Monday, July 2, 2018

An encyclopedia full of love

by Greg Spalenka for Roxanna Illuminated Perfume
[shared from original post in la Vie Sirene]

There's so much love in the world, and now we know why. Take a look at this list of love deities courtesy of Wikipedia.

love deity is a deity in mythology associated with sexual lovelust or sexuality. Love deities are common in mythology and may be found in many polytheistic religions.

Albanian folklore 

Armenian mythology 
  • Astghik, goddess of fertility and love

Aztec mythology 
  • Xochiquetzal, goddess of fertility, beauty, female sexual power, protection of young mothers, pregnancy, childbirth, and women's crafts
  • Xochipilli, god of love, art, games, beauty, dance, flowers, maize, fertility, and song
  • Tlazolteotl, goddess of lust, carnality, sexual misdeeds
    • Tiacapan, goddess of sexual passion.
    • Teicu, goddess of sexual appetite.
    • Tlaco, goddess of sexual longing.
    • Xocotzin, goddess of sexual desire.

Buddhism 
  • Aizen Myō-ō or Rāgarāja, a deity who transforms worldly lust into spiritual awakening; his red-skinned appearance represents suppressed lust and passion

Canaanite mythology 
  • Astarte, goddess of sexual love, fertility, and warfare
  • Qetesh, goddess of love, beauty and sex


Celtic mythology 
  • AineIrish goddess of love, summer, wealth and sovereignty
  • Cliodhna Irish goddess, sometimes identified as a goddess of love and beauty

Chinese mythology 
  • Yue-Lao, a god of love, who binds two people together with an invisible red string.
  • Tu Er Shen, a deity who oversees the love between homosexual men.
  • White Peony (Bai Mudan or Pai Mu-Tan), a goddess who tempts men, especially ascetics.

Egyptian mythology 
  • Bes, god of music, dance, and sexual pleasure
  • Hathor, goddess of the sky, love, beauty, and music
  • Bastet, goddess of felines, love, sexuality, protection, beauty, and dance

Etruscan mythology 
  • Albina, goddess of the dawn and protector of ill-fated lovers
  • Turan, goddess of love and vitality

Greek mythology 
  • Aphrodite, goddess of love, lust and beauty.
  • Philotes, personification of affection, sexual intercourse and friendship.
  • Hera, goddess of marriage.
    • Anteros, god of requited love.
    • Eros, god of love,sexual passion and naughty thoughts.
    • Himeros, god of sexual desire.
    • Hedylogos, god of sweet talk and flattery.
    • Hymen, god of weddings and bawdy wedding songs.
    • Pothos, god of sexual longing, yearning and desire.
  • Peitho, personification of persuasion and seduction.

Guaraní mythology 
  • Kurupi, god of sexuality and fertility

Hindu mythology 
  • Kamadeva or Manmadhan or Kama, god of love
  • Rati, goddess of passion and lust

Lithuanian mythology 
  • Milda, goddess of love and freedom

Mesopotamian mythology 
  • Inanna or Ishtar, goddess of sexual love, fertility, and warfare

Moroccan mythology 
  • Qandisa, goddess of lust who first seduces men then drives them insane

Norse and Germanic mythology 
  • Frigg, goddess of romance, marriage, sex and reproduction, married women, household duty, and divination.
  • Freyja, goddess associated with magic, shamanism, seiðr, sacrifice, war, death, and sexuality.
  • Freyr, worshipped as a phallic fertility god, he was said to "[bestow] peace and pleasure on mortals"
  • Sjöfn, goddess associated with love


Roman mythology 
  • Cupid, the Roman equivalent of the Greek god Eros
  • Venus, the Roman equivalent of the Greek goddess Aphrodite
  • Suadela, the Roman equivalent of the Greek goddess Peitho

Slavic mythology 
  • Dogoda, Polish spirit of the west wind, associated with love and gentleness
  • Dzydzilelya, Polish goddess of love and marriage and of sexuality and fertility
  • Ladafakeloric goddess of harmony, merriment, youth, love and beauty
  • Siebog, god of love and marriage
  • Živa, goddess of love and fertility

Vodou 

Yoruba mythology 
  • Mami Wata, a pantheon of water deities sometimes associated with love and lust
  • Oshun, goddess of love, intimacy, beauty, wealth and diplomacy