Dictionary Of God And Godedesses

D6DabogSun god. Slav [Balkans and southern Russia].References found in inscriptions from Kiev. AfterChristianization he was reduced to a diabolicpersonality.DadimundaTutelary god. Singhalese Buddhist [Sri Lanka].An attendant on the god UPULVAN to whom heacted as treasurer. The guardian of Buddhism inSri Lanka. His sacred animal is an elephant. AlsoDevata bandara.Dagan (1)Grain and fertility god. Mesopotamian (Babylonian-Akkadian).Generally linked with ANU ingiving status to cities e.g. the dedications by theninth-century BC Assyrian king Assur-nasir-apliat Kalakh. Cult centers existed at Tuttul andTerqa.Dagan (2)Grain and fertility god. Western Semitic(Canaanite and Phoenician). The father of BAALin Ugaritic creation epics. A major sanctuary wasbuilt in his honor at Mari [Syria] and he was recognizedin parts of Mesopotamia where heacquired the consort Šalaš. Worshiped mainly atGaza and Ašdod, but also the supreme god of thePhilistines. Known in biblical references asDagon (Judges 16.23). Mentioned in the apocryphalBook of Maccabees. The cult is thought tohave continued until circa 150 BC. Israelitemisinterpretation of the Ugaritic root Dagan ledto the assumption that he was a fish god, thereforeattributes include a fish tail.Dagan (3)Local supreme god. Kafir [Afghanistan]. This godbears no relation to the Semitic god Dagan, butis known by several synonyms including Dagon,Doghan and Deogan. He has been identified inseveral villages in the south of the Kafir region[southern Nuristan]. “Dagan” may be less aproper name than a title of respect.DAGDA (the good god)ORIGIN Celtic (Irish). Father of the tribe.KNOWN PERIOD OF WORSHIP from prehistorictimes until after Christianization circa AD 400.SYNONYMS Ruad ro-fhessa (lord of perfect knowledge);Eochaid Ollathair (all-father).CENTER(S) OF CULT Tara, etc.70