Oxford Index Browse

Abraham or Avraham (at first Abram, or Ibrahim in Arabic) is a central figure in Hebrew mythology as developed in

A central story in Hebrew mythology contained in the first chapter of the biblical book of Genesis, sacred to

Aesop was the legendary sixth- century b.c.e. composer of Greek fables, some actually dating from as early as the seventh

Sahara, The West Coast, East and South Africa, Madagascar

Mythologies abound in Africa. Tribes possess their own traditions, and even

Perhaps a real king of ancient Argos, with his capital at Mycenae in about 1300 b.c.e., Agamemnon was

The Japanese sun goddess. Her myths are the most important of the indigenous faith, Shinto, ‘the way of the gods.’

North America, Central America, South America

Men entered the American continents from Siberia over a temporary land link during the

In Christianity the term “Annunciation” refers to the angel Gabriel's announcement to the Virgin Mary that she will become the

The Greek goddess of love. Unlike her Roman counterpart Venus, with whom she was identified, Aphrodite was not only a

In religious studies the Apocalypse has a specific meaning relating to the meaning of the word in Greek, that is,

The Lydian maiden Arachne was so proud of her abilities as a weaver that she challenged the goddess Athene to

A Greek physician and sometimes god, Asclepius (Aesculapius) was fathered by Apollo and taught healing and hunting by the centaur

This important goddess in ancient Canaan was called Ashtoreth in Hebrew and was possibly identical to the goddess named Anath.

Perhaps the most popular figure in Mahayana Buddhism, Avalokiteshvara is a bodhisattva of compassion who originated in northern India.

In the mid-thirteenth century a wandering Nahuatl-speaking group known as the Mexica came into the Valley of Mexico and in

In what are the present-day Balkans, ancient Slavic migrants encountered and at least partly assimilated Albanian-speaking Indo-Europeans, whose linguistic

In what are possibly Neanderthal cave “sanctuaries” high in the Alps, skulls are set into “altar” niches, suggesting a worshipping

Depending on the sect of Buddhism, the word “bodhisattva” has essentially two meanings. Literally, a bodhisattva is a person

Gautama Siddartha (c. 563–479 bc), the prince from present day Nepal who became the Buddha, ‘the Enlightened

“Buddha” or “the Buddha” is a name usually applied to the Buddha Sakyamuni, otherwise known as Gautama Buddha.