Dictionary Of God And Godedesses

6 ZZababaGod of war. Mesopotamian (Babylonian-Akkadian). The tutelary god of the city of Kiš,whose sanctuary is the E-meteursag. AlsoZamama.Zarpanitu(m)Birth goddess. Mesopotamian (Babylonian-Akkadian).The consort of MARDUK whose marriagewas celebrated annually at New Year in Babylon.Also Erua; SARPANITUM.ZalmoxisSky god. Thracian. Known from the writings ofHerodotus. According to tradition he lived forsome time on earth and then became ruler of theunderworld. His makeup may have been influencedby the Osirian cult in Egypt.ZapotlantenanHealing goddess. Aztec (classical Mesoamerican)[Mexico]. Deity of medicinal turpentine and ointment-dealers.One of the group classed as theTLALOC complex.Zara-MamaMaize goddess. South American Indian [Peru]. Aminor deity, models of whom were made fromthe leaves of the plant and kept for a year beforebeing burned in a ritual to ensure a good maizeharvest.ZemepatisChthonic god. Pre-Christian Lithuanian. A tutelarydeity of farmers and guardian of cattle.ZemiOne of a pair of primordial beings. Puerto Ricoand Haiti. Known as Morobo and Binatel, theyare the parents of all other deities, though theydid not create the cosmos which, according tobelief, has always been in existence. They aredepicted in stone, wood or clay figures and areinvoked in prayers. Two wooden ZEMIS used to bekept in a sacred cave at Toaboyna in Haiti andwere the subject of several annual pilgrimages.The sun and the moon were believed to haveemerged from the cave.ZemynaChthonic goddess. Pre-Christian Lithuanian. Adeity with responsibility for vegetation and358