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Baldr

Baldr
"Each arrow overshot his head" (1902) by Elmer Boyd Smith. Baldr (also Balder, Baldur) is a god of light and purity in Norse mythology, and a son of the god Odin and the goddess Frigg. He has numerous brothers, such as Thor and Váli. In the 12th century, Danish accounts by Saxo Grammaticus and other Danish Latin chroniclers recorded a euhemerized account of his story. Name[edit] Jacob Grimm in his Teutonic Mythology (ch. 11) identifies Old Norse Baldr with the Old High German Baldere (2nd Merseburg Charm, Thuringia), Palter (theonym, Bavaria), Paltar (personal name) and with Old English bealdor, baldor "lord, prince, king" (used always with a genitive plural, as in gumena baldor "lord of men", wigena baldor "lord of warriors", et cetera). Grimm traces the etymology of the name to *balþaz, whence Gothic balþs, Old English bald, Old High German pald, all meaning "bold, brave".[1] But the interpretation of Baldr as "the brave god" may be secondary. Attestations[edit] Poetic Edda[edit]

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. 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 Partial view of the temple of Apollo Epikurios (healer) at Bassae in southern Greece

Dagr In Norse mythology, Dagr (Old Norse "day"[1]) is day personified. This personification appears in the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and the Prose Edda, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson. In both sources, Dagr is stated to be the son of the god Dellingr and is associated with the bright-maned horse Skinfaxi, who "draw[s] day to mankind". Attestations[edit] Poetic Edda[edit] Dagr is mentioned in stanzas 12 and 25 of the poem Vafþrúðnismál. Delling hight he who the day's father is,but night was of Nörvi born;the new and waning moons the beneficient powers created,to count the years for men.[2]In stanza 12, the horse Skinfaxi, his mane gleaming, is stated by Vafþrúðnir as "drawing day to mankind".[3] In Sigrdrífumál, after the valkyrie Sigrdrífa is woken from her sleep curse by the hero Sigurd, Sigurd asks her name, and she gives him a "memory-drink" of a drinking horn full of mead, and then Sigrdrifa says a prayer. Hail to the Day!

Belenus In Celtic mythology, Bel, Belenos (also Belenus) was a deity worshipped in Gaul, Cisalpine Gaul, and Celtic areas of Austria, Britain and Spain. He is particularly associated with Cornwall, West Cornwall being anciently called Belerion, the place of Bel. He was the Celtic sun god and had shrines from Aquileia on the Adriatic to Kirkby Lonsdale in England.[1][2] The etymology of the name is unclear. Suggestions include "shining one,"[3] "the bright one"[4] and "henbane god".[5] In the Roman period he was identified with Apollo.[1] There are currently 51 known inscriptions dedicated to Belenus, mainly concentrated in Aquileia and Cisalpine Gaul, but also extend into Gallia Narbonensis, Noricum, and far beyond.[4] Images of Belenus sometimes show him to be accompanied by a female, thought to be the Gaulish deity Belisama.[4] In Asturias, Belenus persists as place name. Epithets[edit] An epithet of Belenus may have been Vindonnus. Name variants[edit] References[edit]

The Norse Gods The Norse Gods are the mythological characters that, as far as we know, came from the Northern Germanic tribes of the 9th century AD. These stories were passed down in the form of poetry until the 11th – 18th centuries when the Eddas and other medieval texts were written. Norse mythology comprises the pre-Christian beliefs and legends of the Scandinavian peoples including those who settled on Iceland where most of the written sources for Norse mythology were assembled. Norse mythology not only has it’s gods, goddesses and immortals but also a myriad of other characters and creatures that populate the stories including giants, dwarfs, monsters, magical animals and objects. A List of The Norse Gods Mythological Realms of The Norse Gods The Norse Myths A List of The Norse Gods Aegir – Norse God of the sea. Mythological Realms of The Norse Gods The Norse Myths

Eos Etymology[edit] Greek literature [edit] From The Iliad: Now when Dawn in robe of saffron was hastening from the streams of Oceanus, to bring light to mortals and immortals, Thetis reached the ships with the armor that the god had given her. Quintus Smyrnaeus pictured her exulting in her heart over the radiant horses (Lampus and Phaëton) that drew her chariot, amidst the bright-haired Horae, the feminine Hours, climbing the arc of heaven and scattering sparks of fire.[5] She is most often associated with her Homeric epithet "rosy-fingered" (rhododactylos), but Homer also calls her Eos Erigeneia: That brightest of stars appeared, Eosphoros, that most often heralds the light of early-rising Dawn (Eos Erigeneia). Hesiod wrote: And after these Erigeneia ["Early-born"] bore the star Eosphoros ("Dawn-bringer"), and the gleaming stars with which heaven is crowned. Genealogy[edit] Lovers and children[edit] Etruscan interpretations[edit] Among the Etruscans, the generative dawn-goddess was Thesan.

List of Norse gods and goddesses This is a list of Norse gods and goddesses that are in Norse mythology. Divided between the Æsir and the Vanir, and sometimes including the jötnar (giants), the dividing line between these groups is less than clear. However, it is usually accepted that the Æsir (including Óðinn, Þór and Týr) were warrior gods, while the Vanir (mainly Njörður, Freyja and Freyr) were fertility gods. Various other groups of beings, including elves, dwarves and jötnar were probably minor gods, and might have had small cults and sacred places devoted to them. The gods and their functions[change | change source] Major gods[change | change source] Lesser figures[change | change source] Lists of Norse gods and goddesses contained in the Prose Edda[change | change source] Gods[change | change source] Goddesses[change | change source] Pseudo-Norse gods and goddesses[change | change source] Some characters sometimes presented as Norse deities do not occur in the ancient sources.

Sekhmet In Egyptian mythology, Sekhmet /ˈsɛkˌmɛt/[1] or Sachmis (/ˈsækmɨs/; also spelled Sakhmet, Sekhet, or Sakhet, among other spellings) was originally the warrior goddess as well as goddess of healing for Upper Egypt, when the kingdom of Egypt was divided. She is depicted as a lioness, the fiercest hunter known to the Egyptians. It was said that her breath formed the desert. Sekhmet also is a Solar deity, sometimes called the daughter of the sun god Ra and often associated with the goddesses Hathor and Bast. Etymology[edit] Sekhmet's name comes from the Ancient Egyptian word "sekhem" which means "power or might". History[edit] Bust of the Goddess Sakhmet, ca. 1390-1352 B.C.E. The warrior goddess Sekhmet, shown with her sun disk and cobra crown from a relief at the Temple of Kom Ombo. In order to placate Sekhmet's wrath, her priestesses performed a ritual before a different statue of the goddess on each day of the year. Festivals and evolution[edit] In popular culture[edit] See also[edit]

Mímir A 19th century depiction of Odin finding Mímir's beheaded body. Mímir (Old Norse "The rememberer, the wise one")[1] or Mim is a figure in Norse mythology renowned for his knowledge and wisdom who is beheaded during the Æsir-Vanir War. Afterward, the god Odin carries around Mímir's head and it recites secret knowledge and counsel to him. Mímir is attested in the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, the Prose Edda, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson of Iceland, and in euhemerized form as one of the Æsir in Heimskringla, also written by Snorri Sturluson in the 13th century. Attestations[edit] Poetic Edda[edit] Mímir is mentioned in the Poetic Edda poems Völuspá and Sigrdrífumál. Prose Edda[edit] In chapter 15 of the Prose Edda book Gylfaginning, as owner of his namesake well, Mímir himself drinks from it and gains great knowledge. In the Prose Edda book Skáldskaparmál, Mímir's name appears in various kennings. Heimskringla[edit] Theories[edit]

Freyr Freyr (sometimes anglicized Frey, from *frawjaz "lord"[1]) is one of the most important gods of Norse paganism. Freyr was associated with sacral kingship, virility and prosperity, with sunshine and fair weather, and was pictured as a phallic fertility god, Freyr "bestows peace and pleasure on mortals". Freyr, sometimes referred to as Yngvi-Freyr, was especially associated with Sweden and seen as an ancestor of the Swedish royal house. In the Icelandic books the Poetic Edda and the Prose Edda, Freyr is presented as one of the Vanir, the son of the sea god Njörðr, brother of the goddess Freyja. The gods gave him Álfheimr, the realm of the Elves, as a teething present. He rides the shining dwarf-made boar Gullinbursti and possesses the ship Skíðblaðnir which always has a favorable breeze and can be folded together and carried in a pouch when it is not being used. Adam of Bremen[edit] Prose Edda[edit] Gylfaginning[edit] The woman is Gerðr, a beautiful giantess. Skaldic poetry[edit]

Helios Names[edit] Greek mythology[edit] Helios in his chariot, early 4th century BC, Athena's temple, Ilion The best known story involving Helios is that of his son Phaëton, who attempted to drive his father's chariot but lost control and set the earth on fire. Helios was sometimes characterized with the epithet Helios Panoptes ("the all-seeing"). In the Odyssey, Odysseus and his surviving crew land on Thrinacia, an island sacred to the sun god, whom Circe names Hyperion rather than Helios. Though Odysseus warns his men, when supplies run short they impiously kill and eat some of the cattle of the Sun. In one Greek vase painting, Helios appears riding across the sea in the cup of the Delphic tripod which appears to be a solar reference. Helios and Apollo[edit] Helios is sometimes identified with Apollo: "Different names may refer to the same being," Walter Burkert observes, "or else they may be consciously equated, as in the case of Apollo and Helios Cult of Helios[edit] Helios Megistos[edit]

Heracles Origin and character Heracles was the greatest of Hellenic chthonic heroes, but unlike other Greek heroes, no tomb was identified as his. Heracles was both hero and god, as Pindar says heroes theos; at the same festival sacrifice was made to him, first as a hero, with a chthonic libation, and then as a god, upon an altar: thus he embodies the closest Greek approach to a "demi-god".[8] The core of the story of Heracles has been identified by Walter Burkert as originating in Neolithic hunter culture and traditions of shamanistic crossings into the netherworld.[9] Hero or god Heracles' role as a culture hero, whose death could be a subject of mythic telling (see below), was accepted into the Olympian Pantheon during Classical times. And next I caught a glimpse of powerful Heracles— His ghost I mean: the man himself delights in the grand feasts of the deathless gods on high... Around him cries of the dead rang out like cries of birds scattering left and right in horror as on he came like night

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]

Khnum Khnum (/kəˈnuːm/; also spelled Khnemu) was one of the earliest Egyptian deities, originally the god of the source of the Nile River. Since the annual flooding of the Nile brought with it silt and clay, and its water brought life to its surroundings, he was thought to be the creator of the bodies of human children, which he made at a potter's wheel, from clay, and placed in their mothers' wombs. He later was described as having moulded the other deities, and he had the titles Divine Potter and Lord of created things from himself. General information[edit] Temple at Elephantine[edit] The temple at Elephantine was dedicated to Khnum, his consort Satis and their daughter Anukis. Opposite Elephantine, on the east bank at Aswan, Khnum, Satis and Anukis are shown on a chapel wall dating to the Ptolemaic time.[3] Temple at Esna[edit] Other[edit] The Beit el-Wali temple of Ramesses II contained statues of Khnum, Satis and Anukis, along with statues of Isis and Horus.[3] Artistic conventions[edit]

Khepri Khepri (also spelled Khepera, Kheper, Khepra, Chepri) is a god in ancient Egyptian religion. Symbolism[edit] Khepri was connected with the scarab beetle (kheprer), because the scarab rolls balls of dung across the ground, an act that the Egyptians saw as a symbol of the forces that move the sun across the sky. Khepri was thus a solar deity. Young dung beetles, having been laid as eggs within the dung ball, emerge from it fully formed. Therefore, Khepri also represented creation and rebirth, and he was specifically connected with the rising sun and the mythical creation of the world. Religion[edit] Appearance[edit] References[edit] ^ Jump up to: a b Wilkinson, Richard H. (2003). External links[edit] Media related to Khepri at Wikimedia Commons

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