In Greek mythology and later Roman mythology, the Cyclopes are giant one-eyed creatures. Three groups of Cyclopes can be distinguished. In Hesiod's Theogony, the Cyclopes are the three brothers Brontes, Steropes, and Arges, who made for Zeus his weapon the thunderbolt. In Homer's Odyssey, they are an uncivilized group of shepherds, the brethren of Polyphemus encountered by Odysseus. Cyclopes were also famous as the builders of the Cyclopean walls of Mycenae and Tiryns.
Ukko, Äijä[ˈæi̯jæ] or Äijö[ˈæi̯jø], parallel to Uku in Estonian mythology, is the god of the sky, weather, harvest and thunder in Finnish mythology.
Mjölnir is the hammer of the thunder god Thor in Norse mythology, used both as a devastating weapon and as a divine instrument to provide blessings. The hammer is attested in numerous sources, including 11th century runic Kvinneby amulet, and the Poetic Edda, a collection of eddic poetry compiled in the 13th century, and the Prose Edda, a collection of prose and poetry compiled in the 13th century. The hammer was commonly worn as a pendant during the Viking Age in the Scandinavian cultural sphere, and Thor and his hammer occur depicted on a variety of objects from the archaeological record. Today the symbol appears in a wide variety of media and is again worn as a pendant by various groups, including adherents of modern Heathenry.
A vajra is a ritual weapon symbolizing the properties of a diamond (indestructibility) and a thunderbolt.
In Germanic mythology, Thor is a hammer-wielding god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred groves and trees, strength, the protection of mankind, hallowing, and fertility. Besides Old Norse Þórr, the deity occurs in Old English as Þunor, in Old Frisian as Thuner, in Old Saxon as Thunar, and in Old High German as Donar, all ultimately stemming from the Proto-Germanic theonym *Þun(a)raz, meaning 'Thunder'.
Zeus is a fictional character, a god appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is based on the god Zeus in Greek mythology.
Perkūnas was the common Baltic god of thunder, and the second most important deity in the Baltic pantheon after Dievas. In both Lithuanian and Latvian mythology, he is documented as the god of sky, thunder, lightning, storms, rain, fire, war, law, order, fertility, mountains, and oak trees.
Perëndi is the Albanian word for God, the sky and heaven. Perëndi is thought to have been a sky and thunder god in the Albanian pagan mythology, and to have been worshiped by the Illyrians in antiquity. His name has been retained in the Albanian language—along with the names Zot and Hyj —to refer to the Supreme Being after the spread of Christianity. Another archaic Albanian divine name of the sky and thunder god is Zojz, from PIE Dyeus (Daylight-Sky-God). In some of his attributes, Perëndi could be related to the weather and storm gods Shurdh and Verbt, and to the mythological demigod drangue.
Ukonvasara, or Ukonkirves, is the symbol and magical weapon of the Finnish thunder god Ukko, similar to Thor's Mjölnir. Ukonvasara means hammer of Ukko; similarly, Ukonkirves means axe of Ukko. It was said that Ukko created lightning with Ukonvasara.
Perkwunos is the reconstructed name of the weather god in Proto-Indo-European mythology. The deity was connected with fructifying rains, and his name probably invoked in times of drought. In a widespread Indo-European myth, the thunder-deity fights a multi-headed water-serpent during an epic battle, in order to release torrents of water that had previously been pent up. The name of his weapon, *meld-n-, which denoted both 'lightning' and 'hammer', can be reconstructed from the attested traditions.
As polytheistic systems evolve, there is a tendency for one deity, usually male, to achieve preeminence as king of the gods. This tendency can parallel the growth of hierarchical systems of political power in which a monarch eventually comes to assume ultimate authority for human affairs. Other gods come to serve in a Divine Council or pantheon – such subsidiary courtier-deities are usually linked by family ties from the union of a single husband or wife, or else from an androgynous divinity who is responsible for the creation.
A weather god, also frequently known as a storm god, is a deity in mythology associated with weather phenomena such as thunder, lightning, rain, wind, storms, tornados, 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.
A bident is a two-pronged implement resembling a pitchfork. In classical mythology, the bident is a weapon associated with Hades (Pluto), the ruler of the underworld.
In Slavic mythology, Perun is the highest god of the pantheon and the god of sky, thunder, lightning, storms, rain, law, war, fertility and oak trees. His other attributes were fire, mountains, wind, iris, eagle, firmament, horses and carts, weapons, and war. He was first associated with weapons made of stone and later with those of metal.
The presence of lightning in religion is an historically existing and currently existing cultural aspect where-by the phenomenon of lightning has and is viewed as part of a deity, or a deity in and of itself.
The trident of Poseidon and his Roman equivalent, Neptune, has been their traditional divine attribute featured in many ancient depictions. Poseidon's trident was crafted by the Cyclopes.
Astrape and Bronte are, in Greek mythology, the twin goddesses of lightning and thunder. As members of Zeus' entourage, they were his shield bearers, given the task of carrying his thunderbolts along with Pegasus.
Typical cartoon representations of thunderbolts (lightning bolts)
Thunderbolts represented on the Royal Engineers' Ensign
Modern renditions of the thunderbolt surrounding the classical design
Thunderbolt through circle used as squatters' symbol
Thunderbolt through circle in the Union of Bulgarian National Legions (SBNL) emblem
Opel's logo represents thunderbolt
