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Gou Mang and Ru Shou wishes. A rock or stone, unadorned save for red colouring, marks the seat of the grama-devata. Grannus Gallic god of healing. The city of Aquae Granni (Aachen) was a centre of his cult. The name may come from a Celtic root ghrena, meaning ‘hot, warm’, which would connect the god with hot springs. Grannus is one of the gods whom Caesar designated as → Apollo(n).
tongues. The gorgonaion, a representation of the horrifying head of the gorgo, was used in temples and at graves to ward off evil powers. Alone among the three sisters Medusa was mortal, and when → Perseus struck off her head, the goddess → Athéne fixed it to her shield. Reference to ‘the gorgon’ in the singular is always to Medusa. Gou Mang and Ru Shou The messengers of the Chinese sky-god: the former promises good luck and long life, while the second augurs punishment and disaster. They share the attribute of the double dragon. Gou Mang is associated with the spring and the east; Ru Shou with autumn and the west. Govannon Celtic god of the Welsh, corresponding to the Irish → Goibniu. Graii (Greek ⫽ old women) The daughters of the sea-god → Phorkys, who guard the way to the Gorgons. They have one eye and one tooth among the three of them. Grama-devata (‘village deity’) A local tutelary god in India. Such gods look after the fields and the village boundaries, guard the villagers against epidemics and try to meet their personal
Gratiae, Graces (Latin gratia ⫽ grace, charm) In Roman belief, divine figures incorporating youthful grace and joie de vivre; they correspond to the Greek → Charites. They symbolize the arts of sculpture and poetry. They are mostly portrayed as naked, often garlanded and with flowers. Guan Di Chinese god of war, patron of literature and protector of trade and merchants. In the Manchu dynasty he was particularly venerated because of his warlike functions; but in other periods of Chinese history he was regarded as the guardian of righteousness which protects men from strife and evil. In origin, Guan Di was an ordinary man called Guan Zhong done to death by his adversary, but later deified on account of his many and signal virtues. Guan Yin A female → Bodhisattva venerated in China, who developed from → Avalokitefvara. She is enthroned on a mountain or an island in the Eastern Sea. Guan Yin bestows the blessing of children, helps all beings to attain to the enlightenment which brings deliverance, and is in general the ‘goddess of compassion’. She is often depicted meditating by the seashore; sometimes she has a child in her arms. In Japan she is known as Kwannon. Guhyasamaja (‘secret union’) Buddhist protective deity (→ Istadevata).