Today's news from the Ryazan region prompted me to think about strange names - which for some reason parents come up with, and then the child suffers for the rest of his life. The hard workers, experiencing an acute attack of patri(id)otism, named their boy... United Russia. “Father Valentin from our rural church fully supported and blessed this choice of name,” noted the happy father and reminded reporters that two years ago he named his daughter Putin.

In general, it’s practically a joke. Purer than some, oh my God, Dazdraperma. But, I thought, do metalheads have such problems? Well, call my son Slayer. Or daughter Sepultura. Have you heard of these?..

And if you decide to stand out with something, here’s a list of “gothic baby names” compiled by wallofmetal.com for thought. The option, of course, is most likely for English speakers, but the idea will do...

Absinthe - absinthe. (I don’t think there’s any need to explain what this gloomy booze is.)
Ague is what malaria was called in the Middle Ages.
Ahriman is a destroyer spirit, the personification of the evil principle in Zoroastrianism.
Alcina is a sorceress from Italian legends.
Amanita is the mistress of poisoned mushrooms.
Amarantha is a mythological unfading flower from Greek myths.
Amaranthus - Amaranth flower, also known as "love lies bleeding." In ancient times it was used to stop bleeding.
Amethyst - amethyst. This stone is associated with the ability to save from drunkenness, as well as from celibacy. And astrology is considered a symbol of divine understanding.
Annabel Lee is the heroine of the tragic poem by Edgar Allan Poe.
Artemisia is a character from Greek mythology and is also a type of wormwood used to make absinthe.
Ash - ash.
Asmodeus is one of the names of Satan.
Astaroth is a Christian demon.
Asura is "demon" in Hinduism.
Asya is said to mean “born in a time of sorrow” in Swahili.
Atropine is a type of poison.
Avalon is where King Arthur went after his death.
Avarice - greed. One of the seven deadly sins.
Aveira means “sin” in Hebrew.
Avon - in Hebrew - impulsive sin of voluptuousness.
Azazel is a biblical demon in the form of a goat.
Azrael (Esdras) - Angel of Death according to the Koran.
Beelzebub is the Hebrew version of Satan.
Belial is another Satan.
Belinda is one of the satellites of the planet Uranus. Presumably, the etymology of this word is based on the ancient designation of a snake.
Belladonna is a poisonous plant with purple flowers.
Blood - what a great name!..
Bran/Branwen is the Celtic word for raven.
Briar - thorn, thorn.
Chalice is a special cup for holy blood.
Chaos - Chaos. In its original meaning: the state in which the Universe was before the reign of the Greek gods.
Chimera/Chimaera - Chimera. In Greek mythology, it is a hybrid monster with the head and neck of a lion, the body of a goat, and the tail of a snake.
Chrysanthemum - chrysanthemum. A flower considered a symbol of death in Japan and some European countries.
Cinder is another name for ash.
Corvus/Cornix - "raven" in Latin.
Dark/Darque/Darkling etc. - several versions of darkness...
Demon/Daemon/Demona - several variations on the theme of demons.
Dies Irae - day of wrath, day of judgment.
Digitalis - digitalis, another poisonous flower.
Diti is the mother of demon in Hinduism.
Dolores means “sorrows” in Spanish.
Draconia - From "draconian", meaning "severe" or "extremely serious".
Dystopia is the opposite of Utopia. A fantastic place where everything is very bad.
Elysium - in Greek mythology, dead heroes go there.
Ember - fading embers.
Esmeree - according to legend, the daughter of a Welsh king, turned into a snake by the efforts of sorcerers. She returned to human form thanks to the kiss of a beautiful young man.
Eurydice - Eurydice, a tragic female character in Greek mythology.
Evilyn is a beautiful girl's name with the root "evil". It seems to come from an old cartoon.
Felony - sounds almost like the common Melanie, but also means "felony."
Gefjun/Gefion is a Nordic goddess who took dead virgins under her wing.
Gehenna is the name of Hell in the New Testament.
Golgotha ​​is Hebrew for “skull.” Hill in the shape of a skull on which Christ was crucified.
Grendel is the monster in Beowulf.
Griffin/Gryphon is a mythological monstrous hybrid: the body of a lion, the wings and head of an eagle.
Grigori - fallen angels in the Bible.
Grimoire - grimoire. A book describing magical rituals and spells, containing magical recipes.
Hades is the Greek god of the underworld.
Hecate is an ancient Greek deity of moonlight, a powerful sorceress.
Hellebore - hellebore. A flower blooming in the snow in the middle of winter. According to medieval belief, it saves from leprosy and madness.
Hemlock - hemlock. Strong poison. For example, Socrates was poisoned with it.
Inclementia is Latin for “cruelty.”
Innominata is the name of an embalming agent.
Isolde is a Celtic name meaning "beauty", "she who is looked upon". It became famous thanks to the medieval chivalric romance of the 12th century, Tristan and Isolde.
Israfil/Rafael/Israfel - the angel who must cut through the beginning of the Day of Judgment.
Kalma is an ancient Finnish goddess of death. Her name means "cadaverous stench."
Lachrimae - "tears" in Latin.
Lamia - “witch”, “sorceress” in Latin.
Lanius - "executioner" in Latin.
Leila - "night" in Arabic.
Lenore is the heroine of Edgar Allan Poe's poetry.
Lethe - Summer. The river of oblivion in the underworld in Greek mythology.
Lilith is the notorious first wife of Adam. Very ominous.
Lily - lily. Traditional funeral flower.
Lucifer is a fallen angel, often associated with the Devil.
Luna - “moon”, Latin.
Malady is practically a Melody, but not. The word means "disease".
Malice - bad intentions.
Malik is the angel who rules Hell according to the Koran.
Mara is a demon in Scandinavian mythology that sits on the chest at night and causes bad dreams (kosh-mar). The Greeks knew this demon under the name Ephialtes, and the Romans called it Incubon. Among the Slavs, this role is played by the kikimora. In Hebrew, "mara" means "bitter."
Melancholia is a very gothic/doomy name for a girl. Or a boy...
Melania/Melanie - "black" in Greek.
Melanthe means "black flower" in Greek.
Merula means “black bird” in Latin.
Mephistopheles/Mephisto - this is what the Devil was called during the Renaissance.
Minax is Latin for "threat".
Misericordia - "compassionate heart" in Latin.
Mitternacht means "midnight" in German.
Miyuki - "silence of deep snow" in Japanese.
Moon, Moonless, Moonlight - everything related to the Moon. By the way, the Moon is an ancient symbol of fertility.
Moirai - Moirai. Greek goddesses of fate.
Monstrance is an empty cross with the holy spirit “sealed” inside.
Morrigan is the Celtic goddess of war and fertility.
Mort(e) - “death”, “dead” in French.
Mortifer/Mortifera - Latin equivalents of the words "lethal", "fatal", "deadly".
Mortis is a form of the Latin word for death.
Mortualia - grave pit.
Natrix - "water snake" in Latin.
Nephilim - Nephilim. A member of a race of giants, the sons of fallen angels.
Nocturne - nocturne. Romantic “night” genre of music.
Obsidian - obsidian. Black stone formed as a result of volcanic eruptions. Used in surgery because is sharper than steel.
Oleander - oleander. Beautiful poisonous flower.
Omega is the last letter of the Greek alphabet, symbolizing the end, the finale.
Orchid - orchid. Exotic rare flower. Often used as decoration in glamorous Western gothic clubs.
Osiris is the Egyptian ruler of the underworld.
Penance - repentance, penance.
Perdita - sounds great in Russian!!! This name was coined by Shakespeare and means "lost" in Latin.
Pestilentia is a Latin term meaning "plague", "unhealthy atmosphere".
Reaper - aka Great Reaper, Grim Reaper. English - male - version of a bony old woman with a braid.
Sabine/Sabina - Sabines or Sabines. The people of the Italian group. According to legend, the Romans kidnapped the Sabine women during one of the festivals in order to take them as wives. About a year later, the Sabine army approached Rome to free the captives, but they entered the battlefield with babies from their new husbands in their arms and achieved reconciliation between the parties.
Sabrina/Sabre/Sabrenn - goddess of the River Severn among the Celts.
Salem is a popular witch killing site in Massachusetts.
Samael - Angel of Death according to the Talmud.
Samhain is the equivalent of Halloween.
Sanctuary - sanctuary.
Serpent - "serpent". Symbol of evil in many cultures.
Shadow - “shadow”. By the way, a common nickname for black cats.
Tansy - tansy. According to legend, its seeds cause miscarriages.
Tartarus is the Greek equivalent of Hell.
Tenebrae - "darkness" in Latin.
Thorn(e) - thorn.
Tristesse/Tristessa - "sadness" in French and Italian.
Umbra is another word meaning darkness.
Vespers are morning prayers in Catholicism.
Willow - willow. "Weeping tree", a symbol of mortal sadness.
Wolf(e) - how would it be without a wolf...
Xenobia means "stranger" in Greek.
Yama/Yamaraja is the lord of death in Hinduism.

Almost every world culture has its own personification of death. The Greek god Hades, ruler of the kingdom of the dead, is known, perhaps, to everyone. We have collected 10 terrifying faces of death that few have heard of.

Mictlantecuhtli (Aztecs)

The Aztec ruler of the underworld, who ruled its lowest part - the ninth hell - was depicted as a blood-drenched skeleton with a necklace of human eyeballs or as a man with a grinning skull instead of a head. In the service of Mictlantecuhtli, that was the name of this god, there were spiders, owls and bats.

Supai (Inca)

Supai was the god of death and ruler of the underworld (Uku Pacha) of the Incas. . Although it was associated with death, in Incan mythology the underworld was not necessarily seen as a negative aspect of death. It is believed that underground springs are a necessary aspect for sustaining life of the living and the dead. Therefore, although the Incas were very afraid of Supai, they immensely revered the underworld and its god. Various rituals and celebrations were held in honor of Supai.

Thanatos (Greece)

Thanatos is the Greek god of non-violent death. He was depicted as a young man with wings and a sword. They argued that Thanatos hated both people and the immortal gods of Olympus. Moreover, he was the only one of the Greek gods who did not tolerate offerings.

Donne (Ireland)

Donn- Irish ruler of loneliness and death, who, according to legend, lives on an island off the southwest coast of Ireland. The Irish believe that Donne causes storms and sinks ships to gain more souls into his kingdom. It is believed that Donne was not always a god - he was previously a mortal man. He is the son of Milesius, who was killed in battle while fighting for Ireland with his brothers. Donne was often depicted as a figure in a black robe with a hood.

Meng Po (China)

In Chinese mythology, death has a female face. Meng Po is the lady of oblivion who serves in the Chinese kingdom of the dead Di Yu. When the soul is ready to reincarnate, it is Meng Po who is responsible for making the soul forget its previous life and go to Di Yu. To help people forget about their past life, she brews a special tea, “Five Flavors of Oblivion Tea.” It was believed that after the soul undergoes cleansing from sins, it is resurrected in a new incarnation.

Sedna (Eskimos)

In Eskimo mythology Sedna is the mistress of the underworld of Adlivun and the goddess of the sea. Sedna was once a beautiful mortal woman who lived on the coast with her father. Her mother died when Sedna was still very young. Because of her beauty, men from all over the world tried to gain her appreciation, but no one succeeded. According to legend, Sedna died at the hands of her father and since then has taken revenge on everyone alive.

Anku (Celts)

The Bretons, who lived in northwestern France, believed that Anku was the personification of death. He was depicted as a tall, thin man with white hair or as a skeleton accompanied by two ghosts. In some cultures it was believed that Anku- first son of Adam and Eve. Others argued that the person who died last in the settlement of the year became Anku. Anku means "reaper of the dead." As darkness falls, Anku rides his funeral cart, drawn by skeletal horses, through the countryside and collects the souls of the dying. After his cart is full, Anku delivers his cargo to Anaon - the king of the underworld.

Giltine (Lithuania)

Guiltinet- the goddess of death and plague - was a young attractive woman who was buried alive. When, after 7 years, she managed to get out of the grave, she became a terrible old woman with a long blue nose and a poisonous tongue, with which she licked those doomed to death. Guiltine is often depicted as a skeleton with a scythe, and she can also turn into a snake. Guiltine wanders through cemeteries, dressed in a shroud, and licks corpses to extract the poison with which she will kill the living.

Masau (Hopi Indians)

In Hopi mythology, Masau is best known as a skeleton man who is humans' best friend and guardian of their afterlife. It was Masau, according to the Hopi, who taught people agriculture, and also repeatedly warned them about various impending dangers.

Aita (Etruscans)

The Etruscan death was called Aita, it was a demon with the head of a wolf. He guides the souls of the living down to the underworld and protects them there. On funerary urns, Aita was depicted as a bearded man wearing a fur hat made from wolf skin.

13. The Gods of Death and the Great Confusion

There is a very old joke in the Lower Worlds about why Azrael such a tall throne. And all because under the throne he has a huge ledger, where he writes down all his names, including the names of those with whom he is confused. This is so as not to get confused. And every year his throne gets higher.

There is only a grain of joke in every joke: after each paragraph of articles about the personification of Death, you really want to go out for a smoke. It feels like something happened in the courtyard of a mental hospital and you are forced to read the testimony of witnesses from there. One has schizophasia, the other is delusional about little green men, half are just paranoid and crazy, the rest are mentally retarded. Who are the gods of death, the angels of death, who are they related to each other and who is the boss of whom?

Each nation at one time compiled its own, more or less intelligible history with its own names and titles. As a result, it turned out that every nation and every confession has its own deity responsible for death. And now, in the 21st century, figuring out “who stood on whom” is hard work. Even with authentic history and verified data at hand, I would like them to at least somewhere agree with human information. And human, especially academic information is a madhouse. One well-known historian told me that most of this information was written according to the principle “well, in the hands of a stick - that means So-and-So,” and not because of knowledge of who it is, what it is, comparison of images or objective information. An even more interesting issue is the duplication of names, when several peoples called the same deity by different names and had different characteristics.

Exists element of Death and its huge layer - Necroworld. I partially talked about it here: but I will repeat the main thing. Necroworld- one of the largest and most powerful elemental layers, designed to process the products of decomposition, decay and death at all levels. World-Filter. This is a huge colossus, having three layers, from the most toxic and dirty, to the cleanest and thinnest. The purest layer of necro is a fairly pleasant place with beautiful nature and very dry, warm energy. It's very quiet and everything... a little sluggish. Faded colors, lack of wind, dry, strange vegetation... In a sense, this is a pleasant tranquility, but staying there for a long time is not a good idea, since necro energy is somewhat similar to radiation: small doses can be cleaned and disinfected, but large ones cause problems.

But this is the world, the center of the elements. Death itself is too complex, multifaceted and important a phenomenon to be dealt with in a couple of little worlds. There is a component of Death in every pantheon, without exception. A god or goddess who is responsible for death is the norm for any tradition. And here we are faced with the first problem - which of them is more important? They can't Thanatos, Ah-Puch, Hel and Chernobog equally drag your dead - where, by the way? - and be equally responsible for death! This means that someone is someone else’s boss, and someone is someone else’s backup.

At the same time, it is necessary ideologically to hide the numerous angels of death under a host of different names somewhere. A Reapers where?!... Either someone is mistaken, or we do not grasp the essence of what is happening.

So, if you break everything down, there are two plans for working with the dead. There is a Necroworld, with Purgatory, layers and its own ruler. Let's call it the Main Necro. And there are satellites of this world that provide a connection between people from different religions and the main layer. These are local Necro worlds. All these Angau, Hel and other Grim Reapers can be called the viceroys of the main official of the element, the head of the Element of Death. Which changes from time to time, but still it is one, God of death.

It turns out that when a person dies, Reapers from his religious tradition come to him, but they take him to a general purgatory, regardless of religion.

How does this happen.

When a person dies, 3 days before that he comes to Reaper, from the deity of his cult (they are all different), in a form understandable to this person. The reaper of one denomination will be different from Reaper another. Sometimes they can send the head of the Family, then the future deceased dreams that his grandfather or late mother is calling him. Then he comes Reaper, makes the necessary movement with the scythe and the person leaves the body. Both the soul and personality leave. The Reaper itself is a very pleasant creature. They are calm, gentle, good-natured and patient beings. Their task is to calm the person down, answer all his questions and take him away. You usually want to go with them, they make you feel as if someone close to you has come, you just have to go with them and everything will be fine. This is how the dead man feels their arrival.
time Reapers in bulk, and if a person wants to visit Mount Fuji (well, he’s always dreamed of it), he will calmly take his ward there and wait until he does everything he wants - visit, say goodbye, look... It takes 20-40 days. Then - in different ways. Someone is going to Purgatory, someone immediately into a new life. Purgatory is a network of caves, it is warm, dry, semi-dark, there is a fire and souls stay there from one day to a year. They are cleaned there, treated, cared for... Until they are ready to live again. Then the Personality remains on the physical, and the soul moves on. This is how this system works.

It seemed like nothing could be simpler. Here is the main “office” with the main director, here are small offices with their own “directors”. Couriers come from the small ones and lead the crowd to the main office. That's it, nothing complicated. But reading the texts on all these gods is physically painful, they are so clumsy.

Let's deal with the Big One Necro. The last two chapters Necroworld were Cain and Azrael. And not only did no one ever distinguish them from each other, but also each of them was separately confused with a whole sheaf of different gods and smaller entities. For example, it is difficult to understand what is written about Cain and what is written about the Greek Thanatose. This is, if not the same person, then certainly suspiciously similar. I am inclined to believe that there was only one face.

There is a curious story in Kabbalistic texts that Eve gave birth Caina not from Adam, and from Samael(which is a demon and a Serpent). And here is another pit: Samael is more of a position than a proper name; at least 6 different creatures were called that way. There is some confusion there with the two creator fathers - Yaldabaoth and Hosts who created Lower worlds and Upper worlds respectively. But okay, let’s take it for granted that the head and creator of the Lower Worlds is Samael. According to the Pirk of Rabbi Eliezer Cain was conceived by Eve from Samael immediately after the Fall. That is, the boy was a Nephilim and could not relate to ordinary people in any way. This means that his posthumous existence was not at all as boring as it could have been for the son of Adam. And so it happened - Cain’s life was difficult, but cheerful, suspiciously interesting for the first murderer in the history of the Middle Worlds. He gave birth to children, built a city, and is generally a great guy.

Samael served as head for some time Necro(we meet this in the description of the death of Moses, for example), but then he laid down these responsibilities in favor of his son - Caina, who died in the physical world and came to his father. And then he not only ruled the elements, but also actively whispered in the physical world, gaining names and titles for himself from different peoples.

And to people - what Samael, what is his son, what is Thanatos… Who cares? Academicians, after thousands of years - especially none. With a stick and wings? Means - Angel of Death. By the way, Cain was a pretty good ruler. The element worked properly and it was clean there. And now smaller gods of different faiths were working FOR him. Roughly speaking, if a Swede was dying somewhere, then the Reaper from Hel would lead his soul to Cain, and if a Maori died, then the Reaper came from Hine-nui-te-po , but he led the deceased to the same place. We sorted it out somehow.

Well, then began the story that I started Yahweh. Seizure of power and the Iron Curtain. The son of the main opponent certainly could not remain at the helm of the element, which is so important and necessary for the manifestation of power to the fullest. And Cain was tired at that moment, Juan frankly didn’t like the sombrero, he needed rest and couldn’t participate in the struggle for power even if he wanted to. And then Yahweh sent “one of my own” to this position - an angel Azrael. An extremely strange personality

I wouldn’t say pleasant, but definitely strong and sneaky. Azrael, or Azrael, whose name means “the one whom God helps” is elim, an angel of the highest rank (he has a gender), but of rather non-trivial thinking. From the entire retinue Yahweh- the most cunning and strange, most often infuriating his creator and then sitting in a cage for a long time for his insolence. Azrael was first in the retinue Yahweh, then tried to leave him, then returned again, and at a critical moment did not take the side of God. In short, he was undecided.

After sitting in the cage for a certain time, the harmful elim fell into a strange state that can be called rottenness. He technically cannot die, and no one would allow him to. But being locked up and disconnected from the elements, such a creature literally begins to deteriorate and weaken. Azrael, to put it mildly, I was sick. And he is still sick. There is a version that Yahweh I still keep him on a short rein and periodically torture him to tone him up. Myself Azrael rarely appears in public, although it seems that he literally never leaves the screen. In fact, Azrael there is a double named Azramavet, who in 9 cases out of 10 appears in public, meets with subordinates, reads all sorts of reports and comes to calls. Therefore call Azrael- it's a piece of cake, but most likely you will never see him himself. I had the chance to see him himself once, and frankly speaking, I feel very sorry for him.

Yahweh gave him the most important element. For what reasons he did this is not known exactly, but there are persistent rumors that Azrael He dislikes this world so much, and everything connected with death, that this is a kind of evil trolling of the poor fellow who really wants to live. Yahweh- a very cruel boss, this is very much in his spirit. And the poor Elim is forced to deal with the death he hates, so as not to enrage the little god once again.

He has been ruling for a long time and has acquired a damn cloud of names in all known pantheons... Arabic Malyak al-maut, aka Persian Mordad, aka Jewish Azriel, aka Samael(no, not the one who rules Nizami, position), aka Sariel, aka Esrail. He is Emma and Yama. He's... A lot of people. There are enough names for a three-meter throne. 🙂

(c) Mylene Maelinhon& Sathelard \ Archaic Heart Material

Illustration by FisherStickyShocker

There are definitely representatives of the dark world. Death, as something inevitable for all living things, has worried humanity since time immemorial. That is why people are accustomed to explaining the passing of loved ones as a manifestation of divine will. What is she, the goddess of death, really?

Is death female?

In almost all cultures, evil and dark gods include representatives of both sexes. However, it is the goddesses who most often control the death and life expectancy of people. Researchers explain this trend in different ways. On the one hand, a deity cannot be inherently good or bad. Everyone, except the supreme god, only fulfills their duties, controlling the lives of people in one area or another. Accordingly, the goddess of death does not seek to destroy all living things, but simply takes the souls of people with her at the appointed hour. But we should not forget that the gods are not alien to feelings and emotions. This means that there is no point in making them angry again.

Gods of death in the culture of different nations

Antiquity is characterized by a large number of gods and goddesses. The ancient Greeks and Romans believed that all natural phenomena and spheres of human activity are controlled by higher powers. The kingdom of the dead in ancient culture was ruled by the god of death Hades and his wife Persephone (Proserpine), the mistress of dark creatures and the souls of dead people. The Slavs in ancient times called their goddess of death and dark forces Mara, or Morana. In Ancient Egypt, the kingdom of the dead was ruled by Anubis, Meritsekert, Selket and some other deities. Hinduism also has its own goddess of death. Her name is Kali, she is considered one of the forms of the Great Goddess Mother Devi.

Deity of death among the ancient Slavs

The goddess of death in Slavic mythology has several names.

Here are the most commonly used of them: Morena, Madder, Mara, Mora, Maara, Pestilence Maiden. The deity appeared to mere mortals in different guises: now a young and beautiful girl with black hair, now a woman in a shroud, now a terrible old woman with a scythe. And some claimed that Mara could also be seen in the form of a skeleton with exposed bones. The goddess of death rules in the afterlife, but sometimes she comes to the human world. The greatest likelihood of meeting her is in dark caves, damp grottoes and other gloomy places. The Slavic goddess of death sometimes appeared to people to warn about future events. But there was no point in specifically looking for a meeting with her, since, like a ferocious hunter, the dark maiden wields various types of weapons and she is not always ready to let go of people who see her in one form or another.

What powers does Mara, the goddess of death, have?

The Slavs believed that the most sinister goddess was able to control the passage of time. At will, Mara can slow it down or stop it altogether. It is curious that this deity is able to influence time locally and globally. Mara spends most of her time in Navi - the world of shadows, however, unlike her ally Chernobog, she can enter the human kingdom at any time. The Slavic goddess of death rules over life and death. She is capable of killing anyone, including an immortal being. But at the same time, by her will, Mara can grant eternal life or resurrect. This goddess also has her minions. Mortals most often see the creatures carrying out the orders of the mistress of the kingdom of the dead in the guise of beautiful young girls with dark hair.

Features of the cult of Mary

In honor of the goddess of death, no temples or altars were built in Rus'. Mara could be honored anywhere. To do this, the image of the deity was carved out of wood or made of straw, after which the place chosen for the ritual was covered with stones, and one large stone was installed in front of the idol, which served as an altar. After completion of the rituals, the idol was burned or thrown into the river, and all ritual accessories were removed. The most important holiday of the goddess Mary was considered February 15th. Sometimes sacrifices were also made to the deity during severe epidemics. It is interesting that echoes of the ancient cult have survived to this day. In modern Russia, Maslenitsa is still celebrated - the day of the beginning of spring. But not everyone knows that the burning effigy on this holiday does not symbolize the receding winter, but Mara. There is an opinion that the ritual of burning a straw doll was borrowed from the ritual of human sacrifice to the goddess of death. According to some historians, in Rus' they built huge stuffed animals that were hollow inside. And before the fire was lit, people who decided of their own free will to sacrifice themselves or criminals sentenced to death came inside. After which the effigy was set on fire, and it burned along with everyone who was inside.

Be that as it may, pagan deities have been forgotten in our age, among them Mara, the goddess of death. Photos from the wonderful and cheerful Maslenitsa holiday will probably be found in the album of every Russian family. From all this we can conclude that it is useful to know history, but we must live in accordance with the traditions and customs of our time. Do not deny yourself the pleasure of eating pancakes and burning an effigy on Maslenitsa. And do not fear the wrath of the ancient goddess of death.

In many religions you can find references to the afterlife and gods, who are guides in the underworlds, where the soul ends up after the end of life on earth. Death gods include deities who dominate the dead or collect their souls.

God of death among the Slavs

Among the Slavs, Semargl is the god of death. He was represented in the guise of a fiery wolf or a wolf with falcon wings. If we turn to mythology, we can note that both the falcon and the wolf were facing the sun. Semargl is quite often found on ancient embroideries, house decorations, paintings of household utensils and on armor. For the Slavs, the wolf and falcon personify swiftness and fearlessness, since they often attack an enemy who is significantly superior to them in strength, so warriors identified themselves with these animals. Both the falcon and the wolf are considered the orderlies of the forest and clear it of weak animals, making natural selection. Inside every person lives Semargl, who fights evil and disease within a person, and if a person drinks, degenerates or is lazy, he kills his Semargl, gets sick and dies.

God of death in Greek mythology

In Greek mythology, Hades is the god of death. After the division of the world between the three brothers Hades, Zeus and Poseidon, Hades gained power over the kingdom of the dead. He quite rarely came to the surface of the earth, preferring to be in his underground kingdom. He was considered the god of fertility, bestowing harvests on the bowels of the earth. According to Homer, Hades is hospitable and generous, because no one can bypass death. They were very afraid of Hades, they even tried not to say his name out loud, replacing it with various epithets. For example, from the 5th century they began to call him Pluto. Hades' wife Persephone was also considered the goddess of the kingdom of the dead and the patroness of fertility.

God of Death Thanatos

In Greek mythology, there is a deity called Thanatos, who personifies death and lives at the edge of the world. This death was mentioned in the famous Iliad.

Thanatos is hated by the gods, his heart is made of iron and he does not recognize any gifts. In Sparta there was a cult of Thanatos, where he was depicted as a young man with wings and with an extinguished torch in his hand.

Roman god of death

Orcus was considered the god of death in Roman mythology. Orcus was originally a demon in the underworld with a beard, covered in fur, and sometimes he was represented with wings.

Gradually, his image intersects with Pluto, or in other words Hades from ancient Greek myths. After the displacement of Orcus by Pluto in the 5th century, the fate of a person began to be compared to a grain, which, like a person, also originates, lives and dies. Perhaps that is why Pluto was called not only the god of death, but also the god of fertility.

God of Death in Egypt

In Ancient Egypt, the guide to the afterlife was Anubis, who was also the keeper of medicines and poisons, and the patron of cemeteries. The city of Kinopol was the center of the cult of Anubis. He was depicted as a jackal, or as a man with the head of a jackal.

According to the descriptions of the Judgment of Osiris given in the Book of the Dead, Anubis weighs the heart on the scales. On one bowl is a heart, and on the other is the feather of Maat, symbolizing truth.

God of Death Ryuk

In Japanese mythology, there are fictional creatures living in their own world and observing the world of people. They use Death Notes to take people's lives. Everyone whose name is written in the notebook will die.

A person can use this notebook if he knows the instructions. The Death Gods are quite bored in their world, so Ryuk decides to drop the Death Note into the human world and see what happens.