How we research

Every Study begins with the texts and objects from the time when the deity was worshipped: poems, hymns, inscriptions, papyri, tablets, reliefs and archaeological finds. For the Greek gods that means Hesiod, Homer, the hymns, the tragedians and travelers such as Pausanias; for the Norse, the Poetic Edda and the Prose Edda; for Egypt, the Pyramid Texts, the Coffin Texts and the Book of the Dead; and so on for each pantheon.

Every myth told in a Study carries the exact reference of the passage where it appears (for example, Hesiod, Theogony 453–491), so any reader can check it in the original or in a translation.

Next we consult reference works and academic studies: specialist encyclopedias, critical editions, excavation reports and books by recognized scholars in the field. They are listed under "Sources and further reading" at the end of each Study.

When specialists disagree (about the origin of a god, the identification of a statue or the reading of a find), the Study sets out the positions in the section "What scholars debate". We do not invent consensus where there is none.

We do not invent legends, festivals, temples or quotations. When the sources on a deity are scarce, the Study is short and says so plainly. A shorter, truthful page is worth more than a long, invented one.

Codex Relics are collectible items in our app and on the site, inspired by each god’s attributes. They are always labeled as such and never presented as historical artifacts.

Quoted passages come from public-domain translations or are our own translations, and they are always short. The rest of the text is written by us.

Every Study shows the date of its last review. Before publishing, we check that each reference points to the right passage, that the links open and that no text was copied from another source.

Found a mistake, a wrong reference or a better source? Write to us through the contact page. Every accepted correction goes into the Study with a new review date.