List of thunder gods

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Thunderstorms are commonly depicted as the rage of the deity which is associated with it. Lightning over ESO Headquarters.jpg
Thunderstorms are commonly depicted as the rage of the deity which is associated with it.

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.

Contents

Thunder gods

Mediterranean

Greco-Roman

Northwestern Eurasia

East Asia

South Asia

Southeast Asia

Vietnam

Philippines

  • Kidul (Kalinga mythology) [1]
  • Ovug (Ifugao mythology) [2]
  • Aninitud angachar (Ifugao mythology) [3]
  • Child of Kabunian (Ibaloi mythology) [4]
  • Kidu (Bugkalot mythology) [5]
  • Revenador (Ilocano mythology) [6]
  • Bathala (Tagalog mythology) [7]
  • Kidlat (Tagalog mythology) [8]
  • Gugurang (Bicolano mythology) [9]
  • Linti (Bicolano mythology) [10]
  • Dalodog (Bicolano mythology) [11]
  • Kaptan (Bisaya mythology) [12]
  • Linting Habughabug (Capiznon mythology) [13]
  • Ribung Linti (Suludnon mythology) [14]
  • Upu Kuyaw (Pala'wan mythology) [15]
  • God of Animals (Surigaonon mythology) [16]
  • Diwata Magbabaya/Bathala (Subanon mythology) [17]
  • Anit/Anitan (Manobo mythology) [18]
  • Spirit of Lightning and Thunder (Teduray mythology) [19]

Oceania

Australia

New Zealand

Americas

Africa

In literature

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. [24] [25] Indra was initially recorded in the Rigveda, the first of the religious scriptures that comprise the Vedas. [26] 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. [27] 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. [28]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thunderbolt</span> Symbolic representation of lightning

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Demigod</span> Minor deity

A demigod or demigoddess 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(-dess) often has tutelary status and a religious cult following, while a mortal demigod(-dess) 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.

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

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<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.

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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.

References

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  24. Perry, Edward Delavan (1885). "Indra in the Rig-Veda". Journal of the American Oriental Society. 11: 117–208. doi:10.2307/592191. JSTOR   592191.
  25. Kaegi, Adolf (1886). The Rigveda: The Oldest Literature of the Indians. Boston: Ginn and Company. p. 40. ISBN   978-1428626676.
  26. Kaegi, Adolf (1886). The Rigveda: The Oldest Literature of the Indians. Boston: Ginn and Company. p. 41. ISBN   978-1428626676.
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  28. Assmann, Jan (2001). Death and Salvation in Ancient Egypt. Cornell University Press. p. 392