Europe
Archangel Gabriel
Known by different names. In Christianity he foretells the birth of Jesus to the Virgin Mary. (Icon from Greece)
Bacchus
The Roman god of the wine, ritual madness, and ecstasy. Known and loved in Greece as Dionysus.
Black Madonna of Einsiedeln
A statue of the Virgin Mary from the thousand-year-old Benedictine monastery of Einsiedeln in Switzerland.
Cherub
A winged toddler. Seen on English Christmas trees, French cemeteries, and Italian paintings.
Double-Headed Axe
Also called the Labrys, a relic from the Bronze Age from excavations on the island of Crete, Greece.
Entry Angel
Placed at doorways to stop anything evil from entering. Tends to be bossy. All over Europe.
Eyrarland Statue
Found in Iceland, it shows the Norse God Thor holding his magical hammer, Mjöllnir.
Fat Lady of Malta
Probably a fertility symbol. She is about 5000 years old and is from the Island of Malta.
Faustina Kowalska
A Polish nun whose vision of Christ bearing rays of light from one of his hands became famous.
Greek Orthodox Icon
Made from small blocks of wood, these small portable icons, popular all over Greece, are carried to church and used at home.
Green Man
A pagan nature spirit of the Celts, but also seen in Christian churches in France, Germany, and the U.K.
Hermes
An Olympian god of Ancient Greece, known for his beautiful face and perfect physique.
Infanta of Prague
The source of countless miracles, it has become one of the most famous religious images in the world.
Knight in Shining Armor
A godlike being believed to save damsels in distress in English Romance novels of a bygone era.
Kurent
A god of Slavic folklore, his frightening looks were believed to chase away winter in places like Slovenia.
La Pietà
The famed sculpture by Michelangelo is placed in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City.
Last Supper
Leonardo da Vinci's famed wall painting depicts Jesus's final meal with his Apostles. (Italian wall painting)
Lucky Heather
Has been a symbol of good luck for centuries in Great Britain and Ireland.
Massacre of the Innocents
All Jewish male babies were ordered to be killed by King Herod because of a prophecy that one would replace him as King. (Croatian stone relief)
Merlin
Was the wizard of Arthurian legend and medieval Welsh poetry. Probably born in Wales.
Minrva
The goddess of war of the Etruscans, a mysterious race who once played an important role in Italy.
Moldova Goddesses
Part of the ancient Cuceteni-Trypillia culture centered in Moldova, Ukraine, and Romania.
Mother Cabrini
Born in Italy, became Mother Cabrini in the United States. The first American canonized by the Catholic Church.
Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa, an Albanian born in what is now North Macedonia, spent most of her life as a nun in Calcutta, India.
Odin
Was the chief Scandinavian God and the protector of Viking warriors in Norway, Sweden, and Denmark.
Our Lady of Fatima
Revered by pilgrims who visit her basilica in Portugal. The site has been a place of pilgrimage for 100 years.
Our Lady of Lourdes
After a vision appeared to a French village girl, a spring of water replaced the vision and has since healed countless pilgrims.
Our Lady of Meritxell
A statue of the Virgin Mary, patron saint of Andorra, was in a chapel that burned down in 1972, along with the statue.
Our Lady of Montserrat
Her baby on her lap and the golden orb of the world in her right hand, she is one of the most celebrated images in Spain.
Persephone
Because she ate six pomegranate seeds, the Greek goddess had to spend half the year in Hades.
Perun
The Slavic god of heaven, still feared in some areas of Belarus, Poland, Ukraine, and Slovakia.
Poltergeist
Means “noisy ghost” in German. It started life in Germany but has since spread to other countries.
Saint Devota
She was martyred, but the Virgin Mary gently lifted her spirit to Monaco, where she became its patron saint.
Saint Dymphna
Born in Ireland, is the patron saint of the insane and incest victims, and died in Belgium.
Saint Elizabeth
A princess of Hungary, had a forbidden basket of bread for the poor turned by a miracle into one filled with roses.
Saint Florian
Joined a fire-fighting unit in Ancient Rome, now the Patron Saint of firefighters, he was born in Austria.
Saint Francis of Assisi
The Patron Saint of animals, and one of the most popular saints ever. He was born in Assisi, Italy.
Saint Jerome
A monk who translated the Bible into Latin and took a thorn from a lion’s paw. Possibly from Montenegro.
Saint Kinga
A Polish saint and a princess as well as patroness of Lithuania. She took vows of poverty and sold all her possessions.
Saint Louis
The only French king to be declared a saint, he led the Seventh Crusade to the Holy Land.
Saint Marinus
A Christian in ancient Croatia, he escaped persecution to became a hermit but was later canonized as a saint in Italy.
Saint Patrick
A fifth-century bishop who brought Christianity to Ireland and taught the Trinity by linking it with the three-in-one clover leaf.
Saint Peregrine Laziosi
The Patron Saint of those suffering from AIDS and cancer. The author of many miracles. Born in Italy.
Saint Sava
He brought enlightenment to what is now Serbia. One of the world's largest Orthodox churches bears his name.
Saint Thérèse of Lisieux
She became a nun at 15. So famed for her devotion there is a Shrine devoted her at Lisieux in France.
Saint Willibrord
Was the author of numerous miracles. There is an annual festival held in his honor in Luxembourg.
Slav Mythological Beings
Began their lives in Slav countries like Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Croatia, Serbia, and Bulgaria.
Sleipnir
The eight-legged horse of Norse mythology, revered for his strength in Norway, Sweden, and Denmark.
Tarot Cards
Originating in Italy as playing cards, they are now mainly used in psychic readings.
Triskelion
An ancient Greek symbol, later popular with the Celts, and now with tourists on the Isle of Man.
Väinämöinen
The creator of the universe in the folklore of Finland, or perhaps only a strong man who defeated his rival.
Venus
Called Aphrodite in Ancient Greece, the goddess of love became known as Venus in Ancient Rome.
Waist-Bow Goddess
Created more than 7,000 years ago, she comes from the Magura cave paintings of Bulgaria.
Winged Lion
The heraldic symbol of Mark the Evangelist who, as the patron saint of Venice, has many lion images placed around the city.
Witch
An old woman with a pointed hat, flies on a broomstick, can cast spells. Often seen at night in Scotland.
Yggdrasil
An ash tree with branches reaching to Heaven, according to legends from Norway, Sweden, and Denmark.
Zalmoxis
A divinity worshipped by Dacian ancestors of present-day Romanians, some of whom still revere him.
Zeus
As god of the heavens, used thunder and lightning to get what he wanted from the lesser gods of Ancient Greece.