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The Devil’: Hermes and Èṣù in ancient Greek and Yoruba traditional religions

The history of human society reveals that belief in divinity or divinities has been an integral part of human life. Human beings have an inborn desire to identify with a supreme being or supernatural beings. However, religious beliefs differ from one society to another. Christianity and other monoth...

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Published: 2016
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LEADER 00000njm a2000000a 4500
001 oai:repository.ui.edu.ng:123456789/9051
042 |a dc 
720 |a Adebowale, B. A.  |e author 
260 |c 2016 
520 |a The history of human society reveals that belief in divinity or divinities has been an integral part of human life. Human beings have an inborn desire to identify with a supreme being or supernatural beings. However, religious beliefs differ from one society to another. Christianity and other monotheistic religions are startling different from other traditional religions. Notably, Èsù is the name given to Devil or Satan in the Yoruba translation of the Bible, Yoruba traditional religions, however, do not portray Èsù as the personal embodiment UÙof evil as reflected in the Yoruba translation of the Bible, but rather as a benevolent deity and one of the functionaries of Olódùmarè. Èsù is the Yoruba counterpart of the Greek god, Hermes, who holds a unique position in Greek religion. Hermes, like his Yoruba counterpart, is a god who wears many masks; he is the herald of the gods, a trickster and the guide that leads the dead soul into Hades as psychopompos- soul guide. Hermes and Èsù exhibit the highest number of similar traits in the pantheons of the ancient Greek and Yoruba gods. This paper examines the positions and attributes of Hermes and Èsù in the ancient Greek and Yoruba traditional religions in comparison with Biblical perceptions of Satan the Devil 
024 8 |a ui_art_adebowale_devil_2016 
024 8 |a Research in African Languages and Linguistics 15, Pp. 81 –107 
024 8 |a http://ir.library.ui.edu.ng/handle/123456789/9051 
653 |a Greek 
653 |a Yoruba 
653 |a Hermes 
653 |a Èsù 
653 |a Biblical 
653 |a Religions 
245 0 0 |a The Devil’: Hermes and Èṣù in ancient Greek and Yoruba traditional religions