Hecate Part 1

Artwork by IrenHorrors on Instagram
Artwork by IrenHorrors on Instagram

Hecate is the Greek Titan Goddess of witchcraft, magic, necromancy, ghosts, the moon, and night. She is the daughter of Perses (Destruction) and Asteria (Falling Stars).


In the Underworld, she is a minister to Persephone, she also has followers called Lampades. Lampades are torch-bearing nymphs that accompany her during her nighttime hauntings. These nymphs are the divine counterpart to Eleusinian Mystery celebrants that carried torches in nocturnal sessions. 

Lampades, art by NaleBunny96 on DeviantArt
Lampades, art by NaleBunny96 on DeviantArt

Along with her Lampades, she has two animal familiars, one is a black dog that was once the Trojan Queen Hecuba, who Hecate took pity on after she leaped into the ocean after the fall of Troy. The other is a polecat named Gale who was a witch that was cursed for incontinence.


Hecate was originally a Thracian goddess, ruler over heaven, earth, and sea. According to Theoi.com she "bestowed on mortals wealth, victory, wisdom, good luck to sailors and hunters and prosperity to youth and the flocks of cattle; but all these blessings might at the same time be withheld by her if mortals did not deserve them. She was the only one among the Titans who retained this power under the rule of Zeus, and she was honored by all the immortal gods".

Hecate Part 2

Drawing of a marble statue of the Hecate Trimorph.
Drawing of a marble statue of the Hecate Trimorph.

During the night, Hecate sends out demons to teach people sorcery and dwell at the intersection of roads, and other places. Hecate also goes out during the night and her arrival is announced by the howling of dogs.


She is a household goddess as well, Greeks would put small statues up of her in their houses or at a crossroads and they would consult her through them as an oracle (or maybe used her as a form of protection, the sources vary). Some houses would, at the end of the month, set out dishes of food for the goddess as an offering. These offerings would be made of dog, honey, and black female lambs, which were consumed by poor people.


Hecate, according to Diodorus, was the mother of the witches Circe and Medea by Aeetes (King of Colchis). But according to Apollonius she, being a Virgin Goddess had no children. 

Norns

Artwork by Johan Egerkrans
Artwork by Johan Egerkrans

 In Nordic mythology, the Norns are the goddesses of fate that decide the life of including the gods. The exact number of Norns is not known but there are 3 main ones whose names are Urðr (the past), Verðandi (present), and Skuld (future) Skuld is also a Valkyrie that takes men to the afterlife after a battle. Then other "lesser" Norns are both good and bad that go to each child at birth and decide their fate, depending on the Norn your life will either be good or bad as a result. Parents will put out porridge at childbirth which they call nornegraut or "norn's porridge" in hopes that their child has a good life.


When the dragon Fafnir is dying from the wound infected by Sigurd, Sigurd asks him about the Norns, to which he replies that the Norns are of many different races, some from gods, others are elves, and some are Dvalinn's daughters (Dvalinn is a Dwarf). Andvari, whose ring cursed Fafnir and his family, blamed an evil norn for his misfortunes in the poem Reginsmál:


 "Andvari am I,

and Oin my father,

In many a fall have I fared;

An evil Norn

in olden days

Doomed me In waters to dwell."



The Norns live in a hall under Yggdrasil next to a well called Urðarbrunnr or "Well of Fate''. Yggdrasil is constantly in danger of being destroyed due to the dragon Nidhogg that chews on its roots; to help the tree heal, the Norns take water and clay from the well every day and sprinkle it over the tree (which is said to be an Ash) so that it will heal. There is dew that falls from the tree called honey-dew which nourishes bees.

Erlik

Artwork by Yiğit Yerlikaya
Artwork by Yiğit Yerlikaya

Erlik is the god of the underworld, called Tamag, and the judge of the dead in Turkic mythology. He is the Hungarian equivalent of Ördög. Erlik is the cause of plagues and evil spirits. One version of his story goes that he was the first creation by the creator god Tengri, and Erlik started making his spirits in heaven called iye, because of this he and his spirits were cast out of heaven. Erlik's spirits are also the cause of sickness and death on earth. 


Erlik was also the creator of death. The world had begun getting overpopulated with people and animals so they summoned him. However, the people began to live in fear because they knew when they would die until Tengri hid their death date from them. Erlik is described as having a man's body, and his head is the face and teeth of a pig with dark eyes and a mustache.

Aker

As Ra the sun god descends into the underworld he is protected by many deities, one of these is named Aker or Akeru. Aker is an earth god and personification of the horizon, guarding the eastern and western borders of the Ma'at. Akeru is said to have the ability to neutralize a snake bite thus serving an important role in fending off Apophis. Aker is described as a lion with leopard-like spots which may be a reference to the now extinct Barbary lion. He was also depicted as a strip of land with lion heads at each end while carrying Ra on top of him. Aker is used as a sign of protection against evil spirits (apotropaic magic) and places like palaces and tombs used to put two lions out front to represent him.


Aker is the one who welcomes the dead Pharaohs into the underworld. He has a plural form called Akeru which is a more aggressive version, in the Pyramid Texts it is expressed that they wish that each person will escape the clutches of the earth gods and that Akeru will not attack the king (implying they will attack others).

Egyptian Ferrymen Of The Dead

Aken- Ferries the souls of the dead into the underworld upon their death. He used a Papyrus boat named Meseket and is usually asleep when not ferrying souls and needs to be awoken by another Ferryman named Mahaf.


Mahaf - Captain of Aken's boat and he is the herald that announces Pharaoh's arrival to the underworld. Mahaf also leads the fishermen who ensnare souls in their net (Similar to the Nordic goddess Rán who captures sailors in her net and drags them to her undersea hall of the dead).


Kherty (Lower One) - Ferries the souls into the Hall of Truth for their final judgment after their journey through the Ma’at.


Hraf-Hraf - After a soul has been deemed worthy to go live in the Field of Reeds (Aaru) they can only be ferried over Lily Lake by being nice to Hraf-Hraf who is rude and ill-tempered and prone to insulting the dead.

Áine

Pronounced as "awn-ya", Áine is the Celtic goddess of summer and wealth. She is most famous for the story of her revenge against a king who wronged her. The king of Munster, Ailill Aulom, was having issues with his field not growing crops as they should which led to there not being enough food for the people. He was advised by a druid named Ferchess to seek out KnockÁiney (named for Áine) because it was said to have restorative powers. 


On his way there, he became very drowsy and had a vision of the beautiful Áine and was overcome with lust and forced himself onto her. Áine was very much enraged to go through this and in a rage bit off his ear. Celtic tradition dictates that only an unblemished person is fit to rule Ireland so Ailill Aulom was revoked of his high status and renamed to Aulom meaning "one-eared".

The Erotes

In Greek mythology, the Erotes were winged gods of love and a multiplication of the god Eros. A lot of these gods are used mostly in lyrical poetry and don't have any myths associated with them. They are often depicted in vase paintings as winged infants or children.  


- There is both a Primordial god Eros (protogenoi) and a god Eros (Love) who is the son of Aphrodite. 


- Alongside Eros is usually Himeros (Desire) who were there at the birth of Aphrodite.


- Pothos is the god of passion and sexual longing. 


- Anteros is Love Reciprocated and sometimes an avenger of unrequited love. 


- Hymenaeus is the god of weddings. 


- Hedylogus personifies sweet-talking and flattery and draws the chariot of Aphrodite. 


- Hermaphroditus is the god of hermaphrodites and effeminate. There is a myth that says a Naiad named Salmacis fell for him and prayed to the gods that she could be with him forever, so they were merged into one being as a result.