clouds and horizons: * see Endnote <A>

Spengler is comparing Faustian and Apollonian representation of space in art

 

unlimited multitude of antique gods:

like the Greeks the Roman had 12 main Olympian gods, but the total number of dieties, minor and major, is over 200; many though not all, were borrowed form the Greeks.

 

Niflheim:

In Norse cosmology "World of Mist" or "Home of Mist" is a location which sometimes overlaps with the notions of Misty Hel and Hel.  It was the 2nd of the 2 primordial realms to emanate out of the primal void, the other one being the realm of fire.  Between these 2 realms creation began when its waters mixed with the heat to form a "creating steam".  It later, it became the abode of Hel, a goddess daughter of Loki, and the afterlife for her subjects, those who did not die a heroic death.

 

Tellus Mater:

aka Terra; in ancient Roman religion and myth, "Mother Earth" is a goddess of the earth. Tellus was the name of the original earth goddess in the religious practices of the Republic or earlier.  Varro (1st century BC) lists her as one of the 20 principal gods of Rome, & 1 of the 12 agricultural deities. She is regularly associated with Ceres in rituals pertaining to the earth and agricultural fertility

 

Faunus:

in Roman religion the horned god of the forest, plains & fields, one of the oldest Roman deities; often equated in literature with the Greek god Pan; Virgil claimed he was a legendary king of the Latins.  His shade was consulted as a god of prophecy with oracles in the sacred grove of Tibur & on the Aventine Hill in Rome; the god revealed the future in dreams & voices communicated to those who slept in his precincts.

 

Vulturnus:

aka the Greek name Eurus, god of the East wind, a wind of storm, described as a turbulent wind during storms and tossing ships on the sea.  He is closely related to Helios in passages of the Dionysiaca, being called from his place near Helios’ palace, Phaethon, where the sun rose in the east.

 

Ceres:

goddess of agriculture, grain crops, fertility and motherly relationships in Roman religion, the counterpart of the Greek goddess Demeter, one of Rome's many agricultural deities; originally the central deity in Rome's Aventine Triad, then paired with her daughter Proserpina in the Greek rites of Ceres. Her 7 day April festival of Cerealia included the popular Ludi Ceriales (Ceres' games); she was also honoured in the May lustratio- the Ambarvalia festival, at harvest-time, and during Roman marriages & funeral rites.

 

Consus:

subterranean god protecting grain storage; represented by a grain seed, altar located at the first meta of the Circus Maximus, either underground, or covered with earth, which was swept off during the two Consualia, his festivals on August 21 and December 15 and on July 7 when the pontiffs held a sacrifice there.

 

sub Jove frigido:

This is a fragment form Horace (his Book 1- CARMINVM: ODE I.)  The full line is:

"Manet sub Jove frigido venator."  which translated poetically means:The Huntsman in the cold doth roam.  “Jove” translates as Jupiter Roman chief sky God but also heavens or sky itself

 

Achelous:

Greek god associated with the Achelous River (largest river in Greece); Hesiod claims, he was the son of the Titans Oceanus & Tethys.  He was also said to be the father of the Sirens, several nymphs, and other offspring; he was. able to change his shape, & in the form of a bull wrestled Heracles for the right to marry Deianeira (he lost).  He was also involved in the legend of the Argive hero Alcmaeon.

 

Dryads:

in Greek mythology a particular type of nymph or spirit associated with trees; Drys signifies "oak" in Greek, dryads are specifically the nymphs of oak trees, although the term is used for tree nymphs in general; considered very shy creatures except around the goddess Artemis, a friend to most nymphs.

 

Hamadrayads:

in Greek mythology a being that lives in trees, a particular type of dryad which is bonded to a speciic tree; while a normal dryad being is the indwelling entity, or spirit, of the tree, a hamadryad is the tree itself & if the tree dies, its hamadryad dies as well.  Thus dryads & gods punish mortals who harmed trees.

 

Valkyries:

a host of female figures who select half of those dead in battle, taking them to Valhalla, where they prepare to support Odin in the Ragnarök; while there the valkyries bear them mead.  They are referencedin both Eddas (compiled in the 13th century).

 

Naiads:

a type of female spirit, or nymph in Greek mythology associated with fresh water, who presided over fountains, wells, springs, streams, brooks & other bodies of fresh water; distinct from river gods (who embodied rivers) & the ancient spirits that inhabited the still waters (marshes, ponds lagoon-lakes).

 

nixies:

plural of nixy

see below

 

nixy:

in Germanic mythology & folklore, humanoid, & often shape shifting water spirits; under a variety of names they were common in the stories of Germanic peoples, although they are best known from Scandinavian folklore. The German Nix and his Scandinavian counterparts were male whereas the Nixe was a female river mermaid.

 

nenuphars:

the European white water lily, white water rose or white nenuphar; an aquatic flowering plant of the family native to North Africa, temperate Asia, Europe and tropical Asia

 

Kyffhauser (Kaiser Barbarossa):

The Kyffhäuser hill range in Central Germany, shared by Thuringia & Saxony-Anhalt, SE of the Harz mountains; highest point is at the Kulpenberg (1,553 ft); site of medieval Kyffhausen Castle, in German traditional mythology as the legendary resting place of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa (Kaiser Barbarossa) Folklore says he is not dead, but asleep with his knights in a cave in these mountains & that when the ravens cease to fly around the mountain he will awake & restore Germany to its ancient greatness.

 

Frau Venus (in the Horselberg):

indirect reference to Venusberg (Mountain of Venus), a motif in European folklore, legends & epics, the first recorded version dated to 1437.  It is a variant of the folktale in which a mortal is seduced by a fairy queen when he visits the otherworld; the earliest version of the legend tells of a knight seeking forgiveness for having adored a pagan goddess in an enchanted mountain, but he is rejected by the pope and returns to the mountain, even though a miracle prompts the pope to send emissaries after him calling him back.  A Nuremberg version (1515) identifies Venusberg with the Hörselberg, a hill chain near Eisenach in Thuringia.