Dictionary Of God And Godedesses

THOTH 313ThetisGoddess of rivers and oceans. Greek. One of thedaughters of NEREUS, Thetis takes responsibility,with OKEANOS, for the oceans and rivers. She isamong the lesser known deities; according tomythology she is a mermaid, but she is particularlysignificant as the mother of Achilles by anunnamed mortal. According to legend sheattempted to render him immortal by immersinghim in the waters of the Styx. She failed becausethe heel by which she held him had remained dry.His education she entrusted to the centaur Chiron.She was surrounded by attendant sea creaturesknown as Nereids and after Achilles’s deathshe returned to the ocean depths.champion wearing iron gloves and a girdle ofmight, and wielding a short-handled hammer,Mjollnir, which creates lightning when struckagainst stone and becomes a thunderbolt whenthrown. He may also carry an ax and both mayrepresent fertility symbols. The swastika, thoughtto derive from the ax, becomes associated withhim and he may be further symbolized by a sacredgold or silver arm-ring.Thor possesses a prodigious appetite for foodand drink. He rides the heavens in a chariotdrawn by two goats, Tanngniost and Tanngrisnir,whose wheels cause the sound of the thunder. Heis strongly linked with trees and sacred groves.The name Thor is the origin of Thursday.THOR (thunder god)ORIGIN Nordic (Icelandic). Primarily god of warbut also a deity of the sky, storms, sea journeysand the administration of justice.KNOWN PERIOD OF WORSHIP Viking period circaAD 700 and earlier, until well into the Christianera, probably until AD 1100 or later.SYNONYMS HORAGALLES (Lappish); Thunor(Anglo-Saxon).CENTER(S) OF CULT Uppsala (Sweden); Dublin(Ireland); many others throughout the Nordicregion.ART REFERENCES small sculptures and reliefs;probably the subject of other anonymouscarvings.LITERARY SOURCES Icelandic codices; ProseEdda (Snorri); Historia Danica (Saxo); votiveinscriptions; place names.Thor is one of the more important AESIR sky godsin Norse religion, the chief defender of the realmsof Asgard. His mother is said to be lord, the primamateria of earth, and he lives in the hall Bilskirnir.He probably achieved greater popularity thanOTHIN. Described as a massive red-beardedTHOTHORIGIN Egyptian. God of the moon and ofwisdom.KNOWN PERIOD OF WORSHIP circa 3000 BC untilthe end of Egyptian history circa AD 400.SYNONYMS Djeheuty (archaic).CENTER(S) OF CULT Khemnu [el-Ashmunein] orHermopolis (Greek). Also in the Sinai, inNubia and in the Dakhleh oasis in the westerndesert.ART REFERENCES sculpture; stone reliefs; wallpaintings, etc.LITERARY SOURCES Pyramid Texts; coffin texts,etc.Thoth is the patron deity of scribes and of knowledge,including scientific, medical and mathematicwriting, and is said to have given mankindthe art of hieroglyphic writing. He is important asa mediator and counselor among the gods and isthe scribe of the Heliopolis ENNEAD pantheon.Thoth is described in some inscriptions as a sonof RE, but according to mythology he was bornfrom the head of the god SETH. He may bedepicted in human form with the head of an ibis,