The gods in various religions, in principle, are extraordinary creatures, endowed with various magical properties. But even among them there are more or less normal from a human point of view, and very strange. Strangeness can manifest itself in the unusual appearance that is attributed to them, or in unusual properties. It is about such strange gods that we will talk about in this article.
Baron Saturday - Voodoo
In Haitian and Creole voodoo, Baron Saturday is one of the gods associated with death, the dead, and also, oddly enough, with sexuality and childbirth. In addition, he is considered the patron saint of all bandits and thugs. Baron Saturday is depicted as a skeleton or a man in the attire of a funeral master (black tailcoat and black top hat). Its main symbols are the coffin and the cross. Traditionally, the first grave in the new cemetery is always dedicated to Baron Saturday. It is believed that the person in whom this god has possessed displays intemperance in drinking, food, smoking and sex.
Inanna - Sumerian mythology
The main goddess of Sumerian-Akkadian mythology. Initially, Inanna was considered the patroness of food and a symbol of bountiful harvests, but later, having supplanted the cult of the god Anu in Uruk, Inanna simultaneously served as the goddess of victory, and the goddess of the harvest, and the goddess of justice, was the patroness of family life and much more. And what is unusual in her appearance is that this goddess had very earthly and human qualities. She was insidious, fickle, often changed her beloved spouses and once even the limits of her spouse, sending him instead of herself to the underworld.
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Pan - Ancient Greek mythology
As with many other ancient Greek gods, Pan's origins are uncertain. According to some versions, he is considered either the son of Hermes and the daughter of Dirop, or the son of Hermes and Orsinoe, or the son of Zeus and Hybris, or the son of Zeus and Callisto. There are more than a dozen such versions in total. Pan was born with goat legs, a long beard and horns, and immediately at birth he began to jump and laugh. The magnificent valleys and groves of Arcadia are the kingdom of Pan, where he frolics in the circle of cheerful nymphs. To his flute or syringa, merry, noisy round dances are arranged, frightening mortals. At noon, tired of his studies, Pan falls asleep and with him the whole nature falls asleep under the sultry rays: this calm was considered sacred and not a single shepherd dared to disturb it by playing the flute, for fear of disturbing the dream of the patron god.
Chinnamasta - Hinduism, Buddhism
Chinnamasta is not a very well-known deity and its cult itself is not very widespread. Nevertheless, her story, and especially her image, is extremely interesting. The classic image of Chinnamasta is as follows: in her left hand she holds her own severed head with an open mouth; her hair is disheveled, and she drinks the blood gushing from her own neck. She stands or sits on a couple making love. To the right and to the left of her are two companions who joyfully drink the blood flowing from the neck of the goddess. There is a legend according to which Chinnamasta and her companions once walked along the river bank. At noon, the hungry companions asked the goddess, "Give us some food, we are hungry." Hearing this, Chinnamasta, smiling, cut off her own head and watered her companions with streams of blood from her neck and fed herself. Having fun this wayshe returned her head to its place and returned to its former form.
Tsuku Chen - Chinese mythology
Tsuku Chen is unusual, if only because she was considered a goddess of … latrines. According to legend, during the reign of Empress Wu Hu, an educated lady named Mei Li Chin became the mistress of a high-ranking government official. But he was a married man, and one day his wife, in a fit of wild jealousy, finding a concubine in the restroom, killed her. When the empress found out about this, she decided to make this unfortunate goddess of latrines. On the anniversary of her death, special celebrations were organized throughout the country in latrines and pigsties, and local women offered her own images to the goddess as sacrifices.
Marduk - Sumerian-Akkadian mythology
The supreme deity of the pantheon of Babylonia, the patron saint of Babylon, the god of wisdom, the lord and judge of the gods. It is believed that Marduk defeated the incarnation of chaos Tiamat in a tough fight, driving the "golden 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 symbol of Marduk is also interesting - it is the dragon Mushkhush, which is a mixture of a scorpion, a snake, an eagle and a lion.
Var - Scandinavian mythology
Almost nothing is known about the image of this goddess, and her name is rarely mentioned in Scandinavian myths. And it is interesting first of all for its, let's say, specialization. Var overheard and wrote down the oaths and promises of people, and then took revenge on those who broke them. In addition to the usual vows, she was also the goddess of love vows and marriage unions.
Hanuman - Hinduism
Ape-like god, one of the heroes of the Ramayana. It was thanks to him that the "King of the Monkeys" appeared in Chinese mythology and later in literature. In Hinduism, Hanuman is a highly revered being. He is honored as a mentor in the sciences and a patron of village life. Largely thanks to the Hanuman cult, homeless monkeys are fed in India.
Tlasolteotl - Aztec mythology
Literally - "eater of dirt (excrement)". One of the most important Mesoamerican mother goddesses associated with earth, fertility, sexual pleasure, fertility, and childbirth. For the Aztecs, Tlasolteotl was the personification of sins, especially sexual ones. The women of Tlasolteotl were called prostitutes. At the same time, they believed that Tlasolteotl can both arouse passion and free from it, as well as send madness and venereal diseases. According to the beliefs of the Aztecs, Tlasolteotl came to the dying person and cleansed his soul, eating all the "dirt".
