Polytheistic peoples from many cultures have postulated a thunder god, the personification or source of the forces of thunder and lightning; a lightning god does not have a typical depiction, and will vary based on the culture. In Indo-European cultures, the thunder god is frequently known as the chief or King of the Gods, e.g. Indra in Hinduism, Zeus in Greek mythology, Zojz in Albanian mythology, and Perun in ancient Slavic religion.
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Thunder Emperors of the Five Regions
Thunder Kings of the Five Regions
Marshals of Thunder
Thunder Generals of the Five Regions
Twelve Lords of Heaven’s Thunder
Twelve Lords of Earth’s Thunder
Twelve Lords of Man’s Thunder
Thirty Six Lords of Thunder
Thirty Six Gods of Thunder
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The Hindu God Indra was the chief deity and at his prime during the Vedic period, where he was considered to be the supreme God. [21] [22] Indra was initially recorded in the Rigveda, the first of the religious scriptures that comprise the Vedas. [23] Indra continued to play a prominent role throughout the evolution of Hinduism and played a pivotal role in the two Sanskrit epics that comprise the Itihasas, appearing in both the Ramayana and Mahabharata. Although the importance of Indra has since been subsided in favor of other Gods in contemporary Hinduism, he is still venerated and worshipped.
In Greek mythology, the Elysian Fields, or the Elysian Plains, was the final resting places of the souls of the heroic and the virtuous, evolved from a designation of a place or person struck by lightning, enelysion, enelysios. [24] This could be a reference to Zeus, the god of lightning, so "lightning-struck" could be saying that the person was blessed (struck) by Zeus (/lightning/fortune). Egyptologist Jan Assmann has also suggested that Greek Elysion may have instead been derived from the Egyptian term ialu (older iaru), meaning "reeds," with specific reference to the "Reed fields" (Egyptian: sekhet iaru / ialu), a paradisiacal land of plenty where the dead hoped to spend eternity. [25]
A thunderbolt or lightning bolt is a symbolic representation of lightning when accompanied by a loud thunderclap. In Indo-European mythology, the thunderbolt was identified with the 'Sky Father'; this association is also found in later Hellenic representations of Zeus and Vedic descriptions of the vajra wielded by the god Indra. It may have been a symbol of cosmic order, as expressed in the fragment from Heraclitus describing "the Thunderbolt that steers the course of all things".
Indra is the king of the devas and Svarga in Hinduism. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war.
Dyaus or Dyauspitr is the Rigvedic sky deity. His consort is Prthvi, the earth goddess, and together they are the archetypal parents in the Rigveda.
A demigod is a part-human and part-divine offspring of a deity and a human, or a human or non-human creature that is accorded divine status after death, or someone who has attained the "divine spark". An immortal demigod often has tutelary status and a religious cult following, while a mortal demigod is one who has fallen or died, but is popular as a legendary hero in various polytheistic religions. Figuratively, it is used to describe a person whose talents or abilities are so superlative that they appear to approach being divine.
Leigong or Leishen, is the god of thunder in Chinese folk religion, Chinese mythology and Taoism. In Taoism, when so ordered by heaven, Leigong punishes both earthly mortals guilty of secret crimes and evil spirits who have used their knowledge of Taoism to harm human beings. He carries a drum and mallet to produce thunder, and a chisel to punish evildoers. Leigong rides a chariot driven by a young boy named A Xiang.
Philippine mythology is rooted in the many indigenous Philippine folk religions. Philippine mythology exhibits influence from Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, and Christian traditions.
Perëndi is an Albanian noun for God, deity, sky and heaven. It is used capitalized to refer to the Supreme Being, and uncapitalized for "deity", "sky" and "heaven".
The sky often has important religious significance. Many religions, both polytheistic and monotheistic, have deities associated with the sky.
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.
The presence of lightning in religion is an historically existing and currently existing cultural aspect where-by the phenomenon of lightning has been or is viewed as part of a deity or a deity in and of itself, or as a component of a religious practice.
Zojz is a sky and lightning god in Albanian pagan mythology. Regarded as the chief god and the highest of all gods, traces of his worship survived in northern Albania until the early 20th century, and in some forms still continue today. The old beliefs in the Sky are pagan beliefs preserved by Albanians since ancient times. In Albanian the god who rules the sky is referred to as i Bukuri i Qiellit, a phrase that is used in pagan contexts for the Sun (Dielli), worshiped as the god of light, sky and weather, giver of life, health and energy, and all-seeing eye. The sacred significance of one of the main symbols of the sky cult – the eagle – has been scrupulously preserved by Albanians, who have always considered it their animal totem. An epithet considered to be associated with the sky-god is "father", thought to be contained in the Albanian noun Zot, used to refer to the supreme entity. A remarkable reflection of Proto-Indo-European mythology associated with the dawn goddess *H₂éwsōs is the Albanian tradition according to which the dawn goddess – Prende – is the daughter of the sky god – Zojz.
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