A Compendium of the Ancient Gods

Themes

Rivers and springs

52 gods of rivers and springs, across nine rooms, in the order the rooms are walked.

The Cradle of Cities

10 works

Apsu, plate
Apsu ap-su The Sweet-Water Abyss — primordial freshwater
Aranzah, plate
Aranzah a-ran-zah The Tigris River — Born of Anu's Severed Members
Asherah, plate
Asherah a-she-rah Lady of the Sea — wife of El, mother of the gods
Damgalnuna, plate
Damgalnuna dam-gal-nu-na Great Lady of the Princely Fresh Waters — Mother of Marduk
El, plate
El el The Bull, Father of the Gods — Canaanite high god
Enki, plate
Enki en-kee Lord of the Sweet Waters and Wisdom — Akkadian Ea
Maliya, plate
Maliya ma-liya Goddess of Gardens and Gentle Waters
Nanshe, plate
Nanshe nan-she Lady of the Marshes — goddess of dreams, fish, and social justice
Ninurta, plate
Ninurta ni-nur-ta The Warrior — son of Enlil, slayer of the Asag
Yam, plate
Yam yam Prince Sea — Judge River — defeated of Baal

The Gift of the Nile

9 works

Anuket, plate
Anuket a-nu-ket Lady of the First Cataract — gazelle-goddess of the inundation
Geb, plate
Geb geb The Earth — father of the Osirian generation
Hapi, plate
Hapi ha-pi God of the Inundation — the river itself
Hatmehit, plate
Hatmehit hat-me-hit First of the Fishes — fish-goddess of Mendes
Khnum, plate
Khnum khnum The Ram — Lord of the First Cataract
Satis, plate
Satis sa-tis Mistress of Elephantine — archer-goddess of the southern frontier
Sobek, plate
Sobek so-bek The Crocodile God of the Fayyum
Sopdet, plate
Sopdet sop-det The Sharp One — goddess of Sirius and herald of the inundation
Wadj-Wer, plate
Wadj-Wer wadj--wer The Great Green — personification of the sea and the Delta lakes

The Olympian Order

10 works

Charon, plate
Charon kair-on Ferryman of the Styx — gatekeeper of the dead
Hydros, plate
Hydros hy-dross Primordial Water — Orphic alternative
Mnemosyne, plate
Mnemosyne neh-moss-ih-nee Memory — mother of the Muses
Narcissus, plate
Narcissus nar-siss-us The Boeotian youth who loved his own reflection
Oceanus, plate
Oceanus oh-see-uh-nus The River-Stream — eldest of the Titans
Pegasus, plate
Pegasus peg-uh-sus The Winged Horse, born of the Gorgon's blood
Phaethon, plate
Phaethon fay-uh-thon Son of Helios, who lost control of the chariot of the sun
Python, plate
Python pie-thon The Earth-Serpent of Delphi, slain by Apollo at the navel of the world
Styx, plate
Styx stiks The Hateful — river of unbreakable oath
Tethys, plate
Tethys tee-this Mother of Rivers — wife of Oceanus

The Persian World

2 works

Anahita, plate
Anahita ah-nah-hee-tah Lady of the Waters — Aredvi Sura Anahita, Mother of Rivers
Haurvatat, plate
Haurvatat haur-va-tat Wholeness — patroness of the waters

The Levantine Borderlands

1 work

Yarhibol, plate
Yarhibol yar-hi-bol The Sun-God of Palmyra — oath-witness, attendant of Bel

The Edges of Empire

5 works

Bindus, plate
Bindus bin-dus Water-God of the Iapodes — patron of the springs at Privlika
Donbettyr, plate
Donbettyr don-bet-tyr God of the Waters — lord of the rivers and the sea
Ifri, plate
Ifri if-ri The Berber Cave-Goddess — patroness of the sanctuary-cave
Nabia, plate
Nabia na-bia Goddess of Springs and Rivers — patroness of the Atlantic waters
Reue, plate
Reue reue The Lusitanian Sky-God — sovereignty and the heavens

The Etruscan World

1 work

Nethuns, plate
Nethuns ne-thuns The Etruscan Sea-God — wielder of the trident, lord of waters

The Roman Inheritance

4 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
Cloacina, plate
Cloacina cloa-ci-na The Purifier — patroness of the Cloaca Maxima, the great drain of Rome
Egeria, plate
Egeria e-ge-ria The Water-Nymph and Counselor of King Numa Pompilius
The Camenae, plate
The Camenae the ca-me-nae The Italic Muses — water-nymphs of the spring at the Porta Capena

The Northern Inheritance

10 works

Airmed, plate
Airmed air-med Daughter of Dian Cécht — keeper of the herb-knowledge
Belenos, plate
Belenos be-le-nos Continental Celtic God of the Sun and Healing
Boann, plate
Boann boann Goddess of the River Boyne — wife of the Dagda
Dian Cécht, plate
Dian Cécht dian cécht The Healer of the Tuatha Dé Danann — physician of the gods
Grannus and Sirona, plate
Grannus and Sirona gran-nus and si-ro-na Gallo-Roman Apollo and his consort — healers of the eastern Gallic provinces
Grendel and Grendel's, plate
Grendel and Grendel's gren-del and gren-del's The Monsters of Heorot — slain by Beowulf
Mimir, plate
Mimir mi-mir The Wisest of Beings — whose head spoke from the well of wisdom
Rusalka, plate
Rusalka ru-sal-ka Water Spirit — Drowned Maiden of the River
Awaiting its plate
Tuoni and Tuonetar tuo-ni and tuo-ne-tar King and Queen of the Finnish Underworld
Vodyanoy, plate
Vodyanoy vo-dya-noy The Russian Water-Sprite — drowner of the unwary, master of fish

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