List of earth deities

"Earth Goddess" redirects here. For the ceramic sculpture by Sandy Brown, see Earth Goddess (sculpture).

Statue of Bhumi, goddess of the earth, featured in Puranas

This is a list of earth deities. An Earth god or Earth goddess is a deification of the Earth associated with a figure with chthonic or terrestrial attributes. There are many different Earth gods and goddesses in many different cultures and mythology. However, Earth is usually portrayed as a goddess. Earth goddesses are often associated with the chthonic deities of the underworld. ^[1]

In Greek mythology, the Earth is personified as Gaia, corresponding to Roman Terra, Indic Prithvi, etc. traced to an "Earth Mother" complementary to the "Sky Father" in Proto-Indo-European religion. Egyptian mythology have the sky goddesses, Nut and Hathor, with the earth gods, Osiris and Geb. Ki and Ninhursag are Mesopotamian earth goddesses.

African mythology

Akan mythology

• Asase Yaa, the goddess of the harsh earth, Truth and Mother of the Dead. An ancient religious figure worshipped by the indigenous Akan people of the Guinea Coast, Asase/Yaa is also known as Aberewa which is Akan for "Old Woman". Not only is she an Earth Goddess she also represents procreation, truth, love, fertility, peace, and the earth of the Akan.
• Asase Afua, the Goddess of the lush earth, fertility, love, procreation and farming

Aksumite Religion

• Medr/Meder, Ethiopian, Aksumite, Earth god

Bakongo religion

• Nzambici, the God of Essence, the Earth and Sky Mother, mother of all animals

Egyptian mythology

• Geb, god of the earth, vegetation, earthquakes, and snakes; "God of Earth and Land"

Igbo mythology

• Ala, alusi of the earth, morality, fertility, and creativity

Malagasy mythology

• Ratovantany, Malagasy deity that shaped humans from clay and takes their corpses after death

Yoruba mythology

• Babalú-Ayé, orisha of the earth, healing, smallpox, respect for the elderly

American mythology

Aztec mythology

• Tlaltecuhtli, the earth deity whose body created the world
• Tezcatlipoca, Aztec deity associated with the earth, the night sky, the night winds, hurricanes, the north, obsidian, enmity, discord, rulership, divination, temptation, jaguars, sorcery, beauty, war and strife.

Haudenosaunee mythology

• Atsi tsien ke:ion (pronunciation Ageejenguyuon) meaning Mature flower - Sky woman who fell from the sky and created North America on the back of a turtle.
• Hah-nu-nah, the turtle that bears the world.

Inca mythology

• Apu, a deity of the mountains
• Mama Pacha, the goddess of the earth
• Pachamama

Inuit mythology

• Alignak, in Inuit mythology, a lunar deity, but also god of earthquakes, as well as weather, water, tides, and eclipses

Lakota mythology

• Maka-akaŋ, the earth goddess

Lucumi

• Aganju, in Cuba, is a volcano deity for the practitioners of the Lucumi, Santeria religion

Mapuche

• Trengtrengfilu, Mapuche god of Earth and Fertility

Southwestern

• Spider Grandmother

Asian mythology

Ainu mythology

• Cikap-kamuy, god of owls and the earth

Anatolian mythology

• Cybele, mother goddess of the earth

Chinese mythology

• Houtu, goddess of the earth
• Tudigong or Tu Di Gong', local god of the earth in Taoism and Chinese folk religion, "God of Earth and Land"
• dìguān dàdì (Three Great Emperor-Officials), in Taoism and Chinese folk religion, "Emperor God of Earth and Land"
• Na Tuk Kong, in Taoism and Chinese folk religion of Malaysian Chinese - Peranakans and Chinese Indonesians, "Tutelary deity of Earth and Land"

Gondi mythology

• Bhivsen or Bhimal, god of the earth
• Bhum, goddess of the earth and mother of humanity

Hittite mythology

• Sarruma, god of the mountains
• Ubelluris, mountain god who bears the world in his shoulders

Hindu mythology

• Prithvi, the Mother-goddess of the earth, featured in Vedas and Historical Vedic religion
• Bhumi, goddess of the earth, featured in Puranas
• Hindu Vasudhara god representing the earth and the element earth

Buddhist mythology

• Kṣitigarbha, "bodhisattva of Earth and Land"
• Vasudhara, goddess

Meitei mythology

In Meitei mythology and religion:

• Leimarel Sidabi, goddess of the earth, creation, nature, and the household
• Panthoibi
• Phouoibi

Sumerian mythology

• Ki, goddess of the earth
• Ninhursag, mother goddess of the earth, fertility, mountains, and rulers
• Šumugan, in Sumerian mythology, god of the river plains, given charge by the god Enki over the flat alluvial lands of southern Mesopotamia
• Nuska vizier of the chief Sumerian god Enlil but later associated with Nippur ("Enlil City") as the god of the earth
• Enten, Sumerian fertility deity identified with the abundance of the earth
• Enlil (𒀭𒂗𒆤), ancient Mesopotamian god associated with wind, air, earth, and storms
• Enki (𒂗𒆠), Sumerian god, literal translation "Lord of the Earth"
• Emesh, Sumerian god created at the wish of Enlil to take responsibility on earth for woods, fields, sheepfolds, and stables

Thai mythology

• Phra Mae Thorani, goddess of the earth who stopped the demons from attacking the Buddha.
• Phra Bhum Chaiya mongkol (พระภูมิชัยมงคล - Bhummaso), "Tutelary deity of Earth and Land" ^[2] in Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and myanmar
• Phra Mae Thorani and Phra Nang Bhum Chaiya (พระนางภูมิไชยา - Bhummaso), "Tutelary goddess of Earth and Land" in Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and myanmar

Turkic and Mongolian mythology

• Etugen Eke, goddess of the earth
• Umay (Eje)

Vietnamese

• Ông Địa, is the earth god who governs the land
• Ông Tà, the god who governs the fields and gardens
• Diêu Trì Địa Mẫu
• Bà Thổ
• Hậu Thổ
• Mẫu Địa

European mythology

Albanian mythology

• Zonja e Dheut, Dheu: goddess of the earth, great mother earth, respectively

Baltic mythology

• Žemyna, goddess of the earth

Celtic mythology

• Danu, ancient goddess of the earth

Etruscan mythology

• Cel, goddess of the earth

Finnish mythology

• Maaemä, goddess of the earth

Georgian mythology

• Mindort-batoni, god of the mountains

Germanic mythology

• Jörð, goddess of the earth
• Nerthus, earth goddess
• Skaði, goddess of the mountains and winter
• Sif, goddess of the earth

Greek mythology

• Demeter, goddess of the harvest, sacred law, and the earth
• Gaia, primordial goddess of the earth. She was one of the earliest elemental deities, having been created at the beginning of time. It was thought that all creation is descended from Gaia, the great mother of all things. According to Greek mythology, she was the creator of the universe and was responsible for the birth of both humanity and the first race of gods the Titans.
• Cronus, god of the harvest.
• Poseidon, one of the Twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and myth; god of the sea and other waters, earthquakes and horses.
• Cybele
• Persephone
• Rhea

Latvian mythology

• Zemes māte ^[3]
• Māra ^{[4] [5]}

Lithuanian mythology

• Žemyna

Roman mythology

• Ceres, goddess of the harvest, motherhood, and the earth
• Terra, ancient goddess of the earth
• Ops
• Proserpina

Romanian

• Muma Pădurii, Mama Gaia

Slavic mythology

• Mat Zemlya, ancient goddess of the earth
• Mokosh, goddess of fertility, moisture, women, the earth, and death. One of the oldest and only goddess in the slavic religion, Old Kievan pantheon of AD 980 mentions Mokoš, which survives in East Slavic folk traditions. Known as a woman who in the evening spins flax and wool, shears sheep, and has a large head and long arms. ^[6]
• Troglav, deity in Slavic mythology whose three heads were believed to represent sky, earth and the underworld.
• Veles, horned god of the underworld, water, the earth, wealth, and cattle
• Volos, Slavic god of earth, waters, and the underworld.

Oceanian mythology

Hawaiian mythology

• Papahānaumoku, goddess of the earth
• haumea, goddess of the Hawaiian Islands

Maori mythology

• Papa, or Papatūānuku, goddess of the earth
• Rūaumoko, in Māori mythology, god of earthquakes, volcanoes and seasons. ^{[7] [8]}

Western Asian mythology

Levantine mythology

• Amurru, Amorite deity, occasionally called "lord of the steppe" or "lord of the mountain" ^[9]

See also

• Earth in culture
• Earth symbol
• Ekendriya
• Mother Earth
• Mother Nature
• List of fertility deities

References

1. "Definition of EARTH GODDESS". www.merriam-webster.com. Retrieved 2017-06-20.
2. "รู้จักกับ "พระภูมิทั้ง 9" คู่บ้าน คู่เมืองชาวสยาม! เทวดาผู้ดูแลเรือกสวนไร่นาป่าเขา บูชาตามประเพณี คุ้มครองป้องภัย พลิกร้ายกลายดี". 29 August 2017.
3. Šmits, Pēteris (1918). Latviešu Mitoloģija (PDF) (in Latvian). Latviesu rakstnieku un makslinieku biedriba. pp. 14–15. OCLC   12301101 – via dom.lndb.lv. Other editions: OCLC   12301047 , 776694498 , 276876979; Reprinted: ISBN   9789955591085
4. Paliepa, Jānis (2011). The origin of the Baltic and Vedic languages: Baltic mythology; Interdisciplinary treatise. Bloomington, IN, US: Author House. pp. 46, 52. ISBN   9781456729028. OCLC   1124421252, 890769223.
5. Jānis, Tupešu (Fall 1987). "The Ancient Latvian Religion — Dievturība". LITUANUS: Lithuanian Quarterly Journal of Arts and Sciences. 33 (3). Chicago, IL, US: LITUANUS Foundation. ISSN   0024-5089. OCLC   561497100.
6. "Mokoš | Slavic Goddess, Fertility, Protection | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2025-01-18.
7. Te Papa. "Ruaumoko - God of Earthquakes". Wellington, New Zealand: Earthquake Commission. Archived from the original on 9 May 2012. Retrieved 8 May 2012.
8. McSaveney, Eileen (2 March 2009). "Historic earthquakes - Earthquakes in Māori tradition". Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand . Wellington, New Zealand: Manatū Taonga | Ministry for Culture and Heritage . Retrieved 3 May 2012.
9. Beaulieu, Paul-Alain. "The God Amurru as Emblem of Ethnic and Cultural Identity". In: Ethnicity in Ancient Mesopotamia (W. van Soldt, R. Kalvelagen, and D. Katz, eds.) Papers Read at the 48th Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale, Leiden, July 1–4, 2002. PIHANS 102. Nederlands: Instituut voor her Nabije Oosten, 2005. pp. 31-46.

External links

• Billington, Sandra; Green, Miranda (1998). Concept of the Goddess. London: Routledge. ISBN   9781134641512. OCLC   51912602, 252768704 – via Google Books preview.