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Do not fill this in! ===Indo-European=== {{main|Proto-Indo-European religion}} ====Germanic==== [[File:Kirkby Stephen Stone by Petersen.jpg|thumb|upright=0.7|The Kirkby Stephen Stone, discovered in [[Kirkby Stephen]], England, depicts a bound figure, who some have theorized may be the Germanic god [[Loki]].]] {{Main|List of Germanic deities|Germanic paganism|Germanic mythology|Common Germanic deities|Æsir|Vanir}} In [[Germanic languages]], the terms cognate with '[[God (word)|god]]' such as {{lang-ang|god}} and {{lang-non|guð}} were originally neuter but became masculine, as in modern Germanic languages, after [[Christianisation of the Germanic peoples|Christianisation]] due their use in referring to the [[Christian god]].<ref name="gudą">{{cite web |title=Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/gudą |url=https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/gud%C4%85 |website=Wiktionary |access-date=3 July 2022 |language=en |date=24 October 2020 |archive-date=3 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220703111017/https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/gud%C4%85 |url-status=live }}</ref> In [[Norse mythology]], {{lang|non|[[Æsir]]}} (singular {{lang|non|áss}} or {{lang|non|ǫ́ss}}) are the principal group of gods,<ref name="áss">{{cite web |title=áss |url=https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%C3%A1ss#Old_Norse |website=Wiktionary |access-date=3 July 2022 |language=en |date=3 July 2022 |archive-date=3 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220703111017/https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%C3%A1ss#Old_Norse |url-status=live }}</ref> while the term {{lang|non|ásynjur}} (singular {{lang|non|ásynja}}) refers specifically to the female {{lang|non|Æsir}}.<ref name="ásynja">{{cite web |title=ásynja |url=https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%C3%A1synja#Old_Norse |website=Wiktionary |access-date=3 July 2022 |language=en |date=26 February 2021 |archive-date=3 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220703111015/https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%C3%A1synja#Old_Norse |url-status=live }}</ref> These terms, states John Lindow, may be ultimately rooted in the Indo-European root for "breath" (as in "life giving force"), and are cognate with {{lang-ang|os}} (a [[Anglo-Saxon paganism|heathen]] god) and [[Gothic language|Gothic]]: ''anses''.<ref name="Lindow"/>{{rp|49–50}} Another group of deities found in Norse mythology are termed as ''[[Vanir]]'', and are associated with fertility. The ''Æsir'' and the ''Vanir'' [[Æsir–Vanir War|went to war]], according to the Nordic sources. The account in ''[[Ynglinga saga]]'' describes the Æsir–Vanir War ending in truce and ultimate reconciliation of the two into a single group of gods, after both sides chose peace, exchanged ambassadors (hostages),<ref name="Warner"/>{{rp|181}} and intermarried.<ref name="Lindow"/>{{rp|52–53}}<ref>{{cite book|last1=Gimbutas|first1=Marija|last2=Dexter|first2=Miriam Robbins|title=The Living Goddesses|date=2001|publisher=University of California Press|location=Berkeley|isbn=978-0-520-22915-0|pages=191–196|edition=1st|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=7DfI39EDbMcC}}|language=en}}</ref> The Norse mythology describes the cooperation after the war, as well as differences between the ''Æsir'' and the ''Vanir'' which were considered scandalous by the other side.<ref name="Warner"/>{{rp|181}} The goddess [[Freyja]] of the ''Vanir'' taught magic to the ''Æsir'', while the two sides discover that while ''Æsir'' forbid [[Incest between siblings|mating between siblings]], ''Vanir'' accepted such mating.<ref name="Warner"/>{{rp|181}}<ref>{{cite book|last1=Christensen|first1=Lisbeth Bredholt|last2=Hammer|first2=Olav|last3=Warburton|first3=David|title=The Handbook of Religions in Ancient Europe|date=2014|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-54453-1|pages=328–329|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=rl5_BAAAQBAJ}}|access-date=28 June 2017|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Oosten|first1=Jarich G.|title=The War of the Gods (RLE Myth): The Social Code in Indo-European Mythology|date=2015|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-55584-1|page=36|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=5w_wBgAAQBAJ}}|access-date=28 June 2017|language=en}}</ref> [[Heathen hof|Temples]] hosting [[Anthropomorphic wooden cult figurines of Central and Northern Europe|images]] of Germanic gods (such as [[Thor]], [[Odin]] and [[Freyr]]), as well as pagan worship rituals, continued in [[Scandinavia]] into the 12th century, according to historical records. It has been proposed that over time, Christian equivalents were substituted for the Germanic deities to help suppress [[Old Nordic religion|paganism]] as part of the [[Christianisation of the Germanic peoples]].<ref name="Warner"/>{{rp|187–188}} Worship of the Germanic gods has been revived in the modern period as part of the [[new religious movement]] of [[Heathenry (new religious movement)|Heathenry]].<ref>{{cite journal |title=Heathenry as a Postcolonial Movement |url=https://submissions.scholasticahq.com/supporting_files/5682/attachment_versions/5685 |last=Horrell |first=Thad N. |year=2012 |journal=The Journal of Religion, Identity, and Politics |volume=1 |number=1 |page=1 }}</ref> ====Greek==== {{multiple image | align = right | perrow=2 <!-- Image 1 --> | image1 = Stater Zeus Lampsacus CdM.jpg | width1 = 200 | alt1 = | caption1 = [[Zeus]], the king of the gods in [[ancient Greek religion]], shown on a gold [[stater]] from [[Lampsacus]] ({{circa}} 360–340 BCE) <!-- Image 2 --> | image2 = Poseidon Penteskouphia Louvre CA452.jpg | width2 = 207 | alt2 = | caption2 = Corinthian [[Black-figure pottery|black-figure]] plaque of [[Poseidon]], the Greek god of the seas ({{circa}} 550–525 BCE) <!-- Image 3 --> | image3 = Aphrodite swan BM D2.jpg | width3 = 200 | alt3 = | caption3 = Attic [[White ground technique|white-ground]] red-figured ''[[kylix (drinking cup)|kylix]]'' of [[Aphrodite]], the Greek goddess of love, riding a swan ({{circa}} 46–470 BCE) <!-- Image 4 --> | image4 = Bust Athena Velletri Glyptothek Munich 213.jpg | width4 = 205 | alt4 = | caption4 = Bust of [[Athena]], the Greek goddess of wisdom, copy after a votive statue of Kresilas in Athens ({{circa|425}} BCE) }} {{Main|List of Greek mythological figures|Greek mythology|Ancient Greek religion|Twelve Olympians}} The [[Ancient Greece|ancient Greeks]] revered both gods and goddesses.<ref name="Martin">{{cite book|last1=Martin|first1=Thomas R.|title=Ancient Greece: From Prehistoric to Hellenistic Times |date=2013|publisher=Yale University Press|location=New Haven|isbn=978-0-300-16005-5|pages=39–40|edition=2nd|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=iyFaMmr4hFwC}}|access-date=28 June 2017|language=en}}</ref> These continued to be revered through the early centuries of the common era, and many of the Greek deities inspired and were adopted as part of much larger pantheon of Roman deities.<ref name="Gagarin"/>{{rp|91–97}} The Greek religion was polytheistic, but had no centralized church, nor any sacred texts.<ref name="Gagarin"/>{{rp|91–97}} The deities were largely associated with myths and they represented natural phenomena or aspects of human behavior.<ref name="Martin"/><ref name="Gagarin"/>{{rp|91–97}} Several Greek deities probably trace back to more ancient Indo-European traditions, since the gods and goddesses found in distant cultures are mythologically comparable and are [[cognate]]s.<ref name="Mallory"/>{{rp|230–231}}<ref name="Burkert"/>{{rp|15–19}} [[Eos]], the Greek goddess of the dawn, for instance, is cognate to Indic ''[[Ushas]]'', Roman ''[[Aurora (mythology)|Aurora]]'' and Latvian ''[[Auseklis]]''.<ref name="Mallory"/>{{rp|230–232}} [[Zeus]], the Greek king of gods, is cognate to Latin ''[[Jupiter (mythology)|Iūpiter]]'', Old German ''[[Týr|Ziu]]'', and Indic ''[[Dyaus Pita|Dyaus]]'', with whom he shares similar mythologies.<ref name="Mallory"/>{{rp|230–232}}<ref>{{cite book|last1=West|first1=Martin Litchfield|author-link=Martin Litchfield West|title=Indo-European Poetry and Myth|date=2007|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford|isbn=978-0-19-928075-9|pages=166–173|edition=1st}}</ref> Other deities, such as [[Aphrodite]], originated from the [[Near East]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Breitenberger|first1=Barbara|title=Aphrodite and Eros: The Development of Greek Erotic Mythology|date=2005|publisher=Routledge|location=New York|isbn=978-0-415-96823-2|pages=8–12|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=PSFePRxm1jAC|page=10}}|access-date=22 January 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Cyrino|first1=Monica S.|title=Aphrodite|date=2010|publisher=Routledge|location=New York|isbn=978-0-415-77523-6|pages=59–52|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=7gyVn5GjXPkCAphrodite}}|access-date=22 January 2018}}{{Dead link|date=June 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Puhvel|first1=Jaan|title=Comparative Mythology|date=1989|publisher=The Johns Hopkins University Press|location=Baltimore, MD|isbn=978-0-8018-3938-2|page=27|edition=2nd}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Marcovich|first1=Miroslav|title=From Ishtar to Aphrodite|journal=Journal of Aesthetic Education|date=1996|volume=39|issue=2|pages=43–59|doi=10.2307/3333191|jstor=3333191}}</ref> Greek deities varied locally, but many shared panhellenic themes, celebrated similar festivals, rites, and ritual grammar.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Flensted-Jensen|first1=Pernille|title=Further Studies in the Ancient Greek Polis|date=2000|publisher=Steiner|location=Stuttgart|isbn=978-3-515-07607-4|pages=9–12|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=uK8szXLlvjoC}}|access-date=28 June 2017|language=en}}</ref> The most important deities in the Greek pantheon were the [[Twelve Olympians]]: Zeus, [[Hera]], [[Poseidon]], [[Athena]], [[Apollo]], [[Artemis]], Aphrodite, [[Hermes]], [[Demeter]], [[Dionysus]], [[Hephaestus]], and [[Ares]].<ref name="Burkert"/>{{rp|125–170}} Other important Greek deities included [[Hestia]], [[Hades]] and [[Heracles]].<ref name="Gagarin"/>{{rp|96–97}} These deities later inspired the ''Dii Consentes'' galaxy of Roman deities.<ref name="Gagarin"/>{{rp|96–97}} Besides the Olympians, the Greeks also worshipped various local deities.<ref name="Burkert"/>{{rp|170–181}}<ref name="Pollard">{{cite web|last1=Pollard|first1=John Ricard Thornhill|last2=Adkins|first2=A.W.H.|title=Greek religion|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Greek-religion|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|access-date=22 January 2018|language=en|date=19 September 1998|archive-date=9 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180309201523/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Greek-religion|url-status=live}}</ref> Among these were the goat-legged god [[Pan (mythology)|Pan]] (the guardian of shepherds and their flocks), [[Nymph]]s ([[List of nature deities|nature spirits]] associated with particular landforms), [[Naiad]]s (who dwelled in springs), [[Dryad]]s (who were spirits of the trees), [[Nereid]]s (who inhabited the sea), river gods, [[satyr]]s (a class of lustful male nature spirits), and others. The dark powers of the underworld were represented by the [[Erinyes]] (or Furies), said to pursue those guilty of crimes against blood-relatives.<ref name="Pollard"/> The Greek deities, like those in many other Indo-European traditions, were anthropomorphic. [[Walter Burkert]] describes them as "persons, not abstractions, ideas or concepts".<ref name="Burkert"/>{{rp|182}} They had fantastic abilities and powers; each had some unique expertise and, in some aspects, a specific and flawed personality.<ref name="Campbell"/>{{rp|52}} They were not omnipotent and could be injured in some circumstances.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Stoll|first1=Heinrich Wilhelm|title=Handbook of the religion and mythology of the Greeks|date=1852|page=3|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=UWoBAAAAQAAJ&pg=4}}|access-date=28 June 2017|language=en}}</ref> Greek deities led to cults, were used politically and inspired [[votive offerings]] for favors such as bountiful crops, healthy family, victory in war, or peace for a loved one recently deceased.<ref name="Gagarin"/>{{rp|94–95}}<ref>{{cite book|last1=Garland|first1=Robert|title=Introducing New Gods: The Politics of Athenian Religion|date=1992|publisher=Cornell University Press|location=Ithaca, NY|isbn=978-0-8014-2766-4|pages=1–9|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=7Ne-bCX_DaUC}}|access-date=28 June 2017|language=en}}</ref> ====Roman==== {{Main|List of Roman deities|Roman mythology|Religion in ancient Rome|Capitoline Triad}} [[File:MANNapoli 6705 creation of the man sarcophagus.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|4th-century [[Ancient Roman sarcophagi|Roman sarcophagus]] depicting the creation of man by [[Prometheus]], with major Roman deities Jupiter, Neptune, Mercury, Juno, Apollo, Vulcan watching]] The Roman pantheon had numerous deities, both Greek and non-Greek.<ref name="Gagarin"/>{{rp|96–97}} The more famed deities, found in the mythologies and the 2nd millennium CE European arts, have been the anthropomorphic deities syncretized with the Greek deities. These include the six gods and six goddesses: Venus, Apollo, Mars, Diana, Minerva, Ceres, Vulcan, Juno, Mercury, Vesta, Neptune, Jupiter (Jove, Zeus); as well Bacchus, Pluto and Hercules.<ref name="Gagarin"/>{{rp|96–97}}<ref>{{cite book|last1=Long|first1=Charlotte R.|title=The Twelve Gods of Greece and Rome|date=1987|publisher=Brill Archive|isbn=978-90-04-07716-4|pages=232–243|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=3dUUAAAAIAAJ}}|access-date=28 June 2017|language=en}}</ref> The non-Greek major deities include Janus, Fortuna, Vesta, Quirinus and Tellus (mother goddess, probably most ancient).<ref name="Gagarin"/>{{rp|96–97}}<ref>{{cite book|last1=Woodard|first1=Roger|title=Myth, ritual, and the warrior in Roman and Indo-European antiquity|date=2013|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=New York|isbn=978-1-107-02240-9|pages=25–26, 93–96, 194–196|edition=1st|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=VkXlcVMP_dQC}}|access-date=28 June 2017|language=en}}</ref> Some of the non-Greek deities had likely origins in more ancient European culture such as the ancient Germanic religion, while others may have been borrowed, for political reasons, from neighboring trade centers such as those in the [[Minoan civilization|Minoan]] or [[ancient Egypt]]ian civilization.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Ruiz|first1=Angel|title=Poetic Language and Religion in Greece and Rome|date=2013|publisher=Cambridge Scholars Publishing|location=Newcastle upon Tyne|isbn=978-1-4438-5565-5|pages=90–91|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=yGUxBwAAQBAJ}}|access-date=28 June 2017|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Mysliwiec|first1=Karol|last2=Lorton|first2=David|title=The Twilight of Ancient Egypt: First Millennium B.C.E.|date=2000|publisher=Cornell University Press|location=Ithaca, NY|isbn=978-0-8014-8630-2|page=188|edition=1st|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=dJycxuhvS8UC}}|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Todd|first1=Malcolm|title=The Early Germans|date=2004|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|location=Oxford|isbn=978-1-4051-3756-0|pages=103–105|edition=2nd|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p5QdmV3zNpIC|access-date=28 June 2017|language=en|archive-date=23 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230423122528/https://books.google.com/books?id=p5QdmV3zNpIC|url-status=live}}</ref> The Roman deities, in a manner similar to the ancient Greeks, inspired community festivals, rituals and sacrifices led by ''flamines'' (priests, pontifs), but priestesses (Vestal Virgins) were also held in high esteem for maintaining sacred fire used in the votive rituals for deities.<ref name="Gagarin"/>{{rp|100–101}} Deities were also maintained in home shrines (''lararium''), such as Hestia honored in homes as the goddess of fire hearth.<ref name="Gagarin"/>{{rp|100–101}}<ref name="Kristensen">{{cite book|last1=Kristensen|first1=f.|title=The Meaning of Religion Lectures in the Phenomenology of Religion|date=1960|publisher=Springer Netherlands|location=Dordrecht|isbn=978-94-017-6580-0|page=138|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p5QdmV3zNpIC|access-date=28 June 2017|language=en|archive-date=23 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230423122528/https://books.google.com/books?id=p5QdmV3zNpIC|url-status=live}}</ref> This Roman religion held reverence for sacred fire, and this is also found in Hebrew culture (Leviticus 6), Vedic culture's Homa, ancient Greeks and other cultures.<ref name="Kristensen"/> Ancient Roman scholars such as Varro and Cicero wrote treatises on the nature of gods of their times.<ref name="Cicero">{{cite book|last1=Walsh|first1=P.G.|title=The Nature of the Gods|date=1997|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford|isbn=978-0-19-162314-1|page=xxvi|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=JhQ4aXatR08C}}|access-date=28 June 2017|language=en}}</ref> Varro stated, in his ''Antiquitates Rerum Divinarum'', that it is the superstitious man who fears the gods, while the truly religious person venerates them as parents.<ref name="Cicero"/> Cicero, in his ''[[Academica (Cicero)|Academica]]'', praised Varro for this and other insights.<ref name="Cicero"/> According to Varro, there have been three accounts of deities in the Roman society: the mythical account created by poets for theatre and entertainment, the civil account used by people for veneration as well as by the city, and the natural account created by the philosophers.<ref name="Barfield">{{cite book|last1=Barfield|first1=Raymond|title=The Ancient Quarrel Between Philosophy and Poetry|date=2011|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-139-49709-1|pages=75–76|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=PY9FbnNhdDUC}}|access-date=28 June 2017|language=en}}</ref> The best state is, adds Varro, where the civil theology combines the poetic mythical account with the philosopher's.<ref name="Barfield"/> The Roman deities continued to be revered in Europe through the era of Constantine, and past 313 CE when he issued the Edict of Toleration.<ref name="Campbell"/>{{rp|118–120}} Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. 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