New gods did not at once replace the old ; they initially joined the ever growing family of deities or were merged with existing ones that seemed to share similar characteristics or responsibilities.

Syncretism covers the worship of Baal, the heavenly bodies ( sun, moon, and stars ), the " Queen of Heaven " and other deities as well as practices such as child sacrifice: " Other gods were invoked and serviced in time of need or blessing and provision for life when the worship of Yahweh seemed inadequate for those purposes.

The Semitic word kabir (" great ") has been compared to Κάβειροι since at least Joseph Justus Scaliger in the sixteenth century, but nothing else seemed to point to a Semitic origin, until the idea of " great " gods expressed by the Semitic root kbr was definitiely attested for North Syria in the thirteenth century BCE, in texts from Emar published by D. Arnaud in 1985 / 87 ( see Emar ).

To the gods it seemed otherwise.

Captives were sacrificed to ancient gods and America seemed condemned to slavery.

Since the disease struck without regard to a person's piety toward the gods, people felt abandoned by the gods and there seemed to be no benefit to worshiping them.

William Howitt's Visits to Remarkable Places ( 1842 ) notes the rooms had " stuccoed ceilings, with figures, busts on the walls, and one large scene which seemed to be Venus and Cupid, Apollo fiddling to the gods, Minerva in her helmet, and an old king ".

On the first day of battle the old gods seemed to be winning.

Therefore, it is now generally agreed that the Greeks did not generally think of hubris as a religious matter, still less that it was normally punished by the gods.

The gods think that this is great, and flay the skin from the otter to make a bag.

The other cyclopes think Polyphemus is making a fool out of them or that it must be a matter with the gods, and they grumble and go away.

The natives, who are living primitively in the crumbling ruins of a once advanced city, think that the crew are the Engineers of the Ring, whom they revere as gods.

* God realm: the gods lead long and enjoyable lives full of pleasure and abundance, but they spend their lives pursuing meaningless distractions and never think to practice the dharma.

Therefore, it is now generally agreed that the Greeks did not generally think of hubris as a religious matter, still less that it was normally punished by the gods.

Thus, Hrafnkell, protagonist of the eponymous Icelandic saga set in the 10th century, as his temple to Freyr is burnt and he is enslaved states that " I think it is folly to have faith in gods ", never performing another sacrifice, a position described in the sagas as goðlauss " godless ".

# " But mortals think that the gods are bornand have the mortals ' own clothes and voice and form.

According to Tacitus, the Germanic tribes think of temples as unsuitable habitations for gods, and they do not represent them as idols in human shape.

Thespis replies that the gods are unimpressive and suggests that they go down to earth in disguise to " mingle " and judge for themselves what people think of them.

However, the humans began to think of the Eternals as the Olympian gods themselves and not merely their representatives, leading to a growing resentment by the gods towards the Eternals which eventually erupted into war for a time.

Both came to think of themselves as gods, though the Sartan believed themselves to be the " good guys ".

To show such men, that the powers of persuasion they think they possess, are more sound without meaning, as to do by them, as by the idols of Micah: taking away their gods, and what have they more?

Upon hearing this Hrafnkell remarks: I think it is folly to have faith in gods, and he never performs another sacrifice.

While the rite of Naming was once reserved for the high priests of the Pei ' an religion, modern Pei ' an worldscapers tend to think of their relationships with the gods much more in terms of mental constructs, and Sandow is a confirmed agnostic as far as the objective existence of the gods is concerned.

The sculptures are admirable images of a gods, royal and imposing presences, though not without feminine sensuality, makes us think of important persons at the courts, persons of considerable power.

They no longer think much of the gods and their honor does not mean much to them.

From the captured Pirate Xodar, Carter learns that the Black Pirates, called the " First Born ", also think of themselves as gods, and accordingly prey upon the Therns ; and additionally identifies the captive Thern as Phaidor, daughter of the " Holy Hekkador " ( high priest ) of the Therns.

The titular character of the Icelandic saga Hrafnkell, written in the late thirteenth century, says that I think it is folly to have faith in gods.

Venus embodies sex, beauty, enticement, seduction and persuasive female charm among the community of immortal gods ; in Latin orthography, her name is indistinguishable from the Latin noun venus (" sexual love " and " sexual desire "), from which it derives.

The blending of sexual and spiritual is portrayed in Hindu iconography, as seen in ubiquitous phallic and vaginal iconography in Hindu temples and for instance in the Kharjuraho and Konarak medieval temples, where thousands of couples having sex in endless positions, and with the gods, are carved in deep bas-relief.

The accounts of the Samothracian gods, whose names were secret, vary in the number and sexes of the gods, usually between two and four, some of either sex.

After recovering from a mental breakdown caused by Glory's kidnapping of Dawn, Buffy decides to attack Glory with everything she has: Willow's magic spell to restore Tara's sanity stolen by Glory, at the same time weakening Glory's mind ; the Dagon Sphere ( a weapon created by the monks that causes physical pain to Glory ); Buffy's robot double ( the " Buffybot ") originally Spike's sex toy ; Olaf, The Troll God's Hammer ( with which Buffy is able beat Glory in battle and severely weaken her albeit temporarily, due to the hammer being a weapon of the gods ); and eventually a wrecking ball, commandeered by Xander.

The Hebrew term beli · ya ′‛ al is applied to ideas, words, and counsel, to calamitous circumstances, and most frequently, to good-for-nothing men of the lowest sort — for example, men who would induce worship of other gods ; those of Benjamin who committed the sex crime at Gibeah ; the wicked sons of Eli ; insolent Nabal ; opposers of God ’ s anointed, David ; Rehoboam ’ s unsteady associates ; Jezebel's conspirators against Naboth ; and men in general who stir up contention.

" Thanateros " is a portmanteau of Thanatos and Eros — Greek gods of death and sex ( respectively ).

There are several instances in ancient Indian epic poetry of same sex depictions and unions by gods and goddesses.

There it will remain for the same length of time it had been in the human world, reliving his life in reverse, younger and younger, until it is assigned by the ancestral gods to another newborn of the opposite sex.

The residents believe that the gods granted the people of their town the special privilege of choosing their sex, and that every year the gods come to collect their children and change their genders.

* Simon shares with us his elaborate plans to enter the realm of the gods via sex magic, a special mirror, and the importance of proper timing.

The counterpart of Ares among the Roman gods is Mars, who as a father of the Roman people held a more important and dignified place in ancient Roman religion for his agricultural and tutelary functions.

Joshua's two final addresses challenge the Israel of the future ( the readers of the story ) to obey the most important command of all, to worship Yahweh and no other gods.

Another important passage was Isaiah 40: 3 – 5, which imagines the exiled Israel proceeding home to Jerusalem on a newly-constructed road, led by the victorious Yahweh who has conquered the gods of Babylon.

Agni is one of the most important of the Vedic gods.

Many gods were associated with particular regions in Egypt where their cults were most important.

Freyr ( sometimes anglicized Frey, from * frawjaz " lord ") is one of the most important gods of Norse paganism.

Regarding the inscription reading, John Hines of Cardiff University comments that there is " quite an essay to be written over the uncertainties of translation and identification here ; what are clear, and very important, are the names of two of the Norse gods on the side, Odin and Heimdallr, while Þjalfi ( masculine, not the feminine in-a ) is the recorded name of a servant of the god Thor.

It is important to note that by the Middle Ages the Tuatha Dé Danann were not viewed so much as gods as the shape-shifting magician population of an earlier Golden Age Ireland.

Some songs were written for the gods but many were written to describe important events.

Inti, the sun god, was to be worshipped as one of the most important gods of the empire.

Among recent authors, John Ray has stated that " the hieroglyphs were the most important of the scripts on the stone: they were there for the gods to read, and the more learned of their priesthood ".

It was apparently an important religious symbol, often attended to by eagle-headed gods and priests, or the King.

The word was also used to describe those who considered themselves more important than the gods themselves.

One of the most important of these early Mesopotamian deities was the god Enlil, who was originally a Sumerian divinity viewed as a king of the gods and a controller of the world, who was later adopted by the Akkadians.

Statius ' use of allegory in the Thebaid and his abstract treatment of the gods has been seen as an important innovation in the tradition of classical poetry which ushered in Medieval conventions.

It was very important for them because the father was concerned about the well being of the mother and the baby, ( many times the mother and the baby died in the process of giving birth ) A midwife would speak to children who were being delivered as if they were adults, able to reason and understand, and then implore the gods that his birth insure a prime place among them.

The accompanying plaque translates as " SCULPTURE OF MIXCOAC-Mexica-Huasteca culture-Mesoamerica # Postclassic | Late Post-Classic Period-Description: sculpture with the image of Mixcoatl, patron of the hunt and one of the most important gods of war in ancient Mexico.

In Inuit mythology, Tekkeitsertok is a god of hunting and the master of caribou, one of the most important hunting gods in the pantheon.

Other important deities include the twin war gods, the kachinas, and the trickster Coyote.

This " Bel ," then, being an important deity, must be the sun, the more so as some of the gods bearing that title may have been really solar.

He was the most important of all the departmental gods.

Although the panentheistic tendency in Hinduism allowed only a subordinate rank to the old polytheistic gods, they continued to occupy an important place in the affections of individual Hindus and were still represented as exercising considerable influence on the destinies of man.

The most important of the gods whose names denote an agent in “- tr ” class, is Savitr.

The name of the town means " gods ' home ", leading to the assumption that it was an important religious site as well.