=Urgus= (Ur´gus). A name of Pluto, signifying the Impeller.
=Ursa Major= (Ur´sa Ma´jor), see Calisto.
=Utgard Loki= (Ut´gard Lo´ki). In Scandinavian mythology the king of the giants.
=Valhalla= (Valhal´la). The Scandinavian temple of immortality, inhabited by the souls of heroes slain in battle.
=Vali= (Va´li). The Scandinavian god of archery.
=Vallonia= (Vallo´nia). The goddess of valleys.
=Varuna= (Varu´na). The Hindoo Neptune--generally represented as a white man riding on a sea-horse, carrying a club in one hand and a rope or noose to bind offenders in the other.
=Vejovis= (Vejo´vis). "Little Jupiter"--a name given to Jupiter when he appeared without his thunder.
=Venus= (Ve´nus). The goddess of beauty, and mother of love. She is said to have sprung from the foam of the sea, and was immediately carried to the abode of the gods on Olympus, where they were all charmed with her extreme beauty. Vulcan married her, but she permitted the attentions of others of the gods, and notably of Mars, their offspring being Hermione, Cupid, and Anteros. After this she left Olympus and fell in love with Adonis, a beautiful youth, who was killed when hunting a wild boar. Venus indirectly caused the Trojan War, for, when the goddess of discord had thrown among the goddesses the golden apple inscribed "To the fairest," Paris adjudged the apple to Venus, and she inspired him with love for Helen, wife of Menelaus, king of Sparta. Paris carried off Helen to Troy, and the Greeks pursued and besieged the city (see Helen, Paris, and Troy). Venus is mentioned by the classic poets under the names of Aphrodite, Cypria, Urania, Astarte, Paphia, Cythera, and the laughter-loving goddess. Her favorite residence was at Cyprus. Incense alone was usually offered on her altars, but if there was a victim it was a white goat. Her attendants were Cupids and the Graces.
=Verticordia= (Verti´cor´dia). A Roman name of Venus, signifying the power of love to change the hard-hearted. The corresponding Greek name was Epistrophia.
=Vertumnus= (Vertum´nus) ("the Turner," "Changer"). God of spring, or, as some mythologists say, of the seasons; the husband of Pomona, the goddess of fruits and orchards.
=Vesta= (Ves´ta), daughter of Saturn and Cybele, was the goddess of the hearth and its fire. She had under her special care and protection a famous statue of Minerva, before which the Vestal Virgins kept a fire or lamp constantly burning.