A Compendium of the Ancient Gods

Themes

Wisdom and writing

53 gods of wisdom and writing, across nine rooms, in the order the rooms are walked.

The Cradle of Cities

10 works

Adapa, plate
Adapa a-da-pa The Sage Who Refused the Bread of Immortal Life
Atrahasis, plate
Atrahasis at-ra-ha-sis The Exceeding Wise — Survivor of the Great Flood
Enki, plate
Enki en-kee Lord of the Sweet Waters and Wisdom — Akkadian Ea
Hannahanna, plate
Hannahanna han-na-han-na The Grandmother — Mother-Goddess of the Hittite Pantheon
Ishum, plate
Ishum i-shum The Watchman of the Night — Herald of Erra
Kothar-wa-Khasis, plate
Kothar-wa-Khasis ko-thar--wa--kha-sis Skilful and Wise — craftsman of the gods
Nabu, plate
Nabu na-bu Scribe of the Gods — Lord of Borsippa
Nisaba, plate
Nisaba ni-sa-ba Lady of the Reeds — goddess of grain and writing
Tashmetum, plate
Tashmetum tash-me-tum The Listening One — Wife of Nabu, Goddess of Intercession
The Apkallu, plate
The Apkallu the ap-kal-lu The Seven Sages — Bringers of the Arts of Civilization

The Gift of the Nile

6 works

Hu, plate
Hu hu The authoritative utterance — divine command made manifest
Imhotep, plate
Imhotep im-ho-tep The Deified Sage — Old Kingdom architect, god of medicine
Ptah, plate
Ptah ptah The Memphite Creator — Lord of Craftsmen
Seshat, plate
Seshat se-shat Lady of the Library — goddess of writing, measurement, and architecture
Sia, plate
Sia sia The perceiving mind — divine intelligence made manifest
Thoth, plate
Thoth thoht The Ibis — Lord of Wisdom and Writing

The Olympian Order

15 works

Athena, plate
Athena ah-thee-nah The Grey-Eyed — goddess of wisdom and crafts
Cadmus, plate
Cadmus kad-mus Founder of Thebes — sower of dragon's teeth
Calliope, plate
Calliope kuh-lye-uh-pee Muse of Epic Poetry
Chiron, plate
Chiron kye-ron The Wise Centaur — teacher of heroes
Clio, plate
Clio klye-oh Muse of History
Coeus, plate
Coeus see-us Titan of the celestial axis — father of Leto
Melpomene, plate
Melpomene mel-pom-uh-nee Muse of Tragedy
Metis, plate
Metis mee-tis Wisdom — first wife of Zeus
Mnemosyne, plate
Mnemosyne neh-moss-ih-nee Memory — mother of the Muses
Nereus, plate
Nereus neer-ee-us Old Man of the Sea — prophetic shape-shifter
Polyhymnia, plate
Polyhymnia pol-ee-him-nee-uh Muse of Sacred Hymn
Prometheus, plate
Prometheus proh-mee-thee-us The Forethinking — friend of mankind
Sphinx, plate
Sphinx sfinks The Theban Riddler
The Muses, plate
The Muses the mu-ses Daughters of Mnemosyne — patrons of the arts
Tiresias, plate
Tiresias tie-ree-see-us The Blind Theban Seer

The Persian World

3 works

Ahura Mazda, plate
Ahura Mazda ah-hoor-ah maz-dah The Wise Lord — supreme creator of all that is good
Daena, plate
Daena dae-na Religious Conscience — and the maiden who meets the soul after death
Vohu Manah, plate
Vohu Manah vo-hu ma-nah Good Mind — patron of cattle, first of the Amesha Spentas

The Levantine Borderlands

1 work

Sin of Harran, plate
Sin of Harran sin of har-ran The Moon-God of Harran — Roman-Period Aramaean Cult

The Edges of Empire

1 work

Satana, plate
Satana sa-ta-na The Mother of the Narts — wise counselor of the heroic clan

The Etruscan World

1 work

Menrva, plate
Menrva men-rvah The Etruscan Wise Maiden — warrior, craftswoman, prophetess

The Roman Inheritance

4 works

Egeria, plate
Egeria e-ge-ria The Water-Nymph and Counselor of King Numa Pompilius
Hermes Trismegistus, plate
Hermes Trismegistus her-mes tris-me-gis-tus Thrice-Great Hermes — see also Thoth (Volume II)
The Camenae, plate
The Camenae the ca-me-nae The Italic Muses — water-nymphs of the spring at the Porta Capena
The Indigitamenta, plate
The Indigitamenta the in-di-gi-ta-men-ta The Lists of the Named Specialist Powers

The Northern Inheritance

12 works

Baldr, plate
Baldr baldr The Beautiful — His Death the Beginning of Ragnarök
Boann, plate
Boann boann Goddess of the River Boyne — wife of the Dagda
Bragi, plate
Bragi bra-gi God of Poetry — Husband of Idunn
Ceridwen, plate
Ceridwen ce-rid-wen The Welsh Witch of Inspiration — keeper of the cauldron of awen
Fafnir, plate
Fafnir faf-nir The Dragon — son of Hreidmar, slain by Sigurd
Fionn Mac Cumhaill, plate
Fionn Mac Cumhaill fionn mac cum-haill Leader of the Fianna — Hero of the Fenian Cycle
Kvasir, plate
Kvasir kva-sir The Wisest of Men — whose blood made the Mead of Poetry
Mimir, plate
Mimir mi-mir The Wisest of Beings — whose head spoke from the well of wisdom
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

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