Chthonic Glossary
Words I should add? Mail me at words @ chthonic . net with information.
Categories
American:
Mictlantecuhtli,
Cisin,
Mitnal
Celtic:
Annwn,
Cwn Annwn
Egyptian:
Amenti,
Anubis,
Osiris
Greek:
Acheron,
Cerberus,
Charon,
Cocytus,
chthonic,
Hades,
Lethe,
Persephone,
Phlegethon,
sphagia,
stygian,
Styx,
Tartarus
Hebrew:
Sheol
Hindu:
Yama
Mesopotamian:
Kur-Nu-Gi-A,
Nergal,
Ereshkigal
Norse:
Garm,
Hel,
Hvergelmir ,
Nastrond,
Niflheim
Slavic:
Iriy
Jarilo,
Mokosh
Veles
Terms:
chthonic,
sphagia,
stygian
Deities/Personages:
Anubis,
Cisin,
Charon,
Ereshkigal,
Hades,
Hel,
Jarilo,
Mictlantecuhtli,
Mokosh
Nergal,
Osiris,
Persephone,
Veles
Weykent,
Yama
Realms:
Amenti,
Annwn,
Hvergelmir ,
Iriy
Kur-Nu-Gi-A,
Mitnal,
Nastrond,
Niflheim ,
Sheol,
Tartarus
Dogs:
Cerberus,
Cwn Annwn,
Garm
Rivers:
Acheron,
Cocytus,
Lethe,
Phlegethon,
Styx,
Words
Acheron
"River of Woe". One of the rivers of Hades. Sometimes used as a
term for the realm of Hades
Amenti
Egyptian underworld. Ruled by Osiris.
Annwn
Underworld of Celtic myth. Ruled by Annwn, and, briefly, Pwyll (who
exchanged forms with Annwn for one year and one day). Adapted as
Annuvin in Lloyd Alexander's Prydain Chronicles.
Anubis
Egyptian chthonic deity, depicted as a jackal or a man with a jackal's
head. Guide of the the dead, and god of embalming, the art he created
while restoring the corpse of Osiris.
Cerberus
Three headed dog, guardian of Hades.
Charon
The boatman of Hades. Ferries those who've received the proper
burial rites across the Styx. Son of Erebus and Nyx (Night).
- chthonic
-
(also chthonian) from Greek chthon: earth. Dwelling in or
under the earth, related to the underworld or the world of the dead,
but also with fertility and crops
- Cisin
- (also Ah Puch, Xibalba, Yum Cimil) Mayan chthonic deity. God of
war. Uproots the trees that Chac, the rain god, plants. Appears as a
dancing skeleton smoking a cigarette.
- Cocytus
- "River of Lament". One of the rivers of Hades.
- Cwn Annwn
- (also Barghest, Gwyllgi). Hound of hell. Monstrous dog of Welsh and
English legend. To see one clearly meant that you would die.
- Ereshkigal
- Mesopotamian chthonic deity. "Lady of the Great Place". Sister of
Inanna (Ishtar), mother of Namtar, an evil demon.
- Garm
- A hound that guards Hel and prevents the dead from leaving and
the living from entering. Garm is chained up at the cave
Gnipahellir. Garm and Tyr will kill each other at Ragnarok.
- Hades
- "The Unseen" (also Pluto or Pluton "The Rich") Greek
chthonic deity. Son of Kronos and Rhea. Brother of Zeus and
Poseidon. When he and his brothers were dividing the spoils from
overthrowing their father, they drew lots and Hades won the
earth. Hades made his home in the underworld, called the "House of
Hades" or simply "Hades".
- Hel
- (also Hela) Norse chthonic deity. Daughter of Loki and the giantess
Angurboda, Sister of the Wolf Fenrir and the World-serpent
Jormungand. Ruler of the underworld (Hel or Niflheim). Lives in a hall
called Eljudnir ("Misery"), and is served by Ganglati and Ganglot
("Slow moving").
- Hvergelmir
- "The Roaring Kettle". A well in Niflheim. Source of eleven
rivers (the Elivagar), and home of the dragon Nidhogg, who gnaws on
the roots of Yggdrasill.
- Iriy
- A wet, green land at the base of the World Tree in Slavic myth.
Where the birds fly for the winter, and where Veles lives. Jarilo,
god of the spring was stolen from the father god Perun, and spends
the winter here.
- Jarilo
- Slavic god of the spring, last son of Perun and Mokosh, stolen from him and
hidden in Iriy, the underworld. Perun battles Veles to reclaim Jarilo
in the spring, but Veles recaptures him in the autumn. Herdsman of
the cattle of Iriy.
- Kur-Nu-Gi-A
- The Land of No Return. Mesopotamian underworld where the dead live in
darkness, eat clay, and are clothed with wings.
- Lethe
- "River of Forgetfulness". One of the rivers of Hades. The dead
would drink of its waters to forget their lives.
- Mictlantecuhtli
- Aztec chthonic deity. Married to Mictecachuatl. Rules Mictlan, the
underworld where the souls of those who died in a way that didn't earn
them a place in one of the paradises. There are nine regions of
Mictlan, and when a soul reaches the last, Mictlantecuhtli's home,
it finds rest.
- Mitnal
- (also Xibalba) Mayan land of the dead. Divided into nine realms.
- Mokosh
-
- Life-giver and life-taker, a Slavic goddess of fertility and death.
She is wife of Perun, but lover of Veles, and mother of Jarilo. She
watches over a gate in the marshy valley which leads to the land of the
dead. When she returns through the gate, a magical spring in the valley
runs with silver and gold. Mother Wet Earth. Mother of Graves.
- Nastrond
- The Shore of Corpses. A region of Niflheim. Nidhogg chews on the
corpses of the evil dead here.
- Nergal
- (also Meslamtaea "He who comes forth from the luxuriant Mesu Tree")
Mesopotamian chthonic deity. Son of Enlil (sky god) and Ninlil (grain
goddess). Perhaps originally a tree god. Seized the underworld from
Ereshkigal, who became his queen.
- Niflheim
- (also Hel, Nifhel) Underworld of Norse myth. The lowest of
the nine worlds, a cold, misty place ruled by Hel. Where the evil went
after death. The roots of the world-tree Yggdrasill extend down into
Niflheim, and one of the three wells at the base of the tree is there:
Hvergelmir (The Roaring Kettle). (The other two are Urdarbrunnr (The
Well of Fate), which the Norns use to water Yggdrasill; and
Mimisbrunnr (Mimir's Well), the waters of which granted Odin his
wisdom.).
- Osiris
- (also Khenty-Imentin "Foremost of the Westerners")
Egyptian chthonic deity. Husband of Isis, father of Horus. Killed by
Seth, who cut the corpse into 14 pieces and scattered
them. Reassembled by Isis, who found 13 of the pieces (not the
phallus). Ruler of the underworld. Giver of life.
- Persephone
- Consort of Hades. Daughter of Zeus and Demeter. Kidnapped by Hades,
and forced to live part of each year in his realm because she ate a
seed from his pomegranate.
- Phlegethon
- "River of Fire". One of the rivers of Hades.
- Sheol
- "The land of gloom and darkness". Underworld from early Hebrew belief.
- sphagia
- in Ancient Greek religion, a sacrifice to a chthonic god; Worshipers
would not partake of the sacrifice, as they would in sacrifices to
celestial gods. The sacrifice would be cut into pieces and burned or
buried
- stygian
- Relating to the river Styx
- Styx
- A river in Hades. The word literally means "hateful" or
"cold". The water was said to dissolve any vessel not made from a
horse's hoof. Achilles was said to have been dipped into the river by
his mother, Thetis, making him invulnerable.
- Tartarus
- The deepest abyss in Hades. Where Kronos was imprisoned.
- Veles
- A Slavic god of the underworld and fertility. Step-father of Jarilo.
When a seed is planted, it is an offering to him.
- Weykent
- (also "The Deallocator", "The Destroyer", "Lord of the Graveyard")
An aspect of the Reclaimer. Imprisoned by the other Powers of the Council
in The Ruins.
- Yama
- (also Dharmaraja "The Just Judge")
Hindu chthonic deity. The first man who died, and the guardian of the
land of the dead to the South. Green in appearance with red
eyes. Carries a mace decorated with a skull. His realm is guarded by
his two four-eyed dogs.