Category Archives: Mythology

NAVAJO EPIC MYTH: THE WAR GOD VS THE ANAYE

Nayanazgeni

Nayanazgeni, the Navajo god of war.

Readers have been asking for a Chapter Guide to my exhaustive examination of God Slayer, my title for the Navajo myth about Nayanazgeni, their god of war, and his quest to destroy the Alien Gods called the Anaye. Here it is:

I. BIRTH OF THE ANAYE – This chapter deals with the Separation Myth and how Navajo women’s unnatural sex acts (or liasons with Coyote or possibly Begochidi) spawned the dark, alien gods called the Anaye – click HERE

II. WHEN A GOD DIES – Nayanazgeni (“Alien God Slayer”) notches his first kill as he takes down a gigantic, double-headed Anaye who rides upon a Kaiju-sized cougar – click HERE    Continue reading →

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GNA: NORSE GODDESS

GnaGNA – This neglected Norse goddess was one of the Asynjur (female Aesir) and served as the messenger of the female nature deity Frigga. Gna was as swift as Hermes from Greek myths and rode a horse named Hofvarpnir, a steed capable of galloping across the sky and the seas in addition to land. Gna wielded a spear and could travel as quickly as the breeze when she was astride Hofvarpnir.

During the 8th Century war between the Langobards and the Vandals the goddess Frigga put Gna to a lot of work. Frigga and her husband Odin were quarreling, so since he supported the Vandals in the conflict Frigga made a point of supporting the other side. She would frequently send Gna to the Langobards with information on Odin’s plans to help the Vandals.  Continue reading →

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GEFJUN: NORSE GODDESS

GefjunBalladeer’s Blog’s previous looks at neglected deities from the Norse pantheon of gods have been pretty popular, so here’s another one.

GEFJUN – This fertility deity is one of the most misunderstood goddesses from Norse myths and that’s saying something. Gefjun is sometimes referred to as a virgin, but her four sons might disagree with that notion. (Most likely it’s another misunderstanding about how ancient goddesses were often called “virgins” simply because they weren’t married, not because they were celibate.) Those sons were the product of Gefjun mating with Jotuns (Giants). 

In the same way that the Korean goddess Halmang was a localized “Mother Earth” for just Jeju Island, Gefjun filled a similar role for Zealand, the largest island in Denmark. By one account Gefjun convinced (or tricked) the Swedish King Gylfi into granting her as much land as she could plow and cultivate for herself. Continue reading →

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HITTITE MYTH OF THE MOUNTAIN GOD AND THE DEER

Hittite empireBalladeer’s Blog takes a look at the Hittite myth involving a mountain god and a deer.

Zaliyanu, the god of the mountain which bears his name, was kind enough to shelter a deer that was fleeing hunters. The pursuit had begun on a neighboring mountain whose god didn’t dare risk the wrath of the hunting god Kurunta by sheltering the terrified creature. Zaliyanu, the greatest of the mountain deities, had no such compunction. Continue reading →

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HAPPY BLOOM’S DAY 2016

jamesjoyceYes, it’s the 16th of June, better known to James Joyce geeks like me as Bloom’s Day. The day is named in honor of Leopold Bloom, the Jewish advertising sales rep and Freemason who is one of the major characters in Joyce’s novel Ulysses. The novel also brings along Stephen Dedalus, the protagonist of his earlier novel Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.

For those unfamiliar with this work, Ulysses is Joyce’s stream-of-consciousness novel in which he metaphorically features the events from the Odyssey in a single day – June 16th, 1904, in Dublin. (The day he met Nora Barnacle, the woman he would eventually marry after living together for decades) Bloom represents Ulysses/Odysseus, Stephen represents Telemachus and Leopold’s wife, Molly Bloom, represents Penelope.

The novel is jam-packed with Continue reading →

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VIETNAMESE WAR GOD THAN GIONG

Than GiongTHAN GIONG – Vietnamese god of war and 1 of the 4 main deities in their mythology (often called The Four Immortals). The mother of Than Giong once fell into one of the enormous footprints left from long ago by Khong Lo, the primordial giant. She thereby became pregnant (you know mythology!) and gave birth to a baby who was always silent and unmoving for the 1st several years of his life. At length during an invasion by China the reigning member of the Hung Vuong Dynasty sent messengers around the kingdom asking for any help that could be given against the invaders.
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The baby spoke for the first time, telling his parents to bring the messenger in their village, Phu Dong Village , to him. He was brought and the baby identified himself as a god who would repel the invasion. Because the child talked like an adult the messenger and the villagers believed him. The messenger went to tell the reigning Hung Vuong, while Than Giong’s parents and the other villagers obeyed the child’s instructions to bring him all the food they could find. Over the next days the child consumed enormous quantities of rice, pork, beef, fish and vegetables, growing and growing all the while.

Continue reading →

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AEGIR AND RAN: NORSE DEITIES

AegirFor my full list of Norse deities click here: https://glitternight.com/2011/04/10/the-eleven-most-neglected-deities-in-teutono-norse-mythology/

AEGIR – The god of the sea who brewed the ale that he would share with the other Teutono-Norse deities when they would get together at his hall on the island of Hlesey. Many poetic references are made to Continue reading →

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LIMPANG-TUNG: GOD OF PEGANA

Gods of Pegana

Gods of Pegana

Lord Dunsany’s 1905 book The Gods of Pegana and its 1906 followup, Time and the Gods, are forgotten masterpieces of comparative mythology which introduced the author’s pantheon of fictional deities. Though neglected today Dunsany’s work inspired authors from H.P. Lovecraft to J.R.R. Tolkein to C.S. Lewis. (But oddly, NOT e.e. cummings, A.A. Milne  or J.K. Rowling.)

LIMPANG-TUNG – The god of comedy, drama, music and all the other creative arts. Limpang-Tung thrived on providing humanity with distractions to take their minds off the inevitability of death. The sky was his canvas on which he painted forever-changing patterns of clouds and the events of the world were both a tragedy and a farce depicting the ultimate futility of human endeavor. Continue reading →

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AINU GODS – THREE BROTHERS

AinuMy item about Ainu deities has proven so successful here’s a quick take on three of the lesser deities from the Ainu pantheon, the three brothers named Seremak, Urespa and Usapki.

SEREMAK – The patron god of vigor, vitality and general physical fitness. He had a flattened belly (“Six-Pack abs of the Gods!”), nine pairs of wings and wielded a sword and a spear made of mugwort. Continue reading →

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THE FINALE OF PELE AND HI’IAKA: EPIC OF HAWAII

HawaiianislandsBalladeer’s Blog concludes its examination of the grand and exciting Hawaiian epic about the goddesses Pele and Hi’iaka.

PART TWENTY-EIGHT

As the previous installment ended Pele was furiously proclaiming that she would kill Prince Lohiau and destroy her sister Hi’iaka for falling in love (ish) while Hi’iaka was escorting the prince to the Big Island to become Pele’s husband. Hi’iaka had spitefully consummated her love for Prince Lohiau right at the base of Pele’s home atop Mount Kilauea. She had done this to punish the fire and volcano goddess for her savage slaying of Hopoe, the goddess whom Hi’iaka had placed in charge of her beloved forests of lehua trees.

Pele’s explosive temper was unleashed at the sight of her younger sister and her intended husband coupling publicly. As she caused a flood of lava to flow down the mountain and encircle Lohiau and Hi’iaka she had cried to all the gods in the Hawaiian pantheon that any of them who sided with Hi’iaka would be declaring themselves an enemy of Pele and would risk destruction or banishment.   Continue reading →

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