Writing gods

I've compiled a list of all the writing gods, mythological figures, and patron saints associated with writing, the alphabet, poetry, storytelling, etc. I could find.  I've been creating jewelry based on each of them, as an homage to all those aspiring authors, linguists, archivists, scribes, etc. who have come before me.  At first I meant to make a necklace, but as my list grew, it ended up being a 3-foot chain with dozens of pendants on it.  I sometimes wear it while I'm writing in hopes of inspiration, but it's so heavy now that I just leave it up in my library, hanging from a sconce as part of the decor.


So far, I have a total of 31 gods/patrons/etc. from all over the world (I've lumped the Muses together as one 'goddess').  It's taken me months to compile, and I'm sure I'll be adding more later.

If anyone knows of any others, let me know and I'll be glad to add them to the list!

Here is my current list, in alphabetical order.  I've included their alternate names, regions, and some have items/symbols/animals they are associated with:


1.  Athena (Greek)/Minerva (Roman) – goddess of wisdom, the arts – owl


2. Bragi/Bragr (Norse) – God of poetry & eloquence


3. Brigit/Brigid/Bridgit (Celtic) – goddess of Inspiration, Poetry, Healing, Smithcraft and Martial Arts. Brigit’s cross, Brigit’s knot


4. Brahma (Hindu) - supreme god of the East Indian trinity; brought knowledge of letters to human race.


5. Cadmus (Greece) – brought alphabet to Greece


6. Cangjie/Ts’ang Chieh (China) – Invented Chinese alphabet/characters


7. Fu-Xi (China) – Invented Chinese alphabet –8 trigrams of earlier heaven, calabash


8. Ganesha (Hindu) – god of wisdom, intellect, art; lord of beginnings & success; patron god of writers


9. Hermes (Greek)/Mercury (Roman) – Inventor of the written alphabet, god of writing/literature, speech, travelers, treaties, dreams


10. Inanna/Ishtar (Mesopotamian/Sumerian) - Goddess of Words, Language, Syntax and Meaning. Stole tablets of destiny – 8-pointed star/rosette, lion, knot of reeds


11. Itzamn/Itzamna (Maya) – invented writing & the calendar. Mayan calendar, compass; north= white; east= red; south= yellow; west= black


12. Manjushri (Buddhism) – bodhisattva of writing, poetry, and knowledge – sword, lotus, lion


13. Muses (Greek) – Calliope – epic poetry/literature, Melpomene – tragedy, Euterpe – lyrical poetry/singing, Thalia – Comedy, Clio – History, Erato – erotic poetry, Polyhymnia - Sacred hymns/sacred oetry, eloquence Theatre masks, scroll & quill, boots, writing tablet, flute, ivy


14. Nabu (Babylonian) – god of wisdom & writing – tablet, stylus


15. Nisaba (Sumerian) –Invented writing – Hair, crescent moon, corn; - rhodochrosite


16. Odin (Norse) - god of wisdom, poetry. Inventor of Norse alphabet - raven


17. Ogma/Oghma (Celtic/Irish) – god of knowledge, eloquence & poetry – Ears & tongue linked with chains of gold & amber


18. Philyra (Greek)/Merope (Roman)/Klymene/Clymene/Hesione – goddess of paper, writing, healing and perfume. Invented/taught humans to make paper


19. Quetzalcoatl (Aztec) - serpent god; founder of Aztec culture; patron of priests, the inventor of the calendar and of books, and the protector of goldsmiths and other craftsmen


20. Saga (Norse) – goddess of sagas


21. Saraswati – (Hindu) – inventor of Sanskrit; goddess of creativity, wisdom, speech, learning, arts; patron deity of writers, poets, students, artists, musicians, etc.,


22. Sequoyah (Native American) - invented alphabet for the Cherokee and taught his people to read. First with pictographs and symbols adapted from English, Greek and Hebrew letters, altered to represent spoken Cherokee language


23. Seshat (Egyptian) – goddess of writing & history, inventor of written characters and mathematics, measurer of time, patron of architecture & libraries, record-keeper of the gods - Papyrus, Palm stem, 2 horns facing down/crescent moon


24. Sint-Holo (Native American - Cherokee, Chicasaw, Choctaw, Creek) - God of Language, Intelligence/Wisdom, Writing, and the Alphabet. Horned serpent


25. St. Frances de Sales (Catholic) – patron saint of authors


26. St. Jerome (Catholic) – patron saint of librarians, archivists, and translators


27. Tahmurath (Persian) – demons taught him the art of writing in 30 different languages in return for sparing their lives


28. Tenjin/Tenjin-Sama/Sugawara no Michizane (Japan) – god of writing, poetry, scholarship; taught humans how to write – bull, ume tree, Tenjin Temple


29. Thoth/Tehuti/Djehuty (Egypt) – god of wisdom, reading, writing, oratory, & scribes. Inventor of hieroglyphics; “lord of the holy words.”


30.  Titivillus - lord of typographical errors, delinquent letters, and superfluous language.  He lurks in monasteries, whispering into scribes' ears and filling his sack with the errors they make. "Patron demon of writing errors." Also known as: Chochlik Drukarski - Poland; Tryckfelsnisse - Sweden; Trykkleif - Norway;  Sætternissen - Denmark; Painovirhepaholainen - Finland;  Gazapos - Spain;  A Nyomda ördöge - Hungary; and Druckfehlerteufelchen - Germany.




31. Wen Chang (China) – God of wisdom, education, & literature – Pagoda

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