The glaistig / ˈ ɡ l æ ʃ t ɪ ɡ / is a ghost from Scottish mythology , a type of fuath . It is also known as maighdean uaine (Green Maiden), and may appear as a woman of beauty or monstrous mien , as a half-woman and half-goat similar to a faun or satyr , or in the shape of a goat. The lower goat half of her hybrid form is usually disguised by a long, flowing green robe or dress, and the woman often appears grey with long yellow hair.
37-420: The glaistig is an ambivalent ghost that appears in legend as both a malicious and benign creature. Some stories have her luring men to her lair via either song or dance, where she would then drink their blood. Other tales have her casting stones in the path of travellers or throwing them off course. In some benign incarnations, the glaistig is a type of tutelary spirit and protector of cattle and herders. One of
74-428: A vengeful ghost . In some tales she was murdered in a green dress, and then stuffed unceremoniously up the chimney by a servant. It is said that her footsteps can still be heard as she walks the castle in sadness. In most tales she would continue to look after the house, upholding household duties, such as washing dishes and sweeping the floor. She might be heard moving around furniture at night. If she becomes offended by
111-699: A corporate social body is often a cameo theme on ancient coins: a denarius from Spain, 76–75 BC, featuring a bust of the GPR ( Genius Populi Romani , " Genius of the Roman People") on the obverse ; an aureus of Siscia in Croatia , 270–275 AD, featuring a standing image of the GENIUS ILLVR ( Genius Exercitus Illyriciani , " Genius of the Illyrian Army") on the reverse; an aureus of Rome, 134–138 AD, with an image of
148-630: A god; thus compensating by veneration for the indistinct knowledge of his divine origin. The Christian theologian Augustine equated the Christian soul with the Roman genius , citing Varro as attributing the rational powers and abilities of every human being to their genius . Although the term genius might apply to any divinity whatsoever, most of the higher-level and state genii had their own well-established names. Genius applied most often to individual places or people not generally known; that is, to
185-461: A mark of divinity. In recognition of the prodigy they voted that all banquets should include a libation to his genius . In concession to this sentiment he chose the name Augustus , capturing the numinous meaning of English "august". The household cult of the Genius Augusti dates from this period. It was propitiated at every meal along with the other household numina . Thus began the tradition of
222-517: Is borrowed from Latin genius , "household guardian spirit"; earlier, "innate male power of a race or clan", deriving from the Indo-European root *g̑enh₁-, "give birth, produce", which is also reflected in Latin gignō , "give birth", and gēns , gentis , "tribe, people". The genius appears explicitly in Roman literature as early as Plautus , where one character jests that the father of another
259-453: Is a deity or a spirit who is a guardian, patron, or protector of a particular place, geographic feature, person, lineage, nation, culture, or occupation. The etymology of "tutelary" expresses the concept of safety and thus of guardianship. In late Greek and Roman religion , one type of tutelary deity, the genius , functions as the personal deity or daimon of an individual from birth to death. Another form of personal tutelary spirit
296-500: Is patron of yogis and renunciants. City gods and goddesses include: Influenced by the religion of Islam , Indonesian people believe in jinn , particularly on the island of Java. Those jinn who adhere to the religion of Islam are generally benevolent, however, non-Muslim jinn are considered to be mischievous. Some of them guard graves. If a pilgrim approaching the grave has evil intentions, they would cause severe illness or even death. Spirits called shedim are mentioned twice in
333-412: Is so avaricious that he uses cheap Samian ware in sacrifices to his own genius , so as not to tempt the genius to steal it. In this passage, the genius is not identical to the person, as to propitiate oneself would be absurd, and yet the genius also has the avarice of the person; that is, the same character, the implication being, like person, like genius . Horace , writing when the first emperor
370-407: Is the familiar spirit of European folklore. Socrates spoke of hearing the voice of his personal spirit or daimonion : You have often heard me speak of an oracle or sign which comes to me … . This sign I have had ever since I was a child. The sign is a voice which comes to me and always forbids me to do something which I am going to do, but never commands me to do anything, and this
407-559: Is the patron of military personnel and police, while Mazu is the patron of fishermen and sailors. A similar concept in Christianity would be the patron saint example of archangels "Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, etc." or to a lesser extent, the guardian angel . In Hinduism , personal tutelary deities are known as ishta-devata , while family tutelary deities are known as Kuladevata . Gramadevata are guardian deities of villages or regions. Devas can also be seen as tutelary. Shiva
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#1732859418537444-499: Is what stands in the way of my being a politician. The Greeks also thought deities guarded specific places: for instance, Athena was the patron goddess of the city of Athens . Tutelary deities who guard and preserve a place or a person are fundamental to ancient Roman religion . The tutelary deity of a man was his Genius , that of a woman her Juno . In the Imperial era , the Genius of
481-597: The civitas of the Remi in Gaul adopted Apollo as its tutelary, and at the capital of the Remi (present-day Rheims ), the tutelary was Mars Camulus . Tutelary deities were also attached to sites of a much smaller scale, such as storerooms, crossroads, and granaries. Each Roman home had a set of protective deities: the Lar or Lares of the household or familia , whose shrine was a lararium ;
518-977: The genius loci or guardian spirit of the site, Hercules , Silvanus , Fortuna Conservatrix ("Fortuna the Preserver") and in the Greek East Aphrodite and Agathe Tyche . The Lares Compitales were the tutelary gods of a neighborhood ( vicus ) , each of which had a compitum (shrine) devoted to these. Their annual public festival was the Compitalia . During the Republic, the cult of local or neighborhood tutelaries sometimes became rallying points for political and social unrest. Chinese folk religion , both past and present, includes myriad tutelary deities. Exceptional individuals, highly cultivated sages, and prominent ancestors can be deified and honored after death. Lord Guan
555-476: The praetorium of every castra and even to the vexillae . Inscriptional dedications to genius were not confined to the military. From Gallia Cisalpina under the empire are numerous dedications to the genii of persons of authority and respect; in addition to the emperor's genius principis , were the genii of patrons of freedmen, owners of slaves, patrons of guilds, philanthropists, officials, villages, other divinities, relatives and friends. Sometimes
592-620: The Emperor was a focus of Imperial cult . An emperor might also adopt a major deity as his personal patron or tutelary, as Augustus did Apollo . Precedents for claiming the personal protection of a deity were established in the Republican era , when for instance the Roman dictator Sulla advertised the goddess Victory as his tutelary by holding public games ( ludi ) in her honor. Each town or city had one or more tutelary deities, whose protection
629-450: The Etruscan city of Veii , and was often housed in an especially grand temple on the arx (citadel) or other prominent or central location. The tutelary deity of Praeneste was Fortuna , whose oracle was renowned. The Roman ritual of evocatio was premised on the belief that a town could be made vulnerable to military defeat if the power of its tutelary deity were diverted outside
666-505: The Hebrew Bible . In both of these instances ( Psalm 106 :37 and Deuteronomy 32:17) the shedim are associated with child sacrifice or animal sacrifice . The term " shedim " is believed by some to be a loan-word from the Akkadian shedu , which referred to a spirit which could be either protective or malevolent. In Korean shamanism , jangseung and sotdae were placed at
703-465: The Penates who guarded the storeroom (penus) of the innermost part of the house; Vesta , whose sacred site in each house was the hearth; and the Genius of the paterfamilias , the head of household. The poet Martial lists the tutelary deities who watch over various aspects of his farm. The architecture of a granary ( horreum ) featured niches for images of the tutelary deities, who might include
740-557: The Roman imperial cult , in which Romans cultivated the genius of the emperor rather than the person. If the genius of the imperator , or commander of all troops, was to be propitiated, so was that of all the units under his command. The provincial troops expanded the idea of the genii of state; for example, from Roman Britain have been found altars to the genii of Roma , Roma aeterna , Britannia , and to every legion , cohors , ala and centuria in Britain, as well as to
777-559: The genius ( Latin: [ˈɡɛnɪ.ʊs] ; pl. : genii ) is the individual instance of a general divine nature that is present in every individual person, place, or thing. Much like a guardian angel , the genius would follow each man from the hour of his birth until the day he died. For women, it was the Juno spirit that would accompany each of them. Each individual place had a genius ( genius loci ) and so did powerful objects, such as volcanoes. The concept extended to some specifics:
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#1732859418537814-416: The genius of each female, representing the female reproductive power, was a Juno . The male power was a Jupiter . The Juno was venerated under many titles: Genii were often viewed as protective spirits, as one would propitiate them for protection. For example, to protect infants one propitiated a number of deities concerned with birth and childrearing : Cuba ("lying down to sleep"), Cunina ("of
851-493: The genius of the theatre, of vineyards, and of festivals, which made performances successful, grapes grow, and celebrations succeed, respectively. It was extremely important in the Roman mind to propitiate the appropriate genii for the major undertakings and events of their lives. Thus man, following the dictates of his heart, venerated something higher and more divine than he could find in his own limited individuality, and brought to "this great unknown of himself" offerings as
888-457: The city, perhaps by the offer of superior cult at Rome. The depiction of some goddesses such as the Magna Mater (Great Mother, or Cybele ) as " tower-crowned " represents their capacity to preserve the city. A town in the provinces might adopt a deity from within the Roman religious sphere to serve as its guardian, or syncretize its own tutelary with such; for instance, a community within
925-500: The cows and fathers watched over the herds. In some Scottish tales, the cows are replaced with deer, of which the glaistig is fiercely protective. Also known as the Scottish goddess of the hunt, the glaistig was both help and hindrance to hunters, going so far as to hide her herds if the hunters made the mistake of killing a doe instead of a stag. Occasionally, hunters would be granted permission to shoot if they provided an offering, such as
962-410: The cradle") and Rumina ("of breast-feeding"). Certainly, if those genii did not perform their proper function well, the infant would be in danger. Hundreds of lararia , or family shrines, have been discovered at Pompeii , typically off the atrium , kitchen or garden, where the smoke of burnt offerings could vent through the opening in the roof. Each lararium features a panel fresco containing
999-400: The dedication is combined with other words, such as "to the genius and honor" or in the case of couples, "to the genius and Juno". Surviving from the time of the empire hundreds of dedicatory, votive and sepulchral inscriptions ranging over the entire territory testify to the flourishing of official cult ( cultus ) of genius . Stock phrases were abbreviated: GPR, genio populi Romani ("to
1036-632: The edge of villages to frighten off demons. They were also worshiped as deities. Seonangshin is the patron deity of the village in Korean tradition and was believed to embody the Seonangdang . In Meitei mythology and religion ( Sanamahism ) of Manipur , there are various types of tutelary deities, among which Lam Lais are the most predominant ones. In Philippine animism , Diwata or Lambana are deities or spirits that inhabit sacred places like mountains and mounds and serve as guardians. In Shinto ,
1073-465: The genius of the Roman people"); GHL, genio huius loci ("to the genius of this place"); GDN, genio domini nostri ("to the genius of our master"), and so on. In 392 AD with the final victory of Christianity Theodosius I declared the veneration of the genii , Lares and Penates to be treason, ending their official terms. The concept, however, continued in representation and speech under different names or with accepted modifications. The genius of
1110-464: The hind of the deer to the herder. Another name of this instance is the Maiden of Callart. Another rendition of the glaistig legend is that she was once a mortal noblewoman, to whom a " fairy " nature had been given or who was cursed with the goat's legs and immortality, and since has been known as "The Green Lady". She might either be benign, watching over houses and looking after the weak mind, or appear as
1147-485: The legends in Scotland, in the town of Ach-na-Creige , there was such a spirit protecting the cattle herds. The townsfolk, in gratitude, poured milk from the cows into a hollowed-out stone for her to drink. According to the same legend, her protection was revoked after one local youth poured boiling milk into the stone, burning her. She has also been described in some folklore as watching over children while their mothers milked
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1184-403: The same theme: two peripheral figures ( Lares ) attend on a central figure (family genius ) or two figures ( genius and juno ) who may or may not be at an altar. In the foreground is one or two serpents crawling toward the genius through a meadow motif. Campania and Calabria preserved an ancient practice of keeping a propitious house snake, here linked with the genius . The English term
1221-638: The servants or the tenants she is known to play pranks on them. Such Green Lady myths have been associated with a number of locations in Scotland, including Ardnacallich , Dunollie Castle , Loch Fyne , Muchalls Castle , Tulloch Castle , and in Wales at Caerphilly . A similar tale (" Ocean Born Mary ") has been told in Henniker, New Hampshire . This article incorporates text from Dwelly's [Scottish] Gaelic Dictionary (1911) . Tutelary deity A tutelary ( / ˈ tj uː t ə l ɛ r i / ; also tutelar )
1258-503: The smallest units of society and settlements, families and their homes. Houses, doors, gates, streets, districts, tribes, each one had its own genius . The supreme hierarchy of the Roman gods, like that of the Greeks, was modelled after a human family. It featured a father, Jupiter , who was also the supreme divine unity, and a mother, Juno , queen of the gods. These supreme unities were subdivided into genii for each individual family; hence,
1295-541: The spirits, or kami , which give life to human bodies come from nature and return to it after death. Ancestors are therefore themselves tutelaries to be worshiped. Some tutelary deities are known to exist in Slavic Europe, a more prominent example being that of the Leshy . In Vietnamese folk religion , Thành hoàng are gods who protect and bring good things to the village. Genius (mythology) In Roman religion ,
1332-477: Was considered particularly vital in time of war and siege. Rome itself was protected by a goddess whose name was to be kept ritually secret on pain of death (for a supposed case, see Quintus Valerius Soranus ). The Capitoline Triad of Juno , Jupiter , and Minerva were also tutelaries of Rome. The Italic towns had their own tutelary deities. Juno often had this function, as at the Latin town of Lanuvium and
1369-564: Was introducing the cult of his own genius , describes the genius as "the companion which controls the natal star; the god of human nature, in that he is mortal for each person, with a changing expression, white or black". Octavius Caesar on return to Rome after the final victory of the Roman Civil War at the Battle of Actium appeared to the Senate to be a man of great power and success, clearly
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