. Aphrodite had many other names, such as Acidalia, Cytherea, and Cerigo, each used by a different local cult of the goddess in Greece. Etymology A number of folk etymologies have been proposed through the ages. A number of improbable non-Greek etymologies have been suggested in scholarship. Mythology Birth Adulthood Aphrodite is consistently portrayed, in every image and story, as having had no childhood, and instead being born as a nubile, infinitely desirable adult. Adonis Venus and Adonis by Titian, circa 1554.
Allah as Moon-god Ibrahim Hooper of CAIR calls the Moon-God theories of Allah evangelical "fantasies" that are "perpetuated in their comic books".[6] Etymology[edit] The word Allah certainly predates Islam. As Arthur Jeffrey states, "The name Allah, as the Quran itself is witness, was well known in pre-Islamic Arabia. The 19th-century scholar Julius Wellhausen also viewed the concept of "Allah (al-ilah, the god)" to be "a form of abstraction" originating from Mecca's local gods.[8] Alfred Guillaume notes that the term "al-ilah" (the God) ultimately derives from the Semitic root used as a generic term for divinity. "The oldest name for God used in the Semitic world consists of but two letters, the consonant 'l' preceded by a smooth breathing, which was pronounced 'Il' in ancient Babylonia, 'El' in ancient Israel. The word "Allah" was used by Arabic-speaking Christians and Arab Jews before the lifetime of Muhammad as the word for God. Crescent moon imagery[edit] Hubal and Allah[edit] Scholarly views[edit]
Delos, Greece - April 2000 Delos, the center of the Cyclades, has been inhabited since at least the 3rd millenium B.C. It rose in importance as the Greeks did and around 480 BC it became the center of the Delian League. The Delian League in turn kept its treasury on Delos making it a rather wealthy location. They also passed several decrees, including that no one could be born or die on the island. Delos became immensely wealthy and was so impressive that the Romans kept it as a free port when they came into power. Unfortunately, you only have about four hours on the island, which is not even remotely enough. Entire sections of the residential areas are more or less intact. As we explored some of the homes in that quarter of town, we started to come across one of the most amazing features of Delos. Most of the homes consisted of a central room which varied in size and opulence. Behind Melanie here is a section of that temple and scattered all around it are further remnants.
DIONYSUS The earliest cult images of Dionysus show a mature male, bearded and robed. He holds a fennel staff, tipped with a pine-cone and known as a thyrsus. Later images show him as a beardless, sensuous, naked or half-naked androgynous youth: the literature describes him as womanly or "man-womanish".[10] In its fully developed form, his central cult imagery shows his triumphant, disorderly arrival or return, as if from some place beyond the borders of the known and civilized. His procession (thiasus) is made up of wild female followers (maenads) and bearded satyrs with erect penises. Some are armed with the thyrsus, some dance or play music. The god himself is drawn in a chariot, usually by exotic beasts such as lions or tigers, and is sometimes attended by a bearded, drunken Silenus. He was also known as Bacchus (/ˈbækəs/ or /ˈbɑːkəs/; Greek: Βάκχος, Bakkhos), the name adopted by the Romans[12] and the frenzy he induces, bakkheia. Names Etymology Epithets Acroreites at Sicyon.[24] Mythology
Vishvakarman Viśwákarma (Sanskrit: विश्वकर्मा "all-accomplishing, maker of all," "all doer"; Tamil: (விசுவகர்மன்) Vicuvakaruman; Thai: Witsawakam ;Telugu: విశ్వకర్మ ) is the personified Omnipotence and the abstract form of the creator God according to the Rigveda. He is the presiding deity of all craftsmen and architects.[1] He is believed to be the "Principal Architect of the Universe ", and the root concept of the later Upanishadic Brahman / Purusha. In the Vedas[edit] Vishwakarma is visualized as Ultimate reality (later developed as Brahman) in the Rig Veda,[2] from whose navel all visible things Hiranyagarbha emanate. In the Vedic period the term first appeared as an epithet of Indra, Surya, and Agni. Later in the post vedic and brahmanic period, the term Vishwakarma is appeared both as the Rsi and the Silpi. Sanaga Brahma RishiSanaathana Brahma RishiAbhuvanasa Brahma RishiPrathnasa Brahma RishiSuparnasa Brahma Rishi Vishwakarma Puja[edit] Since Vishwakarma is the divine engineer of the world.
Perseus Site: Delos Periods: Dark Age Geometric Archaic Classical Hellenistic Roman Physical: The sanctuary occupies a small (1.3 x 5 km) island at the center (between Rheneia and Mykonos) of the Cycladic group and was the political and religious center of the Aegean. It was said to be the birthplace of Apollo and Artemis. Description: Evidence for settlement on Delos goes back the Early Bronze Age. The cult of Apollo appeared on the island in the Dark Ages and by the Archaic period (when the island was apparently under the control of Naxos), Delos served as the headquarters and religious center of an Ionian League. Athens, a member of the Ionian League, gained control over the sanctuary and under Peisistratos (ca. 543 B.C.) instigated the first purification of the island (the removal of all tombs in view of the temple). Delos is again independent from ca. 314 until 166 B.C. In 88 B.C. Exploration: Excavations: 1873 - present, French School of Archaeology. Sources Used: Other Bibliography: