Nature deity who embodies the growth cycle of plants
Relief of libation to a vegetation goddess (ca. 2500 BC) found in ancient Girsu, at the Louvre.
A vegetation deity is a nature deity whose disappearance and reappearance, or life, death and rebirth, embodies the growth cycle of plants. In nature worship, the deity can be a god or goddess with the ability to regenerate itself. A vegetation deity is often a fertility deity. The deity typically undergoes dismemberment (see sparagmos), scattering, and reintegration, as narrated in a myth or reenacted by a religious ritual. The cyclical pattern is given theological significance on themes such as immortality, resurrection, and reincarnation.[1] Vegetation myths have structural resemblances to certain creation myths in which parts of a primordial being's body generate aspects of the cosmos, such as the Norse myth of Ymir.[2]
In mythography of the 19th and early 20th century, as for example in The Golden Bough of J.G. Frazer, the figure is related to the "corn spirit", "corn" in this sense meaning grain in general. That triviality is giving the concept its tendency to turn into a meaningless generality, as Walter Friedrich Otto remarked of trying to use a "name as futile and yet pretentious as 'Vegetation deity'".[3]
^Lorena Stookey, Thematic Guide to World Mythology (Greenwood Press, 2004), p. 99.
^Stookey, Thematic Guide to World Mythology, p. 100.
^Walter F. Otto, Dionysus: Myth and Cult, translated by Robert B. Palmer (Indiana University Press, 1965), pp. 7–12.
worship, the deity can be a god or goddess with the ability to regenerate itself. A vegetationdeity is often a fertility deity. The deity typically undergoes...
religion, a nature deity is a deity in charge of forces of nature, such as a water deity, vegetationdeity, sky deity, solar deity, fire deity, or any other...
Ent Nymph Salabhanjika Talking tree Tree worship Vegetationdeity List of nature deities List of deities by classification Heinrich Zimmer, Myths and Symbols...
life and death. Vegetationdeities mimic the annual dying and returning of plant life, making them seasonally cyclical liminal deities in contrast to the...
pertaining to Attis castrating himself. Attis was also a Phrygian vegetationdeity. His self-mutilation, death, and resurrection represents the fruits...
with flayed skins, which suggests deference or worship to a female vegetationdeity. The serpent around the waist may be a reference to the serpentine...
A deity or god is a supernatural being considered to be sacred and worthy of worship due to having authority over the universe, nature or human life....
This is an index to deities of the different religions, cultures and mythologies of the world, listed by type of deity. A basic classification of the types...
resurrection who rules the underworld and enlivens vegetation, the sun god, and deceased souls Ptah – A creator deity and god of craftsmen, the patron god of Memphis...
entities of the natural environment. Examples include water sprites, vegetationdeities, and tree spirits, among others. Animism may further attribute a life...
Unlike most gods and goddesses in polytheistic religions, monotheistic deities have traditionally been portrayed in their mythologies as commanding war...
A water deity is a deity in mythology associated with water or various bodies of water. Water deities are common in mythology and were usually more important...
vegetation, earthquakes, and snakes; "God of Earth and Land" Ala, alusi of the earth, morality, fertility, and creativity Ratovantany, Malagasy deity...
agricultural deity mentioned by Thietmar. Yarilo – East Slavic ritual and ritual figure attested since the 18th century Interpreted as a deity of vegetation. Karna...
A fertility deity is a god or goddess associated with fertility, sex, pregnancy, childbirth, and crops. in some cases these deities are directly associated...
ages around the world, the Green Man is often related to natural vegetationdeities. Often used as decorative architectural ornaments, where they are...
Daphne Dryad Mesoamerican world tree Tree deity Tree of life Tree worship Waqwaq World tree Vegetationdeity Cultus Arborum 1890 Image:Iskandar/Alexander...
wide variety of beliefs, and hence the concept of God, and the number of deities, rests upon the philosophy and the tradition that make up a devotee's adherence...
creation deity; he makes up the seventh generation of the Kamiyonanayo, along with his wife and sister, Izanami. Izanami: (伊邪那美神) was a creation deity; she...
Deities depicted with horns or antlers are found in many religions across the world. In religions that venerate animal deities, horned bulls, goats, and...
Deities in ancient Mesopotamia were almost exclusively anthropomorphic. They were thought to possess extraordinary powers and were often envisioned as...
the Hindu god of the Moon, and is associated with the night, plants and vegetation. He is one of the Navagraha (nine planets of Hinduism) and Dikpala (guardians...
There are a number of deities and personifications associated with seasons in various mythologies, traditions, and fiction. Kheimon, from Greek kheima...
Yam. Malakbel, god of the sun, vegetation, welfare, angel of Bel and brother of Agilbol. Part of a trinity of deities in Palmyra, Syria along with Aglibol...
Global Information