The air god Shu, assisted by other gods, holds up Nut, the sky, as Geb, the earth, lies beneath.

Ancient Egyptian Religion

Ancient Egyptian Religion Ancient Egyptian religion was a complex system of polytheistic beliefs and rituals that formed an integral part of ancient Egyptian society. It centered on the Egyptians’ interaction with many deities believed to be present in, and in control of, the world. Rituals such as prayer and offerings...

Reconstruction of a food offering after a Viking Age blót

Old Norse Religion

Old Norse Religion Old Norse religion is the most common name for a branch of Germanic religion which developed during the Proto-Norse period, when the North Germanic peoples separated into a distinct branch of the Germanic peoples. It was displaced by Christianity during the Christianization of Scandinavia. Scholars reconstruct aspects...

Set and Horus adore Ramesses in the small temple at Abu Simbel.

Set (Deity)

Set (Deity) Set or Seth (Setesh, Sutekh, Setekh, or Suty) is a god of chaos, the desert, storms, disorder, violence, and foreigners in ancient Egyptian religion. In Ancient Greek, the god’s name is given as Sēth (Σήθ). Set had a positive role where he accompanies Ra on his solar boat to repel Apep, the serpent...

Devotional scene, with Temple.

Sumerian Religion

Sumerian Religion Sumerian religion was the religion practiced and adhered to by the people of Sumer, the first literate civilization of ancient Mesopotamia. The Sumerians regarded their divinities as responsible for all matters pertaining to the natural and social orders. Before the beginning of kingship in Sumer, the city-states were effectively ruled by theocratic priests and religious officials....

Defaced Dea Roma holding Victory and regarding an altar with a cornucopia and other offerings, copy of a relief panel from an altar or statue base

Religion In Ancient Rome

Religion In Ancient Rome Religion in Ancient Rome includes the ancestral ethnic religion of the city of Rome that the Romans used to define themselves as a people, as well as the religious practices of peoples brought under Roman rule, in so far as they became widely followed in Rome and Italy. The Romans thought of themselves...

Anunnaki Chaos Monster and Sun God

Ancient Mesopotamian Religion

Ancient Mesopotamian Religion Mesopotamian religion refers to the religious beliefs and practices of the civilizations of ancient Mesopotamia, particularly Sumer, Akkad, Assyria and Babylonia between circa 3500 BC and 400 AD, after which they largely gave way to Syriac Christianity. The religious development of Mesopotamia and Mesopotamian culture in general was not particularly influenced by the movements of...

Impression of the cylinder seal of Ḫašḫamer, patesi (High Priest) of Sin at Iškun-Sin, c. 2400 BC

Religions Of The Ancient Near East

Religions Of The Ancient Near East The religions of the ancient Near East were mostly polytheistic, with some examples of monolatry (for example, Yahwism and Atenism). Some scholars believe that the similarities between these religions indicate that the religions are related, a belief known as patternism. Many religions of the ancient near...

Remains of the temple of Apollo at Corinth.

Hellenistic Religion

Hellenistic Religion Hellenistic religion is the late form of Ancient Greek religion, covering any of the various systems of beliefs and practices of the people who lived under the influence of ancient Greek culture during the Hellenistic period and the Roman Empire (c. 300 BCE to 300 CE). There was much continuity in Hellenistic religion: the Greek gods continued to...

Bas-relief: Nemesis, al-Lat and the dedicator. Palmyrene, 2nd-3rd century AD.

Religion In Pre-Islamic Arabia

Religion In Pre-Islamic Arabia Religion in Pre-Islamic Arabia included polytheism, Christianity, Judaism, and Iranian religions. Arabian polytheism, the dominant form of religion in pre-Islamic Arabia, was based on the veneration of deities and spirits. Worship was directed to various gods and goddesses, including Hubal and the goddesses al-Lāt, Al-‘Uzzá, and Manāt,...

Russian Empire Order Decoration Cross Crown

Imperial Cult

Imperial Cult An imperial cult is a form of state religion in which an emperor or a dynasty of emperors (or rulers of another title) are worshipped as demigods or deities. “Cult” here is used to mean “worship“, not in the modern pejorative sense. The cult may be one of personality in...

Apopis Apopis, relief from the temple of Horus, Idfū, Egypt. Rémih

Apep

Apep Apep (Apepi or Aapep) or Apophis was the ancient Egyptian deity who embodied chaos (ı͗zft in Egyptian) and was thus the opponent of light and Ma’at (order/truth). He appears in art as a giant serpent. His name is reconstructed by Egyptologists as *ʻAʼpāp(ī), as it was written ꜥꜣpp(y) and survived...