Ancient Religions & Mythology, MAI-NER
What did our ancestors believe in? What myths and stories did they use to explain the world around them and find meaning in it? How have their beliefs influenced modern religion and spirituality? Explore these questions and more while discovering notable traditions, figures, and legends that figured prominently in ancient religion and mythology.
Ancient Religions & Mythology Encyclopedia Articles By Title
Maison-Carrée, Roman temple at Nîmes, France, in remarkably good repair. According to an inscription, it was dedicated......
Maitreya, in Buddhist tradition, the future Buddha, presently a bodhisattva residing in the Tushita heaven, who......
major figures in Greek mythology, the significant characters, including gods, goddesses, heroes, and other legendary......
major figures in Roman mythology, the significant characters—including gods and goddesses as well as heroes and......
Malakbel, West Semitic sun god and messenger god, worshiped primarily in the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra; he......
Manala, in Finnish mythology, the realm of the dead. The word is possibly derived from the compound maan-ala, “the......
Manannán mac Lir, (Celtic: “Manannán, Son of the Sea”), Irish sea god from whom the name of the Isle of Man allegedly......
Manasa, goddess of snakes, worshipped mainly in Bengal and other parts of northeastern India, chiefly for the prevention......
Mandaeanism, (from Mandaean mandayya, “having knowledge”), ancient Middle Eastern religion still surviving in Iraq......
Manichaeism, dualistic religious movement founded in Persia in the 3rd century ce by Mani, who was known as the......
manticore, a legendary animal having the head of a man (often with horns), the body of a lion, and the tail of......
Manto, in Greek legend, the daughter and assistant of the Theban prophet Tiresias. After the sack of Thebes by......
Manu, in the mythology of India, the first man, and the legendary author of an important Sanskrit law code, the......
Marduk, in Mesopotamian religion, the chief god of the city of Babylon and the national god of Babylonia; as such,......
Auguste Mariette was a French archaeologist who conducted major excavations throughout Egypt, revealing much about......
Peretz Markish was a Soviet Yiddish poet and novelist whose work extols Soviet Russia and mourns the destruction......
Mars, ancient Roman deity, in importance second only to Jupiter. Little is known of his original character, and......
Marsyas, legendary Greek figure of Anatolian origin. According to the usual Greek version, Marsyas found the aulos......
Marīcī, in Mahāyāna Buddhist mythology, the goddess of the dawn. Marīcī (Sanskrit: “Ray of Light”) is usually shown......
Mater Matuta, in Roman religion, goddess of the ripening of grain (although the Latin poet Lucretius made her a......
Matronalia, in Roman religion, ancient festival of Juno, the birth goddess, celebrated annually by Roman matrons......
Maya calendar, dating system of the ancient Maya civilization and the basis for all other calendars used by Mesoamerican......
Mañjuśrī, in Mahāyāna Buddhism, the bodhisattva (“Buddha-to-be”) personifying supreme wisdom. His name in Sanskrit......
Medb, legendary queen of Connaught (Connacht) in Ireland who figures in the Ulster cycle, a group of legends from......
Medea, in Greek mythology, an enchantress who helped Jason, leader of the Argonauts, to obtain the Golden Fleece......
Medusa, in Greek mythology, the most famous of the monster figures called Gorgons, known for her petrifying effect......
megalith, huge, often undressed stone used in various types of Neolithic (New Stone Age) and Early Bronze Age monuments.......
Melampus, in Greek mythology, a seer known for his ability to understand the language of animals. The Bibliothēke......
Melchior, in Christian tradition, a legendary figure said to be one of the Magi who paid homage to the infant Jesus.......
Meleager, in Greek mythology, the leader of the Calydonian boar hunt. The Iliad relates how Meleager’s father,......
Melpomene, in Greek religion, one of the nine Muses, patron of tragedy and lyre playing. In Greek art her attributes......
Melqart, Phoenician god, chief deity of Tyre and of two of its colonies, Carthage and Gadir (Cádiz, Spain). He......
Memnon, in Greek mythology, son of Tithonus (son of Laomedon, legendary king of Troy) and Eos (Dawn) and king of......
Men, moon god worshiped widely in Asia Minor during Roman times and also in Attica from the 3rd century bc. Little......
Men Shen, in Chinese religion, the two door gods whose separate martial images are posted on respective halves......
menat, in Egyptian religion, a necklace composed of many rows of beads and an amulet, usually hung at the back......
Menelaus, in Greek mythology, king of Sparta and younger son of Atreus, king of Mycenae; the abduction of his wife,......
menhir, megalithic monument erected singly or in formations. See...
Mephistopheles, familiar spirit of the Devil in late settings of the legend of Faust. It is probable that the name......
mer, among the Cheremis and Udmurts (also called Votyaks), a district where people would gather periodically to......
Mercury, in Roman religion, god of shopkeepers and merchants, travelers and transporters of goods, and thieves......
mermaid, a fabled marine creature with the head and upper body of a human being and the tail of a fish. Similar......
Mount Meru, in Hindu mythology, a golden mountain that stands in the centre of the universe and is the axis of......
Meslamtaea, in Mesopotamian religion, city god of Cuthah in Akkad. His temple in Cuthah was called Emeslam, or......
Mesopotamian mythology, the myths, epics, hymns, lamentations, penitential psalms, incantations, wisdom literature,......
Mesopotamian religion, beliefs and practices of the Sumerians and Akkadians, and their successors, the Babylonians......
Mictlantecuhtli, Aztec god of the dead, usually portrayed with a skull face. With his wife, Mictecacíhuatl, he......
Midas, in Greek and Roman legend, a king of Phrygia, known for his foolishness and greed. The stories of Midas,......
Middle Eastern religion, any of the religious beliefs, attitudes, and practices developed in the ancient Middle......
Midgard, in Norse mythology, the Middle Earth, the abode of mankind, made from the body of the first created being,......
Milesians, in Irish mythical history, name for the people who drove the race of gods, the Tuatha Dé Danann, below......
Mimir, in Norse mythology, the wisest of the gods of the tribe Aesir; he was also believed to be a water spirit.......
Min, in ancient Egyptian religion, a god of fertility and harvest, embodiment of the masculine principle; he was......
Minerva, in Roman religion, the goddess of handicrafts, the professions, the arts, and, later, war; she was commonly......
Minos, legendary ruler of Crete; he was the son of Zeus, the king of the gods, and of Europa, a Phoenician princess......
Minotaur, in Greek mythology, a fabulous monster of Crete that had the body of a man and the head of a bull. It......
Mithra, in ancient Indo-Iranian mythology, the god of light, whose cult spread from India in the east to as far......
Mithraism, the worship of Mithra, the Iranian god of the sun, justice, contract, and war in pre-Zoroastrian Iran.......
Mitra, in the pantheon of Vedic Hinduism, one of the gods in the category of Adityas, sovereign principles of the......
Mjollnir, in Norse mythology, the hammer of the thunder god, Thor, and the symbol of his power. Forged by dwarfs,......
Mnemosyne, in Greek mythology, the goddess of memory. A Titaness, she was the daughter of Uranus (Heaven) and Gaea......
Mnevis, in ancient Egyptian religion, sacred bull deity worshipped at Heliopolis. As one of several sacred bulls......
Mokoš, the goddess of life-giving in ancient Slavic mythology. She is the only female deity mentioned in the Old......
Moloch, a Canaanite deity associated in biblical sources with the practice of child sacrifice. The name derives......
N. Scott Momaday was an American author who often wrote about his Kiowa heritage. For his novel House Made of Dawn......
Montu, in ancient Egyptian religion, god of the 4th Upper Egyptian nome (province), whose original capital of Hermonthis......
Morpheus, in Greco-Roman mythology, one of the sons of Hypnos (Somnus), the god of sleep. Morpheus sends human......
Morrígan, (Celtic: Queen of Demons), Celtic war goddess; sometimes called Macha...
Mot, ancient West Semitic god of the dead and of all the powers that opposed life and fertility. He was the favourite......
mother goddess, any of a variety of feminine deities and maternal symbols of creativity, birth, fertility, sexual......
mudor šuan, ceremony held by the Votyaks, or Udmurts (people of the Ural Mountains), to consecrate a new family......
Murugan, chief deity of the ancient Tamils of South India, son of the warrior goddess Korravai. He was later identified......
Muse, in Greco-Roman religion and mythology, any of a group of sister goddesses of obscure but ancient origin,......
Muspelheim, in Norse mythology, a hot, bright, glowing land in the south, guarded by Surt, the fire giant. In the......
Mut, in ancient Egyptian religion, a sky goddess and great divine mother. Mut is thought to have originated in......
Myrmidon, in Greek legend, any of the inhabitants of Phthiotis in Thessaly. In the poet Hesiod’s Catalogue of Women,......
mystery religion, any of various secret cults of the Greco-Roman world that offered to individuals religious experiences......
- Introduction
- Secular Communities, Rituals, Beliefs
- Hellenistic, Rituals, Beliefs
- Ancient Rituals, Gods, & Beliefs
- Rituals, Initiation, Gods
- Rites, Festivals, Beliefs
- Seasonal Festivals
- Ancient Beliefs, Rituals, & Practices
- Rituals, Gods, Beliefs
- Ancient Rituals, Reliefs, Beliefs
- Ancient Beliefs, Rituals, Practices
myth, a symbolic narrative, usually of unknown origin and at least partly traditional, that ostensibly relates......
- Introduction
- Folklore, Legends, Fables
- Origins, Functions, Types
- Allegory, Symbolism, Narrative
- Origin, Ritual, Belief
- Folklore, Ritual, Symbolism
- Rituals, Symbols, Beliefs
- Storytelling, Art, Ritual
- Origins, Rituals, Beliefs
- Messianic, Millenarian, Beliefs
- Kings, Ascetics, Legends
- Animals, Plants, Legends
- Creation, Origins, Beliefs
- Creation, Plants, Animals
- Transformation, Culture, Rituals
- Alter Ego, Life Index, Storytelling
Myō-ō, in the Buddhist mythology of Japan, fierce protective deities, corresponding to the Sanskrit Vidyaraja (“King......
Märchen, folktale characterized by elements of magic or the supernatural, such as the endowment of a mortal character......
Louis-Nicolas Ménard was a French writer whose vision of ancient Greek religion and philosophy influenced the Parnassian......
Max Müller was a German scholar of comparative language, religion, and mythology. Müller’s special areas of interest......
Mēness, in Baltic religion, the moon, the god whose monthly renewal of strength is imparted to all growing things.......
Nabu, major god in the Assyro-Babylonian pantheon. He was patron of the art of writing and a god of vegetation.......
Naiad, (from Greek naiein, “to flow”), in Greek mythology, one of the nymphs of flowing water—springs, rivers,......
Nanshe, in Mesopotamian religion, Sumerian city goddess of Nina (modern Surghul, Iraq) in the southeastern part......
Nantosuelta, in Celtic religion, a goddess worshipped primarily in Gaul and sometimes portrayed together with Sucellus......
Narcissus, in Greek mythology, the son of the river god Cephissus and the nymph Liriope. He was distinguished for......
Nataraja, the Hindu god Shiva in his form as the cosmic dancer, represented in metal or stone in many Shaivite......
naus, prehistoric grave found in the Balearic Isles. The naus was built of closely fitting blocks of stone in the......
Nefertem, in ancient Egyptian religion, youthful god associated with the lotus flower. Nefertem was an ancient......
Neith, ancient Egyptian goddess who was the patroness of the city of Sais in the Nile River delta. Neith was worshipped......
Nekhbet, in Egyptian religion, vulture goddess who was the protector of Upper Egypt and especially its rulers.......
Nemesis, in Greek religion, two divine conceptions, the first an Attic goddess, the daughter of Nyx (Night), and......
Neoptolemus, in Greek legend, the son of Achilles, the hero of the Greek army at Troy, and of Deïdamia, daughter......
Nephthys, Greek form of the name of the Egyptian goddess Nebtho. She seems to have been artificially created in......
Neptune, in Roman religion, originally the god of fresh water; by 399 bce he was identified with the Greek Poseidon......
Nereid, in Greek religion, any of the daughters (numbering 50 or 100) of the sea god Nereus (eldest son of Pontus,......
Nereus, in Greek religion, sea god called by Homer “Old Man of the Sea,” noted for his wisdom, gift of prophecy,......
Nergal, in Mesopotamian religion, secondary god of the Sumero-Akkadian pantheon. He was identified with Irra, the......