Idol worshippers.

What is…
idolatry in the Bible
What are the different false gods worshipped?

Thou shalt have no other gods before me
Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image —The 10 Commandments

The Apostle Paul describes the origin of idolatry in Romans 1:21-25, saying men forsook God, and sank into ignorance and moral corruption (Romans 1:28). People worshipped and paid divine honor to created images rather than the one true God (Yahweh), the Creator of the universe.

Of course, God’s and our evil enemy Satan and his demonic-angels are the promoters of idolatry and all the forms of wickedness it has brought. Idolatrous practices extend back through millenia of human history. Much of it began at Babylon (Babel).

Forms of idolatry

  1. WORSHIP of Natural Things and Creatures

    Various of things in God’s Creation were eventually worshiped as supposed representations of unseen god(s) — Sun, Moon, stars, planets, trees, rivers, hills, mountains, stones, animals, fire, lightning, etc.

    FETISHISM—objects such as small stone carvings of animals, false gods, Satan, demons, or sexual images supposed to have magical power to aid or protect their reverent and devoted owners

  2. Astrology, Divination, Sorcery

  3. Nature Worship

    People have worshipped natural forces or unseen beings as the supposed power of nature and the source of all life.

    Modern forms of this include:

    • Gaia (Mother Earth) / Gaia-Goddess worship movement / and related extreme Environmentalim and Globalism
    • Evolutionism as a force supposeduly taking humanity to ever higher god-like levels
    • The New Age Movement
    • The Force of Star Wars

  4. Self Worship

    Self-worship generally starts with denying or ignoring the obvious reality of our Creator God and His sovereignty (atheism, agnosticsm) and arrogantly, pridefully elevating one’s own self to the place of most important being in life—the ultimate decider of what is true and good. One’s focus generally becomes almost totally inward, feeding personal feelings, lusts and self-interests.

    The wicked in his proud countenance does not seek God;
    God is in none of his thoughts. —Psalms 10:4 NKJV

    Today, “Just believe in yourself… Be true to yourself” is a common worldly view and message. Is that what God urges us to do? What does His Word reveal?…

    WE ARE ALL BORN SPIRITUALLY DEAD, and remain so if we are not born-again.

    Ever since Adam’s first sin, all humans are born spiritually DEAD, in rebellion against God and a continual slave to sin. If we have not been reborn into the spiritual Kingdom of God, we are in the kingdom of Satan, the Great Deceiver.

  5. If we, do NOT fear God, we can NEVER become truly wise.

    THE FEAR OF THE LORD— What is it? Why is it very important? Answer

  6. One of the world’s biggest and most common sins is SELF-CENTERED EGOTISM—sinful pride and selfishness.

    Drop your pridefulness— HUMILITY before God is vitally important. Humility opens your eyes to truth and wisdom.

    Don’t think of yourself more highly than you ought —Romans 12:3

    Conceit comes before a fall into condemnation (1 Timothy 3:6).

    What does God love, and what does He hate? He loves a humble repentant heart. He hates a prideful sinful one.

    If we suffocate pride, we will starve every other sin of its oxygen.

  7. CONFIDENCE in what? Yourself? For a Christian, self-confidence is in who we are in Christ, not who we are in ourselves. He is our identity, and God’s Holy Spirit dwells in us. Believe in what GOD can do THROUGH YOU.

    Devote your life to serving God faithfully, pursuing holiness, righteousness, being one who truly loves (an action, not an emotion)—doing good works.

  8. Allow the Holy Spirit of God to ALIGN YOU WITH GOD’S VIEW—your heart, thoughts and actions.

    “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” —Proverbs 3:5-6

    I must decrease, but He must increase. —John 3:30

    Become the kind of lover that God intends. For a follower of Christ, what is LOVE?

    What is sanctification?

  9. Invention of a God of One’s Own Liking

    Many people create a “God” of their own liking, a false god, and acknowledge and praise him instead—telling themselves that he is the real god. This idolatrous god in their mind, is a self-delusion, and often results from false teachings, both in ancient times and today.

  10. Rejecting the Word of God

    Maintaining a rebellious, insubordinate, stubborn, presumptious spirit

    “For rebellion is as the sin of divination,
    And insubordination is as iniquity and idolatry.
    Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,
    He has also rejected you…” 1 Samuel 15:23 NASB excerpt

    “…And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. …you have rejected the word of the Lord…” —1 Samuel 15:23 NKJV excerpt

  11. Hero or Ancestor Worship

    The worship or extreme veneration of deceased ancestors or heros

  12. Covetousness / Greed

    In the New Testament covetousness (greed) is defined as idolatry (Colossians 3:5; Ephesians 5:5; Matthew 6:24; Col. 3:5; Luke 16:13; Ephesians 5:5).

The Bible’s Warning About Idolatry

Joshua warned the Israelites to throw away their foreign gods and “choose this day whom you will serve” (Joshua 24:15 NKJV). Both the psalmist and the prophet Isaiah warned that those who worship inanimate idols will become like them—unseeing, unfeeling, unable to hear the truth that God would communicate to them.

Heathen depravity and its punishment

In Scripture, idolatry is regarded as of heathen origin, and as being imported among the Hebrews through contact with heathen nations. The first allusion to idolatry is in the account of Rachel stealing her father’s teraphim (Genesis 31:19), which were the relics of the worship of other gods by Laban’s progenitors “on the other side of the river in old time” (Joshua 24:2).

During their long residence in Egypt the Hebrews fell into idolatry, and it was long before they were delivered from it (Joshua 24:14; Ezek. 20:7). Many a token of God’s displeasure fell upon them because of this sin.

The idolatry learned in Egypt was probably rooted out from among the people during the 40 years’ wanderings, but when the Jews entered Canaan, they came into contact with the monuments and associations of the idolatry of the old Canaanite people groups, and showed a constant tendency to depart from the living God and follow the idolatrous practices of those heathen nations. It was their great national sin, which was only effectually rebuked by the Babylonian exile. That exile finally purified the Jews of all idolatrous tendencies.

The first and second commandments are directed against idolatry of every form. Individuals and communities were equally amenable to the rigorous code. The individual offender was devoted to destruction (Exodus 22:20). His nearest relatives were not only bound to denounce him and deliver him up to punishment (Deuteronomy 13:6-18), but their hands were to strike the first blow when, on the evidence of two witnesses, at least, he was stoned (Deuteronomy 17:2-7).

To attempt to seduce others to false worship was a crime of equal enormity (13:6-10). An idolatrous nation shared the same fate. No facts are more strongly declared in the Old Testament than that the extermination of the Canaanites was the punishment of their idolatry (Exodus 34:15-16; Deuteronomy 7; 12:29-31; 20:17), and that the calamities of the Israelites were due to the same cause (Jeremiah 2:17).

“A city guilty of idolatry was looked upon as a cancer in the state; it was considered to be in rebellion, and treated according to the laws of war. Its inhabitants and all their cattle were put to death.”

High treason

Jehovah was the theocratic King of Israel, the civil Head of the commonwealth, and, therefore, to an Israelite, idolatry was a state offense (1 Samuel 15:23), high treason.

After taking possession of the land, the children of Israel were commanded to destroy all traces of every kind of the existing idolatry of the Canaanites (Exodus 23:24, 32; 34:13; Deuteronomy 7:5, 25; 12:1-3).

ANGELS appeared to men to rebuke their sin of idolatry.

Then the angel of Yahweh came up from Gilgal to Bochim. And he said, “I brought you up out of Egypt and led you into the land which I have sworn to your fathers; and I said, ‘I will never break My covenant with you, and as for you, you shall cut no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall tear down their altars.’

But you have not listened to My voice; what is this you have done?

Therefore I also said, ‘I will not drive them out before you; but they will become as thorns in your sides, and their gods will become a snare to you.’”

So it happened that when the angel of Yahweh spoke these words to all the sons of Israel, the people lifted up their voices and wept. —Judg. 2:1-4 LSB

Practices of various idolaters in various cultures

Practices varied widely. Far too many actions of idolaters have been so perverse and awful that we dare not cover them in any detail here, or even list them all. Suffice it to say that they include such as the following:

False gods mentioned in the Bible

  1. Adrammelech (2 Kings 17:31), aka Adrammalech (a major god of the city of Sepharvaim, aka Sephar-vaim, Sippara)
  2. Amon, aka Amun or Ammon (Egyptian god, usually depicted with a human body and the head of a ram / Greek equivalent: Zeus)
  3. Anammelech (2 Kings 17:31), aka Anamelech (Syrian and Mesopotamian Moon god / Also a god of the city of Sepharvaim, aka Sephar-vaim, Sippara)
  4. Anath, aka Anat and Anatu (goddess of warfare and hunting in various cultures) (See: Ashtoreth)
  5. Apis, aka Hapis and Hapi-ankh (Egyptian god / Symbol: bull / Related to the worship of the goddess Hathor or Bat / See: Golden Calf)
  6. Asherah (Asherim) (Canaanite goddess)
  7. Ashima (Hebrew: אֲשִׁימָא, 2 Kings 17:30, ancient Semitic goddess of fate related to the Akkadian goddess Shimti)
  8. Ashtoreth, aka “the queen of heaven”, Asherah, Ashtoreth, Ashtaroth, Ishtar, Astarte, ʿAṯtart, Ashtart, Athtart, Ashtoret, Ashtarot, Astartu, Uni-Astre, Aset (goddess of war, beauty, hunting, love / Symbols: lion, horse, chariot / Canaanites, Phoenicians / Husband: possibly Baal, Hadad)
  9. Baal, aka Baʿal, “rider of the clouds,” (god of fertility, weather, rain, wind, lightning, seasons, war, sailors / Greek equivalent: Zeus / Mesopotamian equivalent: Hadad) (Hamman)
  10. Baal-berith
  11. Baal-peor
  12. Baal-Zebub, aka Baalzebub, Beelzebub
  13. Bel (name for false gods in Mesopotamia, Aramea, Akkad, Assyria, and Babylonia / A god named Bel was the chief-god of Palmyra in Syria. / The name Bel was used for Marduk, aka Bel-Marduk, Merodach, and Merodak. / Greek equivalent: Belos)
  14. Bull calf (Apis)
  15. Castor and Pollux, aka Gemini, Castores, Polydeuces, The Two Gods (Acts 28:11 / Twin gods, patrons of sailors, associated with horsemanship / Greek and Roman)
  16. Chemosh, aka Kamōš (a Moabite and Canaanite supreme god)
  17. Chiun (Saturn)
  18. Constellations
  19. Dagon, aka Dagan, Dāgān, “Lord of the gods,” “Lord of the land,” “dew of the land” (god of prosperity, agricultural god, Syrian father of gods / National god of the Philistines, Canaanites, Phoenicians, Sumerians / Mesopotamian equivalent: Enlil)
  20. Diana (Roman goddess of the hunt and wild animals; goddess of the countryside; goddess associated with fertility and childbirth / Parents: Jupiter and Latona / Greek equivalent: Artemis, Hecate / Egyptian equivalent: Bastet)
  21. Fortune, aka Gad
  22. Gad, aka Fortune
  23. Golden calf (Exodus 32) (See: Apis)
  24. graven image
  25. Ashima (Canaanite goddess of fate — 2 Kings 17:30) (See: Hamath)
  26. Hebat, aka Heba, Hebatu, Ḫepat, Hepat, Khepat (Hurrian goddess / Wife of the weather god)
  27. Hermes, aka Mercury (Greek god of speed, travelers, boundaries, roads, athletes, cunning, language, oratory, wit, messages / Symbols: winged caduceus staff intertwined with two snakes; winged sandals; winged helmet; rooster; the number 4)
  28. host of heaven—worshipped
  29. Heqet, aka Heqtit, Heket (Egyptian goddess of fertility / Symbol: frog / Husband: Khnum, aka Khnemu)
  30. Ishtar, aka Inanna, Anath, Anat, Anatu, Isis, and Mesopotamian: Astarte (goddess of love, beauty, sex, war, justice, political power / Akkadian, Babylonian, and Assyrian “queen of heaven”)
  31. Inanna (Mesopotamian goddess of love, war, and fertility / Queen of Heaven / Her “husband” is the god Dumuzid, later known as Tammuz / She is known by the name Ishtar by the Akkadians, Babylonians, and Assyrians
  32. Image of jealousy—an idolatrous object seen in Ezekiel’s vision
  33. Jupiter (Roman king of the gods; god of the sky and thunder / Symbols: lightning bolt, eagle, oak tree; planet Jupiter / Greek equivalent: Zeus / Egyptian equivalent: Amun)
  34. Zeus (king of the gods, god of the sky, lightning, thunder, law and order / Symbols: thunderbolt, planet Jupiter, eagle, bull, oak / Roman equivalent: Jupiter)
  35. Malcam, aka Malkam, Malcham, Milkowm, Milcom, Milkom (Ammonite chief god / Symbols: bull, stars)
  36. Meni, aka Marduk (god of Babylon, god of creation, water, agriculture, justice, medicine, and magic / Greek equivalent: Zeus / Roman equivalent: Jupiter)
  37. Merodach
  38. Milcom, aka Malcam, Malkam, Malcham, Milkowm (Ammonite’s chief god / Symbols: bull, stars)
  39. Moloch, aka Molech, Molek, Milcom, Malcham (Amos 5:26; Acts 7:42 / Canaanite god of fire / Husband of Ishat)
  40. Sin, aka Sīn, Suen, Nanna, Nannar (Mesopotamian Moon god, including Sumeria, Accad, Assyria, Babylonia)
  41. Nebo, aka Nabû, Nabu (god of literacy, rational arts, scribes, and wisdom / Symbols: clay tablet and stylus / Parents: Marduk and Sarpanitum / Mesopotamia, Babylonia)
  42. Nergal, aka Nirgal, Nirgali (Meslamtaea, Erra and Irra) (Mesopotamian god of war, disease, and death / Symbols: lion, lion-headed mace, sword, bull / Parents: Enlil and Ninlil)
  43. Nibhaz
  44. Nisroch
  45. Noph
  46. Remphan (Acts 7:43 KJV, NKJV), aka Rompha (Acts 7:43 NASB, LSB), Saturn, Moloch)
  47. Rimmon
  48. Satyr
  49. Serpents
  50. Sikkuth (Amos 5:26 ESV)
  51. Stars and planets
  52. Succoth Benoth
  53. Sun
  54. Tammuz, aka Dumuzid, Dumuzi (god of shepherds and fertility / Wife: Inanna (Ishtar) / Greek equivalent: Adonis)
  55. Tartak (2 Kings 17:31)

Other false dieties in Biblical times

  1. Abzu, aka Apsu (Mesopotamian god / Wife: Tiamat)
  2. Achlys (Greek goddess of sorrow)
  3. Aeolus, aka Aiolos (Greek god)
  4. Aether, aka Æther, Aither, or Ether (Greek primordial god of the bright upper sky)
  5. Aglibol (Canaanite moon goddess)
  6. Ahuramazda, aka Ahura Mazda, and Horomazes (Persian, the Zoroastrian false creator god and god of the sky, whose name literally means “Lord of Wisdom” / He was worshipped by King Xerxes and others)
  7. Aion, aka Aión (Greek god associated with unbounded perpetual cycle of time, an orb encompassing the universe, and the zodiac / Symbol: young man within a circle representing the zodiac; a ring formed by a snake holding the tip of its tail in its mouth)
  8. Amphitrite (Greek)
  9. Amun (Egyptian god of the air)
  10. Amurru aka Martu (Akkadian and Sumerian)
  11. Ananke (Greek primordial goddess of necessity, compulsion, and inevitability / Symbols: torch, spindle / Parents: none, self-formed / Worshipped in Corinth / Husband: Chronos)
  12. Angelos, aka “She of the Underworld” (Greek goddess of the world of the dead / Parents: Zeus and Hera)
  13. Anshar, aka Anšar (Mesopotamian)
  14. Anu, aka Anum, Ilu, An (Mesopotamian)
  15. Anubis (Egyptian god of the afterlife)
  16. Aphrodite (Greek)
  17. Apollo (Greek, Lycian and Roman god of oracles (prophecy), healing, archery, music and arts, light, knowledge, herds and flocks / Symbols: bow and arrows, lyre, laurel wreath, python, raven, swan, wolf / Parents: Zeus and Leto / Twin: Artemis)
  18. Ares (Greek)
  19. Arsay (Canaanite goddess of the underworld)
  20. Arsu (Canaanite god of the evening star)
  21. Artemis (Greek / Twin: Apollo / protective goddess of Myra, Lycia)
  22. Aset (Egyptian goddess of healing and magic) (see: Ishtar)
  23. Ashara (Elamite)
  24. Ashtar-Chemosh (Moabite god)
  25. Ashur (Asshur, Ashshur, Ašur, Asur, Aššur, Assur, Bêlu Rabû—“great lord,” Ab Ilâni—“father of gods,” and Šadû Rabû—“great mountain”) (Assyrian)
  26. Atargatis (Canaanite goddess of fertility, wife of Hadad)
  27. Athena (Greek) / Roman equivalent: Minerva
  28. Attar (Canaanite god of the morning star)
  29. Atum, aka Ra-Atum and Tum (Egyptian creator god / Sun god)
  30. Azizos (Canaanite god of the morning star)
  31. Ba'alat Gebal, aka Baalat Gebal (Canaanite / goddess of the city of Byblos in Lebanon / Greek equivalent: Aphrodite, Dione)
  32. Baalah (Canaanite goddess)
  33. Baalshamin / Baal Shamem / Baal Shamaim (supreme sky god of Palmyra, Syria)
  34. Bastet, aka Bast, Ubasti, Bubastis, “Lady of the East,” “Sacred and All Seeing Eye” (of Ra), (goddess of the rising Sun / goddess of the moon / Egyptian cat goddess / Symbols: cat-headed woman, lioness, ointment jar, sistrum, solar disk / Supposed divinty of protection, pleasure, and the bringer of good health / Parents: Ra and Isis / Greek version: Ailuros)
  35. Bel, aka Bol (chief god of Palmyra, Syria)
  36. Berith, aka Ba'al Berith (Judges 8:33; 9:4, 46 / Canaanite god / Worshipped in Shechem)
  37. Bes (Egyptian god of music, merriment, and childbirth) / The Spanish isle of Ibiza is named for this God—“Island of Bes.”
  38. Boreas (Greek)
  39. Buchis (Egyptian)
  40. Ceres (Roman goddess of agriculture, fertility, grains, harvest, motherhood, the earth / Symbols: cornucopia with fruits, wheat-sheaf, sickle, torches, crown of wheatstalks, poppy / Siblings: Jupiter, Juno, Neptune, Vesta, Pluto) / Greek equivalent: Demeter
  41. Ceto (Greek primordial sea goddess / Parents: Pontus and Gaia)
  42. Chaos (Greek)
  43. Chiron, Cheiron, Kheiron, “wisest and most just of all the centaurs” (Greek / Parents: Cronus and Philyra) / Siblings: Zeus, Poseidon, Hera, Hades, Hestia, Demeter / Children: Hippe, Endeïs, Ocyrhoe, Carystus, Aristaeus
  44. Chronos, aka Chronus, Cronus, Kronos (Greek god who is the personification of time / Leader of the Titans / Symbols: zodiac wheel, harpe, scythe, or sickle / Patron of the harvest / Children: Zeus, Hades, Poseidon, Aether, Phanes, Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Chiron, Chaos / Parents: Gaia and Uranus / Roman equivalent: Saturn / Eqyptian equivalent: Geb)
  45. Demeter, aka Démétér (Greek goddess of agriculture, harvest, fertility, and sacred law / Symbols: cornucopia, wheat, torch, poppy, bread / Roman equivalent: Ceres / Egyptian equivalent: Isis)
  46. Dionysus, aka Bacchus (Greek god of wine-making, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, festivity, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, and theater / Symbols: grapevine, thyrsus wand or staff, ivy, theatrical masks, phallus, goat, bull, panther, tiger or lion, leopard, snake / Egyptian equivalent: Osiris)
  47. Djehuty, aka Thoth (Egyptian god of the moon, sacred texts, mathematics, the sciences, magic, messenger and recorder of the deities, master of knowledge, and patron of scribes)
  48. Eileithyia, aka Ilithyia (Greek goddess of childbirth and midwifery / Parents: Zeus and Hera / Child: Sosipolis / Roman equivalent: Lucina / Egyptian equivalent: Taweret)
  49. El, aka Al, Il, Adon Ilim (supreme god of Canaanites / Hittite name: Elkunirsa / Symbol: bull / Children: Anat, Ashtar, Baal, Mot, Shahar, Shalim, Shapash, Yam)
  50. Enki, aka Ea (“Lord of the Earth,” god of creation, water, knowledge, mischief, crafts / Associated with the number 40 / Sumerian, Canaanite, and Hittite)
  51. Enlil, aka Elil (god of wind, air, earth, storms — Mesopotamian, Akkadian, Babylonian, and Assyrian)
  52. Enyo (Greek war-goddess / Roman name: Bellona / Often involved with the war-god Ares)
  53. Erebus (a Greek primordial deity / the personification of darkness / associated with the Underworld)
  54. Ereshkigal (Mesopotamian goddess of the underworld)
  55. Erinyes, aka Eumenides, “the Furies” (Greek goddesses of vengeance)
  56. Eris, aka Discordia (Greek goddess of discord)
  57. Eros (Greek god of love, lust, desire and sex / Symbol: bow and arrows, handsome young man / Wife: Psyche)
  58. Ersa, aka Érsa, Hérsē (Greek goddess of dew / Parents: Zeus and Selene)
  59. Eshmun, aka Eshmoun (Canaanite, Phoenician god of healing / Symbol: serpent / Worshipped at Sidon, Tyre, Beirut, Cyprus, Sardinia, and Carthage / Greek equivalent: Asclepius / Roman equivalent: Aesculapius)
  60. Europa (Εὐρώπη / initially a Cretan moon goddess / daughter of Agenor with either Telephassa or Argiope / siblings: Cadmus, Cilix, Phoenix / a consort of Zeus and Asterius / Mother of Minos)
  61. Eurus, aka Euros (Greek god of the east wind / Parents: Astraeus and Eos)
  62. Eurybia (Greek goddess a heart of flint within her / Daughter of Pontus and Gaia / Children: Astraeus, Perses, and Pallas)
  63. Eurynomos, aka Eurynomus (Greek spirit/daimon/daemon of the Underworld)
  64. Gaia, aka “Mother Gaia,” “Mother of All” (Greek goddess, the personification of Earth / Roman equivalent: Terra)
  65. Geb, aka Ceb (Egyptian god of Earth / Father of snakes / Father of the snake Nehebkau / Children: Osiris, Isis, Set, Nephthys, Heru-ur, Nehebkau / Grandson: Horus / Greek and Roman equivalent: Cronus)
  66. Glaucus (Greek prophetic sea god with fish-like features, born mortal and turned immortal upon eating a magical herb / Advisor to seafarers and protector of sailors and fishermen in storms)
  67. Hadad, aka Adad, Ishkur, Iškur, and Ramman (god of weather, storms, thunder and rain / Symbols: thunderbolt, bull, lion / Canaanite and Mesopotamian) / Canaanite equivalent: Baal / Greek equivalent: Zeus / Jupiter, Baal / Wife: Shala, Medimsha
  68. Hades (Greek god of the dead and the king of the underworld / Symbols include: keys, screech owl, horse, chariot, serpent, dog, cornucopia, cypress tree, narcissus, mint plant, white poplar, pomegranate, sheep, cattle / Brother of Zeus, Poseidon, Demeter, Hestia, and Hera / Wife: Persephone)
  69. Hathor (Egyptian goddess of love, beauty, music, dancing, fertility, and pleasure / supposed protector of women)
  70. Hebe, aka “Daughter of Zeus” (Greek goddess of eternal youth and old age, prime of life; goddess of forgiveness or mercy; Cupbearer to the gods / Symbols: wine-cup, fountain of youth, eagle, ivy, wings / Parents: Zeus and Hera / Husband: Heracles)
  71. Hecate (Greek goddess of witchcraft, magic, drugs, crossroads, the Moon / Mother of Angels and the Cosmic World Soul (Anima Mundi) / Protector of households and travel / Often depicted with snakes, knives, dogs, lions, a pair of torches, or a key / Later depicted as triple-bodied, as on the great Pergamon Altar, or with a single body, with 3 faces / Daughter of Perses (a destroyer god) and Asteria)
  72. Helios (Greek Sun god / God of sight; Guardian of oaths / Symbols: Sun, man in chariot pulled 4 white horses, radiant aureole, whip, globe, cornucopia, ripened fruit / Animals: Horse, wolf, cattle / Egyptian equivalent: Ra) / Parents: Hyperion and Theia
  73. Hemera (Greek goddess of day / Parents: Erebus and Nyx)
  74. Hephaestus (Greek god of fire, volcanoes, metalworking, blacksmiths, forges, carpenters, and sculpting / Symbols: hammer, anvil, tongs / Wives: Aphrodite, Aglaea / Roman equivalent: Vulcan)
  75. Hera (Greek goddess of marriage, women, and family / Sister and wife of Zeus)
  76. Heracles (Greek god of strength and heroes, divine protector of mankind, patron of the gymnasium / Symbols: club, lion skin / Parents: Zeus and Alcmene / Wife: Hebe / Roman equivalent: Hercules / Canaanite equivalent: Melqart)
  77. Heru-ur, aka Heru-wer, Haroeris, Horus the Great, Horus the Elder, Kemwer (“the great black one”), “foremost of the two eyes,” “great god,” “lord of Ombos,” “possessor of the ijt-knife who resides in Letopolis,” “Shu, son of Ra,” “Horus, strong of arm,” “great of power,” and “lord of the slaughter in the entire land” / Major cult centers: Heliopolis, Giza / Symbols: falcon-headed lion, falcon-headed man, falcon / Greek equivalent: Apollo
  78. Hestia (Greek virgin goddess of the hearth and the home / Symbol: the hearth and its fire / Siblings: Demeter, Hera, Hades, Poseidon, Zeus / Roman equivalent: Vesta)
  79. Hišmitik, aka Hismitik (Elamite)
  80. Horon (Canaanite god of the Underworld)
  81. Horus (Egyptian god of war and the sky)
  82. Humban, aka Enlil (Elamite)
  83. Hymen, aka Hymenaios, Hymenaeus, Humén, Humen (Greek god of weddings / Son of Apollo)
  84. Iacchus (Greek)
  85. Inanna (Mesopotamian goddess of love, war, and fertility / Queen of Heaven / Her “husband” is the god Dumuzid, later known as Tammuz / She is known by the name Ishtar by the Akkadians, Babylonians, and Assyrians
  86. Inshushinak, aka Ninurta (Elamite)
  87. Ishara (Canaanite goddess, wife of Dagon)
  88. Ishat (Canaanite goddess of fire, wife of Moloch)
  89. Ishmekarab (Elamite)
  90. Ishtaran (Sumerian god of city of Der)
  91. Isis (Greek) (see: Ishtar)
  92. Jabru, aka Anu, Enlil (Elamite)
  93. Kiririsha (Elamite)
  94. Kirmašir, aka Kirmasir (Elamite)
  95. Kiyun (aka Ckiun, Kaiwan, Kiyyun —Amos 5:26 NASB, LSB, Saturn, Sakkuth) / Babylonian “wandering star” god, i.e., a planet god / Also worshipped by Syrians, Assyrians, and Arabs)
  96. Kotharat, aka Kotharot, Kathirat (Canaanite goddess of marriage and pregnancy)
  97. Kothar-wa-Khasis (Canaanite god of craftsmanship and weapons)
  98. Kunzibami (Elamite)
  99. Lagamar, aka Nergal (Elamite)
  100. Lahmu (Mesopotamian / Nineveh)
  101. Leto (mother of Apollo and Artemis / The city of Leto in Lycia was an important center for her worship.)
  102. Liluri (Canaanite, Syrian)
  103. Malakbel (Canaanite Sun god, and of vegetation, welfare, angel of Bel)
  104. Manungal, aka Nungal (goddess of punishment and prisons / Mesopotamian, Sumerian, Babylonian, and Akkadian / Wife of Birtum who is associated with the underworld)
  105. Manuzi (a mountain god / Canaanite god of weather / Syrian, Hurrian and in the ancient Anatolian kingdom of Kizzuwatna / Husband of goddess Liluri, aka Lelluri)
  106. Manzat (Elamite rainbow goddess)
  107. Marduk (associated with planet Jupiter) (Babylonian god of creation, judgment, water, magic / patron god of the city of Babylon)
  108. Marqod, aka Baal-Marqod (Phoenician god of dance)
  109. Mašti, aka Masti (Elamite)
  110. Ma’at (Egyptian goddess of truth, justice, balance, and paintings)
  111. Melinoë, aka Melinoe (Greek)
  112. Melqart, aka Mīlqārt, Melkart, Melkarth, or Melgart. In Akkadian, his name was written Milqartu. He is a major Phoenician diety. / Patron god of Tyre / god of strength, heroes, the underworld, cycle of vegetation, dying and rising / Symbols: axe, lion / Father: Baal, El / Mother: Astarte)
  113. Minerva (Roman goddess of wisdom, petry, medicine, commerce, justice, law, strategic warfare, victory / sponsor of arts, weaving, crafts, trade, and strategy / Symbols: owl, olive tree, serpent of Jupiter, the Parthenon, the spear, the spindle, hellebore plant)
  114. Misor (Canaanite god)
  115. Moirai (Greek)
  116. Mot, aka Mavet, Muth, Maveth, Maweth, Mutu, Mūtu (Canaanite god of death and afterlife/underworld)
  117. Mummu (Mesopotamian)
  118. Nahhunte, aka Utu, Shamash (Elamite Sun god / Babylonian)
  119. Naiads (Greek)
  120. Nammu (Sumerian) / Babylonian equivalent: Tiamat
  121. Napir (Elamite Moon god)
  122. Napirisha (Enki) (Elamite)
  123. Narundi (Ishtar or Nanaya —Mesopotamian goddess of love) (Elamite goddess known from Susa)
  124. Nanaya (Mesopotamian love goddess, associated with eroticism and sensuality, patron of lovers and rejected or betrayed ones / Worshipped in Susa, aka Shushan, Shusah, Shush) / Goddess of the Hittite city of Malidaskuriya / She was among the most commonly-worshipped goddesses through much of Mesopotamian history. / Father: Urash, his firstborn / Husband: Muati)
  125. Neith (Egyptian goddess of creation, wisdom, weaving, and war, and funerals)
  126. Nehebkau, aka Nehebu-Kau, Nhb-K3w (Egyptian powerful primordial snake god who was benevolent and helpful / Believed to judge the deceased after death and provide their souls with ka / Also “considered a dangerous, furious and fearsome demon” / Companion of Ra, the Sun god)
  127. Nekhbet, aka Nekhebit (Egyptian vulture goddess, and protector of Upper Egypt and its city of Nekhed (aka Elkab, El-Kab, El Kab) on the Nile River’s east side
  128. Nephthys, aka Nebet-Het (Egyptian goddess of the air / Protector of mummies / Supreme goddess of Upper Egypt’s Nome VII territory / Goddess of the “Mansion of the Sistrum” / “Nephthys was most widely and usually worshiped in ancient Egypt as part of a consortium of temple deities.” / Associated with: associated with the dead, embalming, mourning, the night/darkness, Egyptian temple service, childbirth, protection, magic, health, and beer / Symbols: kite, hawk, woman with falcon wings / Parents: Nut and Geb / Siblings: Isis, Osiris, Haroeris, and Set / Consorts: Set, Osiris, Horus, Anubis / Children: Anubis, Horus)
  129. Nereids, aka Nereides (Greek sea nymphs, female spirits of sea waters that can be friendly to sailors / Brother: Nerites / Often accompany: Poseidon)
  130. Nereus (Greek “Old Man of the Sea” who lives in the Aegean Sea / Father of the Nereids / Son of Pontus and Gaia / Siblings: Hecate, Phorcys, Ceto, Eurybia / Consort: Doris)
  131. Nikkal (Canaanite / Phoenician)
  132. Ninazu (Sumerian god of the underworld and of healing)
  133. Ninegal, aka Belet Ekallim (Mesopotamian goddess)
  134. Ningishzida (Mesopotamian)
  135. Ninḫursaĝ, aka Ninhursag, Ninkharsag (Damgalnuna or Ninmah) (Sumerian fertility goddess, mother goddess of the mountains)
  136. Ninlil (Sud / Assyrian: Mulliltu) (Mesopotamian senior goddess of declaring destinies / Wife of Enlil / Syrian equivalent: Shalash)
  137. Ninshubur (Sumerian)
  138. Notus (Greek)
  139. Nut (pronounced “newt”) (Egyptian goddess of the sky and heavens)
  140. Oceanids (Greek)
  141. Oceanus (Greek)
  142. Osiris (Egyptian god of the dead)
  143. Ourea (Greek primordial god / Offspring of Gaia)
  144. Pabilsag, aka Pabilsaĝ (Mesopotamian warrior god / Identified with Sagittarius constellation / Worshipped in cities of Isin, Nippur and Lagash / Wife: Ninisina)
  145. Papsukkal (Mesopotamian messenger god / Symbols: staff, a walking bird, constellation Orion / Wife: Amasagnudi)
  146. Perses (Greek destroyer god / Son of the Titan Crius and Eurybia / Siblings: Astraeus and Pallas / Wife: Asteria, aka Asterie, resulting in Hecate, goddess of witchcraft. Leto is Asteria’s sister, impregnated by Zeus.)
  147. Persephone, aka Kore or Cora (Greek goddess who became queen of the Underworld / Symbols: pomegranate, seeds of grain, torch, flowers, and deer / Daughter of Zeus and Demeter / Husband: Hades)
  148. Phanes (Greek)
  149. Philyra, aka Phillyra (a water nymph / Parents: the Titans Oceanus and Tethys / Son: Chiron)
  150. Phorcys (Greek sea god, depicted as a fish-tailed merman with crab-claw legs and red, spiky skin / Son of Pontus and Gaia / Brothers: Nereus, Thaumas, and Eurybia / Sister: Ceto / Wife: Ceto)
  151. Pidray (Canaanite goddess of light and lightning)
  152. Pinikir (Ishtar, Ninsianna) (Elamite goddess of love and sex; “queen of heaven”)
  153. Pontus, aka Pontos (Greek / A pre-Olympian sea god / God of the sea and rivers / Enemy of the weather god Baal / Canaanite equivalent: Yam)
  154. Poseidon, “earth shaker” (Greek god of the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses / Tamer or father of horses / Creator of springs / Supposed protector of: Seafarers and of many Hellenic cities and colonies / Father: Cronus)
  155. Proteus (Greek)
  156. Ptah (Egyptian god whose breath was said to give life to everything at the beginning)
  157. Qadeshtu, aka “Holy One” (Canaanite goddess of love, desire, lust)
  158. Qetesh, aka Qodesh, Qadesh, Qedesh, Qetesh, Kadesh, Kedesh, Kadeš, Qades, “lady of heaven,” “Mistress of All the Gods,” “Lady of the Stars of Heaven,” “Beloved of Ptah,” “Great of magic, mistress of the stars,” and “Eye of Ra, without her equal” (Egyptian, Canaanite / Symbols: depicted in the nude, holding a snake and lotus or papyrus flowers, standing on a lion)
  159. Ra, aka Re (Egyptian Sun god and god of order, kings, the sky — the giver of life / King of the deities and the father of all creation / “Ruled in all parts of the created world: the sky, Earth, and the underworld” / Symbols: Falcon, falcon-headed man, ram-headed man, solar disc with a cobra / Consorts: Hathor, Sekhmet, Bastet, Satet / Children: Shu, Tefnut, Hathor, Sekhmet, Mafdet, Bastet, Satet, Anhur, Ma'at, Mut / Greek equivalent: Helios)
  160. Resheph (Canaanite / Egyptian god of plague and healing)
  161. Ruhurater, aka Ninurta (Elamite)
  162. Sarpanit (Mesopotamian goddess of birth)
  163. Saturn (Moloch, Chiun, Kiyyun —Amos 5:26 NASB, LSB, Kiyun, Ckiun, Kaiwan, Sakkuth, Remphan)
  164. Sekhmet (Egyptian goddess of the hot desert Sun, plague, chaos, war, and healing)
  165. Šennukušu, aka Sennukusu (Elamite)
  166. Set, aka Seth (Egyptian god of the desert, foreign lands, thunderstorms, eclipses, and earthquakes)
  167. Shadrafa (Canaanite god of medicine or healing)
  168. Shahar (Canaanite), twin of Shalim (below)
  169. Shala, aka Šala (Mesopotamian goddess of weather and grain) / Husband: Adad, aka Hadad (weather god)
  170. Shalim, aka Shalem, Šalām, Salam, Salem, Salim (Canaanite god of dusk, dawn and netherworld), a twin of Shahar, both sons of the supreme god El, and associated with Asherah
  171. Shapash, aka Shapsh, Shapshu, Shemesh (Sun god or goddess / Canaanite Sun goddess)
  172. Shu (Egyptian god of air, wind, peace, lions / Symbol: ostrich feather / Wife: goddess Tefnut)
  173. Šihhaš, aka Sihhas (Elamite)
  174. Simut, aka Nergal (Elamite)
  175. Sobek (Egyptian lord of crocodiles / creator of order / creator of the Nile River — associated with fertility)
  176. Sydyk (Canaanite god of righteousness or justice)
  177. Tallai (Canaanite goddess of winter, snow, cold and dew)
  178. Tartarus (Greek)
  179. Tefnut (Egyptian)
  180. Tethys (Greek)
  181. Thalassa (Greek)
  182. Thaumas, aka Thaumant (Greek sea god / Son of Pontus and Gaia / Siblings: Nereus, Phorcys, Ceto and Eurybia)
  183. Thetis (Greek)
  184. Thoth, aka Djehuty (Egyptian god of the moon, sacred texts, mathematics, the sciences, magic, messenger and recorder of the deities, master of knowledge, and patron of scribes)
  185. Tiamat (Mesopotamian primordial sea goddess / Sometimes depicted as a sea serpent or dragon / She is portrayed as a mother to all the gods, and a mother of monsters. / Husbands: Abzû, aka Abzu, Apsu and Kingu / Children: Kingu, Lahamu, Lahmu)
  186. Tirutur (Elamite)
  187. Tishpak (Akkadian and Babylonian warrior god associated with snakes, dragons and kingship / Symbol: Mušḫuššu (Mushussu), a Mesopotamian dragon that appears on Babylon’s Ishtar Gate / Wife: goddess Kulla)
  188. Triptolemus (Greek)
  189. Triton (Greek)
  190. Trophonius (Greek)
  191. Upur-Kubak (Elamite goddess of light)
  192. Uranus (Greek god)
  193. Yam, aka Yamm (Canaanite god of the sea and rivers / Also known in Egypt / Greek equivalent: Pontos, a pre-Olympian sea god / Enemy of the weather god Baal)
  194. Yarhibol, aka Iarhibol (Aramean Sun god and “lord of the spring” / Mainly worshipped in ancient Palmyra alongside with Bel and Aglibol)
  195. Yarikh (Canaanite Moon god)
  196. Zarpanitu, aka Zarpanitum, Zrpnt (Aramaic), Sarpanitu (Latin) (Babylonian, Mesopotamian queen of the gods, creatress of seed, “lady of Babylon,” “queen of Babylon,” “the lady of the city of Zarpan,” “queen of Esagil” / Connected with birth and divination / Husband: Marduk)
  197. Zephyrus (Greek)

More information

List of IDOLATERS—people, cities and nations

References of interest

Hebrew and Greek names for idol worship

Greek: εἰδωλολατρεία —transliteration: eidólolatria —meaning: image worship

Hebrew: תְּרָפִים —transliteration: teraphim —meaning: some kind of idol made for worship (possibly a household idol)

Hebrew: פֶסֶל —transliteration: pesel —meaning: an idol, image

More information

Article Version: January 8, 2025