A Compendium of the Ancient Gods

Themes

Magic

57 gods of magic, across seven rooms, in the order the rooms are walked.

The Cradle of Cities

4 works

Enki, plate
Enki en-kee Lord of the Sweet Waters and Wisdom — Akkadian Ea
Kamrusepa, plate
Kamrusepa kam-ru-se-pa The Mistress of Magic — Healer-Goddess of the Hittites
Kothar-wa-Khasis, plate
Kothar-wa-Khasis ko-thar--wa--kha-sis Skilful and Wise — craftsman of the gods
Lilitu, plate
Lilitu li-li-tu The Night-Hag — demoness of the wind

The Gift of the Nile

8 works

Harpocrates, plate
Harpocrates har-poc-ra-tes Horus the Child — the infant god of silence
Heka, plate
Heka he-ka Magic Personified — the divine power that makes spells effective
Hu, plate
Hu hu The authoritative utterance — divine command made manifest
Isis, plate
Isis eye-sis The Great of Magic — wife of Osiris, mother of Horus
Ra, plate
Ra ra The Sun — daily king of heaven
Serqet, plate
Serqet ser-qet The Scorpion Goddess — guardian of the dead
Thoth, plate
Thoth thoht The Ibis — Lord of Wisdom and Writing
Wosret, plate
Wosret wos-ret The Mighty One — old Theban consort of Amun

The Olympian Order

10 works

Empusa, plate
Empusa em-pyoo-suh Shape-Shifting Hag of Hecate
Enyo, plate
Enyo en-ee-oh War-Goddess — companion of Ares
Hecate, plate
Hecate hek-uh-tee Of the Crossroads — goddess of witchcraft and the dark moon
Jason, plate
Jason jay-sun Captain of the Argonauts — winner of the Golden Fleece
Lamia, plate
Lamia lay-mee-uh The Child-Devouring Queen
Medea, plate
Medea meh-dee-uh Princess of Colchis and sorceress, who slew her own children
Morpheus and the Oneiroi, plate
Morpheus and the Oneiroi mor-fee-us and the oh-nye-roy The Shapers of Dreams — Morpheus, Phobetor, and Phantasos
Orpheus, plate
Orpheus or-fee-us Singer of the Underworld — patron of the Mysteries
Perses, plate
Perses per-seez Titan of destruction — father of Hecate
Selene, plate
Selene seh-lee-nee The Moon — mistress of the night sky

The Persian World

1 work

Thraetaona, plate
Thraetaona thrae-tao-na The Dragon-Slayer — Faridun in the Shahnameh; conqueror of Aži Dahāka

The Edges of Empire

2 works

Ataecina, plate
Ataecina a-tae-ci-na Chthonic Goddess of Lusitania — receiver of curse-tablets
Wærhag, plate
Wærhag wær-hag The Smith-God — forger of the magical weapons of the Narts

The Roman Inheritance

6 works

Anna Perenna, plate
Anna Perenna an-na pe-ren-na The Goddess of the Year — whose festival opened the new year by the Tiber
Carmenta, plate
Carmenta car-men-ta Goddess of Childbirth and Prophetic Song — mother of Evander
Hermes Trismegistus, plate
Hermes Trismegistus her-mes tris-me-gis-tus Thrice-Great Hermes — see also Thoth (Volume II)
Lemures, plate
Lemures le-mu-res Restless Dead — the Unappeased Spirits
The Spirits of the Doorway, plate
The Spirits of the Doorway the spi-rits of the door-way Cardea, Forculus, and Limentinus — the divinities of the threshold
Vertumnus, plate
Vertumnus ver-tum-nus God of Changing Seasons and Transformations

The Northern Inheritance

26 works

Airmed, plate
Airmed air-med Daughter of Dian Cécht — keeper of the herb-knowledge
Arianrhod, plate
Arianrhod a-rianr-hod Welsh Goddess of the Silver Wheel — Mother of Lleu
Baba Yaga, plate
Baba Yaga ba-ba ya-ga The Witch of the Forest — who lives in a hut on chicken legs
Boann, plate
Boann boann Goddess of the River Boyne — wife of the Dagda
Ceridwen, plate
Ceridwen ce-rid-wen The Welsh Witch of Inspiration — keeper of the cauldron of awen
Dagda, plate
Dagda dag-da The Good God — Father of the Tuatha Dé
Dian Cécht, plate
Dian Cécht dian cécht The Healer of the Tuatha Dé Danann — physician of the gods
Awaiting its plate
E Bukura E Dheut e bu-ku-ra e dheut The Beauty of the Earth — Ambiguous Chthonic Figure — Albanian
Freyja, plate
Freyja fray-yah Lady of the Vanir — Goddess of Love, Magic, and the Slain
Gullveig, plate
Gullveig gull-veig The Witch Thrice Burnt — whose murder began the war of the gods
Idunn, plate
Idunn i-dunn Keeper of the Apples of Youth
Awaiting its plate
Ilmarinen il-ma-ri-nen The Eternal Smith — Forger of the Sampo — Finnic
Jānis, plate
Jānis jā-nis The Latvian Midsummer Spirit — patron of the great solstice festival
Jumis, plate
Jumis ju-mis Latvian Spirit of the Double Ear — bringer of plenty
Koschei, plate
Koschei kos-chei The Deathless — whose soul is hidden in an egg in a duck on an island
Awaiting its plate
Kullervo kul-ler-vo The Tragic Slave-Hero — orphan, kinslayer, suicide
Loki, plate
Loki lo-ki The Trickster — Companion and Betrayer of the Gods
Awaiting its plate
Louhi lou-hi Mistress of Pohjola — Witch-Queen of the North — Finnic
Manannán Mac Lir, plate
Manannán Mac Lir ma-nan-nán mac lir Lord of the Sea — Son of the Sea
Math Fab Mathonwy, Gwydion, plate
Math Fab Mathonwy, Gwydion math fab ma-thon-wy, gwy-dion The Welsh Magician-King and his Sister's Son — and the woman made of flowers
Midir and Étaín, plate
Midir and Étaín mi-dir and é-taín The Lovers of the Fairy Mound — recovered through three lives
Odin, plate
Odin oh-din Allfather — God of War, Wisdom, and Death
Taliesin, plate
Taliesin ta-lie-sin The Welsh Bard — twice born, once mortal and once divine
Awaiting its plate
Väinämöinen väi-nä-möi-nen The Eternal Sage — Hero of the Kalevala — Finnic
Veles, plate
Veles veh-les Underworld God — Patron of Cattle and Wealth
Wayland, plate
Wayland way-land The Smith — Völundr in the Old Norse, Welund in the Old English

Floor plan

The rooms follow one another in the order their peoples first appear in the written record.

  1. The Cradle of Citiesc. 3400 BCE to 395 CE. 115 works
  2. The Gift of the Nilec. 4000 BCE to 395 CE. 73 works
  3. The Olympian Orderc. 1600 BCE to 750 CE. 152 works
  4. The Persian Worldc. 2000 BCE to 1010 CE. 30 works
  5. The Levantine Borderlandsc. 1200 BCE to 500 CE. 20 works
  6. The Edges of Empirec. 2000 BCE to 1500 CE. 33 works
  7. The Etruscan Worldc. 900 BCE to 750 CE. 22 works
  8. The Roman Inheritancec. 1200 BCE to 500 CE. 58 works
  9. The Northern Inheritancec. 2000 BCE to 1600 CE. 131 works