A Compendium of the Ancient Gods

Themes

Protection

117 gods of protection, across nine rooms, in the order the rooms are walked.

The Cradle of Cities

17 works

Erra, plate
Erra er-ra The Bringer of Plague — God of Indiscriminate Violence
Humbaba, plate
Humbaba hum-ba-ba The Guardian of the Cedar Forest — Whose Face was Coiled Entrails
Ishum, plate
Ishum i-shum The Watchman of the Night — Herald of Erra
Kamrusepa, plate
Kamrusepa kam-ru-se-pa The Mistress of Magic — Healer-Goddess of the Hittites
Lamassu, plate
Lamassu la-mas-su The Protective Spirit — winged bull of the gates
Mušḫuššu, plate
Mušḫuššu muš-ḫuš-šu The Furious Snake — Dragon of Marduk
Ninshubur, plate
Ninshubur nin-shu-bur The Faithful Vizier — minister of Inanna and Anu
Nisroch, plate
Nisroch nis-roch The God in Whose Temple Sennacherib Was Slain
Pazuzu, plate
Pazuzu pa-zu-zu King of the Wind Demons — apotropaic against Lamashtu
Sabazius, plate
Sabazius sa-ba-zius The Thraco-Phrygian Sky-Father — Whose Bronze Hand Bore Cult-Symbols
Sharruma, plate
Sharruma shar-ru-ma Son of Teshub and Hebat — Royal Protector
Shedu, plate
Shedu she-du The Male Guardian Spirit
Tashmetum, plate
Tashmetum tash-me-tum The Listening One — Wife of Nabu, Goddess of Intercession
Tashmishu, plate
Tashmishu tash-mi-shu Brother of Teshub — Vizier-Companion of the Storm-God
The Apkallu, plate
The Apkallu the ap-kal-lu The Seven Sages — Bringers of the Arts of Civilization
The Kudurru Deities, plate
The Kudurru Deities the ku-dur-ru dei-ties Witnesses upon the Boundary Stones
The Sebitti, plate
The Sebitti the se-bit-ti The Seven Warriors — Constellation of the Pleiades

The Gift of the Nile

25 works

Aker, plate
Aker a-ker The Twin Lions of the Horizon
Bastet, plate
Bastet bas-tet The Cat of Bubastis
Bes, plate
Bes bes The Household Protector — apotropaic dwarf-god
Dedun, plate
Dedun de-dun Lord of Nubia — incense-god of the southern frontier
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
Horus, plate
Horus hor-us The Falcon — avenger and rightful king
Ihy, plate
Ihy i-hy The Sistrum-Player — child-god of Dendera, son of Hathor
Isis, plate
Isis eye-sis The Great of Magic — wife of Osiris, mother of Horus
Maahes, plate
Maahes maa-hes Lion of the Massacre — son of Bastet, wielder of the scimitar
Mehen, plate
Mehen me-hen The Coiled Serpent — protector of the solar barque
Mertseger, plate
Mertseger mert-se-ger She Who Loves Silence — cobra-goddess of the Theban necropolis
Meskhenet, plate
Meskhenet mes-khe-net Goddess of the birth-brick — fixer of destinies at the moment of birth
Mut, plate
Mut mut The Great Mother of Thebes
Nekhbet, plate
Nekhbet nekh-bet The White Vulture of Upper Egypt
Nephthys, plate
Nephthys neph-thys Lady of the House — sister and helper of Isis
Pakhet, plate
Pakhet pa-khet The Tearer — lioness of the desert wadis
Renenutet, plate
Renenutet re-ne-nu-tet The Cobra of the Harvest
Serqet, plate
Serqet ser-qet The Scorpion Goddess — guardian of the dead
Set, plate
Set set Lord of the Red Land — god of disorder
Shai, plate
Shai shai Personified destiny — the fate that walks beside each soul
Sopdu, plate
Sopdu sop-du Lord of the East — god of the eastern desert and the Sinai approaches
Taweret, plate
Taweret ta-we-ret The Hippopotamus Goddess — protector of the pregnant
The Four Sons of Horus, plate
The Four Sons of Horus the four sons of ho-rus Imsety, Hapi, Duamutef, and Qebehsenuef — guardians of the canopic jars
Wadjet, plate
Wadjet wad-jet The Cobra of Lower Egypt

The Olympian Order

10 works

Athena, plate
Athena ah-thee-nah The Grey-Eyed — goddess of wisdom and crafts
Eileithyia, plate
Eileithyia eye-lye-thy-uh Goddess of Childbirth
Hebe, plate
Hebe hee-bee Cupbearer of the Gods — wife of the deified Heracles
Hestia, plate
Hestia hess-tee-uh Goddess of the Hearth — the central flame
Medusa, plate
Medusa meh-doo-suh The Gorgon — whose gaze turned men to stone
Nike, plate
Nike nye-kee Victory — winged daughter of Pallas and Styx
Pallas (Titan), plate
Pallas (Titan) pal-us (titan) Warrior Titan — father of Nike
Phobos and Deimos, plate
Phobos and Deimos foh-bos and dye-mos Fear and Terror — sons of Ares
Prometheus, plate
Prometheus proh-mee-thee-us The Forethinking — friend of mankind
The Gorgons, plate
The Gorgons the gor-gons Stheno, Euryale, and Medusa — the daughters of the sea, whose gaze turned to stone

The Persian World

5 works

Atar, plate
Atar a-tar Sacred Fire — son of Ahura Mazda, presence of the divine
Haurvatat, plate
Haurvatat haur-va-tat Wholeness — patroness of the waters
Sraosha, plate
Sraosha srao-sha Obedience — divine guardian of the night, judge of souls
The Fravashis, plate
The Fravashis the fra-va-shis Ancestral Souls — pre-existent and post-mortem guardian spirits
Vohu Manah, plate
Vohu Manah vo-hu ma-nah Good Mind — patron of cattle, first of the Amesha Spentas

The Levantine Borderlands

4 works

Al-Uzza, plate
Al-Uzza al--uz-za The Mighty Maiden — warrior-goddess of the planet Venus
Allat (Palmyrene), plate
Allat (Palmyrene) al-lat (palmyrene) The Palmyrene Goddess Identified with Athena — civic protector
Arsu, plate
Arsu ar-su The Camel-Rider Caravan-God — protector of evening travel
Awaiting its plate
Azizos a-zi-zos The Morning-Star God — companion of Arsu, warrior-escort

The Edges of Empire

11 works

Aulisua, plate
Aulisua au-li-sua Mauretanian Local Deity — patron of a regional sanctuary
Bandua, plate
Bandua ban-dua The Local Tutelary Deity — patron of the small Lusitanian community
Bindus, plate
Bindus bin-dus Water-God of the Iapodes — patron of the springs at Privlika
Bonchor, plate
Bonchor bon-chor Numidian Local Deity — patron of a tribal sanctuary
Cariocecus, plate
Cariocecus ca-rio-ce-cus Lusitanian War-God — equivalent of Roman Mars
Eia, plate
Eia eia The Histrian Goddess — local protectress of Pula
Gurzil, plate
Gurzil gur-zil The Berber War-God — bull-headed warrior of the desert tribes
Kviria, plate
Kviria kvi-ria The Mediator-God — intermediary between Ghmerti and humankind
Medauros, plate
Medauros me-dau-ros The Warrior-God of Risinium — patron of the Adriatic coast
The Thracian Horseman, plate
The Thracian Horseman the thra-cian hor-se-man Heros — votive hero-cult of the deified ancestor
Uastyrdzhi, plate
Uastyrdzhi uas-tyrdz-hi Patron of Warriors and Wayfarers — the Christianized Saint George

The Etruscan World

5 works

Selvans, plate
Selvans sel-vans God of Boundaries and Forests — Roman Silvanus
The Lasa, plate
The Lasa the la-sa Female Spirits — companions of Turan
Uni, plate
Uni u-ni The Etruscan Queen of Heaven — consort of Tinia, identified with Phoenician Astarte
Vanth, plate
Vanth vanth The Etruscan Death-Escort — winged female spirit of the moment of dying
Voltumna, plate
Voltumna vol-tum-na Chief God of the Etruscan League — at whose sanctuary the Twelve Cities met

The Roman Inheritance

25 works

Angerona, plate
Angerona an-ge-ro-na Goddess of Silence — kept the secret name of Rome
Bona Dea, plate
Bona Dea bo-na dea The Good Goddess — Women's Mystery
Cloacina, plate
Cloacina cloa-ci-na The Purifier — patroness of the Cloaca Maxima, the great drain of Rome
Awaiting its plate
Dius Fidius dius fi-dius God of the Sworn Oath — also called Semo Sancus
Fides, plate
Fides fi-des The Goddess of Sworn Faith
Genius, plate
Genius ge-nius Personal Divine Companion
Genius Augusti, plate
Genius Augusti ge-nius au-gus-ti The Numen of the Emperor — divine spirit of the ruling Augustus
Lares, plate
Lares la-res Household and Crossroads Spirits
Lemures, plate
Lemures le-mu-res Restless Dead — the Unappeased Spirits
Libertas, plate
Libertas li-ber-tas Goddess of Liberty — Roman political freedom personified
Awaiting its plate
Lua Saturni lua sa-tur-ni Lua of Saturn — to whom the captured arms of enemies were burnt
Mania, plate
Mania ma-nia The Mother of the Manes — old goddess of the spirits of the dead
Ops, plate
Ops ops The Goddess of Plenty — wife of Saturn and mother of the Olympians
Awaiting its plate
Pales pa-les Shepherd's Deity — Patron of Flocks
Pax, plate
Pax pax Goddess of Peace — particularly the Augustan Pax Romana
Penates, plate
Penates pe-na-tes Spirits of the Pantry — Guardians of Provisions
Portunus, plate
Portunus por-tu-nus God of Harbors and Doors — keeper of keys
Robigus, plate
Robigus ro-bi-gus The God of Mildew, propitiated to spare the standing grain
Roma, plate
Roma ro-ma The Personified City — divine guardian of Rome herself
Salus, plate
Salus sa-lus Goddess of Health and the Public Welfare
Silvanus, plate
Silvanus sil-va-nus God of Forests, Fields, and Boundaries
Sol Invictus, plate
Sol Invictus sol in-vic-tus The Unconquered Sun — Imperial Solar Cult
Spes, plate
Spes spes Goddess of Hope — particularly hope for political and personal success
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
Victoria, plate
Victoria vic-to-ria Goddess of Victory — the winged power who crowned the conqueror

The Northern Inheritance

15 works

Awaiting its plate
Ahti ah-ti Lord of the Sea — Master of Waters — Finnic
Bannik and Polevik, plate
Bannik and Polevik ban-nik and po-le-vik The Bath-Spirit and the Field-Spirit — guardians of two Russian thresholds
Bran the Blessed, plate
Bran the Blessed bran the bles-sed Giant King of Britain — His Severed Head a Talisman
Domovoi, plate
Domovoi do-mo-voi Household Spirit — The Old Man of the House
Epona, plate
Epona e-po-na Continental Celtic Horse-Goddess
Heimdallr, plate
Heimdallr heim-dallr Watchman of the Gods — Guardian of Bifrost
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
Manannán Mac Lir, plate
Manannán Mac Lir ma-nan-nán mac lir Lord of the Sea — Son of the Sea
Svarozhich, plate
Svarozhich sva-roz-hich Son of Svarog — known to the West Slavs as Radegast
Awaiting its plate
Tapio ta-pio Forest-God — Lord of the Woods — Finnic
Teutates, plate
Teutates teu-ta-tes Gaulish Tribal God — God of the People
The Zoryas, plate
The Zoryas the zo-ryas The Dawn Maidens — sisters who keep the doomsday hound
Thor, plate
Thor thor God of Thunder — Defender of Asgard
Awaiting its plate
Ukko uk-ko The Old Man — Sky-God and Thunderer — Finnic

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