Ancient Religions & Mythology, FAU-HEC
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
Faunus
Faunus, ancient Italian rural deity whose attributes in Classical Roman times were identified with those of the......
Faust
Faust, hero of one of the most durable legends in Western folklore and literature, the story of a German necromancer......
Felicitas
Felicitas, Roman goddess of good luck to whom a temple was first built in the mid-2nd century bc. She became the......
Fellowship of the Ring, The
The Fellowship of the Ring, first volume (1954) in the trilogy that forms the famed fantasy novel The Lord of the......
fenghuang
fenghuang, in Chinese mythology, an immortal bird whose rare appearance is said to be an omen foretelling harmony......
Fenrir
Fenrir, monstrous wolf of Norse mythology. He was the son of the demoniac god Loki and a giantess, Angerboda. Fearing......
feriae
feriae, ancient Roman festival days during which the gods were honoured and all business, especially lawsuits,......
Feriae Latinae
Feriae Latinae, in Roman religion, the Festival of Jupiter Latiaris (Latialis), held in the spring and fall each......
fetial
fetial, any of a body of 20 Roman priestly officials who were concerned with various aspects of international relations,......
Fides
Fides, Roman goddess, the deification of good faith and honesty. Many of the oldest Roman deities were embodiments......
Figulus, Publius Nigidius
Publius Nigidius Figulus was a Roman savant and writer, next to Marcus Terentius Varro the most learned Roman of......
Finn
Finn, legendary Irish hero, leader of the group of warriors known as the Fianna Ăireann. See Fenian...
Finno-Ugric religion
Finno-Ugric religion, pre-Christian and pre-Islamic religious beliefs and practices of the Finno-Ugric peoples,......
Five Great Kings
Five Great Kings, in Tibetan Buddhism, a group of five deified heroes popularly worshiped as protection against......
flamen
flamen, in ancient Rome, a priest devoted exclusively to the worship of one deity; the name derives from a root......
flood myth
flood myth, any of numerous mythologies in which a flood destroys a typically disobedient original population.......
Flora
Flora, in Roman religion, the goddess of the flowering of plants. Titus Tatius (according to tradition, the Sabine......
Flying Dutchman
Flying Dutchman, in European maritime legend, spectre ship doomed to sail forever; its appearance to seamen is......
Flying Spaghetti Monster
Flying Spaghetti Monster, the deity of what began as a parody religion and grew to become a social movement. The......
Fomoire
Fomoire, in Irish myth, a race of demonic beings who posed a threat to the inhabitants of Ireland until they were......
Fortuna
Fortuna, in Roman religion, goddess of chance or lot who became identified with the Greek Tyche; the original Italian......
Freyja
Freyja, (Old Norse: âLadyâ), most renowned of the Norse goddesses, who was the sister and female counterpart of......
Freyr
Freyr, in Norse mythology, the ruler of peace and fertility, rain, and sunshine and the son of the sea god Njörd.......
Frigg
Frigg, in Norse mythology, the wife of Odin and mother of Balder. She was a promoter of marriage and of fertility.......
Fu Shen
Fu Shen, a Chinese god of happiness, the deification of a 6th-century mandarin. As a generic title, the name Fu......
Fu Xi
Fu Xi, first mythical emperor of China. His miraculous birth, as a divine being with a serpentâs body, is said......
FudĆ MyĆ-Ć
FudĆ MyĆ-Ć, in Japanese Buddhist mythology, the fierce form of the Buddha Vairocana, and the most important of......
Fukurokuju
Fukurokuju, (from Japanese fuku, âhappinessâ; roku, âwealthâ; and ju, âlongevityâ), in Japanese mythology, one......
Fulgentius, Fabius Planciades
Fabius Planciades Fulgentius was a Christian Latin writer of African origin, a mythographer and allegorical interpreter......
Fulushou
Fulushou, in Chinese mythology, a collective term for the three so-called stellar gods, taken from their names:......
Furies
Furies, in Greco-Roman mythology, the chthonic goddesses of vengeance. They were probably personified curses, but......
Fuxing
Fuxing, in Chinese mythology, star god of happiness, one of the three stellar divinities known collectively as......
Gabija
Gabija, in Baltic religion, the domestic hearth fire. In pre-Christian times a holy fire (ĆĄventa ugnis) was kept......
Gaea
Gaea, Greek personification of the Earth as a goddess. Mother and wife of Uranus (Heaven), from whom the Titan......
Galatea
Galatea, in Greek mythology, a Nereid who was loved by the Cyclops Polyphemus. Galatea, however, loved the youth......
Galilee
Galilee, northernmost region of ancient Palestine, corresponding to modern northern Israel. Its biblical boundaries......
Galinthias
Galinthias, in Greek mythology, a friend (or servant) of Alcmene, the mother of Zeusâs son Heracles (Hercules).......
Gallery grave
Gallery grave, long chamber grave, a variant of the collective tomb burials that spread into western and northwestern......
Galli
Galli, priests, often temple attendants or wandering mendicants, of the ancient Asiatic deity, the Great Mother......
Ganesha
Ganesha, elephant-headed Hindu god of beginnings, who is traditionally worshipped before any major enterprise and......
Ganymede
Ganymede, in Greek legend, the son of Tros (or Laomedon), king of Troy. Because of his unusual beauty, he was carried......
Garuda
Garuda, in Hindu mythology, the bird (a kite or an eagle) and the vahana (mount) of the god Vishnu. In the Rigveda......
Gaspar
Gaspar, a legendary figure in certain Western Christian traditions, said to have been one of the three Magi who......
GayĆmart
GayĆmart, in later Zoroastrian creation literature, the first man, and the progenitor of mankind. GayĆmartâs spirit,......
Geb
Geb, in ancient Egyptian religion, the god of the earth, the physical support of the world. Geb constituted, along......
Gefion
Gefion, in Nordic mythology, a minor goddess associated with unmarried...
Gellert
Gellert, in Welsh tradition, the trusted hound of Prince Llewellyn the Great of Wales. Having been left to guard......
Geography of Homerâs Odyssey: Mapping Odysseusâs Epic Voyage
A cave that deceptively offers shelter, an island overrun by wild animals, a strait flanked by deadly sea monstersâOdysseusâs......
Gerd
Gerd, in Norse mythology, the daughter of the giant Gymir and the wife of...
Germanic religion and mythology
Germanic religion and mythology, complex of stories, lore, and beliefs about the gods and the nature of the cosmos......
giant
giant, in folklore, huge mythical being, usually humanlike in form. The term derives (through Latin) from the Giants......
Gilgamesh
Gilgamesh, the best known of all ancient Mesopotamian heroes. Numerous tales in the Akkadian language have been......
Ginnungagap
Ginnungagap, in Norse and Germanic mythology, the void in which the world was created. The story is told, with......
girdle tie
girdle tie, in Egyptian religion, protective amulet formed like a knot and made of gold, carnelian, or red glazed......
Glaucus
Glaucus, name of several figures in Greek mythology, the most important of whom were the following: Glaucus, surnamed......
gnome
gnome, in European folklore, dwarfish, subterranean goblin or earth spirit who guards mines of precious treasures......
gnosticism
gnosticism, any of various related philosophical and religious movements prominent in the Greco-Roman world in......
goblin
goblin, in Western folklore, a wandering sprite and bogeyman of sorts that is usually mischievous but often malicious.......
god and goddess
god and goddess, generic terms for the many deities of ancient and modern polytheistic religions. Such deities......
Godiva, Lady
Lady Godiva was an Anglo-Saxon gentlewoman famous for her legendary ride while nude through Coventry, Warwickshire.......
Gods and Monsters in Homerâs Odyssey
The gods are ubiquitous in Greek mythology, causing chaos as well as restoring order in human lives. In Homerâs......
Goibhniu
Goibhniu, ancient Celtic smith god. Goibhniu figured in Irish tradition as one of a trio of divine craftsmen; the......
Gorboduc
Gorboduc, a mythical king of ancient Britain, known primarily as the subject of the earliest English tragic play......
Gorgon
Gorgon, monster figure in Greek mythology. Homer spoke of a single Gorgonâa monster of the underworld. The later......
Grace
Grace, in Greek religion, one of a group of goddesses of fertility. The name refers to the âpleasingâ or âcharmingâ......
Graves, Robert
Robert Graves was an English poet, novelist, critic, and classical scholar who carried on many of the formal traditions......
Great Dionysia
Great Dionysia, ancient dramatic festival in which tragedy, comedy, and satyric drama originated; it was held in......
Great Mother of the Gods
Great Mother of the Gods, ancient Oriental and Greco-Roman deity, known by a variety of local names; the name Cybele......
Greek mythology
Greek mythology, body of stories concerning the gods, heroes, monsters, and rituals of the ancient Greeks and Classical......
Greek religion
Greek religion, religious beliefs and practices of the ancient Hellenes. Greek religion is not the same as Greek......
griffin
griffin, composite mythological creature with a lionâs body (winged or wingless) and a birdâs head, usually that......
grÄmadevatÄ
grÄmadevatÄ, (Sanskrit: âvillage deityâ), type of folk deity widely worshiped in rural India. The grÄmadevatÄs,......
Guandi
Guandi, Chinese god of war whose immense popularity with the common people rests on the firm belief that his control......
Guanyin
Guanyin, in Chinese Buddhism, the bodhisattva of infinite compassion and mercy. See...
Gudrun
Gudrun, heroine of several Old Norse legends whose principal theme is revenge. She is the sister of Gunnar and......
Guerre, Martin
Martin Guerre, fictional character in Janet Lewisâs novel The Wife of Martin Guerre (1941), based on a 16th-century......
Guido Delle Colonne
Guido Delle Colonne was a jurist, poet, and Latin prose writer whose poetry was praised by Dante and whose Latin......
Guillaume dâOrange
Guillaume dâOrange, central hero of some 24 French epic poems, or chansons de geste, of the 12th and 13th centuries.......
Gwydion
Gwydion, in the Welsh Mabinogion, a son of the goddess DĂŽn, a master of magic and poetry and a somewhat dubious......
gyascutus
gyascutus, an imaginary, large, four-legged beast with legs on one side longer than those on the other, for walking......
Hachiman
Hachiman, one of the most popular ShintĆ deities of Japan; the patron deity of the Minamoto clan and of warriors......
Hadad
Hadad, the Old Testament Rimmon, West Semitic god of storms, thunder, and rain, the consort of the goddess Atargatis.......
Hades
Hades, in ancient Greek religion, god of the underworld. Although frequently associated with the 12 Olympians in......
Hagen
Hagen, mythological Germanic hero who plays a variety of roles in a number of northern European legends. In the......
Haldi
Haldi, the national god of the ancient kingdom of Urartu, which ruled the plateau around Lake Van, now eastern......
Han Xiang
Han Xiang, in Chinese mythology, one of the Baxian, the Eight Immortals of Daoism. He desired to make flowers bloom......
hanif
hanif, in the QurÊŸÄn, the sacred scripture of IslÄm, an Arabic designation for true monotheists (especially Abraham)......
Hanuman
Hanuman, in Hindu mythology, the monkey commander of the monkey army in the Sanskrit epic Ramayana (âRamaâs Journeyâ),......
Hapi
Hapi, in ancient Egyptian religion, personification of the annual inundation of the Nile River. Hapi was the most......
Harihara
Harihara, in Hinduism, a deity combining the two major gods Vishnu (Hari) and Shiva (Hara). Images of Harihara......
Harmonia
Harmonia, in Greek mythology, the daughter of Ares and Aphrodite, according to the Theban account; in Samothrace......
Harpy
Harpy, in Greco-Roman classical mythology, a fabulous creature, probably a wind spirit. The presence of harpies......
Hathor
Hathor, in ancient Egyptian religion, goddess of the sky, of women, and of fertility and love. Hathorâs worship......
Hatshepsut
Hatshepsut, was the female king of Egypt (reigned as coregent c. 1479â73 bce and in her own right c. 1473â58 bce)......
He Xiangu
He Xiangu, in Chinese mythology, one of the Baxian, the Eight Immortals of Daoism. As a teenaged girl she dreamed......
Heb-Sed
Heb-Sed, one of the oldest feasts of ancient Egypt, celebrated by the king after 30 years of rule and repeated......
Hebat
Hebat, in the religions of Asia Minor, a Hurrian goddess, the consort of the weather god Teshub. She was called......
Hebe
Hebe, (from Greek hÄbÄ, âyoung maturity,â or âbloom of youthâ), daughter of Zeus, the chief god, and his wife Hera.......
Hecate
Hecate, the chief goddess presiding over magic and spells. She was accepted at an early date into Greek religion......
Hector
Hector, in Greek legend, the eldest son of the Trojan king Priam and queen Hecuba. He was the husband of Andromache......