108 Titles & Epithets for Gods
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108 Titles & Epithets for Gods Epithets are an addition to a god’s name. They can be seen as titles or as a component of the god’s full The Arts name, and generally serve to inform about a particular characteristic. As a literary device, 1. …of Many Devices epithets helped storytellers to arrange the rhythm 2. …of the Palette1 and spacing of a line (most ancient literature was 3. …Ruler of Dance either poetry or at least poetic in essence). For 4. …Ruler of the Builders ritualistic purposes, the epithet could act to delimit 5. …the Coppersmith (or Ironsmith, etc.) the god or shape it. 6. …the Healer (or Physician) 7. …the Renowned Artificer Either because gods suffered from multiple 8. …the Skillful Worker personhood or were a little dense, it was sometimes 9. …Who Plays2 believed that their worshipers needed to address a 10. …Whose Eyes are Festively Painted god with the relevant epithet in order to invoke their power in the desired manner. Calling after the Death, the Dead, & the Underworld aid of Zeus Brontios would more likely get you storms than anything else, which would be next to useless if what you really wanted was for Zeus to 1. …Conveyor (or Conductor) of Souls punish someone for breaking hospitality. 2. …Parent (or Chooser, or Receiver) of the Slain Epithets could also serve to shed a great amount of 3. …Ruler of the Undead light on a divinity, and those with multiple distinct 4. …the Chthonic roles had to be approached with even greater care 5. …the Dead (or Slain) One (or Hanged and attention to their epithets. Persephone could One, or another means of death) be approached as Persephone Kore (Persephone 6. …The God Under the Earth (or Who the Maiden) when focusing on her role as a Rules Under the Earth) vegetation goddess, but as a goddess of the 7. …Visitor of the Dying (or the dead, or underworld she was Aristi Chthonic (The Best of someone who died by a certain means, e.g. the Chthonic Deities), and she could be the hanged) approached as Persephone Despoina (Mistress 8. …Who Dwells on the Cremation Grounds Persephone) or Persephone Melindia (Persephone 9. …Who Hangs from the Gallows of Honey) when she was needed to influence her 10. …Who Illuminates the Underworld husband, Hades. Fate, Luck, & Prophecy Epithets often reflected a fusion with other divinities (as was the case with Persephone and Despoina). One of the most prominent sets of 1. …Determiner of the Length of Life examples is seen in Ra, who was Amun-Ra after the 2. …Guide of the Fates unification of Upper and Lower Egypt, and Sobek- 3. …Reckoner of Years (or Gifts) Ra in the final dynasties of Egyptian. 4. …the Auspicious 5. …the Favored (Fortunate) 6. …the Prophet (or Prophetic) 7. …Who Beholds What Comes Afterwards 8. …Who Determines Fate 9. …Who Gives Length of Life to Those in Sample Their Favor file 10. …Who Lays out the Order of Fate 1 Painting 2 An instrument. .