A Compendium of the Ancient Gods

Themes

Time and fate

71 gods of time and fate, across nine rooms, in the order the rooms are walked.

The Cradle of Cities

5 works

Anzu, plate
Anzu an-zu The Lion-Headed Bird — Thief of the Tablet of Destinies
Gilgamesh, plate
Gilgamesh gil-gah-mesh Two Parts God and One Part Man — King of Uruk and Seeker of Immortality
Hutena and Hutellura, plate
Hutena and Hutellura hu-te-na and hu-tel-lu-ra The Hurrian Fates — Determiners of the Newborn's Destiny
Kingu, plate
Kingu kin-gu General of Tiamat — slain to make mankind
Nabu, plate
Nabu na-bu Scribe of the Gods — Lord of Borsippa

The Gift of the Nile

9 works

Ihy, plate
Ihy i-hy The Sistrum-Player — child-god of Dendera, son of Hathor
Meskhenet, plate
Meskhenet mes-khe-net Goddess of the birth-brick — fixer of destinies at the moment of birth
Nut, plate
Nut nut The Sky — mother of the gods
Petbe, plate
Petbe pet-be He Who Returns — late personification of retribution
Renenutet, plate
Renenutet re-ne-nu-tet The Cobra of the Harvest
Seshat, plate
Seshat se-shat Lady of the Library — goddess of writing, measurement, and architecture
Shai, plate
Shai shai Personified destiny — the fate that walks beside each soul
Sopdet, plate
Sopdet sop-det The Sharp One — goddess of Sirius and herald of the inundation
Thoth, plate
Thoth thoht The Ibis — Lord of Wisdom and Writing

The Olympian Order

18 works

Achilles, plate
Achilles uh-kill-eez The Best of the Achaeans — hero of the Iliad
Aion, plate
Aion eye-on Eternity — the unbounded age
Ananke, plate
Ananke uh-nang-kee Necessity — the inescapable bond
Chronos, plate
Chronos kroh-noss Time — Orphic primordial, not to be confused with Cronus
Crius, plate
Crius kree-us Titan of constellations — father of Astraeus
Cronus, plate
Cronus kroh-nus King of the Titans — father of Zeus
Demeter, plate
Demeter dee-mee-ter Earth Mother — goddess of grain and the Eleusinian Mysteries
Geras, plate
Geras gee-ras Old Age — the daimon of decline
Hemera, plate
Hemera hem-er-uh The Day — daughter of Night and the Dark
Moros, plate
Moros moh-ross Doom — irrevocable fate of death
Nemesis, plate
Nemesis nem-uh-sis Indignation — divine retribution against pride
Nyx, plate
Nyx niks Night — mother of the dark powers
Oedipus, plate
Oedipus ed-ih-pus King of Thebes, who slew his father and married his mother in ignorance
The Anemoi, plate
The Anemoi the uh-nem-oy The Four Winds — Boreas, Notus, Eurus, and Zephyrus
The Horae, plate
The Horae the hor-eye The Seasons — Eunomia, Dike, Eirene
The Moirai, plate
The Moirai the moy-rye The Fates — Clotho, Lachesis, Atropos
Themis, plate
Themis thee-mis Divine Order — counselor of the gods
Tyche, plate
Tyche tye-kee Fortune — Hellenistic personification of luck

The Persian World

9 works

Ameretat, plate
Ameretat a-me-re-tat Immortality — patroness of plants, sister of Haurvatat
Asha Vahishta, plate
Asha Vahishta ah-shah vah-heesh-tah Best Truth — patron of fire, central virtue of Zoroastrianism
Ashi, plate
Ashi a-shi Reward — yazata of the recompense for righteous living
Aži Dahāka, plate
Aži Dahāka a-ži da-hā-ka The Three-Headed Dragon — Zahhāk in the Persian tradition; cosmic adversary
Khshathra Vairya, plate
Khshathra Vairya khshath-ra vai-rya Ideal Dominion — patron of metals, principle of just rule
Khvarenah, plate
Khvarenah khva-re-nah Royal Glory — the divine charisma of the rightful king
Saoshyant, plate
Saoshyant sao-shyant The Coming Saviour — final renewer of the world at the end of time
Spenta Mainyu, plate
Spenta Mainyu spen-ta mai-nyu The Holy Spirit — the creative aspect of Ahura Mazda
Zurvan, plate
Zurvan zur-van Infinite Time — the principle from whom (in the heretical Zurvanism) both Mazda and Ahriman emerged

The Levantine Borderlands

2 works

Aglibol, plate
Aglibol ag-li-bol The Moon-God of Palmyra — attendant of Bel, paired with Yarhibol
Manat, plate
Manat ma-nat Goddess of Fate — the third of the Arabian triad

The Edges of Empire

1 work

Reue, plate
Reue reue The Lusitanian Sky-God — sovereignty and the heavens

The Etruscan World

2 works

Tiur, plate
Tiur tiur The Etruscan Moon — companion of Usil and marker of the months
Voltumna, plate
Voltumna vol-tum-na Chief God of the Etruscan League — at whose sanctuary the Twelve Cities met

The Roman Inheritance

7 works

Angerona, plate
Angerona an-ge-ro-na Goddess of Silence — kept the secret name of Rome
Anna Perenna, plate
Anna Perenna an-na pe-ren-na The Goddess of the Year — whose festival opened the new year by the Tiber
Dis Pater, plate
Dis Pater dis pa-ter The Rich Father — Roman lord of the underworld
Fortuna, plate
Fortuna for-tu-na Goddess of Chance — bringer of fortune both good and ill
Awaiting its plate
Janus ja-nus God of Beginnings, Doorways, and the Two-Faced Gaze
Saturn, plate
Saturn sa-turn Italic God of Sowing — King of the Golden Age
Vertumnus, plate
Vertumnus ver-tum-nus God of Changing Seasons and Transformations

The Northern Inheritance

18 works

Arianrhod, plate
Arianrhod a-rianr-hod Welsh Goddess of the Silver Wheel — Mother of Lleu
Baldr, plate
Baldr baldr The Beautiful — His Death the Beginning of Ragnarök
Brynhildr, plate
Brynhildr bryn-hildr The Valkyrie — pledged to Sigurd, betrayed, who summoned his murder
Fenrir, plate
Fenrir fen-rir The Wolf — Devourer of Odin at Ragnarök
Hodr, plate
Hodr hodr The Blind God — Unwitting Killer of Baldr
Jarilo, plate
Jarilo ja-ri-lo Spring God — Fertility, Vegetation, Harvest
Laima, plate
Laima lai-ma Goddess of Fate — Determiner of Destinies
Midir and Étaín, plate
Midir and Étaín mi-dir and é-taín The Lovers of the Fairy Mound — recovered through three lives
Mokosh, plate
Mokosh mo-kosh Mother Earth — Spinner of Fates
Morana, plate
Morana mo-ra-na Goddess of Winter and Death
Norns, plate
Norns norns The Three Fates of the Norse Cosmos
Rod, plate
Rod rod The Slavic Creator God — eldest power, fount of generation
The Cailleach, plate
The Cailleach the cail-leach The Old Veiled One — primordial hag-goddess of the Celtic landscape
The Rozhanitsy, plate
The Rozhanitsy the roz-ha-nit-sy The Slavic Birth-Givers — fate-spinning sisters, like the Norns
The Zoryas, plate
The Zoryas the zo-ryas The Dawn Maidens — sisters who keep the doomsday hound
Valkyries, plate
Valkyries val-ky-ries Choosers of the Slain
Vidar, plate
Vidar vi-dar The Silent God — Avenger of Odin at Ragnarök
Yggdrasil, plate
Yggdrasil ig-drah-sil The World-Tree — frame of the cosmos

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