Dictionary Of God And Godedesses

124 HesatHeryšaf is a ram god said to have emerged from theprimeval ocean, possibly recreated in the form of asacred lake at Hnes, the capital of Lower Egypt fora time at the beginning of the third millennium(during the First Intermediate Period). The god isdepicted with a human torso and the head of a ramwearing the atef crown of Lower Egypt.Heryšaf began as a local deity but took onnational importance as the soul (ba) of RE, and ofOSIRIS. Heryšaf’s sanctuary was enlarged byRameses II and the god is said to have protectedthe life of the last Egyptian pharaoh when thePersian and later Macedonian dominationsbegan. He eventually became syncretized withHERAKLES in Greco-Roman culture and Hnesbecame known as Herakleopolis.HesatGoddess of birth. Egyptian. Minor guardian ofpregnant and nursing mothers whose milk, the“beer of Hesat,” nourishes humanity. Identified insome texts as the mother of ANUBIS. Depicted asa cow.HESTIAORIGIN Greek. Goddess of hearth and home.KNOWN PERIOD OF WORSHIP circa 800 BC butprobably earlier and through until Christianization(circa AD 400). SYNONYMS Histie.CENTER(S) OF CULT local household shrines.ART REFERENCES none.LITERARY SOURCES Hymn to Aphrodite (Homer);Phaedra (Plato).Hestia is a minor goddess in the Greek pantheon,but one who enjoyed importance in individualhouseholds. One of the daughters of KRONOS andRHEA, her adherence to the fireside preventedher from joining the procession of gods describedin Plato’s Phaedra. On oath she remained virginalfollowing the notion that fire is phallic and thatshe was wedded faithfully to the sacred hearthfire. By tradition maiden Greek daughters tendedthe household hearth. Hestia was conventionallyoffered small gifts of food and drink.Hetepes-SekhusChthonic underworld goddess. Egyptian. A minordeity accompanied by a retinue of crocodiles. Asone of the manifestations of the vengeful “eye ofRE,” she destroys the souls of the adversaries ofthe underworld ruler OSIRIS. Depicted as a cobraor anthropomorphically with a cobra’s head.HevajiraGod. Buddhist (Mahayana). A BODHISATTVA(buddha-designate) and an emanation of AKSOB-HYA. The Tantric form of HERUKA and the Buddhistequivalent of the Hindu god Šiva Nataraja.His SAKTI is NAIRAMATA or VAJRAVARAHI and hemay appear dominating the four MARAS (theHindu gods BRAHMA, VIŠNU, ŠIVA and INDRA).Color: blue. Attributes: bell, bow, hook, image ofAksobhya on crown, jewel, lotus, prayer wheel,wine glass. He holds a skull in each hand and anassortment of other weapons. Three- or eightheaded,from two to sixteen arms and two or fourlegs; three-eyed.HexchuchanGod of war. Mayan (Itza, classical Mesoamerican)[Mexico]. One of several to whom the resincopal was burned before starting a battle. He mayhave been a tribal ancestor.Hi’aikaGoddess. Hawaiian. The daughter of HAUMEAand younger sister of PELE, the volcano goddess,Hi’aika is the mistress of the dance and especiallyof the hula. Separate traditions identify her with