My articles and reference posts
A master post of recommended sources for the study of my interests can be found here. If possible, consult it before sending any research-oriented questions.
Ancient Mesopotamia and its neighbors:
The Two (or more) Ishtars or A Certain Scandalous Easter Claim Proved to be The Worship of Reverend Alexander Hislop
The long journey of Pinikir - a different tale of two (or more) Ishtars
Five Mesoptamian gods you haven’t heard about
“A repository for the exotic and the unusual.” Mesopotamian gods of the underworld
400 followers special: the Kumarbi cycle
Pride Month special: Manzat, the deified rainbow and her LGBT connection
Myths about myths: the case of Enuma Elish
A Megaten apocalypse: the sad case of Inanna
Arahsamnum 2021, a series of 18 articles about underworld-related deities
Aya and Shala: divine wives
Women, goddesses and writing in ancient Mesopotamia
Ninshubur, Inanna’s Sukkal: Just a Servant or Something More?
Christmas special: Santa and his helpers. Divine living fossils in Greek sources
Ishkur, Baal, and others: a guide to the weather gods of Mesopotamia and ancient Syria
The most important deity you’ve never heard of: the 3000 years long history of Nanaya
Nonconformity, ambiguity, fluidity and misinterpretation: on the gender of Inanna (and a few others)
Ninshubur(s), Ilabrat, Papsukkal and the gala: another inquiry into ambiguity and fluidity of gender of Mesopotamian deities
Oldest or greatest? Gilgamesh before, in and after the epic(s)
Pride Month special 2025: shifts in gender, shifts in character. A Mesopotamian deity triple feature
various trivia which do not warrant full articles can be found in the Mesopotamian miscellanea, Ugaritic miscellanea, Anatolian miscellanea etc. tags
Also make sure to check out the Monthly Wikipedia repair roundup (formerly Weekly Wikipedia repair roundup) tag.
Japanese religions and art:
Matara-jin and associated figures - English language resources masterpost
300 followers special: debunking Arahabaki
Japanese epidemic deities
The Ten Kings of Hell: a history
Tamamizu Monogatari, a unique love story
The fabrication of a storm god: Susanoo, Taishakuten (Indra) and their histories
Tenshō Daijin: the many guises of medieval Amaterasu part 1 and part 2
Shikigami and onmyōdō through history: truth, fiction and everything in between
From Shinoda Myōjin to Sakaki no Mae: the history of Kuzunoha (and a few others)
Various trivia which do not warrant full articles can be found in the Japanese miscellanea and genpeiposting tags.
Chinese religions and art:
Taotie as a monster and an art motif
“Nine-headed hermit”: the early history of Zhong Kui (and his sister)
As of 2024, this series of articles is on indeterminate hiatus and unlikely to ever return.
Horned hermits and immoral immortals: an inquiry into Zanmu’s background
Consulting the convoluted history of supernatural foxes, or why is Tsukasa like that
“Roaming into immortality”: Ten Desires and the history of Taoist immortals
1000 followers special: the history of the hakutaku
Demon king, demigod, drunkard, dōji: exploring the archetypal oni, from Ōeyama to Lotus Eaters
Mai, Satono and their peers: a look into the world of dōji
Revenge of the “graveyard god”, or why I don’t think Ran is Tamamo no Mae
“A god of tengu-warding”: uncovering the connection between Okina and tengu
“Tenma, boss of the tengu”. Exploring the “heavenly demon(s)”
A hidden world that never was: witch cults, matriarchal prehistory and contemporary conspiracy theories
The Contendings of History and Seth
Hecate, Melinoe, “Ereschigal”: when a name becomes the ship of Theseus?
WLW - Women-Loving Wizard(esse)s? Lesbian love spells from Roman Egypt
kaledo-art
andulkaphoto
annaxmalina
origamiaround
theartofmadeline
blakekathryn
jbbartram-illu
