Dictionary Of God And Godedesses

174 LETOwide area of Zambia and Zimbabwe. Equating toLISA in regions of West Africa. Also regarded asa rain god. Probably strongly influenced byIslam and, to a lesser extent, by Christianity.Also Leza.LETOORIGIN Greek. Mother goddess.KNOWN PERIOD OF WORSHIP circa 800 BC butprobably earlier through to Christianization(circa AD 400).SYNONYMS Lato (Dorian); Latona (Roman).CENTER(S) OF CULT Lycia and Phaistos, Crete.ART REFERENCES sculptures and carvings.LITERARY SOURCES Iliad (Homer); Theogony(Hesiod).The word “Leto” is a local term for lady. TheGreek goddess probably derives from an earlierwestern Asiatic model. She is the daughter of theTITANS Koeos and Phoebe. Leto’s main claim tocelebrity in Greek religion is that she was impregnatedby ZEUS to become the mother of thedeities ARTEMIS and APOLLO. She often tries toprotect Artemis from the wrath of her stepmother,HERA. Also a guardian goddess of graves.A very early bronze image of her was discovered,with those of Apollo and Artemis, at Dreros onCrete. In Lycia she was the principal goddess,while at Phaistos she was the center of an initiationmyth.LeukotheaSea goddess. Greco-Roman. Popular around thecoasts of the Mediterranean with fishing communities.A mermaid who was originally Ino, amortal daughter of Kadmos. She was wet nurseto DIONYSOS (BACCHUS), but became mad andthrew herself in the sea with her son Melikertes.In another version of the story she was escapingthe wrath of Athamas, King of Thebes. The godselevated her to the status of goddess and her sonbecame the god PALAEMON.LhaGeneric term for a deity. Buddhist-Lamaist[Tibet]. Also the title for a deity in the old Bonpantheon, equating to the Sanskrit term DEVA.Lha-Mo (the goddess)Goddess. Buddhist-Lamaist [Tibet]. Comingfrom the old Bon pantheon and equating withthe Hindu goddess SRIDEVI.Li Tie-guaiImmortal being. Taoist (Chinese). One of the“eight immortals” of Taoist mythology, he wasonce a mortal being who achieved immortalitythrough his lifestyle.Attributes include a bat, a gourd and an ironcrutch.See also BA XIAN.LianjaGod. Nkundo [Democratic Republic of Congo,central Africa]. He became the subject of an epicknown as Nsongo and Lianja and is regarded todayless as a god than a heroic figure, probably underthe influence of Christianity.LibanzaCreator god. Bangala [Democratic Republic ofCongo, central Africa]. One of a pair ofsupreme deities with his sister/consort Nsongo.He lives at the bottom of the river Congo, travelingthe waterways and bringing floods as punishmentas well as to generate prosperity. He is