The Origin of names and creatures in DotA

Want to know where those DotA names comes from? LQmmel made a list about it, so all credits belongs to him.

HEROES

Zeus the Lord of Olympia: Olympia was the home of the gods in greek mythology. Zeus was the king of all the gods. He had a "wife" named Hera, and he and she was the parents to many of the other gods, such as Apollo, Ares and Athena.

Aiushtha the Enchantress: Aiushtha is a dryad. Dryads are female tree spirits in Greek mythology. They are known to live long, therefore she has the Natures Attendants, and her untouchable ultimate. Enchantress, a female spellcaster, practitioner of magic, user of enchantment(a magical spell that is attached, on a relatively-permanent basis)

Slithice the Naga Siren: Sirens are greek myth sea-units, who lived on a rock-island, and was known for their song who drow sailors to them, to have their boats crushed into the rocks. therefor her ultimate: song of the sirens.

Rikimaru the stealth assassin: Rikimaru is a fictional character appearing in the Tenchu stealth-action video game series. But only the name and the "stealth-ways" are associated with the games. Riki is a satyr, also a greek mythology unit, who is humanlike, but with horse-ears and sometimes horns. They roamed the woods and mountains.

Syllabear the Lone Druid: A druid is a sort of priest from the ancient celtic cultures. Druids were known to be closely bound with the nature, and to become a druid, one had to study for 20 years in the druidic teaching centre on Anglese, centred on magical lakes. The name Syllabeara is a trubute to Syl-la-ble, a Dota Contributer.(thx to Grujah)

Lina Inverse the Slayer: Lina Inverse is a fictional character, a sorceress from the anime series "Slayers". One of her many abilitys in the series is the "Dragon Slave", as we know it from DotA.

Yurnero the Juggernaut: The term juggernaut is used to describe any literal or metaphorical force regarded as unstoppable that will crush all in its path. The term has its origin from an old Indian god called Jagannatha, meaning "Lord of the universe".

Rooftrellen the Treant Protector: Living trees can be found in numerous mythologys, so to exactly determine the origin is nearly impossible. The name Treant is a combination of Tree and Giant.

Ulfsaar the Ursa Warrior: The name ursa comes from two constellations called Ursa major and Ursa minor, it means great bear and smaller bear. There is an old greek myth about zeus screwing around with a nymph, and therefore she was transformed into a bear of one of the other gods. She had a son, and to make a long story short, they got into some problems so Zeus placed them among the stars to keep them safe.

Aggron Stonebreaker, Ogre Magi: An ogre is a large and hideous humanoid monster. Ogres are often represented in fairy tales and folklore as feeding on human beings. Aggron is a on of the many pokemon species, who is made of stone and iron.

Squee and Spleen the Goblin Techies: A goblin is an evil or merely mischievous creature of folklore, often described as a grotesquely disfigured or gnome-like phantom. They are described as wiser than humans. Goblins are often associated with fire and use pranks when they hide small objects (MINES ). I was told that Squee and Spleen were names from the Magic Cards.

Rhasta the Shadow Shaman: Shamanism refers to a range of traditional beliefs and practices similar to Animism that claim the ability to diagnose and cure human suffering and, in some societies, the ability to cause suffering.

Bradwarden the Centaur Warchief: In Greek mythology, the centaurs are a race of creatures composed of part human and part horse. They are know for their great strenght they gain from the horse. Bradwarden is a centaur from D.A. Salvatore's book "The Demon Spirit". (thx to Grujah)

Leshrac the Malicious, Tormented Soul: Leshrac is a character from the Magic Cards. "Walker of Night". A planeswalker, mage/demonlord of the Ice Age. Malicious is a term for the intent to harm others.

Banehallow the Lycanthrope: In folklore, lycanthropy is the ability or power of a human being to undergo transformation into a wolf, also know as a werewolf. The term was first seen in greek mythology where Lycaon, a king of Arcadia who was turned into a ravenous wolf in retribution for attempting to serve human flesh (his own son) to visiting Zeus in an attempt to disprove the god's divinity.

Medusa the Gorgon: Medusa has her origins in greek mythology, were she is a fearsome creature, and it is said that all who looked her into the eyes would turn into stone. She was beheaded in her sleep by the hero Perseus.

Lucifer the Doom Bringer: In modern and late Medieval Christian thought, Lucifer is usually a fallen angel commonly associated with Satan, the embodiment of evil and enemy of God. Lucifer is a Latin word meaning "light-bearer"

Akasha the Queen of Pain: in ancient mythology Akasha is the first ever to become a vampire. King Enkil and Queen Akasha of Kemet (now Egypt) circa 4000 BCE, they became the first vampires when an evil spirit named Amel was able to enter the body of Akasha through a wound and fuse with her flesh. Akasha then turned Enkil into a vampire by drawing out nearly all of his blood and then allowing him to drink nearly all of hers. Also known from the book/movie "Queen of the damned".

Leviathan the Tidehunter: Leviathan was a Biblical sea monster referred to in the Old Testament. Leviathan is often considered to be a demon or natural monster associated with Satan or the Devil. Kraken (in kraken shell) is a giant squid in nordic mythology with mile long tentacles that pulls ships to the bottom of the ocean. (thx to Trixbeat)

Atropos the Bane Elemental: In Greek mythology, Atropos was the third of the Moerae. She was the oldest of the Three Fates, and was known as the "inflexible" or "inevitable." It was Atropos who chose the mechanism of death and ended the life of each mortal by cutting their thread with her "abhorred shears".

Abaddon the Lord of Avernus: Avernus was an ancient name for a crater in italy, which was said to hold the entrance to the underworld. Abaddon means destruction, and is associated with Hades who was the ruler of the underworld in greek mythology. So he is like a guard of the underworld.

Mercurial the Spectre: A spectre is a (usually terrifying) phantom, apparition, or ghost, or an unreal appearance. It is common in some types of folklore and mythology. The name Mercurial is a tribute to Mercurialxen, an artist that drew old load screen. (thx to Grujah)

Pugna the Oblivion: Pugna is a latin word for war or fight. Oblivion is the condition or quality of being completely forgotten; the opposite of celebrity .

Furion the Prophet: Furion, The prophet has a small connection to the Riddick series. There is a race of people, called the furion, and riddick (a furion) happens to be a prophet. (thx to ddr_mstr)

edited:Nevermore the Shadow Fiend: Lord Bronislaw Nevermore is the main character in Agneta Pleijel's Novel "Lord Nevermore", a swedish novel. Also, in the poem "The Raven" By Edgar Allen Poe, the words "Nevermore", "Shadow" and "Fiend" is mentioned. Which is the more relevant I do not know.

Mirana Nightshade the Priestress of the Moon:Mirana was a great warrior king, known as the "tiger of Multan fort" whom killed the chinese Emperor Changez Khan. (Deadly) Nightshade is both a deadly poison in Europe, Asia and North Africa and a beautifying agent, for Venitian women whom used it to dialate their pupils. The first priestesses of the moon goddess were around in 2340 BC in Babylon and they built the first observatories to monitor the movement of stars and were responsible for astronomy and mathematics and the calendar they came up with is still in use today. (big thx to dpc_)

Raijin Thunderkeg the Storm Spirit: Raijin is a god of thunder and lightning in Japanese mythology. His name is derived from the Japanese words rai, meaning thunder and shin, meaning god.

Dirge the Undying: Dirge is a character from the cartoon series Xombie. Dirge, a "variant", a zombie who has retained their conscious mind and the ability to think like a human. A dirge is also a somber song expressing mourning or grief. The English word "dirge" is derived from the Latin Dirige, Domine, Deus meus, in conspectu tuo viam meam ("Direct my way in your sight, O Lord my God").

new:Jakiro The Twin headed Dragon: In Norse mythology, Níðhöggr (Malice Striker, often anglicized Nidhogg) is a dragon who eats the roots of the World Tree, Yggdrasill. Compared to the text written in the tavern, that tells us the story of Jakiro, there is not much doubt that the inspiration came from Nidhogg.

new:Anub'seran the Nerubian Weaver: Shukuchi is a technique which means "reduced earth/ground", attributing to the fact that one moves so fast that its appears its actually that distance that decreases between the two fighters and not the fighter itself advancing towards another.


ITEMS


Perseverance: Perseverance is a term for human endurance and autonomy.

Hand of Midas: Historically, it is known that a Midas was king of Phrygia(Greece) in the late eighth century BC. There is a myth about him, telling that after he had done a favour to the god Dionysus, he was granted one wish. He then wished that everything he touched would turn in to gold, and so it happend. The myth goes on about how he finds out that it is a curse and not a blessing, and how he gets rit of it.

Null Talisman: Talisman or amulet, is a small object intended to bring good luck and/or protection to its owner.

Stygian Desolater: Stygian means, dark or hellish, and could have connections to Styx, a river in the underworld in greek mythology. Desolator means to devastate or to make bad changes to something.

Aegis of the Immortal: In mordern english Aegis means a shield or protection. Originally from the name of the mythological protective shield of Zeus.

Dagon: Dagon was a major northwest Semitic god, reportedly a god of grain and agriculture. in Hebrew the word dagon means "to be cut open".

Necronomicon: The Necronomicon is a fictional book from the stories of horror writer H.P. Lovecraft. In greek the name means "The Book of the Dead", derived from Nomicon (Book of Law), or "the Book of the Laws of the Dead".

Mjollnir: Also know as Mjølner or Mjölner. Derives from norse mythology, where Mjollnir is the Hammer of Thor, the god of lightning, thunder, wind, and rain.

Maelstrom: Aka malström, is a powerful whirlpool; a large, swirling body of water. The word is a compound of the Nordic words mala (to grind) and ström (stream). The word originates from the mythological story of Grottasöngr.

Eul's Scepter of Divinity: A tribute to Eul, the original creator of the DotA map.

Guinsoo's Scythe of Vyse: A tribute to Guinsoo, also a developer of one of the variations of the DotA map.

Buriza-do Kyanon: Originally an item from Diablo, however a guy named Buriza also worked as a developer on the DotA map, and therefor it could be a tribute to him.

Heart of Tarrasque: Legend has it that the creature inhabited the area of Nerluc in Provence, and devastated the landscape far and wide. The Tarasque was a sort of dragon with six short legs like a bear's, an ox-like body covered with a turtle shell, and a scaly tail that ended in a scorpion's sting. It had a lion's head. Tarrasque was tamed in a legendary story about Saint Martha.

Eye of Skadi: In Norse mythology, Skadi is a giantess, daughter of Thjazi, wife of Njord and stepmother of Freyr and Freyja. She is known ass the Snowshoe Goddess.

Agahnim's Scepter: Agahnim is a fictional character from the Legend of Zelda videogame series. Agahnim is a powerful and evil magic-user.

Mithril Hammer: Mithril is a fictional metal from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth universe. It is precious and silvery, stronger than steel but much lighter in weight.

Sange And Yasha: Twin Swords from the game Phantasy Star. (thx to Kuriboh)

Demon Edge: A Sword from the game Chrono Trigger. (thx to Kuriboh)

new:Shiva's Guard: Shiva is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. Often called "the Destroyer", Shiva is one of the Trimurti, along with Brahma the Creator and Vishnu the Preserver. Within Shaivism he is viewed as the supreme deity.

new:Armlet of Mordiggian: Mordiggian is an entity worshiped by ghouls from H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos, first written about by the writer Clark Ashton Smith in his short story The Charnel God (1934).

new:Javelin: The name of a light spear designed primarily for casting as a ranged weapon. The javelin is almost always thrown by hand.