Throughout history, different societies have worshipped bodies of water. This well worship is recorded throughout ancient texts and in the research of those who studied them. Here is a look at some of the different river deities and customs held by these ancient cultures.

• In Assan, the main gods of the Dravidian tribes were the rivers of that country.

• The people of Vedas called upon the rivers for aid in times of need.

• Slavonic tribes paid homage to the rivers.

• Ancient Germans prayed to the Rhine.

• The Franks and the Alamanns worshiped the rivers and the fountains as well. Prayers were held along the banks of the river and candles and other offerings were left at wells. If the Franks needed to cross a river, they sacrificed women and children.

• The Scots sacrificed bulls to Mourie, who lived on an island in Loch Maree.

• The Welsh sacrificed horses at St. George’s well.

• The Persians also sacrificed horses to the god Xerxes.

• Water nymphs received black sheep and cat sacrifices in Germany and Sweden.

Other river deities in literature

In some cases, the worship of the waters was made to an actual god in human form, but often the worship was given to the water itself. It was thought that the waters had their own souls, which allowed them to rise and fall as they wished. Hesiod warned travelers to pray at streams and outdoor waterfalls before crossing. Many of Homer’s heroes were children of the river gods. When Achilles angered the river Scamander, the god takes human form to address him. When Achilles refuses to listen, the river god changes back into water and tries to drown him. Only through the help of the god of fire, Hephaestus, is Achilles able to escape.

In the Bible, there is a story of the pool at Bethesda, where the sick and disabled visited. When the water stirred, it was an angel moving it, and the first person to get into the water at that point would be cured of his disease or disability.

Celebrations of water

Besides the worship of water gods, there were also numerous festivals surrounding water. For example, ancient Romans celebrated Fontinalia in October as a way to honor the water nymphs. Flowers were thrown into fountains and crowns of flowers placed over the wells. This custom was also followed in modern-day Britain.

The Greeks threw money into the well when asking advice from the oracle of Amphiaraiis. In Romania, if water is drawn from a well, a few drops are spilled to honor the water spirit. In Laconia, worshippers at the spring outdoor fountain of Inus would throw sacrificial cakes into the water. If the cakes were accepted, they sank; if they rose in the water, they were rejected, and the worshippers had to find more suitable offerings.

Other wells were associated with being able to tell the future, such as the well of Demeter. This well would foretell if a person was going to live or die.

Water has played an important part in religions and literature throughout the world.