Indian Gods

Hinduism is an ancient religion -- possibly the oldest extant one. Hinduism is called a way of life as well as a religion. It contains a large assortment of gods and goddesses with human and animal forms. Here are some of the gods and goddesses in the Hindu pantheon:

Brahma

Ganesha

Gauri

Hanuman

Kartikeya

Krishna

Lakshmi

Parvati

Rama

Sarasvati

Shiva

Surya

Vishnu

Celtica gods

The Druid priests of the Celts did not write down the stories of their gods and goddesses, but instead transmitted them orally, so our knowledge of the early Celtic deities is limited. Romans of the first century B.C. recorded the Celtic myths and then later, after the introduction of Christianity to the British Isles, the Irish monks of the 6th century and Welsh writers later wrote down their traditional stories.

1. Alator

The Celtic god Alator was associated with Mars, the Roman war god. His name is said to mean "he who nourishes the people".

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Caanite Gods

Canaanite religion was practiced by Semites living in the areas of modern Israel, Lebanon, Palestine, and parts of Jordan and Syria. Here are some of the gods in the Canaanite pantheon:

Anat

Athirat

Athtart

Baal

El

Mot

Shapsu

Yam

Yarikh

Roman gods of Childbirth

Aids in Childbirth	Opigena	F
Aids in Childbirth	Natio	F	Rival of Juno
Aids in Childbirth	Lucina	F
Aids in Childbirth	Virbius	M	Deified Hippolytus; depicted as an old man
Assures the crying of the newborn	Vaticanus	M
Baby food	Educa	F
Breast feeding	Rumina	F
Brings forth the birth	Diespiter	M
Children' medicine	Potina	F
Determined proper date of birth	Nona	F	One of the Fates
Gives life to the fetus	Vitumnus	M
Gives sensation to the fetus	Sentinus	M
Guardian of the cradle	Cunina	F
Hardened the bones of the infant	Ossipaga	F
Helps the newborn to walk	Statulinus	M
The hope that the newborn brings	Venilia	F
Labor	Lucina	F
Naming of the infant	Nondina	F	Nine days after birth for boys, eight for girls, asperged with water, like a baptism
Orphans	Orbona	F
Predicted future of newborns	Carmentis or Carmenta	F	Prophecies in verse; a Camena
Presided over delivery and placed the binder	Partula	F
Promises strong children; protects married women	Curitis	F
Protectors of infants and pregnant women	Picumnus and Pilumnus	M	Brothers
Protectors of infants and pregnant women	Intercedona and Deverra	F	Allies of Picumnus and Pilumnus
Protects infants and birthing mothers from Sylvanus	Averruncus	F	Generally, a god of averting
Protects the child when lifted up; sees that the father accepts the new child	Levana	F	"Light"
Taught child to speak	Locutius	M
Terror of the infant	Paventia	F

Sumarian Gods

• An (Babylonian: Anu) god of heaven; may have been the main god before 2500 B.C.
• Ninhursag (Babylonian: Aruru, Mammi) mother goddess; progenitor with An of the gods; assists in creation of man.
• Enlil (Babylonian: Ellil) god or air; pantheon leader from 2500 B.C.; father of the gods; king of heaven & earth.
• Enki (Babylonian: Ea) lord of the abyss, semen & wisdom; god of water, creation, fertility.
• Nanna (Babylonian: Sin) moon god.
• Inanna (Babylonian: Ishtar) love and war.
• Utu (Babylonian: Shamash) god of the sun and justice.
• Ninlil (Babylonian: Mullitu, Mylitta) bride of Enlil .

Babylonian Gods

• Anshar
  The Babylonian god Anshar is the son of Tiamat and Apsu, brother and husband of Kishar.
• Anu (An)
  The son of Anshar and Kishar. He is the chief god of the Great Triad, with Ea and Enlil. In Sumerian mythology, he was the god of sky, husband of Nintu (Ki), and the father and ruler of all gods. One of four Sumerian creating gods.
• Apsu
  The Babylonian god Apsu is Tiamat's husband, the ruler of gods and underworld oceans. Father of Lahmu, Lahamu, Anshar and Kishar. Ea killed him.
• Damkina
  Damkina is the Babylonian earth mother goddess, the wife of Ea and mother of Marduk.
• Ea
  The Babylonian god Ea is the son of Anu and husband of Damkina, father of Marduk, god of wisdom, arts and crafts. Ea is the ruler of all gods after Apsu. In the Great Triad, Ea is the third with Anu and Enlil. In the Sumerian pantheon, Ea is the son of Nintu.
• Enlil
  Enlil is the Babylonian god of the air between earth and sky. In Sumerian mythology he was the son of An and Nintu, the god of air and agriculture, and eventually co-ruler of the gods along with Anu. One of four Sumerian creating gods.
• Ishtar (Inanna)
  Inanna is a great goddess, the goddess of love and war. She descended to the Underworld to try to regain her lover.
• Kingu (Qingu)
  Kingu is a dragon commander of Tiamat's forces against Marduk. Kingu is the counterpart of the sky god Anu on the side of darkness. He may have been Tiamat's second husband. Ea fashioned humans from his blood when Kingu was ordered to be sacrificed.
• Kishar
  The Babylonian goddess Kishar is the daughter of Tiamat and Apsu, sister and wife of Anshar.
• Marduk
  Glossary entry with small picture of Marduk.
• Mummu (Mommu)
  The Babylonian god Mummu is the son of Tiamat and Anu or their chamberlain/intermediary. He is the god of mist and a craftsman god. In one of the Babylonian creation stories, the original beings were Apsu, Mommu, and Tiamat. From them came the demons and the gods. The gods were Lakhmu, Lakhame, Ashar, Kishar, Anu, Ea, and others. Tiamat became a power of evil and Ea and followers, a power of good. This is the version on Ashurbaipal's library's Creation from about 650 B.C. There are other versions from Berosus (280 B.C.) and Damiscius (6th century A.D.)
  
• Nintu (Ki)
  A great Sumerian goddess, wife of Anu and mother of all gods, she created humans from clay. One of four Sumerian creating gods. Nintu is a goddess of childbirth (Lady of Birth).

  "A Note on the Lady of Birth"
  H. Frankfort
  Journal of Near Eastern Studies Vol. 3, No. 3 (Jul., 1944), pp. 198-200

• Shamash
  Son of Sin, god of the sun who protects the poor and travelers.
• Sin
  Moon god and the father of Shamash; counterpart of the Sumerian Nanna.
• Tiamat
  Tiamat is the Babylonian Great Goddess, counterpart of Sumerian Nintu. Primeval chaos. Destroyed by her children to create the world.

Japanese gods

Amateras (Amaterasu) was born from the left eye of the primeval being Izanagi. She is the greatest of the Japanese gods, the sun goddess, ruler of the Plain of Heaven.
Hoderi
Hoderi, the son of Ninigi (first ruler of the Japanese islands) and Ko-no-Hana (daughter of the mountain god Oho-Yama [Encyclopedia Mythica]) and the brother of Hoori, is the divine ancestor of the immigrants coming from the south over the sea to Japan.
Hotei
Hotei is one of the 7 Japanese Shinto gods of luck (Shichi Fukujin), depicted with a great belly. He is the god of happiness, laughter, and the wisdom of contentment.
Hoori
Son of Ninigi and Ko-no-Hana, and brother of Hoderi, Hoori is the divine ancestor of the emperor.
Izanami and Izanagi
In Japanese Shinto mythology, Izanami is a primordial goddess and personification of the Earth and darkness. Izanagi and Izanami were the first parents. They created the world and produced Amaterasu (sun goddess), Tsukiyomi no Mikoto (moon god), Susanowo (sea god), and Kaga-Tsuchi (fire god), as their offspring. Izanagi went to the Underworld to find his wife who had been killed giving birth to Amaterasu. Unfortunately, Izanami had already eaten and so could not return to the land of the living, but became queen of the Underworld. ["Izanagi and Izanami" A Dictionary of Asian Mythology. David Leeming. Oxford University Press] See Persephone for a similar motif in Greek mythology.
Kagutsuchi
Japanese god of fire who burned his mother, Izanami, to death when she gave birth. Kagutsuchi's father is Izanagi.
Okuninushi
A son of Susanowo, he was a spirit type called a kami. He ruled Izumo until the coming of Ninigi. ["Okuninushi" A Dictionary of Asian Mythology. David Leeming. Oxford University Press]
Susanoh
Also spelled Susanowo, he ruled the oceans and was god of rain, thunder, and lightning. He was banished from heaven for bad behavior while drunk. He became an underworld god Susanoh is a brother of Amaterasu. ["Shinto Mythology" A Dictionary of Asian Mythology. David Leeming. Oxford University Press]
Tsukiyomi no Mikoto
The Shinto moon god and another brother of Amaterasu, who was born from the right eye of Izanagi.
Ukemochi (Ogetsu-no-hime)
Food goddess killed by Tsukiyomi. ["Tsukiyomi" The Oxford Companion to World Mythology. David Leeming. Oxford University Press]
Uzume
Also Ama no Uzume, she is the Shinto goddess of joy and happiness, and good health. Uzume brought Japanese sun goddess Amaterasu back from her cave.

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