Death Deities
Many have incorporated a god of death into their mythology or religion. As death, along with birth, is among the major parts of human life, these deities may often be one of the most important deities of a religion. In some religions in which a single powerful deity is the object of worship, the death deity is an antagonist against whom the primary deity struggles. The related term death worship has most often been used as a derogatory term to accuse certain groups of morally abhorrent practices which set no value on human life. In monotheistic religions, death is commonly personified by an angel or demon instead of a deity. Occurrence In polytheistic religions which have a complex system of deities governing various natural phenomena and aspects of human life, it is common to have a deity who is assigned the function of presiding over death. This deity may actually take the life of humans or, more commonly, simply rule over the afterlife in that particular belief system (a sing ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Yama On Buffalo
Yama (Devanagari: यम) or Yamarāja (यमराज), is a deity of death, dharma, the south direction, and the underworld who predominantly features in Hindu and Buddhist religion, belonging to an early stratum of Rigvedic Hindu deities. In Sanskrit, his name can be interpreted to mean "twin". He is also an important deity worshipped by the Kalasha and formerly by the Nuristani peoples, indicating his prominence in ancient Hinduism. In Hinduism, Yama is the son of sun-god SuryaEffectuation of Shani Adoration pp. 10–15. and , the daughter of [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Asase Ya/Afua
Asase Ya/Afua (or Asase Yaa, Asaase Yaa, Asaase Afua, Asaase Efua) is the goddess of fertility, love, procreation, peace, truth and the dry and lush earth of the Akan of Ghana and Ivory Coast. She is also Mother of the Dead known as Mother Earth or Aberewaa. Asase is the wife of Nyankapon, the male sky deity, and is the daughter of Nyame, the female aspect of the Nyankapon-Nyame-Odomakoma trinity, all of whom created the universe. Asase gave birth to two children, Bea and Tano. Bea is also named Bia. Asase is also the mother of Anansi, the trickster, and divine stepmother of the sacred high chiefs. Asase is very powerful, though no temples are dedicated to her, instead, she is worshipped in the agricultural fields of the Asante and other Akans. Asase is highly respected amongst Akans. Sacrifices are given to her for favour and blessings. Asase's favoured people are the Bono people. Planet Earth is Asase Yaa's symbol whilst Venus is Asase Afua's symbol. Names The name Asa ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Aqen
Aqen was a rarely mentioned ancient Egyptian deity of the underworld. He is first mentioned in the famous Book of the Dead. There, he guided the sun god Ra as the "protector of Ra's celestial bark" by "bringing the ''shenw''-ring to his majesty". He was also described as the "mouth of the time", from which the gods and demons pulled the "rope of time", as described in the tomb of king Seti I.Erik Hornung, Marsha Hill: ''The tomb of Pharaoh Seti I''. Artemis Verlag, 1991, , pp. 19. See also * Kherty * Charon * Duat The Duat ( egy, dwꜣt, Egyptological pronunciation "do-aht", cop, ⲧⲏ, also appearing as ''Tuat'', ''Tuaut'' or ''Akert'', ''Amenthes'', ''Amenti'', or ''Neter-khertet'') is the realm of the dead in ancient Egyptian mythology. It has been ... References Egyptian death gods Underworld gods Egyptian gods Egyptian underworld {{Egyptian-myth-stub Time and fate gods ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ancient Egyptian Religion
Ancient Egyptian religion was a complex system of polytheistic beliefs and rituals that formed an integral part of ancient Egyptian culture. It centered on the Egyptians' interactions with many deities believed to be present in, and in control of the world. Rituals such as prayer and offerings were provided to the gods to gain their favor. Formal religious practice centered on the pharaohs, the rulers of Egypt, believed to possess divine powers by virtue of their positions. They acted as intermediaries between their people and the gods, and were obligated to sustain the gods through rituals and offerings so that they could maintain Ma'at, the order of the cosmos, and repel Isfet, which was chaos. The state dedicated enormous resources to religious rituals and to the construction of temples. Individuals could interact with the gods for their own purposes, appealing for help through prayer or compelling the gods to act through magic. These practices were distinct from, but closel ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Anubis
Anubis (; grc, Ἄνουβις), also known as Inpu, Inpw, Jnpw, or Anpu in Ancient Egyptian () is the god of death, mummification, embalming, the afterlife, cemeteries, tombs, and the Underworld, in ancient Egyptian religion, usually depicted as a canine or a man with a canine head. Like many ancient Egyptian deities, Anubis assumed different roles in various contexts. Depicted as a protector of graves as early as the First Dynasty (c. 3100 – c. 2890 BC), Anubis was also an embalmer. By the Middle Kingdom (c. 2055–1650 BC) he was replaced by Osiris in his role as lord of the underworld. One of his prominent roles was as a god who ushered souls into the afterlife. He attended the weighing scale during the "Weighing of the Heart", in which it was determined whether a soul would be allowed to enter the realm of the dead. Anubis is one of the most frequently depicted and mentioned gods in the Egyptian pantheon, however, no relevant myth involved him. Anubis was depict ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Andjety
Andjety (meaning "He of Andjet") is a local ancient Egyptian deity of the ninth nome, centered at Andjet, which was known as Busiris to the Greeks. This deity is also known by the alternative names Anezti ''or'' Anedjti. Andjety is considered one of the earliest Egyptian gods, possibly with roots in prehistoric Egypt. Andjety is thought to have been a precursor of Osiris. Like Osiris, he is depicted holding the crook and flail and has a crown similar to Osiris's Atef crown. Pharaoh Sneferu of the Fourth Dynasty, builder of the first true pyramid, is shown wearing the crown of Andjety. In the Pyramid Texts the deceased pharaoh is identified with Andjety. In the temple of Seti I, the pharaoh is shown offering incense to Osiris-Andjety who is accompanied by Isis. He also is shown to have fertility aspects, being known by the epithet of "bull of vultures". His name is sometimes written with a substitution of a stylized uterus for the feather in the hieroglyphs. Writings mentionin ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Egyptian Mythology
Egyptian mythology is the collection of myths from ancient Egypt, which describe the actions of the Egyptian gods as a means of understanding the world around them. The beliefs that these myths express are an important part of ancient Egyptian religion. Myths appear frequently in Egyptian writings and art, particularly in short stories and in religious material such as hymns, ritual texts, funerary texts, and temple decoration. These sources rarely contain a complete account of a myth and often describe only brief fragments. Inspired by the cycles of nature, the Egyptians saw time in the present as a series of recurring patterns, whereas the earliest periods of time were linear. Myths are set in these earliest times, and myth sets the pattern for the cycles of the present. Present events repeat the events of myth, and in doing so renew ''maat'', the fundamental order of the universe. Amongst the most important episodes from the mythic past are the creation myths, in which the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Aker (god)
Aker was an ancient Egyptian earth and underworld god. Description Aker was first depicted as the torso of a recumbent lion with a widely opened mouth. Later, he was depicted as two recumbent lion torsos merged with each other and still looking away from each other. From Middle Kingdom onwards Aker appears as a pair of twin lions, one named ''Duaj'' (meaning "yesterday") and the other ''Sefer'' (meaning "tomorrow"). Aker was thus often titled "He who's looking forward and behind". When depicted as a lion pair, a hieroglyphic sign for "horizon" (two merged mountains) and a sun disc was put between the lions; the lions were sitting back-on-back.Pat Remler: ''Egyptian Mythology, A to Z''. Infobase Publishing, 2010, , pp. 4 & 5. In later times, Aker can also appear as two merged torsos of recumbent sphinxes with human heads. Cult Aker appears for the first time during the 1st Dynasty with the kings (pharaohs) Hor Aha and Djer. An unfinished decorative palette from the t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mot (Semitic God)
Mot ( phn, 𐤌𐤕 ''mūt'', he, מות ''māweṯ'', ar, موت ''mawt'') was the ancient Canaanite god of death and the Underworld. He was worshipped by the people of Ugarit, and by the Phoenicians. The main source of information about his role in Canaanite mythology comes from the texts discovered at Ugarit, but he is also mentioned in the surviving fragments of Philo of Byblos's Greek translation of the writings of the Phoenician Sanchuniathon and also in various books of the Old Testament. Forms of the name In Ugaritic myth, Mot (spelled ''mt'') is a personification of death. The word belongs to a set of cognates meaning 'death' in other Semitic and Afro-Asiatic languages. (Arabic موت ''mawt''; Hebrew מות (''mot'' or ''mavet''; ancient Hebrew ''muth'' or ''maveth''/''maweth''); Maltese ''mewt''; Syriac ''mautā''; Ge'ez ''mot''; Canaanite, Egyptian, Berber, Aramaic, Nabataean, and Palmyrene מות (''mwt''); Jewish Aramaic, Christian Palestinian Aramaic ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |