Dictionary Of God And Godedesses

Introduction to the First Edition xithe case of the Hindu pantheon where the effectwould be to incorporate very large numbers ofnames representing little more than a fusion oftwo personalities detailed elsewhere in the encyclopedia.All significant avataras or incarnations of adeity are, however, included. In some cases we haveno names for figures depicted in art, either becausenone are provided or because we cannot decipherthem, but the iconic form is so well representedthat academic circles have provided code letterse.g. those Mayan gods listed as God A, God B andso on. When it is generally assumed that a codenamedfigure is the same as a fully identified deity,the code name may be noted at the end of an entry.Where cross-references to other deities seemappropriate, these are included. The Romans wereparticularly prone to adopt Greek and Celticdeities, retaining more or less all the original personality,but changing the name. Thus Zeusbecomes Jupiter and Aphrodite is re-named Venus.Because of the numbers involved, no attempthas been made to indicate that a god mentioned inanother’s entry has an entry of his or her own. Butif a deity is named without explanation, as Seth inthe story of Horus and vice versa, the reader willusually find that an entry exists for that deity.When a name originates in a script form otherthan Roman, e.g. Sanskrit, the nearest phoneticequivalent is provided in the spelling. In manyinstances, particularly where there has been Greekinfluence, the name given is the Hellenized version.Where applicable, the word Greek appears in[square brackets] as part of a heading: this appliesto a number of Hellenized Egyptian deities whoseGreek-style names are more commonly used; theoriginal Egyptian name is then given at the end ofthe entry. The reader should be aware that otherreference sources may interpret phonetics differentlyand it is worth exploring possible alternativespellings if an entry is not immediately found. Forillustration, the Greek god Asklepios may, in someother works, be entered as Asclepius. Spellings aregenerally those incorporated in the source referenceworks cited in the bibliography. There areexceptions: the Loeb translations of Greek authors,for instance, tend to use “Romanized” spellings.Wherever applicable, a literal English translationof the meaning is given and alternative names andspellings may also be included under “synonyms”or at the end of the entry. If a form of a name isspecific to a certain language or culture, this is alsostated.It should be noted that in ancient Near Easternpantheons, the sound sh is transcribed as š, and thatin Baltic and some African languages, sh is transcribedas s. Generally, a c placed before the vowelsounds e or i is pronounced soft, like an s. In allcases z should be pronounced like the French j injardin, though many people will prefer to employthe Anglicized pronunciation of names like Zeus.Although Encyclopedia of Gods represents themost comprehensive worldwide listing of deitiesavailable in a single volume, it makes no claim to beexhaustive. Aside from the reservations alreadystated, the volume of potential entries would makethis an unrealistic objective. The gods of Hatti(Hittite), for example, are described as being “inexcess of 10,000.” There are at least as many deitiesknown to Japanese Shintoism. Many thousandsmore find their place in the Chinese pantheons.The volume therefore includes those names whicha student or enthusiast of iconography or mythologywould reasonably need to explore and which acasual reader or traveler might encounter in textsor inscriptions.One should always be aware that our presentdayknowledge of the names and personalities ofdeities is strictly governed. In too many instancesethnologists have simply not bothered to investigatelocal faiths before they have been corrupted orobliterated by the more universal modern religions.Primitive societies have often been reluctantto speak the names of deities to outsiders for fearof divine—or missionary—reprisal. Thus thereare accountable geographical gaps in what mightotherwise be a more complete survey.