List of solar deities

Last updated

A solar deity is a god or goddess who represents the Sun, or an aspect of it, usually by its perceived power and strength. Solar deities and Sun worship can be found throughout most of recorded history in various forms. The following is a list of solar deities:

Contents

African

The Kongo Cosmogram, depicting the four moments of the sun Kongo Cosmogram 3.png
The Kongo Cosmogram, depicting the four moments of the sun

Bakongo mythology

Bantu mythology

Berber/Amazigh mythology

Igbo mythology

Dahomey mythology

Egyptian mythology

Zulu mythology

American

Aztec mythology

Brazilian mythology

Incan mythology

Mapuche mythology

Inuit mythology

Maya mythology

Muisca mythology

Other American Indian mythology

Asian

Ainu mythology

Arabian mythology

Armenian mythology

Buddhist mythology

Canaanite mythology

Chinese mythology

Statue of the goddess Xihe charioteering the Sun, being pulled by a dragon, in Hangzhou Xi He.JPG
Statue of the goddess Xihe charioteering the Sun, being pulled by a dragon, in Hangzhou

Elamite

Filipino mythology

Hindu mythology

Surya WLANL - 23dingenvoormusea - Suryabeeldje.jpg
Surya

Hittite mythology

Japanese mythology

Amaterasu emerging out of a cave, bringing sunlight back to the universe. Amaterasu cave - large - 1856.jpeg
Amaterasu emerging out of a cave, bringing sunlight back to the universe.

Mesopotamian mythology

Scythian religion

Tocharian

Turkic mythology

Persian mythology

Zunism

Vietnamese mythology

European

Albanian mythology

Armenian mythology

Idol of the Saule used for peasant rituals in early 20th century from Paluse, Ignalina District Apeigine saule.jpg
Idol of the Saulė used for peasant rituals in early 20th century from Palūšė, Ignalina District

Baltic mythology

Basque mythology

Celtic mythology

Etruscan mythology

Finnish mythology

Germanic mythology

Greek mythology

Hungarian mythology

Lusitanian mythology

Minoan mythology

Proto-Indo-European mythology

Roman mythology

Sami mythology

Slavic mythology

Oceania

Australian Aboriginal mythology

Māori mythology

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solar deity</span> Sky deity who represents the Sun

A solar deity or sun deity is a deity who represents the Sun or an aspect thereof. Such deities are usually associated with power and strength. Solar deities and Sun worship can be found throughout most of recorded history in various forms. The Sun is sometimes referred to by its Latin name Sol or by its Greek name Helios. The English word sun derives from Proto-Germanic *sunnǭ.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helios</span> Greek god and personification of the Sun

In ancient Greek religion and mythology, Helios is the god who personifies the Sun. His name is also Latinized as Helius, and he is often given the epithets Hyperion and Phaethon. Helios is often depicted in art with a radiant crown and driving a horse-drawn chariot through the sky. He was a guardian of oaths and also the god of sight. Though Helios was a relatively minor deity in Classical Greece, his worship grew more prominent in late antiquity thanks to his identification with several major solar divinities of the Roman period, particularly Apollo and Sol. The Roman Emperor Julian made Helios the central divinity of his short-lived revival of traditional Roman religious practices in the 4th century AD.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philippine mythology</span> Body of myths, tales, and superstitions held by Filipinos

Philippine mythology is rooted in the many indigenous Philippine folk religions. Philippine mythology exhibits influence from Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, and Christian traditions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marici (Buddhism)</span> Buddhist god

Mārīcī is a Buddhist deity (deva), as well as a bodhisattva associated with light and the Sun. By most historical accounts Mārīcī is considered a goddess, but in some regions she is depicted as a male god revered among the warrior class in East Asia. Mārīcī is typically depicted with multiple arms, riding a charging boar or sow, or on a fiery chariot pulled by seven horses or seven boars. She has either one head or between three and six, with one shaped like a boar. In parts of East Asia, in her fiercest forms, she may wear a necklace of skulls. In some representations, she sits upon a lotus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bicolano people</span> Ethnic group of the eastern Philippines

The Bicolano people are the fourth-largest Filipino ethnolinguistic group. Their native region is commonly referred to as Bicolandia, which comprises the entirety of the Bicol Peninsula and neighboring minor islands, all in the southeast portion of Luzon. Males from the region are often referred to as Bicolano, while Bicolana may be used to refer to females.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Sun in culture</span> Depictions of the Sun in culture

The Sun, as the source of energy and light for life on Earth, has been a central object in culture and religion since prehistory. Ritual solar worship has given rise to solar deities in theistic traditions throughout the world, and solar symbolism is ubiquitous. Apart from its immediate connection to light and warmth, the Sun is also important in timekeeping as the main indicator of the day and the year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Weather god</span> Deity associated with thunder, rains and storms

A weather god or goddess, also frequently known as a storm god or goddess, is a deity in mythology associated with weather phenomena such as thunder, snow, lightning, rain, wind, storms, tornadoes, and hurricanes. Should they only be in charge of one feature of a storm, they will be called after that attribute, such as a rain god or a lightning/thunder god. This singular attribute might then be emphasized more than the generic, all-encompassing term "storm god", though with thunder/lightning gods, the two terms seem interchangeable. They feature commonly in polytheistic religions, especially in Proto-Indo-European ones.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ra</span> Ancient Egyptian solar deity

Ra or Re was the ancient Egyptian deity of the Sun. By the Fifth Dynasty, in the 25th and 24th centuries BC, he had become one of the most important gods in ancient Egyptian religion, identified primarily with the noon-day sun. Ra ruled in all parts of the created world: the sky, the Earth, and the underworld. He was believed to have ruled as the first pharaoh of Ancient Egypt. He was the god of the sun, order, kings and the sky.

A dawn god or goddess is a deity in a polytheistic religious tradition who is in some sense associated with the dawn. These deities show some relation with the morning, the beginning of the day, and, in some cases, become syncretized with similar solar deities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indigenous religious beliefs of the Tagalog people</span>

The indigenous religious beliefs of the Tagalog people were well documented by Spanish missionaries, mostly in the form of epistolary accounts (relaciones) and entries in various dictionaries compiled by missionary friars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solar myths</span> Myths dealing with the sun

Solar myth — mythologization of the Sun and its impact on earthly life; usually closely associated with lunar myths.

<i>*Seh₂ul</i> and <i>*Meh₁not</i> Proto-Indo-European Sun and Moon gods

*Seh₂ul and *Meh₁not are the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European goddess of the Sun and god of the Moon. *Seh₂ul is reconstructed based on the solar deities of the attested Indo-European mythologies, although its gender is disputed, since there are deities of both genders. Likewise, *Meh₁not- is reconstructed based on the lunar deities of the daughter languages, but they differ in regards to their gender.

References

  1. Monaghan, Patricia (2010). Encyclopedia of Goddesses and Heroines. Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood. ISBN 9780313349904.
  2. Monaghan, Patricia (2010). Encyclopedia of Goddesses and Heroines. Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood. ISBN 9780313349904.
  3. J. F. Breton (Trans. Albert LaFarge), Arabia Felix From The Time Of The Queen Of Sheba, Eighth Century B.C. To First Century A.D., 1998, University of Notre Dame Press: Notre Dame (IN), pp. 119-120.
  4. Julian Baldick (1998). Black God. Syracuse University Press. p. 20. ISBN   0815605226.
  5. Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of World Religions, 1999 - 1181 páginas
  6. J. Ryckmans, "South Arabia, Religion Of", in D. N. Freedman (Editor-in-Chief), The Anchor Bible Dictionary, 1992, Volume 6, op. cit., p. 172
  7. Cole, M. C. (1916). Philippine Folk Tales . Chicago: A.C. McClurg and Co.
  8. Jenks, A. (1905). The Bontoc Igorot. Manila: Bureau of Printing.
  9. Cawed, C. (1972). The Culture of the Bontoc Igorot. MCS Enterprises.
  10. Bimmolog, H., Sallong, L., Montemayor, L. (2005). The Deities of the Animistic Religion of Mayaoyao, Ifugao.
  11. Moss, C. R. (1924). Nabaloi Tales. University of California Publications in American Archaeology, 227–353.
  12. Wilson, L. L. (1947). Ilongot Life and Legends. Southeast Asia Institute.
  13. Llamzon, Teodoro A. 1978. Handbook of Philippine language groups. Quezon City, Philippines: Ateneo de Manila University Press.
  14. Alacacin, C. (1952). The Gods and Goddesses. Historical and Cultural Data of Provinces.
  15. Eugenio, D. L. (2007). Philippine Folk Literature: An Anthology. University of the Philippines Press.
  16. Beyer, H.O. (1915). Philippine Ethnographic Series.
  17. Jose, V. R. (1974). Creation and Flood Myths in Philippine Folk Literature. University of the Philippines.
  18. Nicdao, A. (1917). Pampangan Folklore. Manila.
  19. Nicdao, A. (1917). Pampangan Folklore. Manila.
  20. Aguilar, M. D. (2001). Women in Philippine Folktales. Holy Angel University
  21. Calderon, S. G. (1947). Mga alamat ng Pilipinas. Manila : M. Colcol & Co.
  22. 1 2 Jocano, F. L. (1969). Philippine Mythology. Quezon City: Capitol Publishing House Inc.
  23. Ramos, M. (1990). Philippine Myths, Legends, and Folktales. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
  24. Kikuchi, Y. (1984). Mindoro Highlanders: The Life of the Swidden Agriculturists. New Day Publishers.
  25. Beyer, H. O. (1923). Ethnography of the Bikol People. vii.
  26. Arcilla, A. M. (1923). The Origin of Earth and of Man. Ethnography of the Bikol People, vii.
  27. Buenabora, N. P. (1975). Pag-aaral at Pagsalin sa Pilipino ng mga Kaalamang-Bayan ng Bikol at ang Kahalagahan ng mga Ito sa Pagtuturo ng Pilipino sa Bagong Lipunan. National Teacher's College.
  28. Hart D. V., Hart H. C. (1966). Maka-andog: A Reconstructed Myth from Eastern Samar, Philippines. The Journal of American Folklore.
  29. Miller, J. M. (1904). Philippine folklore stories. Boston, Ginn.
  30. Buyser, F. (1913). Mga Sugilanong Karaan.
  31. Cruz-Lucero, R., Pototanon, R. M. (2018). Capiznon. With contributions by E. Arsenio Manuel. In Our Islands, Our People: The Histories and Cultures of the Filipino Nation, edited by Cruz-Lucero, R.
  32. 1 2 Fox, R. B. (1982). Religion and Society Among the Tagbanuas of Palawan Island, Philippines. Manila: National Museum.
  33. Benedict, L. W. (1913). Bagobo Myths. Journal of American Folklore, pp. 26 (99): 13–63.
  34. Casal, G. (1978). The T'boli Creation Myth and Religion. T'boli Art: in its Socio-Cultural Context, pp. 122–123.
  35. Wood, G. L. (1957). Philippine Sociological Review Vol. 5, No. 2: The Tiruray. Philippine Sociological Society.
  36. Talaguit, C. J. N. (2019). Folk-Islam in Maranao Society. History Department, De La Salle University – Manila.
  37. The Problem of Tocharian Origins: An Archaeological Perspective
  38. The Spider’s Web. Goddesses of Light and Loom: Examining the Evidence for the Indo-European Origin of Two Ancient Chinese Deities
  39. "Nữ thần mặt trời và nữ thần mặt trăng - Thần thoại Việt Nam". TruyệnXưaTíchCũ. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  40. "UM CULTO SOLAR OU RITUAL DE FECUNDIDADE". Archived from the original on 2011-12-30. Retrieved 2019-01-25.
  41. Enciclopédia das Festas Populares e Religiosas de Portugal. Vol. 1. Lulu.com. p. 64. ISBN   9789892013916.
  42. "TEÓFILO BRAGA. O POVO PORTUGUEZ NOS SEUS COSTUMES, CRENÇAS E TRADIÇÕES II". Lisboa, Livraria Ferreira. 1885.
  43. Ridderstad, Marianna (2009). "Evidence of Minoan Astronomy and Calendrical Practises". arXiv: 0910.4801 [physics.hist-ph].
  44. Marinatos, Nanno. Minoan Kingship and the Solar Goddess: A Near Eastern Koine (2013).
  45. O'Brien, Steven. "Dioscuric Elements in Celtic and Germanic Mythology". In: Journal of Indo-European Studies 10:1–2 (Spring–Summer, 1982), pp. 117–136.
  46. Meagher, Robert E. (2002). The Meaning of Helen: In Search of an Ancient Icon . Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers. pp. 46ff. ISBN   978-0-86516-510-6.
  47. West, Martin L. (2007). Indo-European Poetry and Myth. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. ISBN   978-0-19-928075-9.