Who's Who in Non-Classical Mythology

Edgerton Skyes, Alan Kendall, Egerton Sykes

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2014
• ISBN:
  9781136414442
• Edition: 2
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: Literary Criticism
• Index: Literature

First published in 2001. Part of the Routledge Who's Who series, this is an accessible, authorative and enlightening definitive biographical guides to a range of subjects. Focusing on mythology, this book provides a uniquely comprehensive guide to world mythology beyond Greece and Rome with over 2, 500 accessible and detailed entries. A complete historical and cultural context of each entry covering a wide geographical scope, from the Near East and Europe to Asia, the Americas, Australasia and Africa. Presented in an easy to use A-Z format this is the ideal reference resource for anyone interested in mythology.

A

God ‘A’ He is Hunhau† or Ahpuch†, the Maya god of death, who ruled over Mitnal. In the codices he is represented as a being with exposed vertebrae and a skull-like countenance. He may be taken to be the same as Mictlantecuhtlif, the Aztec god of the dead, with the difference that while the Aztec deity presided over the north or south his Mayan counterpart presided over the west. His symbol is that for the day Cimi, ‘death’, his hieroglyph is a corpse’s head and a skull together with a flint sacrificial knife.

Aah-te-Huti Egyptian moon god, symbolically represented by an ibis head surmounted by a crescent and a disk. He was a manifestation of Thoth†.

Ab In Egyptian religion the will, the emotion and passion of the Egyptian, symbolized by the heart, which was brought up for judgment, in the Book of the Dead†.

Abac Irish spelling of Addanc†.

Abominable Snowman See Yeti†.

Abora The supreme being worshipped on the island of Palma in the Canary Islands. Seated in heaven, Abora caused the stars to move in their courses.

Abtu In Egyptian myth one of a pair of sacred fish which swam before the boat of Ra† to warn him of danger. It also announced the rise of the Nile. The other was Anet†.

Abuk The first woman, according to the Dinka of the Sudan. She and Garangf, the first man, were made of clay, and were initially very small and put into a pot. When the pot was opened, they grew and god gave them a grain of corn a day. Abuk, however, was greedy, and ground more grain than was necessary. She is the patron of women, gardens and grain used in brewing beer, which is the task assigned to women. Her emblem is a little snake.

Achomawi Indian Creation Legend This tribe of Californian Indians tell that the Creator originally emerged from a small cloud and that Coyote†, who assisted him, came from a land mist.

Acoran The supreme being worshipped on the island of Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands. His temples were built in the mountains and were consequently ideal for those seeking asylum.

Adad Babylonian god of wind and rain, storm and thunder. Originally a deity of the Amorites of northern Mesopotamia, Adad may be equated with Enlil†, the Sumerian storm god. He was known as Hadad† in Syria and Palestine, where he also took the title of Baal† (‘the lord’) as Baal-Hadad†, Hadad-Rimmon, or simply Rimmon† or Ramman†. He had a role also as a fertility god, and his cult animal was the bull. He is often depicted holding lightning bolts.

Adapa A sage of Eridu, was initiated into wisdom by Ea† although eternal life was withheld from him. Once, while fishing, the south wind capsized his boat, and in his fury he broke the wings of the wind, which ceased to blow. Anuf summoned him to appear for punishment, and Ea, out of jealousy, warned him not to accept anything to eat or drink. However, both Tammuz† and Gishzida† intervened on his behalf, explaining that Ea had revealed all wisdom to him and that if he but had eternal life he would be a god. Anu then offered him the bread and water of life but he refused, thus losing for ever immortality for men. Adapa was the mortal with pure hands who helped the bakers of Eridu to make bread and cleared the holy table of the temple there. Some later versions make Adapa the son of Ea.

Adar In Babylonian myth an alternative name for Ninib†, the god of the summer sun.

Adda A variant of Adad† or Hadad† found in letters written in Akkadian, from Palestine and Syria, at Tell el-Amarna in Egypt, dating from about 1400–1360 BC.

Addanc In Celtic myth a dwarf† or marine monster who dwelt by Lake Llyon Llionf and who caused a deluge. He was eventually disposed of by being hauled from his lair by the oxen of Hu Gadarn†, or alternatively, he was killed by Peredur†. His relationship to this deluge myth is similar to that of Haya-Grivaf in Hindu legend. An alternative spelling is Avanc†, whilst in Ireland the word was Abac†f. Some further details are given in Celtic† Creation Legend.

Aditi In Hindu myth the mother of the gods from whom all things sprang. A personification of the generative powers of nature. Daksha†, her son, was later considered as her father, while her husband Vishnu† also appeared as her son when he was incarnated as a dwarf. She was the mother of the Adityas†, and in this connection appears to have taken on the stature of a sun goddess.

Adityas The twelve Adityas, or gods of the months of the year, were: Ansa†, Aryaman†, Bhaga†, Daksha†, Dhatri†, Indra†, Mitra†, Ravi†, Savitri†, Surya†, Varuna†, and Yamaf†.

Adonis In Babylonian myth a title applied to Tammuzf, derived from Adon meaning lord. The classical use of this name probably arose from a misunderstanding of its meaning.

Adraste A war goddess in ancient Britain, to whom Boudicca prayed before going into battle. Andraste is found as a variant of the name, and Andarta among the Gauls.

Adro A god revered among the Lugbara people around Lake Albert in Africa. His presence is perceived in phenomena such as whirlwinds and fires, though he tends to inhabit rivers with his wives and children. A creator variant is known as Adroa, though he is now far removed from the material world.

Adsullata A river goddess of the continental Celts. The resemblance of the name to Sulla† would indicate that she may have been a priestess of hot springs.

Adu Ogyinae He is remembered as leader of the first men, who emerged from the ground, among the Ashanti of Ghana.

Aegir The ocean god of the Norsemen; although accepted as an equal, he was not one of the Aesir†. He is encountered in three of the Eddas; in the Hymiskvida or Lay of Hymir, he entertained the Aesir at the feast of the autumnal equinox. His supply of drink being too little for Thor†, the latter sets out with Tyr† to capture Odherir, the magic cauldron of the giants. Later in the Aegisdrekka, or Carousal of Aegir, the Aesir drink from the cauldron and are grossly insulted by Lokif who slays a servant and flees. This Eddie story is also known as the Lokasenna. It is to Aegir that Bragi† tells the stories enumerated in the Bragi-raedur. Aegir seems to be a pre-Nordic culture hero who was too firmly established to be absorbed or displaced by the Aesir. His wife was named Ran†, by whom he had nine daughters.

Aër (a) In the Phoenician Creation Legend† of Damascius, son of Omicle† by Potos†, representing purity without intelligence. He mated with his sister Auraf, and produced Otosf, meaning reason, (b) In the Phoenicianj-Creation Legend of Philo Byblos, Aer and Chaosf were in the beginning, and produced Windt (Kolpiaf) and Desiret (Potosf). (c) In the Phoenician Creation Legendt of Mochus, Aër and Ether† engendered Oulomost†.

Aesir In Nordic myth the group of leaders forming the entourage of Odin†. Originally there seems to have been a coven of a chief with a retinue of twelve and it may be assumed that, of the sixteen names listed below, never more than a dozen were included at any one time. Their feast day was the Yule festival.

The Aesir seem to have arrived in Scandinavia shortly after the Vanir†, with whom they at first fought and subsequently allied themselves. The stories of their wars against the giants may have related to their struggles with the Finna. The Eddas tell one side of the story, the Kalevala and the Hero of Estonia portions of the other.

Asgard, the fabled city of the Aesir, with its palaces and assembly halls, may be a memory of their actual capital city before they migrated to north-west Europe. It is possible that some of the names of the Aesir were hereditary titles, whilst others may have been the names of those who belonged to the Aesir at various times: Balder†, Baugi†, Bragi†, Forseti†, Freyr†, Heimdall†, Hoder†, Hoenir†, Loki†, Mimir†, Odin†, Thor†, Tyr†, Ullr†, Vali†, Vidar†.

Other details are given under Asynjor†, Norns†, Valkyries†.

Aesma (Aeshma) The Zoroastrian Daeva or evil spirit of wrath, to whom was applied the term ‘with the terrible spear’. He was the inspirer of vengeance and of perseverance in evil; he was third in the hierarchy of demons, his good opponent being Sraosha†. In the Book of Tobit he was known as Asmodeus†.

Af A form of Ra†, the Egyptian sun god, as he nightly journeys through the underworld. An alternative spelling is Auf.

Afi God of rain and thunder amongst the Abkhaz in the western Caucasus. Women may not use his name, but refer to him as ‘he who is above’.

Afikoman The Jewish ceremony of hiding the Passover cake may be equated with Hapi† Qementu (Hapi is found). In this case Hapi was equivalent to Osiris†, and the piece of Passover cake which is hidden in the ritual is Osiris, while the other two pieces, which are not lost, are Isis† and Nephthys†.

Aganju In Yoruba† myth he was the son of Odudua† and brother and husband of Yemaja†, by whom he was the father of Orunjan† and of sixteen other gods, including Ogun†, Oko†, Olokun†, Shango†, Shankpanna†, the sun, the moon, and several of the river goddesses.

Agassou Panther fetish god of the former royal house of Benin†.

Agdistis In Phrygian mythology a bisexual monster which lost its male organs when Dionysus made it drunk and tied them to a tree. When Agdistis awoke the organs were torn off, and from the blood the first almond tree grew. One of the fruits impregnated the daughter of Sangarios†, the river god, and she gave birth to Attisf, with whom Agdistis fell in love. In the tragic sequel Attis went mad and castrated himself under a pine tree. Agdistis is clearly a manifestation of Kybele†.

Agni A fire god of the primitive Aryans and the divine fire of the Vedic religion. Fire was one of the eight Vasus†. With the development of Brahminism he was one of a triad of gods, the others being Indraf, ruler of the air, and Surya†, ruler of the sky, while he was the ruler of the earth. The numerous references to him in Vedic law show the great importance which was attached to fire by the Indo-G...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• The Routledge Who's Who Series
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Introduction
• A
• B
• C
• D
• E
• F
• G
• H
• I
• J
• K
• L
• M
• N
• O
• P
• Q
• R
• S
• T
• U
• V
• W
• X
• Y
• Z
• Bibliography