Each of the peoples of the Ancient World had their own deities, powerful and not so. Many of them possessed unusual abilities and were the owners of wonderful artifacts that give them additional strength, knowledge and, ultimately, power.
Amaterasu ("The Great Goddess Who Illuminates the Heavens")
Country: Japan
Essence: Goddess of the Sun, ruler of heavenly fields
Amaterasu is the eldest of the three children of the progenitor god Izanaki. She was born from drops of water, which he washed his left eye. She got possession of the upper heavenly world, while her younger brothers got the night and the water kingdom.
Amaterasu taught people how to cultivate rice and weave. The imperial house of Japan originates from her. She is considered the great-grandmother of the first emperor, Jimmu. The ear of rice, a mirror, a sword and carved beads, presented to her, became sacred symbols of the imperial power. Traditionally, one of the emperor's daughters becomes the high priestess of Amaterasu.
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Yu-Di ("The Jade Sovereign")
Country: China
Essence: Supreme Overlord, Emperor of the Universe
Yu-Di was born at the time of the creation of the Earth and Heaven. He is subject to the Heavenly, Terrestrial, and Underground worlds. All other deities and spirits are subordinate to him.
Yu-Di is absolutely dispassionate. He sits on a throne in a robe embroidered with dragons, with a jade tablet in his hands. Yu Di has an exact address: the god lives in a palace on Mount Yujingshan, which resembles the court of the Chinese emperors. Under him, heavenly councils function, which are responsible for various natural phenomena. They perform all sorts of actions, to which the ruler of the sky himself does not condescend.
Quetzalcoatl ("The Feathered Serpent")
Country: Central America
Essence: Creator of the world, lord of the elements, creator and teacher of people
Quetzalcoatl not only created the world and people, but also taught them the most important skills: from agriculture to astronomical observations. Despite his high status, Quetzalcoatl acted at times in a very peculiar way. For example, in order to get maize grains for people, he entered the anthill, turning himself into an ant, and stole them.
Quetzalcoatl was portrayed both as a serpent covered with feathers (the body symbolized the Earth, and the feathers - vegetation), and as a bearded man in a mask.
According to one of the legends, Quetzalcoatl voluntarily went into overseas exile on a raft of snakes, promising to return. Because of this, the Aztecs initially mistook the leader of the Conquistadors, Cortes, for the returning Quetzalcoatl.
Baal (Balu, Baal, "The Lord")
Country: Middle East
Essence: Thunderer, god of rain and elements. In some myths - the creator of the world
Baal, as a rule, was depicted either in the form of a bull, or a warrior jumping on a cloud with a lightning spear. During the festivities in his honor, massive orgies took place, often accompanied by self-mutilation. It is believed that human sacrifices were made to Baal in some areas. From his name came the name of the biblical demon Beelzebub (Ball-Zebul, "Lord of the Flies").
Ishtar (Astarte, Inanna, "Lady of Heaven")
Country: Middle East
Essence: Goddess of fertility, sex and war
Ishtar, sister of the Sun and daughter of the Moon, was associated with the planet Venus. The legend about her journey to the underworld was associated with the myth of the annually dying and reborn nature. She often acted as the intercessor of people before the gods. At the same time, Ishtar was responsible for various feuds. The Sumerians even called wars "Inanna's dances." As a goddess of war, she was often depicted astride a lion, and probably became the prototype of the Babylonian harlot sitting on a beast.
The passion of the loving Ishtar was destructive for both gods and mortals. For her many lovers, everything usually ended in big trouble or even death. Ishtar worship included temple prostitution and massive orgies.
Ashur ("Father of the Gods")
Country: Assyria
Essence: God of War
Ashur is the main god of the Assyrians, the god of war and hunting. His weapon was a bow and arrow. As a rule, Ashur was portrayed with bulls. Its other symbol is the solar disk above the tree of life. Over time, when the Assyrians expanded their possessions, he was considered the consort of Ishtar. The Assyrian king himself was the high priest of Ashur, and his name often became part of the royal name, as, for example, in the famous Ashurbanapal, and the capital of Assyria was called that way, Ashur.
Marduk ("Son of the Clear Sky")
Country: Mesopotamia
Essence: Patron of Babylon, god of wisdom, lord and judge of the gods
Marduk defeated the incarnation of chaos Tiamat, driving an “evil wind” into her mouth, and took possession of the book of destinies that belonged to her. After that, he cut through the body of Tiamat and created Heaven and Earth from them, and then created the entire modern, orderly world. The other gods, seeing the power of Marduk, recognized his supremacy.
The symbol of Marduk is the dragon Mushkhush, a mixture of scorpion, snake, eagle and lion. Various plants and animals were identified with the body parts and entrails of Marduk. The main temple of Marduk - a huge ziggurat (step pyramid) became, probably, the basis of the legend of the Tower of Babel.
Yahweh (Jehovah, "He Who Is")
Country: Middle East
Essence: One tribal god of the Jews
Yahweh's main function was to help the chosen people. He gave the Jews laws and strictly enforced their implementation. In clashes with enemies, Yahweh provided assistance to the chosen people, sometimes the most direct. In one of the battles, for example, he threw huge stones at enemies, in another case, he abolished the law of nature, stopping the sun.
Unlike most other gods of the ancient world, Yahweh is extremely jealous, and forbids worshiping any deity other than himself. The mischief-makers will face severe punishment. The word "Yahweh" is a substitute for the secret name of God, which is forbidden to pronounce aloud. It was impossible to create his images. In Christianity, Yahweh is sometimes identified with God the Father.
Ahura Mazda (Ormuzd, "God the Wise")
Country: Persia
Essence: Creator of the World and all the good that is in it
Ahura Mazda created the laws according to which the world exists. He endowed people with free will, and they can choose the path of good (then Ahura-Mazda will favor them in every possible way) or the path of evil (serving the eternal enemy of Ahura-Mazda Angra-Mainyu). Ahura-Mazda's assistants are the good beings of Ahura created by him. He is surrounded by them in the fabulous Garodman, the house of chants.
The image of Ahura-Mazda is the Sun. He is older than the whole world, but, at the same time, he is forever young. He knows both the past and the future. In the end, he will win the final victory over evil and the world will be perfect.
Angra Mainyu (Ahriman, "Evil Spirit")
Country: Persia
Essence: The embodiment of evil among the ancient Persians
Angra Mainyu is the source of all the bad things that happen in the world. He ruined the perfect world created by Ahura Mazda, bringing lies and destruction into it. He sends diseases, crop failures, natural disasters, gives rise to predatory animals, poisonous plants and animals. Under the leadership of Angra Mainyu are devas, evil spirits who carry out his evil will. After Angra Mainyu and his minions are defeated, an era of eternal bliss should come.
Brahma ("Priest")
Country: India
Essence: God is the creator of the world
Brahma was born from a lotus flower and then created this world. After 100 years of Brahma, 311,040,000,000,000 earth years, he will die, and after the same period of time a new Brahma will be born and create a new world.
Brahma has four faces and four arms, which symbolizes the cardinal points. Its indispensable attributes are a book, a rosary, a vessel with water from the sacred Ganges, a crown and a lotus flower, symbols of knowledge and power. Brahma lives on the top of the sacred mountain Meru, moves on a white swan. The descriptions of the actions of Brahma Brahmastra's weapons resemble those of nuclear weapons.
Vishnu ("The All-Encompassing")
Country: India
Essence: God is the keeper of the world
The main functions of Vishnu are to maintain the existing world and resist evil. Vishnu manifests in the world and acts through his incarnations, avatars, the most famous of which are Krishna and Rama. Vishnu has blue skin and wears yellow robes. He has four arms, in which he holds a lotus flower, mace, conch shell and Sudarsana (a rotating disc of fire, his weapon). Vishnu is reclining on a giant multi-headed snake Shesha, which floats in the world's Causal Ocean.
Shiva ("The Merciful")
Country: India
Essence: God is the destroyer
The main task of Shiva is to destroy the world at the end of each world cycle in order to make room for a new creation. This happens during the dance of Shiva - Tandava (therefore Shiva is sometimes called the dancing god). However, he also has more peaceful functions - a healer and deliverer from death.
Shiva sits in the lotus position on a tiger skin. On his neck and wrists are snake bracelets. On the forehead of Shiva is the third eye (it appeared when Shiva's wife, Parvati, jokingly covered his eyes with her palms). Sometimes Shiva is depicted as a lingam (erect penis). But sometimes he is also depicted as a hermaphrodite, symbolizing the unity of the masculine and feminine principles. According to popular beliefs, Shiva smokes marijuana, therefore some believers consider such an occupation a way of knowing him.
Ra (Amon, "Sun")
Country: Egypt
Essence: Sun God
Ra, the main god of Ancient Egypt, originated from the primary ocean of his own free will, and then created the world, including the gods. He is the personification of the Sun, and every day with his numerous retinue he rides across the sky in a magic boat, making life in Egypt possible. At night, the boat of Ra sails along the underground Nile through the afterlife. The Eye of Ra (he was sometimes considered an independent deity) had the ability to pacify and subdue enemies. The Egyptian pharaohs were descended from Ra, and called themselves his sons.
Osiris (Usir, "The Mighty One")
Country: Egypt
Essence: God of rebirth, lord and judge of the underworld
Osiris taught people to agriculture. Its attributes are associated with plants: a crown and a boat are made of papyrus, in their hands are bundles of reeds, and the throne is entwined with greenery. Osiris was killed and hacked to pieces by his brother, the evil god Set, but was resurrected with the help of his wife and sister Isis. However, having conceived the son of Horus, Osiris did not remain in the world of the living, but became the lord and judge of the kingdom of the dead. Because of this, he was often depicted as a swaddled mummy with free hands, in which he holds a scepter and flail. In Ancient Egypt, the tomb of Osiris was highly revered.
Isis ("Throne")
Country: Egypt
Essence: Intercessor Goddess
Isis is the embodiment of femininity and motherhood. All segments of the population, but, above all, the oppressed, appealed to her with pleas for help. She especially patronized children. And sometimes she acted as a defender of the dead before the afterlife court.
Isis was able to magically resurrect her husband and brother Osiris and give birth to his son Horus. The floods of the Nile in folk mythology were considered the tears of Isis, which she sheds about Osiris, who remained in the world of the dead. The Egyptian pharaohs were called the children of Isis; sometimes she was even depicted as a mother feeding the pharaoh with milk from her breast.
The image of the "veil of Isis" is known, meaning the concealment of the secrets of nature. This image has long attracted mystics. No wonder the famous book of Blavatsky is called "Isis Unveiled."
Seth ("The Mighty")
Country: Egypt
Essence: God of Destruction
Seth was initially revered as a warrior god, the protector of Ra. Some pharaohs even bore his name. But later he gradually acquired negative traits and, in the end, became the embodiment of evil. Seth sends sandstorms, destruction, death, provokes wars and patronizes hostile foreigners. The Day of Set, the third day of the year, was considered the most unlucky among the Egyptians. Out of envy, Seth killed his brother Osiris, but later, as a result of eighty years of struggle, was defeated by his son, Horus. Seth is red-haired and red-eyed; he was usually depicted with the head of an aardvark.
Zeus ("Bright Sky")
Country: Greece
Essence: Thunderer, head of all gods
Zeus's father, Kronos, devoured his children, but his mother replaced the newborn Zeus with a stone. Having matured, Zeus overthrew his father and forced him to spit out his siblings. Together with them and their descendants, other gods, Zeus does not dwell on Mount Olympus. His attributes are a shield and a double-sided ax. Zeus is formidable and vengeful: many heroes of Greek mythology became victims of his anger. The head of the gods is loving. He is often combined with earthly women; for this, he sometimes turns into various animals (bull, eagle, swan) or even phenomena (he penetrated to Danae in the form of a golden rain).
Odin (Wotan, "The Seer")
Country: Northern Europe
Essence: God of War and Victory
Odin is the main god of the ancient Germans and Scandinavians. He moves on the eight-legged horse Sleipnir or on the Skidbladnir ship, which can be freely resized. Odin's spear, Gugnir, always flies at the target and strikes on the spot. He is accompanied by wise ravens and ravenous wolves. Odin lives in Valhalla with a retinue of the best fallen warriors and warlike Valkyrie maidens.
In order to receive wisdom, Odin sacrificed one eye, and for the sake of comprehending the meaning of the runes, he hung for nine days on the sacred tree Yggdrasil, nailed to him with his own spear. Odin's future is predetermined: despite his power, on the day of Ragnarok (the battle preceding the end of the world) he will be killed by the giant wolf Fefnir.
Thor ("Thunder")
Country: Northern Europe
Essence: Stormbringer
Thor is the god of the elements and fertility among the ancient Germans and Scandinavians. This is a hero-god who protects not only people, but also other gods from monsters. Thor was portrayed as a giant with a red beard. His weapon is the magic hammer Mjolnir ("lightning"), which can only be held in iron gauntlets. Thor is girded with a magic belt that doubles his strength. He rides across the sky in a chariot pulled by goats. Sometimes he eats goats, but then resurrects them with his magic hammer. On the day of Ragnarok, the last battle, Thor will deal with the world serpent Jormungand, but he himself will die from its poison.
