CHTHONIC

Chthonic Glossary

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Words

"River of Woe". One of the rivers of Hades. Sometimes used as a term for the realm of Hades

Egyptian underworld. Ruled by Osiris.

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.

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