The Gods of the Sun
Because we are working on utilizing the power of the sun, I thought it might be interesting to share a list of solar deities. In my research for this post, I happened on to a translation of a very old Sumarian manuscript, this is one of the proverbs:
A man without a personal god does not procure much food, does not procure even a little food. Going down to the river, he does not catch any fish. Going down to a field, he does not catch any gazelle. In important matters he is unsuccessful. When running, he does not reach his goal. Yet were his god favourable toward him, anything he might name would be provided for him.
Who Are The Solar Deities?
African mythology
- Anyanwu, Igbo god believed to dwell in the sun
- Magec, Tenerife goddess of the sun and light
- Mawu, Dahomey goddess associated with the sun and the moon
- Ngai, Kamba, Kikuyu and Maasai god of the sun
Armenian mythology
- Ar, Arev, the sun god with its people as “children of the sun”
Australian Aboriginal mythology
- Bila, cannibal sun goddess of the Adnyamathanha
- Gnowee, solar goddess who searches daily for her lost son; the light of her torch is the sun
- Wala, solar goddess
- Wuriupranili, solar goddess whose torch is the sun
- Yhi, Karraur goddess of the sun, light and creation
Ainu mythology
- Chup Kamui, a lunar goddess who switched places with her brother to become goddess of the sun
Arabian mythology
Aztec mythology
- Huitzilopochtli, god of the sun and war
- Nanahuatzin, god of the sun
- Teoyaomicqui, god of lost souls, the sun, and the sixth hour of the day
- Tonatiuh, god of the sun and ruler of the heavens
Baltic mythology
- Saulė, goddess of the sun
Basque mythology
- Ekhi, goddess of the sun and protector of humanity
Brazilian mythology
Buddhist mythology
- Marici, goddess of the heavens, sun, and light
- Surya, god of the sun (Suriya Pariththa, Suthra Pitaka, Pali canon, Theravada Buddhism)
Canaanite mythology
- Shapash, goddess of the sun
Celtic mythology
- Áine, Irish goddess of love, summer, wealth, and sovereignty, associated with the sun and midsummer
- Alaunus, Gaulish god of the sun, healing, and prophecy
- Belenos, Gaulish god of the sun
- Étaín, Irish sun goddess
- Epona, horse deity occasionally linked with Étaín
- Grannus, god associated with spas, healing thermal and mineral springs, and the sun
- Macha, “sun of the womanfolk” and occasionally considered synonymous with Grian
- Olwen, female figure often constructed as originally the Welsh sun goddess
- Sulis, British goddess whose name is related to the common Proto-Indo-European word for “sun” and thus cognate with Helios, Sól, Sol, and Surya and who retains solar imagery, as well as a domain over healing and thermal springs. Probably the de facto solar deity of the Celts.
Chinese mythology
- Doumu, sun goddess sometimes conflated with Marici.
- Xi He, sun goddess and mother of the ten suns
- Yu Yi, god that carries the sun across the sky
- Xu Kai, god of the sun star
Egyptian mythology
- Amun, creator deity sometimes identified as a sun god
- Aten, god of the sun, the visible disc of the sun
- Atum, the “finisher of the world” who represents the sun as it sets
- Bast, cat goddess associated with the sun
- Horus, god of the sky whose right eye was considered to be the sun and his left the moon
- Ptah, god of craftsmanship, the arts, and fertility, sometimes said to represent the sun at night
- Ra, god of the sun
- Sekhmet, goddess of war and of the sun, sometimes also plagues and creator of the desert
- Sopdu, god of war and the scorching heat of the summer sun
Elamite
- Nahundi, god of the sun and law
Etruscan mythology
Finnish mythology
- Päivätär, goddess of the sun
Germanic mythology
- Sól/Sunna/Sunne, the common sun goddess among the Germanic tribes, from Proto-Germanic Sōwilō; was chased across the sky in her horse-drawn chariot by a wolf
Greek mythology
- Alectrona, speculated to be the goddess of the morning and man’s waking sense, daughter of Helios
- Apollo, god of light, healing, music and prophecy. His most common epithet was Phoebus (“Radiant”), and eventually he replaced Helios as the sun god, particularly during Hellenistic and Roman times.
- Athena, goddess of wisdom and crafts, with solar deity characteristics
- Eos, goddess and personification of dawn
- Helios, Titan god and personification of the sun and sight, he drove across the sky in a chariot
Hindu mythology
- Aryaman, god of the midday sun
- Savitr, god of the sun at sunrise and sunset
- Surya, the sun god, rides across the sky in a horse-drawn chariot ala Helios and Sol
- Aruna, charioteer of Surya, god of the morning sun.
- Tapati, sun goddess.
Hittite mythology
- Istanu, goddess/god of the sun and judgment
- Sun goddess of Arinna
- Sun god of Heaven, daylight god of judgement
- Sun goddess of the Earth, infernal goddess of the underworld.
Incan mythology
- Inti, god of the sun and patron deity of the Inca Empire
- Ch’aska (“Venus”) or Ch’aska Quyllur (“Venus star”) was the goddess of dawn and twilight, the planet
Inuit mythology
- Akycha, sun goddess worshiped in Alaska
- Malina, goddess of the sun found most commonly in the legends of Greenland
Japanese mythology
- Amaterasu, goddess of the sun
Lusitanian mythology
- Endovelicus, god of health and safety, worshiped both as a solar deity and a chthonic one
- Neto, claimed to be both a solar and war deity
- A possible sun goddess, whose cult has become that of Virgin Mary Nossa Senhora de Antime.
Māori mythology
- Tama-nui-te-rā, personification of the sun
Maya mythology
- Ah Kin, god of the sun, bringer of doubt, and protector against the evils associated with darkness
- Hunahpu, one of the Maya Hero Twins; he transformed into the sun while his brother transformed into the moon
- Kinich Ahau, god of the sun
Mesopotamian mythology
Minoan mythology
- A solar goddess of some sort, possibly the Snake Goddess.
Muisca mythology
Native American mythology
- Jóhonaaʼéí, the Navajo sun god, known as The One Who Rules the Day
- Kisosen, the Abenaki solar deity, an eagle whose wings opened to create the day and closed to cause the nighttime
- Napioa, the Blackfoot deity of the sun
- Tawa, the Hopi creator and god of the sun
- Wi, Lakota god of the sun
Roman mythology
Sami mythology
- Beiwe, goddess of the sun, spring, fertility, and sanity
Scythian religion
- Tabiti, ancient iranian goddess possibly connected with the sun.
Slavic mythology
Tocharian
- A “sun deity” (kaum näkte),possibly a goddess.
Turkic mythology
- Gun Ana, common Turkic solar deity, seen as a goddess in the Kazakh and Kyrgyz traditions
- Koyash, god of the sun
Persian mythology
- Mithra, often associated with the sun.
- Hvare-khshaeta, the sun yazata
Zunism
- The Zunbil dynasty and the subjects of Zabulistan worshiped the sun, which they called Zun. They believed that the sun was the god of justice, the force of good in the world and, consequently, the being that drove out the darkness and allowed man to live another day.
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