Gods of thunder: Did you mean...?

The Nile River was the source of life for the ancient Egyptians and so figured prominently in their religious beliefs. At night, the Milky Way was considered a heavenly Nile, associated with Hathor, and provider of all good things. The Nile...

Fenrir is the great wolf in Norse Mythology who breaks free from his chains at Ragnarök, the twilight of the gods, kills Odin, and is then killed by Odin’s son Vidarr. Fenrir is the son of the trickster god Loki and brother of the World Serpent...

If you are reading this, you probably love history and archaeology. And if you have children, then you have probably struggled at times to excite them about ancient ruins and archaeology. Here is an idea: let them be an archaeologist and...

The 12 gods of Mount Olympus were the most important deities in ancient Greece. In this collection, we examine each of the 12 in detail. With their all-too-human qualities in Greek mythology, the Olympian gods were capable of displaying great...

Thor, the god of the sky, thunder and agriculture in Norse Mythology, is best known today from his depiction as a superhero in graphic novels and movies which draw on his role in tales from Norse Mythology. He developed from an older Germanic...

Today, traveling an hour by ferry from Piraeus, the port of Athens, the first remnant of Aegina's great past a visitor will see is the lonely pillar of Apollo rising from the trees on the hill of Kolona. Once a splendid complex of three buildings...

Enlil (also known as Ellil and Nunamnir) was the Sumerian god of the air in the Mesopotamian pantheon, but he was more powerful than any other elemental deity and eventually was worshiped as King of the Gods. He is featured in a number of...

The Aztecs of northern Mesoamerica (c. 1345 and 1521 CE) worshipped some of the weirdest, most fantastic and downright scary gods seen anywhere in history. The Aztec civilization and the empire it created revolved around winning special favour...

Maya religious beliefs are formed on the notion that virtually everything in the world contains k'uh, or sacredness. K'uh and k'uhul, similar terms which are used to explain the spirituality of all inanimate and animate things, describe the...

The Seven Lucky Gods of Japan (Shichifukujin) are a group of deities associated with prosperity, happiness, and longevity. Blending Shinto, Buddhist, Taoist, and even Hindu influences, they came together as a collective pantheon during Japan’s...