Ancient Religions & Mythology, DAN-FAU
What did our ancestors believe in? What myths and stories did they use to explain the world around them and find meaning in it? How have their beliefs influenced modern religion and spirituality? Explore these questions and more while discovering notable traditions, figures, and legends that figured prominently in ancient religion and mythology.
Ancient Religions & Mythology Encyclopedia Articles By Title
Danaus
Danaus, in Greek legend, son of Belus, king of Egypt, and twin brother of Aegyptus. Driven out of Egypt by his......
Danu
Danu, in Celtic religion, the earth-mother goddess or female principle, who was honoured under various names from......
Daphne
Daphne, in Greek mythology, the personification of the laurel (Greek daphnÄ), a tree whose leaves, formed into......
Daphnephoria
Daphnephoria, in Greek religion, festival held every ninth year at Thebes in Boeotia in honour of Apollo Ismenius......
Daphnis
Daphnis, legendary hero of the shepherds of Sicily and the reputed inventor of bucolic poetry. According to tradition,......
Dardanus
Dardanus, in Greek legend, the son of Zeus and the Pleiad Electra, mythical founder of Dardania on the Hellespont.......
Dattatreya
Dattatreya, ascetic Hindu deity considered to be the paragon of yogic practice. He is the quintessential composite......
Davy Jones
Davy Jones, the personification of the spirit of the sea, usually seen as a spirit malevolent to sailors. Davy......
Delia
Delia, ancient quadrennial festival of the Ionians, held on Delos (hence the name) in honour of the Greek god Apollo.......
Delphic oracle
Delphic oracle, most famous ancient oracle, believed to deliver prophecies from the Greek god Apollo. She was based......
Dema deity
Dema deity, any of several mythical ancestral beings of the Marind-anim of southern New Guinea, the centre of a......
Demeter
Demeter, in Greek religion, daughter of the deities Cronus and Rhea, sister and consort of Zeus (the king of the......
Demiurge
Demiurge, in philosophy, a subordinate god who fashions and arranges the physical world to make it conform to a......
Demophon
Demophon, in Greek mythology, the son of Celeus, king of Eleusis. According to the Homeric hymn to Demeter, the......
Deucalion
Deucalion, in Greek legend, the Greek equivalent of Noah, the son of Prometheus (the creator of humankind), king......
deus otiosus
deus otiosus, (Latin: âneutral god,â or âhidden godâ), in the history of religions and philosophy, a high god who......
deva
deva, in the Vedic religion of India and in later Hinduism, one of many gods, often roughly divided into sky, air,......
Dhanvantari
Dhanvantari, in Hindu mythology, the physician of the gods. According to legend, the gods and the demons sought......
Dharma-Thakur
Dharma-Thakur, folk deity of eastern India whose origins are obscure. Dharma-Thakur is worshipped as the âhigh......
dharmapÄla
dharmapÄla, in Tibetan Buddhism, any one of a group of eight divinities who, though benevolent, are represented......
Dhyani-Buddha
Dhyani-Buddha, in Mahayana Buddhism, and particularly in Vajrayana (Tantric) Buddhism, any of a group of five âself-bornâ......
DhĆ« al-faqÄr
DhĆ« al-faqÄr, in IslÄmic mythology, the two-pointed magical sword that has come to represent ÊżAlÄ«, fourth caliph......
Dian CĂ©cht
Dian CĂ©cht, one of the Tuatha DĂ© Danann, the gods of Celtic Ireland. He was the physician of the gods and father......
Diana
Diana, in Roman religion, goddess of wild animals and the hunt, identified with the Greek goddess Artemis. Her......
Dido
Dido, in Greek legend, the reputed founder of Carthage, daughter of the Tyrian king Mutto (or Belus), and wife......
Dietrich von Bern
Dietrich von Bern, heroic figure of Germanic legend, apparently derived from Theodoric the Great, an Ostrogothic......
Dievs
Dievs, in Baltic religion, the sky god. Dievs and Laima, the goddess of human fate, determine human destiny and......
Dindshenchas
Dindshenchas, (Gaelic: âLore of Placesâ), studies in Gaelic prose and verse of the etymology and history of place-names......
Diomedes
Diomedes, in Greek legend, the son of Tydeus, the Aetolian hero who was one of the Seven Against Thebes. Diomedes......
Dione
Dione, in Greek mythology, a consort and, at Dodona in Epirus, a cult partner of Zeus, the king of the gods. Since......
Dionysus
Dionysus, in Greco-Roman religion, a nature god of fruitfulness and vegetation, especially known as a god of wine......
Dioscuri
Dioscuri, (Dioscuri from Greek Dioskouroi, âSons of Zeusâ), in Greek and Roman mythology, twin deities who succoured......
dipsas
dipsas, a serpent with a bite said to produce intense thirst. The snake was the subject of a story told by several......
Dis Pater
Dis Pater, (Latin: Rich Father), in Roman religion, god of the infernal regions, the equivalent of the Greek Hades......
Dizang
Dizang, in Chinese Buddhism, bodhisattva (buddha-to-be) who is especially committed to delivering the dead from......
Docetism
Docetism, (from Greek dokein, âto seemâ), Christian heresy and one of the earliest Christian sectarian doctrines,......
Dodona
Dodona, ancient sanctuary of the chief Greek god, Zeus, in Epirus, Greece; the ceremonies held there had many remarkable......
Dolmen
Dolmen, a type of stone monument found in a variety of places throughout the world. Dolmens are made of two or......
Don Juan
Don Juan, fictitious character who is a symbol of libertinism. Originating in popular legend, he was first given......
Doon De Mayence
Doon De Mayence, hero baron of the medieval epic poems in Old French known as chansons de geste, which together......
doppelgÀnger
doppelgĂ€nger, (German: âdouble goerâ), in German folklore, a wraith or apparition of a living person, as distinguished......
dragon
dragon, in the mythologies, legends, and folktales of various cultures, a large lizard- or serpent-like creature,......
druid
druid, ancient religious leaders active in Ireland, Britain, and Gaul during the western European Iron Age. They......
Druon Antigonus
Druon Antigonus, legendary giant of Antwerp, who cut off the right hands of mariners refusing him tribute. His......
dryad
dryad, in Greek mythology, a nymph or nature spirit who lives in trees and takes the form of a beautiful young......
Dumuzi-Abzu
Dumuzi-Abzu, in Mesopotamian religion, Sumerian deity, city goddess of Kinirsha near Lagash in the southeastern......
Dumuzi-Amaushumgalana
Dumuzi-Amaushumgalana, in Mesopotamian religion, Sumerian deity especially popular in the southern orchard regions......
Durga
Durga, in Hinduism, a principal form of the supreme Goddess, also known as Devi and Shakti. The divine feminine......
dwarf
dwarf, an individual who is much below the ordinary stature or size for his ethnic group or species. (For the physiology......
dziady
dziady, in Slavic religion, all the dead ancestors of a family, the rites that are performed in their memory, and......
DĂŽn
DĂŽn, in Celtic mythology, leader of one of two warring families of gods; according to one interpretation, the Children......
Ea
Ea, Mesopotamian god of water and a member of the triad of deities completed by Anu (Sumerian: An) and Enlil. From......
Ebisu
Ebisu, in Japanese mythology, one of the Shichi-fuku-jin (âSeven Gods of Luckâ), the patron of fishermen and tradesmen.......
Echidna
Echidna, monster of Greek mythology, half woman, half serpent. Her parents were either the sea deities Phorcys......
Echo
Echo, in Greek mythology, a mountain nymph, or oread. Ovidâs Metamorphoses, Book III, relates that Echo offended......
Edda
Edda, body of ancient Icelandic literature contained in two 13th-century books commonly distinguished as the Prose,......
Egeria
Egeria, in Roman religion, a water spirit worshiped in connection with Diana at Aricia and also with the Camenae......
Egyptian religion, ancient
ancient Egyptian religion, indigenous beliefs of ancient Egypt from predynastic times (4th millennium bce) to the......
Eileithyia
Eileithyia, pre-Hellenic goddess of childbirth, who hindered or facilitated the process according to her disposition.......
El
El, the general term for âdeityâ in Semitic languages as well as the name of the chief deity of the West Semites.......
Eldorado
Eldorado, originally, the legendary ruler of an Indian town near BogotĂĄ, who was believed to plaster his naked......
Electra
Electra, in Greek legend, the daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, who saved the life of her young brother Orestes......
Eleusinia
Eleusinia, ancient Greek festival in honour of Demeter (the goddess of agriculture), unconnected with the Eleusinian......
Eleusinian Mysteries
Eleusinian Mysteries, most famous of the secret religious rites of ancient Greece. According to the myth told in......
elf
elf, in Germanic folklore, originally, a spirit of any kind, later specialized into a diminutive creature, usually......
Eliade, Mircea
Mircea Eliade was a historian of religions, phenomenologist of religion, and author of novels, novellas, and short......
Elohim
Elohim, (Hebrew: God), the God of Israel in the Old Testament. A plural of majesty, the term Elohimâthough sometimes......
Elysium
Elysium, in Greek mythology, originally the paradise to which heroes on whom the gods conferred immortality were......
Emma-Ć
Emma-Ć, in Japanese Buddhist mythology, the overlord of hell (Jigoku), corresponding to the Indian deity Yama.......
enarean
enarean, member of an ancient group of magicians and soothsayers, most likely eunuchs, who spoke in high-pitched......
Endymion
Endymion, in Greek mythology, a beautiful youth who spent much of his life in perpetual sleep. Endymionâs parentage......
Enkidu
Enkidu, a legendary hero originally appearing in Sumerian literary compositions, which were incorporated, with......
Enlil
Enlil, Mesopotamian god of the atmosphere and a member of the triad of gods completed by Anu (Sumerian: An) and......
Eos
Eos, in Greco-Roman mythology, the personification of the dawn. According to the Greek poet Hesiodâs Theogony,......
Epona
Epona, goddess who was patron of horses and also of asses and mules (epo- is the Gaulish equivalent of the Latin......
Erato
Erato, in Greek religion, one of the nine Muses, the patron of lyric and erotic poetry or hymns. She is often depicted......
Erebus
Erebus, in Greek religion, the god of a dark region of the underworld and the personification of darkness. Erebus......
Erechtheum
Erechtheum, ionic temple of Athena, built during 421â405 bc on the Acropolis at Athens, famous largely for its......
Erechtheus
Erechtheus, legendary king and probably also a divinity of Athens. According to the Iliad, he was born from the......
Ereshkigal
Ereshkigal, in Mesopotamian religion, goddess in the Sumero-Akkadian pantheon who was Lady of the Great Place (i.e.,......
Erigone
Erigone, in Greek mythology, daughter of Icarius, the hero of the Attic deme (township) of Icaria. Her father,......
Eris
Eris, in Greco-Roman mythology, the personification of strife. She was called the daughter of Nyx (Night) by Hesiod,......
Eros
Eros, in Greek religion, god of love. Eros was a god not simply of passion but also of fertility. His Roman equivalent......
Eshu
Eshu, trickster god of the Yoruba of Nigeria, an essentially protective, benevolent spirit who serves Ifa, the......
Esus
Esus, (Celtic: âLord,â or âMasterâ), powerful Celtic deity, one of three mentioned by the Roman poet Lucan in the......
Euhemerus
Euhemerus was an author of a utopian work that was popular in the ancient world; his name was given to the theory......
Eulenspiegel, Till
Till Eulenspiegel, German peasant trickster whose merry pranks were the source of numerous folk and literary tales.......
Eumolpus
Eumolpus, mythical ancestor of the priestly clan of the Eumolpids at Eleusis, a town west of Athens, and the site......
Europa
Europa, in Greek mythology, the daughter either of Phoenix or of Agenor, king of Phoenicia. The beauty of Europa......
Eurydice
Eurydice, in Greek mythology, the wife of Orpheus. Following Eurydiceâs death, Orpheus attempted to retrieve her......
Euterpe
Euterpe, in Greek religion, one of the nine Muses, patron of tragedy or flute playing. In some accounts she was......
Evander
Evander, in Classical mythology, a migrant from Pallantium in Arcadia (central part of the Peloponnesus) who settled......
Eye of Horus
Eye of Horus, in ancient Egypt, symbol representing protection, health, and restoration. According to Egyptian......
fable
fable, narrative form, usually featuring animals that behave and speak as human beings, told in order to highlight......
Fafnir
Fafnir, in Nordic mythology, name of the great dragon slain by Sigurd, the Norse version of the German hero Siegfried.......
fairy
fairy, a mythical being of folklore and romance usually having magic powers and dwelling on earth in close relationship......
Fama
Fama, in Greco-Roman mythology, the personification of popular rumour. Pheme was more a poetic personification......
Fate
Fate, in Greek and Roman mythology, any of three goddesses who determined human destinies and in particular the......
faun
faun, in Roman mythology, a creature that is part human and part goat, akin to a Greek satyr. The name faun is......
Fauna
Fauna, in ancient Roman religion, a goddess of the fertility of woodlands, fields, and flocks; she was the counterpartâvariously......