![Ianus_ianuarius](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d1/Ianus_ianuarius.jpg)
A liminal deity is a god or goddess in
mythology
Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrat ...
who presides over thresholds, gates, or doorways; "a crosser of boundaries". Types of liminal deities include
dying-and-rising deities, various
agricultural deities
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...
,
psychopomps
Psychopomps (from the Greek word , , literally meaning the 'guide of souls') are supernatural creatures, spirits, entities, angels, demons or deities in many religions whose responsibility is to escort newly deceased souls from Earth to the afte ...
and those who descend into the underworld: crossing the threshold between life and death.
Vegetation deities mimic the annual dying and returning of plant life, making them seasonally cyclical liminal deities. In contrast, the one-time journey typical of the dying-and-rising myth, or legends of those who return from a descent to the underworld, represent a more narrow scope of liminal deities.
Etymology
The word "liminal", first attested to in English in 1884, comes from the Latin word "limen", meaning "threshold". "Liminality" is a term given currency in twentieth century British cultural anthropologist by Victor Turner.
European
Greek mythology
*
Adonis
In Greek mythology, Adonis, ; derived from the Canaanite word ''ʼadōn'', meaning "lord". R. S. P. Beekes, ''Etymological Dictionary of Greek'', Brill, 2009, p. 23. was the mortal lover of the goddess Aphrodite.
One day, Adonis was gored by ...
*
Dionysus
In ancient Greek religion and myth, Dionysus (; grc, Διόνυσος ) is the god of the grape-harvest, winemaking, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, festivity, and theatre. The Romans ...
, who in one myth is torn apart by Titans, but brought back to life
*
Enodia, goddess of crossroads
*
Hecate
Hecate or Hekate, , ; grc-dor, Ἑκάτᾱ, Hekátā, ; la, Hecatē or . is a goddess in ancient Greek religion and mythology, most often shown holding a pair of torches, a key, snakes, or accompanied by dogs, and in later periods depicte ...
, goddess of magic and crossroads
*
Hermes
Hermes (; grc-gre, Ἑρμῆς) is an Olympian deity in ancient Greek religion and mythology. Hermes is considered the herald of the gods. He is also considered the protector of human heralds, travellers, thieves, merchants, and orato ...
, god of roads, merchants, travelers, trade, thievery/thieves, cunning, and animal husbandry; messenger of Zeus and psychopomp
*
Iris
Iris most often refers to:
*Iris (anatomy), part of the eye
*Iris (mythology), a Greek goddess
* ''Iris'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants
* Iris (color), an ambiguous color term
Iris or IRIS may also refer to:
Arts and media
Fictional ent ...
, goddess of the rainbow and messenger of Hera, could travel to Hades and return
*
Persephone
In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Persephone ( ; gr, Περσεφόνη, Persephónē), also called Kore or Cora ( ; gr, Κόρη, Kórē, the maiden), is the daughter of Zeus and Demeter. She became the queen of the underworld after ...
, is technically a liminal deity due to spending part of her time in the underworld and the rest above ground, and often seen as a goddess of spring and new growth
Roman mythology
*
Bacchus
In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, myth, Dionysus (; grc, wikt:Διόνυσος, Διόνυσος ) is the god of the grape-harvest, winemaking, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstas ...
, Roman name for Dionysus
*
Cardea
Cardea or Carda was the ancient Roman goddess of the hinge (Latin ''cardo, cardinis''), Roman doors being hung on pivot hinges. The Augustan poet Ovid conflates her with another archaic goddess named Carna, whose festival was celebrated on the ...
, goddess of health, thresholds, and door hinges and handles
*
Diana, as ''Diana Trivia'' she serves as the goddess of three-way crossroads and the underworld; often equated with the Greek Hecate
* Forculus, Lima, and Limentinus, minor deities of thresholds or doorways; see ''
indigitamenta
In ancient Roman religion, the ''indigitamenta'' were lists of deities kept by the College of Pontiffs to assure that the correct divine names were invoked for public prayers. These lists or books probably described the nature of the various dei ...
''
*
Janus
In ancient Roman religion and myth, Janus ( ; la, Ianvs ) is the god of beginnings, gates, transitions, time, duality, doorways, passages, frames, and endings. He is usually depicted as having two faces. The month of January is named for Janu ...
, dual-faced god of gates, doors, doorways, beginnings and endings, for whom January is named
*
Mercury
Mercury commonly refers to:
* Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun
* Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg
* Mercury (mythology), a Roman god
Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to:
Companies
* Merc ...
, messenger god and psychopomp; equivalent to the Greek Hermes and shares several of his functions, such as being a god of commerce, travelers, merchants, and thieves
*
Portunus, god of keys, doors, and livestock
*
Proserpina
Proserpina ( , ) or Proserpine ( ) is an ancient Roman goddess whose iconography, functions and myths are virtually identical to those of Greek Persephone. Proserpina replaced or was combined with the ancient Roman fertility goddess Libera, whos ...
, Roman equivalent of Persephone who spent some of her time living in the world of the dead
*
Terminus
Terminus may refer to:
* Bus terminus, a bus station serving as an end destination
* Terminal train station or terminus, a railway station serving as an end destination
Geography
*Terminus, the unofficial original name of Atlanta, Georgia, United ...
, god who protected boundary markers
Norse mythology
*
Gná,
Frigg
Frigg (; Old Norse: ) is a goddess, one of the Æsir, in Germanic mythology. In Norse mythology, the source of most surviving information about her, she is associated with marriage, prophecy, clairvoyance and motherhood, and dwells in the wet ...
's personal messenger; she rode the horse Hofvarpnir who could travel over both sea and sky
*
Heimdall
In Norse mythology, Heimdall (from Old Norse Heimdallr) is a god who keeps watch for invaders and the onset of Ragnarök from his dwelling Himinbjörg, where the burning rainbow bridge Bifröst meets the sky. He is attested as possessing for ...
*
Hermóðr
Hermóðr (Old Norse: , "war-spirit";Orchard (1997:83). anglicized as Hermod) is a figure in Norse mythology, a son of the god Odin and brother of Baldr. He is often considered the messenger of the gods.
Attestations
''Prose Edda''
Hermóðr ap ...
, messenger of the Norse gods; he rode to Hel to plead for Baldr's return, ultimately being unsuccessful
*
Odin
Odin (; from non, Óðinn, ) is a widely revered Æsir, god in Germanic paganism. Norse mythology, the source of most surviving information about him, associates him with wisdom, healing, death, royalty, the gallows, knowledge, war, battle, v ...
, god of war and death, among other things; he is described as at least once visiting the underworld on Sleipnir, raising a volva to interrogate, and visiting jotunn on three occasions in their domain in order to gather more wisdom
Baltic mythology
* Užsparinė, Lithuanian goddess of land borders
Etruscan mythology
*
Culsans
Culsans (Culśanś) is an Etruscan deity, known from two inscriptions and a variety of iconographical material which includes coins, statuettes, and a sarcophagus. Culśanś is usually rendered as a male deity with two faces and at least two sta ...
, a male deity with two faces, possibly a protector of gateways
Asian religions
Chinese mythology
*
Chen Huang Shen, the god of walls and moats
*
Menshen
Menshen or door gods are divine guardians of doors and gates in Chinese folk religions, used to protect against evil influences or to encourage the entrance of positive ones. They began as the divine pair Shenshu ( ) and Yulü () under the H ...
, the gods of doors
*
Chen Wenlong
Chen Wenlong (, 9 March 1232 – 17 January 1277) was a scholar-general in the last years of the Southern Song dynasty and early Yuan dynasty. He became the City God of Fuzhou and Putian.
Biography
Chen was born on 9 March 1232 (the 16th D ...
, god of city walls in
Fuzhou
Fuzhou (; , Fuzhounese: Hokchew, ''Hók-ciŭ''), alternately romanized as Foochow, is the capital and one of the largest cities in Fujian province, China. Along with the many counties of Ningde, those of Fuzhou are considered to constitute t ...
* Fan Zeng, god of city walls in
Hezhou
Hezhou () is a prefecture-level city in the northeast of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China.
Geography and climate
Hezhou is located in northeastern Guangxi. It borders Hunan to the north and Guangdong to the east. ...
and He county
* Guan Ying, god of city walls in Longxing, Gan, Yuan, Jiang, Ji,
Jianchang
Jianchang () is a county of Huludao City in the southwest of Liaoning province, China. It is the largest division of Huludao, with an area of , and population of 600,000, located in mountainous terrain west of that city, serviced by China Natio ...
,
Linjiang
Linjiang (; listed as Linkiang on old maps) is a county-level city in southern Jilin province, People's Republic of China, located to the east of Tonghua, and not far from the border with North Korea. It is a county-level city under the administr ...
,
Nanchang
Nanchang (, ; ) is the capital of Jiangxi Province, People's Republic of China. Located in the north-central part of the province and in the hinterland of Poyang Lake Plain, it is bounded on the west by the Jiuling Mountains, and on the east ...
, and Nankang
* Huang Xie, god of city walls in
Suzhou
Suzhou (; ; Suzhounese: ''sou¹ tseu¹'' , Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Soochow, is a major city in southern Jiangsu province, East China. Suzhou is the largest city in Jiangsu, and a major economic center and focal point of trade ...
*
Huo Guang
Huo Guang (; died 68 BC), courtesy name Zimeng (子孟), was a Chinese military general and politician who served as the dominant state official of the Western Han dynasty from 87 BCE until his death in 68 BCE. The younger half-brother of the re ...
, Yu Bo, and
Chen Huacheng
Chen Huancheng (; 1776–1842) was a 19th-century military leader of Qing China. He served as the provincial military leader in Jiangnan Province before being killed in the First Opium War.
Biography
Chen joined the Imperial Army at a young ...
; gods of city walls in
Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...
* Ji Shun, god of city walls in
Zhengzhou
Zhengzhou (; ), also spelt Zheng Zhou and alternatively romanized as Chengchow, is the capital and largest city of Henan Province in the central part of the People's Republic of China. Located in north-central Henan, it is one of the National ...
,
Zhenjiang
Zhenjiang, alternately romanized as Chinkiang, is a prefecture-level city in Jiangsu Province, China. It lies on the southern bank of the Yangtze River near its intersection with the Grand Canal. It is opposite Yangzhou (to its north) and b ...
,
Qingyuan
Qingyuan, formerly romanized as Tsingyun, is a prefecture-level city in northern Guangdong province, China, on the banks of the Bei or North River. During the 2020 census, its total population was 3,969,473, out of whom 1,738,424 lived in the ...
,
Ningguo
Ningguo () is a county-level city in the southeast of Anhui province, People's Republic of China, under the administration of Xuancheng City and bordering Zhejiang province to the south and east. It has a population of 380,000 and an area of .
Ni ...
, Taiping,
Xiangyang
Xiangyang is a prefecture-level city in northwestern Hubei province, China and the second largest city in Hubei by population. It was known as Xiangfan from 1950 to 2010. The Han River runs through Xiangyang's centre and divides the city no ...
, Xingyuan,
Fuzhou
Fuzhou (; , Fuzhounese: Hokchew, ''Hók-ciŭ''), alternately romanized as Foochow, is the capital and one of the largest cities in Fujian province, China. Along with the many counties of Ningde, those of Fuzhou are considered to constitute t ...
, Nanan, and Huating
* Jian Yi, god of city walls in Tanghongzhou
* Jiao Ming, god of city walls in
Ezhou
Ezhou () is a prefecture-level city in eastern Hubei Province, China. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 1,079,353, of which 695,697 lived in the core Echeng District. The Ezhou - Huanggang built-up (''or metro'') area was home ...
*
Liu Zongyuan
Liu Zongyuan (; 77328 November 819) was a Chinese philosopher, poet, and politician who lived during the Tang Dynasty. Liu was born in present-day Yongji, Shanxi. Along with Han Yu, he was a founder of the Classical Prose Movement. He has been t ...
, god of city walls in
Liuzhou
Liuzhou (; , IPA Pronunciation:) is a prefecture-level city in north-central Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China. The prefecture's population was 3,758,700 in 2010, including 1,436,599 in the built-up area made of 4 urban ...
* Pang Yu, god of city walls in Xiaoxing
* Qu Tan, god of city walls in Taizhou
* Shen Sheng, god of city walls in
Wuzhou
Wuzhou (, postal: Wuchow; za, Ngouzcouh / Ŋouƨcouƅ), formerly Ngchow, is a prefecture-level city in the east of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China.
Geography and climate
Wuzhou is located in eastern Guangxi border ...
* Su Jian, god of city walls in
Yongzhou
Yongzhou, formerly known as Lingling, is a prefecture-level city in the south of Hunan province, People's Republic of China, located on the southern bank of the Xiang River, which is formed by the confluence of the Xiao and Xiang Rivers, and b ...
* Te Xuan, god of city walls in
Jinan
Jinan (), Postal Map Romanization, alternately romanization of Chinese, romanized as Tsinan, is the Capital (political), capital of Shandong province in East China, Eastern China. With a population of 9.2 million, it is the second-largest city i ...
* Wen Tianxiang, god of city walls in Huangzhou
* Xiao He, god of city walls in Gu
* Yang Jianshan, god of city walls in Beijing
* Yao Yichung, god of city walls in Xingguojun
*
Ying Bu
Ying Bu (died 195 BC) was a warlord and vassal king who lived in the early Han dynasty. He was a native of Lu County (六縣; present-day Lu'an, Anhui). In his early life under the Qin dynasty, Ying Bu was convicted and sentenced to ''qing'' (黥 ...
, god of city walls in Zhenzhou and Liuhe
* Ying Zhixu, god of city walls in Yunzhou
* Zhou Ke, god of city walls in Jiangyin
* Zhu Yigui, god of city walls in Xiaonanmen
Filipino mythology
*Makiubaya: the
Ifugao
Ifugao, officially the Province of Ifugao ( ilo, Probinsia ti Ifugao; tl, Lalawigan ng Ifugao), is a landlocked province of the Philippines in the Cordillera Administrative Region in Luzon. Its capital is Lagawe and it borders Benguet to the wes ...
divinities who watch over the gates of the village
*Manduyapit: the Manobo god who ferries departed souls across the red river before going to the afterworld
Korean mythology
*
Jangseung
A ''jangseung'' or village guardian is a Korean totem pole usually made of wood. Jangseungs were traditionally placed at the edges of villages to mark village boundaries and frighten away demons. They were also worshipped as village tutelary deit ...
, a
totem pole
Totem poles ( hai, gyáaʼaang) are monumental carvings found in western Canada and the northwestern United States. They are a type of Northwest Coast art, consisting of poles, posts or pillars, carved with symbols or figures. They are usually m ...
traditionally placed at the edges of villages to mark for village boundaries and frighten away demons; also worshipped as
tutelary deities
A tutelary () (also tutelar) is a deity or a spirit who is a guardian, patron, or protector of a particular place, geographic feature, person, lineage, nation, culture, or occupation. The etymology of "tutelary" expresses the concept of safety an ...
*
Munsin
Munshin (Hangul: 문신, Hanja: 門神, literally ''Door god''), known in the southernly Jeju Island as Munjeon (Hangul: 문전, Hanja: 門前) is the god of the door in Korean shamanism. The worship of Munshin is strongest in Jeju Island, where ...
, Korean deity of the door. He was considered one of the most powerful of the house gods (
Gashin
In Korean shamanism, Gasin (, literally ''House's God'') are a branch of deities believed to protect the various objects and rooms of the house, such as jangdok or the kitchen. The Gasin faith is the faith based on worshipping these deities. T ...
), especially in Jeju Island
Shinto
*
Izanagi
Izanagi (イザナギ/伊邪那岐/伊弉諾) or Izanaki (イザナキ), formally known as
, is the creator deity (''kami
are the deities, divinities, spirits, phenomena or "holy powers", that are venerated in the Shinto religion. They can b ...
, creator god who descended into Yomi to bring back his wife, only to be repulsed at how hideous she had become, run away, and seal the entrance to Yomi with a rock
*
Izanami
, formally known as , is the creator deity
A creator deity or creator god (often called the Creator) is a deity responsible for the creation of the Earth, world, and universe in human religion and mythology. In monotheism, the single God ...
, creator goddess who died, but could not leave Yomi and thus became queen of the underworld and the dead
Hinduism
*
Agni
Agni (English: , sa, अग्नि, translit=Agni) is a Sanskrit word meaning fire and connotes the Vedic fire deity of Hinduism. He is also the guardian deity of the southeast direction and is typically found in southeast corners of Hindu ...
, god of fire and messenger between gods and mortals, Ganesha seems to have at least partially taken over this role in modern Hinduism
*
Ganesha
Ganesha ( sa, गणेश, ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka, and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped deities in the Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in Ganapatya sect. His image is found throughout India. Hindu d ...
, remover of obstacles, a messenger of the
gods
A deity or god is a supernatural being who is considered divine or sacred. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines deity as a god or goddess, or anything revered as divine. C. Scott Littleton defines a deity as "a being with powers greater ...
and
goddesses
A goddess is a female deity. In many known cultures, goddesses are often linked with literal or metaphorical pregnancy or imagined feminine roles associated with how women and girls are perceived or expected to behave. This includes themes of s ...
who must be propitiated before any of the other deities
*
Pushan
Pushan ( sa, पूषन्, Pūṣan) is a Hindu Vedic solar deity and one of the Adityas. He is the god of meeting. Pushan is responsible for marriages, journeys, roads, and the feeding of cattle. He was a psychopomp (soul guide), conduct ...
,
solar deity
A solar deity or sun deity is a deity who represents the Sun, or an aspect of it. Such deities are usually associated with power and strength. Solar deities and Sun worship can be found throughout most of recorded history in various forms. The ...
and
psychopomp
Psychopomps (from the Greek word , , literally meaning the 'guide of souls') are supernatural creatures, spirits, entities, angels, demons or deities in many religions whose responsibility is to escort newly deceased souls from Earth to the afte ...
responsible for marriages, journeys, roads, the feeding of cattle, and overseeing the journey of the dead to the afterlife
*
Narasimha
Narasimha ( sa, नरसिंह, lit=man-lion, ), sometimes rendered Narasingha, is the fourth avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu. He is regarded to have incarnated in the form of a part-lion, part-man being to slay Hiranyakashipu, to end rel ...
, presider over the threshold between interior and exterior
Mesopotamian mythology
*
Dumuzi/Tammuz
*
Inanna/Ishtar
Phrygian mythology
*
Attis
Attis (; grc-gre, Ἄττις, also , , ) was the consort of Cybele, in Phrygian and Greek mythology.
His priests were eunuchs, the ''Galli'', as explained by origin myths pertaining to Attis castrating himself. Attis was also a Phrygian ve ...
, Phrygian vegetation deity; his self-mutilation, death, and resurrection represents the fruits of the earth, which die in winter only to rise again in the spring.
Middle East and Abrahamic religions
Christianity
*
Jesus Christ
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
is presented as a crosser of borders. The
Resurrection of Jesus
The resurrection of Jesus ( grc-x-biblical, ἀνάστασις τοῦ Ἰησοῦ) is the Christian belief that God raised Jesus on the third day after his crucifixion, starting – or restoring – his exalted life as Christ and Lo ...
describes his dying and rising.
African and American religions
African religions
*
Osiris
Osiris (, from Egyptian ''wsjr'', cop, ⲟⲩⲥⲓⲣⲉ , ; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎𐤓, romanized: ʾsr) is the god of fertility, agriculture, the afterlife, the dead, resurrection, life, and vegetation in ancient Egyptian religion. He was ...
, ancient Egyptian god who was murdered, but was reassembled and brought back to life by his wife Isis, but was still confined to the underworld and became the ruler of it
*
Legba
Papa Legba is a lwa in Haitian Vodou, Winti and Louisiana Voodoo, who serves as the intermediary between the lwa and humanity. He stands at a spiritual crossroads and gives (or denies) permission to speak with the spirits of Guineé, and is be ...
, phallic crossroad spirit and trickster in
West African Vodun
Vodun (meaning ''spirit'' in the Fon, Gun and Ewe languages, with a nasal high-tone ''u''; also spelled Vodon, Vodoun, Vodou, Vudu, Voudou, Voodoo, etc.) is a religion practiced by the Aja, Ewe, and Fon peoples of Benin, Togo, Ghana, and ...
and
Haitian Vodou
Haitian Vodou is an African diasporic religion that developed in Haiti between the 16th and 19th centuries. It arose through a process of syncretism between several traditional religions of West and Central Africa and Roman Catholicism. There is ...
. He is the bringer of magic, master diviner and speaker of every language who facilitates communication between man and the gods. Legba is also the remover of obstacles and the guardian of the home and crossroads.
Afro-American religions
*
Elegua
Elegua (Yoruba: Èṣù-Ẹlẹ́gbára, also spelled Eleggua; known as Eleguá in Latin America and Spanish-speaking Caribbean islands) is an Orisha, a deity of roads in the religions of Santería, Winti, Umbanda, Quimbanda, Holy Infant of Ato ...
(
Eshu
Èṣù is an Òrìṣà/Irúnmọlẹ̀ in the ìṣẹ̀ṣe religion of the Yoruba people. Èṣù is a prominent primordial Divinity (a delegated Irúnmọlẹ̀ sent by the Olódùmarè) who descended from Ìkọ̀lé Ọ̀run, and the Chie ...
/Exu in
Candomblé
Candomblé () is an African diasporic religion that developed in Brazil during the 19th century. It arose through a process of syncretism between several of the traditional religions of West Africa, especially that of the Yoruba, and the Roman ...
), the messenger god and psychopomp in
Santería
Santería (), also known as Regla de Ocha, Regla Lucumí, or Lucumí, is an African diaspora religions, African diasporic religion that developed in Cuba during the late 19th century. It arose through a process of syncretism between the tradit ...
, and
Candomblé
Candomblé () is an African diasporic religion that developed in Brazil during the 19th century. It arose through a process of syncretism between several of the traditional religions of West Africa, especially that of the Yoruba, and the Roman ...
.
See also
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Notes
{{List of mythological figures by region
Lists of deities
Mythological archetypes