- Source: Azone
Azone (Greek: Άζωνοι) is a term in mythology anciently applied to gods and goddesses that were not the private divinities of any particular country or people. Azones were acknowledged as deities in every country, and worshipped in every nation. The word is etymologically derived from Greek for "without" and "country". The azones were to a degree above the visible and sensible deities, which were called zonei (Greek: Ζωναίοι), who inhabited some particular part of the world, and never stirred out of the district or zone that was assigned them.
The Greek philosopher Damascius discusses the azones in his commentary on Plato's Parmenides.
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This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chambers, Ephraim, ed. (1728). "Azoni". Cyclopædia, or an Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences (1st ed.). James and John Knapton, et al.