Shaped Like A Friend

Lord of the mighty Nile and its dangerous crocodiles, risen from the primordial dark waters. He saw worship centered in the area of Faiyum where he was closely identified with Horus, linking him to the pharaoh, and later linked to Ra, increasing his identification to the sun. Sobek, like the croocdile, was aggressive and powerful, to be feared and respected. In some areas crocodiles were raised as holy symbols and also represented the strength and military prowess of the pharaoh. Despite this he was considered an apotropaic god who warded off evil and danger and, sometimes, included as a healer and protector of the dead in association with Isis, Osiris, and Horus. Mummified crocodiles and their eggs were offered to him, many still surviving today. He is associated with the Nile and its fertility as well, and similarly his name may derive from 'to impregnate'.

Pantheon: Egyptian

Domain or Function: The Nile river and crocodiles, warded off evil, protected the dead.

Alternate Names: Suchos, Suchus.

Character Traits: Violent and aggressive but also protective.

Visual Traits: Shown as a man with a crocodile head or as a full crocodile, often wearing a plumed headdress.

Symbolism: Crocodiles, the Sun, Nile river.

Predominately known as the remover of obstacles, he is one of the most widely worshiped deities in India. Lord Ganesha rules over new beginnings, prosperity, wisdom, and the arts, and is usually thought to personify the sacred universal sound Om. He is son of Parvati and Shiva; typically his characteristic elephant head is gained when Parvati gives birth to him alone. Shiva returns home and, upon seeing a mysterious person in his home, slices his head off, but later learns that it is his son and gives him the wise head of an elephant to replace his previous one. It's possible that Ganesha derives from Indo-Greek peoples or is simply a very old deity from ancient India, but regardless his worship has spread outward as Hindus traveled, leading him to have forms in China, Japan, and Southeast Asia. Ganesha, as a non-sectarian god, is worshiped by almost all Hindus, often when taking on a new venture for good luck and to remove any roadblocks that may come their way.

Pantheon: Hindu, Buddhist

Domain: Good, good luck, fortune, knowledge, art, writing, invention, fate, protection, science, beginnings.

Alternate Names: Lord Ganesha, Ganapati (गणपति), Vinayaka (विनायक), Pillaiyar (பிள்ளையார்).

Character Traits: Intelligent beyond measure, brings prosperity onto all.

Visual Traits: His most notable trait is his elephant head. In his (usually four) hands he can hold various objects including an elephant goad, noose, lotus flower, ax, mala garland, and a bowl of modaka sweets. His most common mount is the mouse or shrew.

Symbolism: Elephant, mouse, lotus, ax, noose, goad, garland, modaka sweets, moon.

The fearsome hound of Hades who guards the gates of the underworld, preventing those inside from leaving and intruders from entering. He features in only one major myth where he is captured by Heracles at the request of King Eurystheus. Heracles, aided by Athena and Hermes, is led into the underworld usually through Tainaron, the most famous entrance. Depending on the version he either fights Hades for his hound, beats the dog into submission with no weapons, or is given him by Persephone. He brings the horrible hound above ground to the king, along with sometimes freeing Theseus and Pirithous, later returning him home. He features in other later tales like Virgil's Aeneid, and in the modern day he has become one of the most famous Greek beasts.

Pantheon: Greek

Domain: Underworld

Alternate Names: None

Character Traits: Usually described as a regular dog, only larger and more ferocious.

Visual Traits: Almost always has three canine heads surrounded by a mane of snakes or a singular snake tail.

Symbolism: Snakes

A legendary Eastern Han warlord noted for his constant betrayal of his comrades. Lü Bu was originally under the army of warlord Ding Yuan, however he was persuaded by another warlord, Dong Zhuo, to behead his superior and became a foster son and trusted advisor for Dong Zhuo. His foster father was abusive, said to have thrown weapons at Lü Bu, and so he too was betrayed by him, now coming under the service of Wang Yun. He attempted to befriend Yuan Shu but was turned away for Yuan Shu felt he was untrustworthy, so he joined his relative Yuan Shao. Under his watch Lü Bu was shown to be a rowdy beast of a man, feeling that he was owed respect for killing Dong Zhuo for them, and so Yuan Shao plotted to kill him. He faked his death and fled north to the warlord Zhang Yang and eventually became friends with another, Zhang Miao, which led him down the path of clashing with the notable warrior Cao Cao after assimilating territories in his province, all of which were eventually taken back. Lü Bu comes under the shelter of Liu Bei whom, by his former superior Yuan Shu, he is convinced to betray and takes the city of Xiapi from. Later he is asked by Yuan Shu, now posing as emperor and under fire by the actual Emperior Xian, again to ally through marriage with Lü Bu's daughter and Yuan Shu's son, but is convinced by Chen Gui to betray him, and during this he also gains two warriors, Han Xiang and Yang Feng, by convincing them to betray Yuan Shu, both of whom are disposed of later by Liu Bei. Cao Cao later leads a siege against Xiapi, Lü Bu's main base, and though Lü Bu once again sides with Yuan Shu he is defeated after the city is flooded, his men surrender, and he is finally forced to surrender as well. He is tied up, hanged, and beheaded by Cao Cao. In the novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms his life is exaggerated and mythologized, painting him as an indomitable warrior capable of stopping flying weapons, defeating several men on his own, shooting arrows in impossible ways, courtship with the beautiful Diaochan, and possessing a powerful steed named Red Hare who could leap across rivers. He is often painted as the rival of warlord and martial god Guan Yu, whom his horse is later given to.

Pantheon: Chinese

Domain: None

Alternate Names: Fèngxiān is his courtesy name. He goes by many titles but is often called the Flying General (飛將軍) for his martial abilities.

Character Traits: Noted for his constant betrayal, animal-like temperament, and inability to form proper relations.

Visual Traits: Tall and strong, sometimes said to wear clothes with lion motifs, and in artwork is often shown wearing a headdress with pheasant feathers sticking out of the top, which has become a modern symbol of his.

Symbolism: Red Hare, fangtian ji weapon.

A spirit from Mesoamerican and South American folklore, said to roam near bodies of water. Her tale varies but in almost all of them she is a woman who drowned her children, either after a jealous rage after seeing her husband with another woman, because the children are illegitimate, or because she is simply evil. She ultimately ends up drowning herself, but rather than going to meet them in the afterlife she is forced to roam the earth forever looking for them. Sometimes she is identified with the Nahua woman La Malinche, a slave and interpreter for the Spanish who aided them in their conquest, leading her to be seen as a villain in many stories. Children are told the story of La Llorona as a cautionary tale not to wander near bodies of water or go out alone at night, for she is said to steal them or try to drown them as well.

Pantheon: American Folklore

Domain: Bogeyman, Children, Water, Vengeful Spirit

Alternate Names: Depending on the tale she is named as María, La Malinche herself, or many other names.

Character Traits: Her weeping and wailing is signature, and in some versions she attempts to whisk away or drown chidlren.

Visual Traits: Her only iconic trait is the white dress she is said to wear, though sometimes she is said to have black hair as well.

Symbolism: Water

In the primordial waters swam a creature, a goddess, in the form of a monstrous caiman-fish beast. The gods Tezcatlipoca and Quetzalcoatl decided that the liquid world should be inhabited by land and people, and so they sought to use the beast as a catalyst. In one version they transform into snakes and wrap around her body, splitting her into the sky and earth, and in another version Tezcatlipoca dangles his foot into the water as bait, the two then mangling her body to form the earth and its various landscapes. She awaits, maw agape, for blood sacrifice; to return blood and flesh to the ground is to return food and shelter to the people. In some art she is shown instead as a male, and is referenced as such, while in others she is female, and rarely it is mentioned that she is both at the same time.

Pantheon: Aztec

Domain: Earth

Alternate Names: Tlalteotl, Tlalcihuatl

Character Traits: A monstrous beast who requires blood sacrifice, giving back to those who give to her.

Visual Traits: Depicted often as a monster with traits of a caiman, fish, or frog. She has skulls on her limbs and a gaping mouth of teeth, sometimes with hair, a skull-bones skirt, and blood or a flint knife in her mouth. In some depictions she has maize growing out of her back.

Symbolism: Caiman, flint, blood, maize.

📜Click here to view all Egyptian chibis!

📜Source links at the bottom!

Famed for the pyramids of Giza, desert sands, and animal-headed deities is the land of Egypt. Within its mythological world are beasts of flame and death, a multi-faceted soul, and judgement by many deities. Day by day the gods protect the universe from falling to chaos and evil through the passage of the sun.

📜Primordial Beings

Nu

Naunet

Heh

Heuhet

Kek

Kauket

Amun

Amunet

Neith

Thoth

Maat

📜Ennead

Nine important deities worshiped at Heliopolis and believed to be the most important.

Atum

Shu

Tefnut

Geb

Nut

Osiris

Isis

Set

Nephthys

📜Other Deities

Anubis

Ammit

🦛 Taweret: Hippo goddess of childbirth.

👻 Medjed: Mysterious ghost-shaped god.

🦅 Horus the Younger: God of the pharaoh and the sky.

Horus the Elder

📜Fused Deities

Gods created by the fusion of one or more from different pantheons.

Serapis

📜Creatures

Sphinx

📜Sources

Simple Wikipedia list of gods!

Simple Wikipedia list of creatures!

🫀Click here to view all Egyptian chibis!

🫀Source links at the bottom!

Also known as Mexica for the Mexica people, the Aztec empire was one of the greatest and well known empires on the planet. Their reputation is that of violence and blood due to their record of human sacrifice, however like all mythologies their gods were also of peace, humanity, crops, and more. Currently we are in the fifth sun, ruled by the god Huītzilōpōchtli, who requires blood sacrifice in order to protect the world.

🫀Primordial Beings

Tōnacātēcuhtli 

Tōnacācihuātl 

Tēzcatlīpōca

Quetzalcōātl

Xīpe Totēc

🐦‍🔥 Huītzilōpōchtli: Patron god of the Aztec empire, god of war.

🫀Star Deities

Centzonmīmixcōa

Centzonhuītznāhua 

🔮 Ītzpāpālōtl: Goddess of fire, flint, queen of the tzitzimīmeh.

🫀Nature Deities

🌊 Chālchiuhtlīcuē: Goddess of waters and childbirth.

Tlaloc

🫀Underworld Deities

Mictlantecuhtli

Mictecacihuatl

Xolotl

🫀Art and Pleasure Deities

🐺 Huēhuehcoyōtl: God of dance, music, art, and sex.

🌷 Xōchiquetzal: Goddess of femininity and sex.

🌷 Xōchipilli: God of masculinity and sex.

🫀Creatures

Ahuizotl

🫀Sources

Good site for information on Mesoamerican topics!

Helpful site for identifying some visual traits of the gods!

Simple Wikipedia list of gods!

🔨Click here to view all Germanic chibis!

🔨Source links at the bottom!

Mythology of the Germanic peoples, encompassing Norse and Anglo-Saxon mythology as well. Often the pantheon is boiled down to just Norse gods, though the Germanic peoples had some gods outside of the Norse, and among certain groups their shared gods exhibited different traits. Among the most common is the belief in a world tree, often Yggdrasil, and the belief that the world will one day end in an event, often Ragnarök.

🔨Primordial Beings

Beings that existed at the beginning of the world or helped form it.

Ymir

🔨Æsir 

The first family of gods, led by Odin.

👁️ Odin: God of wisdom and war, leader of the Æsir. 

🔨 Thor: God of thunder and prominent hero.

Týr 

Loki

🧶 Frigg: Goddess of prophecy and wife of Odin.

Eir

Sága 

Heimdallr

Bragi

Víðarr 

Vali

Ullr

Gefjon

Fulla

🔨Vanir

The second family of gods, said to have prophetic powers, often led by Freyja, Freyr, and/or Njörðr.

Njörðr

Freyja

Freyr

🔨Other Norse Gods

Hel

🚶‍♂️ Meili: Mysterious god who is a brother of Thor.

🔨Creatures

Fenrir

Jörmungandr 

🔨Anglo-Saxon Gods

Gods attributed to the Anglo-Saxon people.

Ēostre 

🔨Other Germanic Gods

Hulda/Perchta

🔨Sources

Simple Wikipedia list of gods!

Simple Wikipedia list of creatures!

Nice site listing some Norse mythology with sources!

The most Greek of the gods, the radiant light and one of the divine archer twins alongside his sister Artemis. He is the protector against evil, most famous for his slaying of the vicious monster Python, and venerated both in Delphi and Delos. To the youth he was a mentor, associated with the raising of children. To the community he was god of society and colonization and was attributed with the invention of several things such as the lyre, sports, music, and archery, and was protector of herds and pastures. He was notable for giving prophecy to various oracles, most famously the oracle of Delphi, and as such was an oracular god and light god. He was also a force to be reckoned with who would send plagues upon his enemies or aid the favored in battle, such as Paris and Hector in the Iliad. Apollo is commonly accompanied by the Muses, goddesses of the arts, as well as his companion Hermes who shares much of his attributes. With his sister Artemis he is considered one of the divine twins of Leto who rain arrows from Olympus. In later times he adopted the role of Helios, the titan of the sun, and became conflated with the sun himself. Unlike the rest of the Olympians Apollo was adopted in his entirety by the Romans, having no direct counterpart and being worshiped as a foreign god.

Pantheon: Greek and Roman

Domain: Light, sun, archery, prophecy, art, invention, society, cities, sports, herding, health, children, protection, knowledge, disease, hunting, magic, day.

Alternate Names: Apollon, commonly called Apollo Phoebus, had many epithets both in Greece and Rome.

Character Traits: Defined as the perfect kouros, the youthful athletic perfect archetype. He was a protector first and foremost but his deadly aim with his arrows was feared by those against him.

Visual Traits: Shown as a beardless youth with long hair, a symbol of youth that was not cut until adulthood was reached. Adorned in white robes.

Symbolism: Lyre, bow and arrow, long hair, laurel, goose, swan, snakes.

God of the seas and lord of the earth, brother to Zeus and Hades. After the afterthrowing of his father his domain became the open oceans. Poseidon was noted for his temper and frequent losses to other gods, such as to Athena when the city of Athens took her name rather than his. He also held back the hero Odysseus from reaching home after his son, Polyphemus, was killed by him. In the early ages of Greece he was thought to be a chthonic god of the underworld and that lives on in his association with earthquakes and islands, as well as his ties to horses which were thought to have ties to the underworld and springs. Like his brother he has many myths of him pursuing unwilling women, and has many children including Theseus, Polyphemus, and Bellerophon, and many partners including Amphitrite, Cleito, and Nerites. In his more positive notes he was the protector of seafarers and fishermen.

Pantheon: Greek

Domain: Oceans and seas, water, springs, earth, earthquakes, horses, seafaring, fishing, storms, protection.

Alternate Names: Has many epithets including Poseidon Ennosigaios (the earth-shaker).

Character Traits: Noted for his temper and frequent outbursts, sexually persuing like his brothers.

Visual Traits: In art he is shown wearing a wreath of celery leaves and always wielding his trident.

Symbolism: Trident, horses, dolphins, tuna and other fish, celery and pine, hippocamps.