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A Compendium of the Ancient Gods

Themes

Music and poetry

45 gods of music and poetry, across seven rooms, in the order the rooms are walked.

The Cradle of Cities

3 works

Nanaya, plate — Nanaya na-naya The Sweet One — Goddess of Sensual Love and Music

Ningal, plate — Ningal nin-gal Great Lady of the Moon — Consort of Nanna and Mother of Inanna

Shaushka, plate — Shaushka shaush-ka The Hurrian Ishtar — goddess of love and war

The Gift of the Nile

4 works

Bastet, plate — Bastet bas-tet The Cat of Bubastis

Bes, plate — Bes bes The Household Protector — apotropaic dwarf-god

Hathor, plate — Hathor ha-thor Lady of Dendera — goddess of love, music, and the western mountain

Ihy, plate — Ihy i-hy The Sistrum-Player — child-god of Dendera, son of Hathor

The Olympian Order

22 works

Apollo, plate — Apollo uh-pol-oh The Far-Shooter — god of music, prophecy, and plague

Calliope, plate — Calliope kuh-lye-uh-pee Muse of Epic Poetry

Clio, plate — Clio klye-oh Muse of History

Dionysus, plate — Dionysus dye-oh-nye-sus The Twice-Born — god of wine and ecstasy

Echo, plate — Echo eck-oh The Mountain Nymph who could only repeat

Erato, plate — Erato air-uh-toh Muse of Love Poetry

Euterpe, plate — Euterpe yoo-ter-pee Muse of Music and Lyric

Hermes, plate — Hermes her-meez Messenger of the Gods — patron of travelers and thieves

Melpomene, plate — Melpomene mel-pom-uh-nee Muse of Tragedy

Mnemosyne, plate — Mnemosyne neh-moss-ih-nee Memory — mother of the Muses

Momus, plate — Momus moh-mus Blame — the carping critic

Oizys, plate — Oizys oy-zis Misery — daughter of Night

Orpheus, plate — Orpheus or-fee-us Singer of the Underworld — patron of the Mysteries

Pan, plate — Pan pan God of the Wild — pastoral piper of Arcadia

Pegasus, plate — Pegasus peg-uh-sus The Winged Horse, born of the Gorgon's blood

Polyhymnia, plate — Polyhymnia pol-ee-him-nee-uh Muse of Sacred Hymn

Terpsichore, plate — Terpsichore terp-sik-uh-ree Muse of Dance

Thalia (Muse), plate — Thalia (Muse) thay-lee-uh (muse) Muse of Comedy

The Charites, plate — The Charites the kar-ih-teez The Graces — Aglaea, Euphrosyne, Thalia

The Muses, plate — The Muses the mu-ses Daughters of Mnemosyne — patrons of the arts

The Sirens, plate — The Sirens the sy-rens The Singers of the Rocks, whose voices drew sailors to their death

Urania, plate — Urania yoo-ray-nee-uh Muse of Astronomy

The Edges of Empire

1 work

Kotys, plate — Kotys ko-tys The Thracian Goddess of Orgiastic Rites — patroness of mystery initiation

The Etruscan World

2 works

Aplu, plate — Aplu ap-lu The Etruscan Apollo — god of prophecy and music, brought from the Greeks of Cumae

Fufluns, plate — Fufluns fuf-luns The Etruscan Wine-God — equivalent to Dionysus, with chthonic associations

The Roman Inheritance

2 works

Carmenta, plate — Carmenta car-men-ta Goddess of Childbirth and Prophetic Song — mother of Evander

The Camenae, plate — The Camenae the ca-me-nae The Italic Muses — water-nymphs of the spring at the Porta Capena

The Northern Inheritance

11 works

Bragi, plate — Bragi bra-gi God of Poetry — Husband of Idunn

Brigid, plate — Brigid bri-gid Goddess of Smithcraft, Healing, and Poetry — Triple Goddess

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

Kvasir, plate — Kvasir kva-sir The Wisest of Men — whose blood made the Mead of Poetry

Maponos, plate — Maponos ma-po-nos The Divine Youth — the British Apollo, hunter and singer

Odin, plate — Odin oh-din Allfather — God of War, Wisdom, and Death

Ogma, plate — Ogma og-ma God of Eloquence — Inventor of the Ogham Script

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