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Myth: On a fishing expedition in the Persian Gulf, Adapa was buffeted by the South wind. Adapa's curse, however, was so strong that is was able to break the wings of the South Wind. When Anu summoned Adapa to heaven because of his actions, Ea dressed Adapa in a sackcloth and asked him to refuse any food offered to him. He was greeted by Tammuz and he informed the dying god that he missed his absence from earth, a sentiment that was well received. His frank admission of guilt appeased Anu and he was offered the 'food of life' and the 'water of life' which he declined, following his fathers advice. He then returned to Eridu where he realized that his father had told him not to accept the food only to deny him immortality. He then realized that disease and death would be the lot of mankind

Adonis - Adon means lord in Canaanite and Adonis is derived from that. The Greeks adopted a fertility cult associated with Adonis who was killed by a wild boar, a holy animal for the Syrians. His most important temples were at Byblos and Paphos. In Babylon, the temple of Astarte celebrated the death and resurrection of Adonis. His reappearance was marked by the blooming of the red anemone.

Ahriman - Principle evil in Persian mythology. As Angra Mainya, Ahriman first introduced death into the world. He led the forces of evil against good. These two, Ahriman and Ahura Mazdah, follow classic mythological "guidelines," so to speak. They are good vs. evil and to choose the righteous path leads to 'meet the wise lord'.

Myth: These two forces were always in battle. Ahura Mazdah told Zoroaster that Angra Mainya had upset his plans to make Persia into a terrestrial paradise. Angra Mainya took pleasure in 'choosing to do the worst things'. To thwart Ahura Mazdah he introduced frost in winter, heat in summer, all manner of diseases and many other ills that man had to endure. He also created the Dragon Azhi Dahaka who brought destruction to the earth.

Ahura Mazdah - Originally Ahura, 'the lord' he may have been connected to Mithra, the ruler of the day. He was elevated to the position of the Supreme Being by the prophet Zoroaster and acquired the epithet Mazdah or 'wise'. He bestowed fire as a symbol of truth upon his followers. Light or fire was opposed to darkness and represented truthfulness and righteousness, asha.

Myth: Azhi Dahaka has usurped the earthly throne. The three-headed dragon's need has caused 'need and misery, hunger and thirst, old age and death, mourning and lamentation, excessive heat and cold, the intermingling of demons and men'. Atar, Ahura Mazdah's son, overcame the dragon that was consigned to the bottom of a deep ocean. The Dragon, however, was destined to escape and destroy a third mankind before he was slain. The divine fire was the symbol of Ahura Mazdah.

Alilat - Arabian mother goddess, a deity created under significant Assirian and Babylonian influence. Historians have recorded that Nabateans revered a four-sided stone known as allat or alilat. These stones were often a feature of the nomadic people of West Asia.

Amun - An Egyptian ram-headed god. Amun was often shown as a bearded man wearing a cap with two tall plumes. Amun is a Tehran Sky God whose power was greatest when the Egyptians expelled the Hyssops and extended their boundaries to Canaan. Amun soon grew to be associated with Re. As a dynastic guardian, Amun-Re was King of the Gods, present in the ruling pharaoh. He was looked upon as one of the creators of the universe and was sought for his known generosity. To the Greeks, he was identified with Zeus and was famous for his Oracle at Siwa in Libya.

An - The personification of Heaven in Sumerian Mythology. He was personified as a human, unlike Egyptian Gods and Goddesses, he remained a shadowy figure, the survivor of a creation myth. He was the father of Enlil and was known as Anu is the Assiryo-Babylonian pantheon. He retired into background before the active gods. His symbol was the star.

Anubis - The Jackal headed funerary god of Egypt was the chief deity on who mortuary prayers were to be made before the rise of his father, Osiris. He is considered the patron of embalming and the guardian of the tomb.

Ark - At Sainai Moses went up the mountain and Yahweh talked to him. However, after the making of the golden calves and the breaking of the first tablets of the law Moses was told by Yahweh to fashion an ark or chest in which to store the second tablets. The 'Ark of the Golden Covenant', was the symbol of the Hebrew belief in a special relationship with heaven and was on one occasion captured by the Philistines. However, they were obliged to return it, as the inhabitants of every city where the Ark appeared were smitten with plagues.

Ashur - The Assyrian God of war, he took over the roles of the Assyrian Gods Enlil and Marduk. He was portrayed as a winged disc enclosing a bow ready to let fire an arrow. His consort was Ishtar, who responded to the war-like temperament of her mate by sprouting a beer that grew to her breasts.

Astarte - The mother goddess in the Ras Shamra texts appears as Anat, Athirat and Athrat other than Astarte. The consort and sister of Baal, she was the most active Canaanite God. Through her flattery of El, Baal was allowed to build a house on Saphon, a mountain situated in 'the sides of the north'. Despite names like 'the maiden' and 'the virgin’, Astarte was most aggressive, slaying Baal's enemies and desiring to posses Aquhat's bow. She was adopted by Egypt as Hathor and the cow’s horns of Hathor have come to be a part of her iconography.

Attis - The son of Cybele, Attis was self-mutilated and self-resurrected.

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