Naturalis Historia: Volume V

Brief Lexicon of Animal & Nature Deities

The lexicon section is a list of a very few selected gods, goddesses, and spirits associated with nature and animals. As you can see, many different cultures have their own ways of deifying animals and personifying nature.

Ancient Eygpt
The ancient Eyptians greatly revered various animals. They thought that some of their gods and goddesses represented themselves by a specific animal. Honoring that animal was thought to please the god or goddess, so these animals lived pampered lives themselves!

BABOON » the dog-headed baboon was one of the manifestations of both Thoth, the god of writing, and Khonsu, the moon god. Hapy, the son of Horus, a god that guarded the canopic jars, had the head of a baboon as well.
CAT » Many deities were depicted as cats, so these animals were seen as benevolent and sacred. Bast, the goddess of love and fertility, was a cat, and was Ra.
CATTLE » Symbolized the mother of the Pharoah and also female fertility. The god Osiris was related to the bull.
COBRA » The cobra goddess Renenutet was a fertility goddess who was sometimes depicted as nursing children and as protector of pharaoh. Another cobra goddess was Meretseger, who could punish criminals with blindness or her venom.
CROCODILE » Ammut, the demoness at the judgement hall, had the head of a crocodile along with other fearful creatures, and was known as ‘the devourer of the dead’ who punished evildoers by eating their hearts.
FALCON/HAWK » The sacred bird of Horus. The falcon had protective powers and was regarded as royalty, often hovering over the Pharaoh’s head.
FROG » Because the Egyptians saw that there were many frogs, all appearing from the Nile, they associated the frog with fertility and resurrection.
HERON » Thought to be the original phoenix – it was a bird of the sun and rebirth.
IBIS » Regarded as the reincarnation of Thoth, the ibis was sacred to the god of knowledge, who had the form of an ibis-headed man.
JACKAL » Associated with Anubis, the god of embalming and mummification, who was depicted as a black coloured jackal (or dog) or a man with the head of a black jackal or dog. Also, one of the gods who gaurded the canopic jars was jackal-headed.
LION » The lion was connected with the rising and the setting of the sun, and so were thought to be guardians of the horizon and were linked to solar deities. Other deities included war and love gods.
PIG » Sacred to Set, god of chaos.
SCARAB BEETLE » Personified as the sun god, much like how a scarab beetle pushes dung in a ball, so the sun god pushes the sun across the sky.
SNAKE & TURTLE » Associated with darkness and evil and the underworld.
VULTURE » Sacred to Mut, mother goddess. The vulture often holds the symbol of eternity in its talons, offering eternal protection to the pharaoh. As such, the vulture is closely linked to rulership.

(source: Animals & the Gods of Egypt)

Greek Mythology
The gods and goddesses of Olympus had animals that symbolized themselves, and therefore, these animals were associated with the trait that the god had. Unlike Egyptian mythology, the Greek gods did not turn into their animal as an avatar (although some gods could turn into various animals). There were also various nature spirits & lesser deities associated with animals.

ZEUS » He governed the seasons, caused thunder and lightening, and other weather by hitting his aegis (shield) made from the skin of Amaltheia, the she-goat that raised him. Zeus’s sacred animal was the eagle, so it was thought of as kingly.
HERA » Her sacred animals included the peacock (the symbol of pride; her wagon was pulled by peacocks) and the cow. The crow and the pomegranate (symbol of marriage) are also dedicated to her.
POSEIDON » This god of the seas was characterized by horses (symbol of revenge and earthquakes), dolphins, and fish.
ATHENA » Her sacred animal was the owl; symbolized wisdom and learning.
ARTEMIS » Artemis is the goddess of the wilderness, the hunt and wild animals, and fertility. She is often associated with wild boars, bears, deer, and other animals of the forest. She is also seen with her accompanying band of nymphs.
APOLLO » The twin brother of Artemis, Apollo is the youthful god of light, archery, medicine, music, and prophecy. Sacred to him are the swan (one legend says that Apollo flew on the back of a swan to the land of the Hyperboreans where he would spend the winter months among them), the wolf, and the dolphin.
DEMETER & PERSEPHONE » Demeter was the harvest goddess, who brought forth the fruits and grains of the earth. Her daughter Persephone was the goddess of the Underworld and, consequently, of the seasons. When Hades abducted Persephone, he made her stay part of the year with him, and the other part back on earth with her mother. When she was gone, Demeter was grieved and caused no harvest (winter) and when Persephone was back on earth, Demeter was happy and caused a good harvest (summer).
FLORA » The goddess of blossoming flowers and spring. The festival of the Floralia, celebrated on April 28 -May 1, existed until the 4th century AD.
EOS » The winged goddess of dawn who flew her chariot across the sky. Her brother Helios was the sun god.
GAIA » The mother earth goddess; she was earth itself, having been born out of Chaos and gave birth to many offspring including the Titans. She blessed the world with her fertility and abundance.
NYMPHS » Usually benign and sweet spirits. Personified as young maidens that were helpful and healing, nurturing flowers, fruits, and mortals. But sometimes they could lead unsuspecting men into the water to be never seen again. The Naiads were water nymphs that dwelt beside running water. Dryads were forest nymphs which inhabited trees, nereids and oceanids were nymphs of the oceans, and Oreads dwelt in the hills and mountains. Most nymphs were free-spritied maidens who loved nature and didn’t care for marriage.
WIND GODS » Notus, the south wind; Zephyrus, the west wind and protector of plants; Boreas, the north wind; and Eurus, the east wind.

Various Deities, Spirits, & Creatures
A collection of other animal-related deities from a variety of pantheons.

Kodamas » Benign nature spirits in Shinto (Japan) that resided in forests.
Kappa » In Japanese Shinto-religion, they are water spirits who pull little children into the water and drown them, and attack and fight travelers and animals.
Tengu » Tormenting spirits from Japanese folklore. These bogeymen, with their long noses and beaks, live in mountains and forests and are especially after children.
Mokos » Goddess of the earth worshipped by the ancient Slavs.
Coatlicue » The Aztec earth goddess of life and death, mother of the gods, and mother of the stars of the southern sky.
Vanir » In Norse myth, the Vanir are originally a group of wild nature and fertility gods and goddesses, the sworn enemies of the warrior gods of the Aesir. They were considered to be the bringers of health, youth, fertility, luck and wealth, and masters of magic.
Faeries » Little folk with magical powers that often blessed newborns, but could also be mischievious and meddle in human affairs. Fairies live in the forest amongst the trees, and often protect the natural world. They can only be seen by animals and very few humans. During a full moon on Midsummer Eve, a mortal may witness fairy dances or celebrations.
Centaurs » Creatures with the body of a horse and the torso of a man. Centaurs are usually rowdy and untamed, roaming the forests and kidnapping women. They were associated with Dionysus in greek mythology.
Satyrs » In Greek mythology the satyrs are deities of the woods and mountains. They are half human and half beast; they usually have a goat’s tail, flanks and hooves. While the upper part of the body is that of a human, they also have the horns of a goat. They are the companions of Dionysus, the god of wine, and they spent their time drinking, dancing, and chasing nymphs.
Pegasus » A winged horse in greek mythology; the hero Bellerophon often rode Pegasus.
Unicorns » A legendary creature in many cultures, the unicorn is a white horse with a single spiraling horn atop its head. The horn, is said, is believed to possess healing abilities. Dust filed from the horn was thought to protect against poison, and many diseases. It could even resurrect the dead.
Dragons » Also known as wurm, wyrm, firewyrm, and firedrake, dragons are popular in many cultures. They are usually seen as giant lizard-like creatures breathing flames of fire. They hoard their gold in caves and kill anyone who goes near it.
Minotaur » This creature had the head and tail of a bull on the body of a man. It lived in a labyrinth and was sacrificed 7 young men and maidens once a year.
Hippocampus » In greek mythology, this creature resembled a horse with the hind parts of a fish or dolphin. The chariot of Poseidon was drawn by a hippocampus.
Griffon » Creature with the head, beak and wings of an eagle, the body of a lion and occasionally the tail of a serpent or scorpion. Griffon pcitures were used as gargoyles on medieval churches.

(Source: Encyclopedia Mythica)