Ancient Religions & Mythology, LéL-NAB
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
lélek
lélek, in Finno-Ugric religion, the vital principle of the human body. Despite its literal meaning, the term does......
Lāt, al-
al-Lāt, North Arabian goddess of pre-Islāmic times to whom a stone cube at aṭ-Ṭāʾif (near Mecca) was held sacred......
Līgo feast
Līgo feast, in Baltic religion, the major celebration honouring the sun goddess, Saule...
Maa-alused
Maa-alused, in Estonian folk religion, mysterious elflike small folk living under the earth. Corresponding to these......
Maat
Maat, in ancient Egyptian religion, the personification of truth, justice, and the cosmic order. The daughter of......
Macha
Macha, one of four female characters in Irish literature and mythology who are associated with themes of sovereignty......
Madderakka
Madderakka, Sami goddess of childbirth. She is assisted by three of her daughters—Sarakka, the cleaving woman;......
Madog Ab Owain Gwynedd
Madog Ab Owain Gwynedd was a legendary voyager to America, a son (if he existed at all) of Owain Gwynedd (d. 1170),......
maenad
maenad, female follower of the Greek god of wine, Dionysus. The word maenad comes from the Greek maenades, meaning......
Mag Tuired
Mag Tuired, mythical plain in Ireland, which was the scene of two important battles. The first battle was between......
magus
magus, member of an ancient Persian clan specializing in cultic activities. The name is the Latinized form of magoi......
Maha Maya
Maha Maya, the mother of Gautama Buddha; she was the wife of Raja Shuddhodana. According to Buddhist legend, Maha......
Mahasthamaprapta
Mahasthamaprapta, in Mahayana Buddhism, a bodhisattva (“buddha-to-be”) who is most popular among the Pure Land......
Mahākāla
Mahākāla, in Tibetan Buddhism, one of the eight fierce protective deities. See...
Mailáth, János, Gróf
János, Count Mailáth was a Hungarian writer and historian, who interpreted Magyar culture to the Germans and who......
Maison-Carrée
Maison-Carrée, Roman temple at Nîmes, France, in remarkably good repair. According to an inscription, it was dedicated......
Maitreya
Maitreya, in Buddhist tradition, the future Buddha, presently a bodhisattva residing in the Tushita heaven, who......
major figures in Roman mythology
major figures in Roman mythology, the significant characters—including gods and goddesses as well as heroes and......
Malakbel
Malakbel, West Semitic sun god and messenger god, worshiped primarily in the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra; he......
Manala
Manala, in Finnish mythology, the realm of the dead. The word is possibly derived from the compound maan-ala, “the......
Manannán mac Lir
Manannán mac Lir, (Celtic: “Manannán, Son of the Sea”), Irish sea god from whom the name of the Isle of Man allegedly......
Manasa
Manasa, goddess of snakes, worshipped mainly in Bengal and other parts of northeastern India, chiefly for the prevention......
Mandaeanism
Mandaeanism, (from Mandaean mandayya, “having knowledge”), ancient Middle Eastern religion still surviving in Iraq......
Manichaeism
Manichaeism, dualistic religious movement founded in Persia in the 3rd century ce by Mani, who was known as the......
manticore
manticore, a legendary animal having the head of a man (often with horns), the body of a lion, and the tail of......
Manto
Manto, in Greek legend, the daughter and assistant of the Theban prophet Tiresias. After the sack of Thebes by......
Manu
Manu, in the mythology of India, the first man, and the legendary author of an important Sanskrit law code, the......
Marduk
Marduk, in Mesopotamian religion, the chief god of the city of Babylon and the national god of Babylonia; as such,......
Mariette, Auguste
Auguste Mariette was a French archaeologist who conducted major excavations throughout Egypt, revealing much about......
Markish, Peretz
Peretz Markish was a Soviet Yiddish poet and novelist whose work extols Soviet Russia and mourns the destruction......
Mars
Mars, ancient Roman deity, in importance second only to Jupiter. Little is known of his original character, and......
Marsyas
Marsyas, legendary Greek figure of Anatolian origin. According to the usual Greek version, Marsyas found the aulos......
Marīcī
Marīcī, in Mahāyāna Buddhist mythology, the goddess of the dawn. Marīcī (Sanskrit: “Ray of Light”) is usually shown......
Mater Matuta
Mater Matuta, in Roman religion, goddess of the ripening of grain (although the Latin poet Lucretius made her a......
Math
Math, in the Welsh collection of stories known as the Mabinogion, king of Gwynedd in the North. He is also the......
Matronalia
Matronalia, in Roman religion, ancient festival of Juno, the birth goddess, celebrated annually by Roman matrons......
Matsya
Matsya, one of the 10 avatars (incarnations) of the Hindu god Vishnu. In this appearance Vishnu saved the world......
Maya calendar
Maya calendar, dating system of the ancient Maya civilization and the basis for all other calendars used by Mesoamerican......
Mañjuśrī
Mañjuśrī, in Mahāyāna Buddhism, the bodhisattva (“Buddha-to-be”) personifying supreme wisdom. His name in Sanskrit......
Medb
Medb, legendary queen of Connaught (Connacht) in Ireland who figures in the Ulster cycle, a group of legends from......
Medea
Medea, in Greek mythology, an enchantress who helped Jason, leader of the Argonauts, to obtain the Golden Fleece......
Medusa
Medusa, in Greek mythology, the most famous of the monster figures called Gorgons, known for her petrifying effect......
Megalith
Megalith, huge, often undressed stone used in various types of Neolithic (New Stone Age) and Early Bronze Age monuments.......
Melampus
Melampus, in Greek mythology, a seer known for his ability to understand the language of animals. The Bibliothēke......
Melchior
Melchior, in Christian tradition, a legendary figure said to be one of the Magi who paid homage to the infant Jesus.......
Meleager
Meleager, in Greek mythology, the leader of the Calydonian boar hunt. The Iliad relates how Meleager’s father,......
Melpomene
Melpomene, in Greek religion, one of the nine Muses, patron of tragedy and lyre playing. In Greek art her attributes......
Melqart
Melqart, Phoenician god, chief deity of Tyre and of two of its colonies, Carthage and Gadir (Cádiz, Spain). He......
Memnon
Memnon, in Greek mythology, son of Tithonus (son of Laomedon, legendary king of Troy) and Eos (Dawn) and king of......
Men
Men, moon god worshiped widely in Asia Minor during Roman times and also in Attica from the 3rd century bc. Little......
Men Shen
Men Shen, in Chinese religion, the two door gods whose separate martial images are posted on respective halves......
menat
menat, in Egyptian religion, a necklace composed of many rows of beads and an amulet, usually hung at the back......
Menelaus
Menelaus, in Greek mythology, king of Sparta and younger son of Atreus, king of Mycenae; the abduction or elopement......
Menhir
Menhir, megalithic monument erected singly or in formations. See...
Mephistopheles
Mephistopheles, familiar spirit of the Devil in late settings of the legend of Faust. It is probable that the name......
mer
mer, among the Cheremis and Udmurts (also called Votyaks), a district where people would gather periodically to......
Mercury
Mercury, in Roman religion, god of shopkeepers and merchants, travelers and transporters of goods, and thieves......
mermaid
mermaid, a fabled marine creature with the head and upper body of a human being and the tail of a fish. Similar......
Meru, Mount
Mount Meru, in Hindu mythology, a golden mountain that stands in the centre of the universe and is the axis of......
Meslamtaea
Meslamtaea, in Mesopotamian religion, city god of Cuthah in Akkad. His temple in Cuthah was called Emeslam, or......
Mesopotamian mythology
Mesopotamian mythology, the myths, epics, hymns, lamentations, penitential psalms, incantations, wisdom literature,......
Mesopotamian religion
Mesopotamian religion, beliefs and practices of the Sumerians and Akkadians, and their successors, the Babylonians......
Mictlantecuhtli
Mictlantecuhtli, Aztec god of the dead, usually portrayed with a skull face. With his wife, Mictecacíhuatl, he......
Midas
Midas, in Greek and Roman legend, a king of Phrygia, known for his foolishness and greed. The stories of Midas,......
Middle Eastern religion
Middle Eastern religion, any of the religious beliefs, attitudes, and practices developed in the ancient Middle......
Midgard
Midgard, in Norse mythology, the Middle Earth, the abode of mankind, made from the body of the first created being,......
Milesians
Milesians, in Irish mythical history, name for the people who drove the race of gods, the Tuatha Dé Danann, below......
Mimir
Mimir, in Norse mythology, the wisest of the gods of the tribe Aesir; he was also believed to be a water spirit.......
Min
Min, in ancient Egyptian religion, a god of fertility and harvest, embodiment of the masculine principle; he was......
Minerva
Minerva, in Roman religion, the goddess of handicrafts, the professions, the arts, and, later, war; she was commonly......
Minos
Minos, legendary ruler of Crete; he was the son of Zeus, the king of the gods, and of Europa, a Phoenician princess......
Minotaur
Minotaur, in Greek mythology, a fabulous monster of Crete that had the body of a man and the head of a bull. It......
Mithra
Mithra, in ancient Indo-Iranian mythology, the god of light, whose cult spread from India in the east to as far......
Mithraism
Mithraism, the worship of Mithra, the Iranian god of the sun, justice, contract, and war in pre-Zoroastrian Iran.......
Mitra
Mitra, in the pantheon of Vedic Hinduism, one of the gods in the category of Adityas, sovereign principles of the......
Mjollnir
Mjollnir, in Norse mythology, the hammer of the thunder god, Thor, and the symbol of his power. Forged by dwarfs......
Mnemosyne
Mnemosyne, in Greek mythology, the goddess of memory. A Titaness, she was the daughter of Uranus (Heaven) and Gaea......
Mnevis
Mnevis, in ancient Egyptian religion, sacred bull deity worshipped at Heliopolis. As one of several sacred bulls......
Mokoš
Mokoš, the goddess of life-giving in ancient Slavic mythology. She is the only female deity mentioned in the Old......
Moloch
Moloch, a Canaanite deity associated in biblical sources with the practice of child sacrifice. The name derives......
Momaday, N. Scott
N. Scott Momaday was an American author who often wrote about his Kiowa heritage. For his novel House Made of Dawn......
Montu
Montu, in ancient Egyptian religion, god of the 4th Upper Egyptian nome (province), whose original capital of Hermonthis......
Morpheus
Morpheus, in Greco-Roman mythology, one of the sons of Hypnos (Somnus), the god of sleep. Morpheus sends human......
Morrígan
Morrígan, (Celtic: Queen of Demons), Celtic war goddess; sometimes called Macha...
Mot
Mot, ancient West Semitic god of the dead and of all the powers that opposed life and fertility. He was the favourite......
Mother goddess
Mother goddess, any of a variety of feminine deities and maternal symbols of creativity, birth, fertility, sexual......
mudor šuan
mudor šuan, ceremony held by the Votyaks, or Udmurts (people of the Ural Mountains), to consecrate a new family......
Murugan
Murugan, chief deity of the ancient Tamils of South India, son of the warrior goddess Korravai. He was later identified......
Muse
Muse, in Greco-Roman religion and mythology, any of a group of sister goddesses of obscure but ancient origin,......
Muspelheim
Muspelheim, in Norse mythology, a hot, bright, glowing land in the south, guarded by Surt, the fire giant. In the......
Mut
Mut, in ancient Egyptian religion, a sky goddess and great divine mother. Mut is thought to have originated in......
Myrmidon
Myrmidon, in Greek legend, any of the inhabitants of Phthiotis in Thessaly. In the poet Hesiod’s Catalogue of Women,......
mystery religion
mystery religion, any of various secret cults of the Greco-Roman world that offered to individuals religious experiences......
- Introduction
- Secular Communities, Rituals, Beliefs
- Hellenistic, Rituals, Beliefs
- Ancient Rituals, Gods, & Beliefs
- Rituals, Initiation, Gods
- Rites, Festivals, Beliefs
- Seasonal Festivals
- Ancient Beliefs, Rituals, & Practices
- Rituals, Gods, Beliefs
- Ancient Rituals, Reliefs, Beliefs
- Ancient Beliefs, Rituals, Practices
myth
myth, a symbolic narrative, usually of unknown origin and at least partly traditional, that ostensibly relates......
- Introduction
- Folklore, Legends, Fables
- Origins, Functions, Types
- Allegory, Symbolism, Narrative
- Origin, Ritual, Belief
- Folklore, Ritual, Symbolism
- Rituals, Symbols, Beliefs
- Storytelling, Art, Ritual
- Origins, Rituals, Beliefs
- Messianic, Millenarian, Beliefs
- Kings, Ascetics, Legends
- Animals, Plants, Legends
- Creation, Origins, Beliefs
- Creation, Plants, Animals
- Transformation, Culture, Rituals
- Alter Ego, Life Index, Storytelling
Myō-ō
Myō-ō, in the Buddhist mythology of Japan, fierce protective deities, corresponding to the Sanskrit Vidyaraja (“King......
Märchen
Märchen, folktale characterized by elements of magic or the supernatural, such as the endowment of a mortal character......
Ménard, Louis-Nicolas
Louis-Nicolas Ménard was a French writer whose vision of ancient Greek religion and philosophy influenced the Parnassian......
Müller, Max
Max Müller was a German scholar of comparative language, religion, and mythology. Müller’s special areas of interest......
Mēness
Mēness, in Baltic religion, the moon, the god whose monthly renewal of strength is imparted to all growing things.......
Nabu
Nabu, major god in the Assyro-Babylonian pantheon. He was patron of the art of writing and a god of vegetation.......