Meet with us the most famous Mythological False Gods. Discover their origins and legends that will surely surprise you.
Mythological False Gods
False gods, in some monotheistic religious denominations, the deities of pagan religions, as well as other entities or objects that compete with each other and to which a special importance is attributed.
Conversely, polytheistic pagans may regard the gods of various monotheistic religions as “false gods” because they do not believe that any real deity possesses the properties attributed by monotheists to their one deity.
Atheists, who do not believe in any deity, do not usually use the term “false god,” although that would encompass all deities from the atheistic point of view. The use of this term is generally limited to theists, who believe in some deity or deities, but not others.
.1.- Ashtoreth
Also called Astarte, or Ashtoreth (plural), this goddess of the Canaanites was connected with fertility and motherhood. The worship of Ashtoreth was strong in Sidon. She was sometimes called the consort or companion of Baal. King Solomon, influenced by his foreign wives, fell into the worship of Ashtoreth, which led to his downfall.
2.- Baal
The false god Baal, sometimes called Bel, was the supreme god among the Canaanites, worshipped in many forms, but often as a sun god or storm god. He was a fertility god who supposedly caused the earth to bring forth crops and women to bear children. Rites associated with Baal worship included cultic prostitution and sometimes human sacrifice.
A famous confrontation occurred between the prophets of Baal and Elijah on Mount Carmel. Worshipping Baal was a recurring temptation for the Israelites, as noted in the book of Judges. Different regions paid homage to their own local variety of Baal, but all worship of this false god angered God the Father, who punished Israel for their unfaithfulness to him.
3.- Chemosh
Chemosh, the subjugator, was the national god of the Moabites and was also worshipped by the Ammonites. The rites involving this god were also said to be cruel and may have involved human sacrifice. Solomon erected an altar to Chemosh south of the Mount of Olives outside Jerusalem, on the Hill of Corruption.
4.- Dagon
This god of the Philistines had the body of a fish and a human head and hands on his statues. Dagon was a god of water and grain. Samson, the Hebrew judge, met his death in the temple of Dagon.
In 1 Samuel 5:1-5, after the Philistines captured the ark of the covenant, they placed it in their temple next to Dagon. The next day, the statue of Dagon was knocked to the ground. They set it upright and the next morning it was back on the ground, with its head and hands cut off. Later, the Philistines put King Saul’s armor in their temple and hung his severed head in the temple of Dagon.
5.- Egyptian False Gods
Ancient Egypt had more than 40 false gods, although none are mentioned by name in the Bible. Among them were Re, creator god of the sun; Isis, goddess of magic; Osiris, lord of the afterlife; Thoth, god of wisdom and the moon; and Horus, god of the sun.
Interestingly, the Hebrews were not tempted by these gods during their more than 400 years of captivity in Egypt. The Ten Plagues of God against Egypt were humiliations of ten specific Egyptian gods.
6.- Golden calves the False Gods
Golden calves occur twice in the Bible: first at the foot of Mount Sinai, formed by Aaron, and second in the reign of King Jeroboam. In both cases, the idols were physical representations of Yahweh and were judged by him as sin, since he ordered not to make images of him.
7.- Marduk
This god of the Babylonians was associated with fertility and vegetation. The confusion about the Mesopotamian gods is common because Marduk had 50 names, including Bel. He was also worshipped by the Assyrians and Persians.
8.- Milcom
This national god of the Ammonites was associated with divination, seeking knowledge of the future through occult means, strongly forbidden by God. Child sacrifice was sometimes associated with Milcom. He was among the false gods worshipped by Solomon at the end of his reign. Moloch, Moloch, and Molek were variations of this false god.
Conclusion about False Gods Myths
The false gods mentioned above were worshipped by the people of Canaan and the nations surrounding the Promised Land, but were these idols just invented deities or did they really possess supernatural power, that is a part of the story that has not been clarified yet.
On the other hand we can tell you that many biblical scholars are convinced that some of these so-called divine beings could perform amazing acts because they were demons, or fallen angels, disguising themselves as gods, however we hope that the information in this article will help you to expand your knowledge about false gods.
