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Nergal

(Encyclopedia)Nergal nŭrˈgäl, –gəl [key], ancient deity worshiped in Babylonia and Assyria. He was a god of the midsummer sun, of war, of the chase, and of the dead. He could be beneficent, but he was primari...

Kabir

(Encyclopedia)Kabir kəbērˈ [key], 1440–1518, Indian mystic and poet. A Muslim by birth, he was a weaver in Benares (Varanasi) and early in life may have become the disciple of the famous Hindu saint Ramananda....

Frey

(Encyclopedia)Frey frā [key], Norse god. He was a beneficent deity associated with the fertilizing powers of the sun and the rain and, like his sister Freyja, with the return of spring. His worship, which extended...

Leucothea

(Encyclopedia)Leucothea lo͞okŏthˈēə [key], in Greek mythology, sea deity. In some legends she was the deification of Ino, the wife of Athamas; in others she was the deification of the sea nymph Halia, mother o...

polytheism

(Encyclopedia)polytheism pŏlˈēthēĭzəm [key], belief in a plurality of gods in which each deity is distinguished by special functions. The gods are particularly synonymous with function in the Vedic religion (...

Karur

(Encyclopedia)Karur kəro͞orˈ [key], city (1991 pop. 113,669), Tamil Nadu state, S central India. Milled rice, cotton fabrics, and brassware are the city's chief products. According to Hindu legend, Brahma began ...

Matuta

(Encyclopedia)Matuta or Mater Matuta māˈtər məto͞oˈtə [key], Roman goddess. Sometimes called the goddess of dawn, she was more properly the goddess of childbirth. Her festival, the Matralia (June 11), was at...

oath

(Encyclopedia)oath, vocal affirmation of the truth of one's statements, generally made by appealing to a deity. From the earliest days of human history, calling upon the gods of a community to witness the truth of ...

Elephanta

(Encyclopedia)Elephanta ĕlĭfănˈtə [key], island, c.2 sq mi (5.2 sq km), in Mumbai harbor, Maharashtra state, W India. It is noted for six Brahmanic caves, carved (8th cent.) from solid rock some 250 ft (76 m) ...

Kurnool

(Encyclopedia)Kurnool kərno͞olˈ [key], city (1991 pop. 275,360), Andhra Pradesh state, S central India, at the confluence of the Tungabhadra and Hindri rivers. It was the state capital from 1953 to 1956, when it...