Dictionary Of God And Godedesses

x Introduction to the First Editionence for a deity, from “source to sink,” clear-cut.Because of the once enormous number of animisticspirits, a process of merging or syncretization frequentlytakes place when deities who exhibit similarroles become redundant and join forces as asingle personality. Obviously when culturesmerged, some deities were also superseded. Sometimesa compound name may give a clue to thisprocess, but often only the title of the dominantfigure remains for the record.Thus the chronology can never be precise and isfrequently the subject of disagreement betweenscholars. Where dates are given for a “knownperiod of worship,” these are to be regarded as anapproximate guide only.Apart from the distinctions outlined below, thedeities listed here are treated equably, though manyof the entries in large pantheons such as those ofHinduism and Buddhism are probably on a levelof importance equal to that of Christian saints.Entries are in alphabetical order, without breakdowninto ethnic or cultural groups, and each entryis listed under the name by which the deity is mostcommonly known. The modern geographical areaof the world in which the deity is, or has been, recognizedis given in [square brackets].Two types of entry are employed in the encyclopedia.Entries for deities who may be regarded asbeing, or having been, of major significance withintheir cultural area are headed by BOLD CAPI-TALS and are accorded a more detailed coverage inthe text. The remainder are treated in less detail. Inall cases the information includes the original culturalsource. This may sometimes be reflected by alanguage e.g. Sumerian; by a cultural movemente.g. Babylonian, Hindu or Buddhist; or by a tribalidentity e.g. Yoruba or Navajo. It should be notedthat the term “Akkadian-Babylonian” is taken tomean that period influenced by the Akkadian andBabylonian hegemonies, during which texts werecomposed in the Semitic Akkadian language.Also included is the role of the deity in thepantheon—whether he or she is perceived as acreator, a god of concepts like fertility or death, ortaking more specific responsibility, such as for thewell-being of a maize crop. His or her immediategenealogy is listed since gods and goddesses areinvariably considered to have celestial parents, siblingsand offspring. Mythology plays a significantrole in sustaining a religion and its personalities,particularly among the broad mass of cultureswhich are essentially non-literate. The deeds ofspirit beings are recorded in word-of-mouth stories.When mythology plays a significant part inthe understanding or makeup of the personality, itsoutlines may be included and the literary sourceidentified. Information which may be of use in recognizinga god or goddess from iconography, suchas dress, symbols, sacred animals and other attributesis also provided when known, and art referencesare given. Attributes may be of particularimportance in identifying deities from large andcomplex pantheons such as those found in Hinduismand Buddhism. These deities may appear ina number of physical forms or emanations in orderto perform different roles i.e. as an ascetic, a lover,a prince or a warrior. Sometimes variations aredescribed as avataras, which may be best explainedas reincarnations in which a divine being has beenborn into the world to save it from danger and torestore order during some particular moment ofdisruption.Distinction is drawn between sky and astral personalitieswho are perceived to live in the regionsabove the temporal world and who are generallyconcerned with climate, weather, cosmic eventsand other such heavenly activities, and those associatedwith the earth and its well-being. Thusdeities of fertility, agriculture, the sea, domesticaffairs and death are generally earth-bound andare described as chthonic.Two or more deities may be combined into ahybrid. Less than true syncretizations, such deitiesretain the hyphenated names of the original personalities.Generally such hybridized deities arenot given space. This is particularly appropriate in