List of light deities

A light deity is a god or goddess in mythology associated with light and/or day. Since stars give off light, star deities can also be included here. The following is a list of light deities in various mythologies.

African

Egyptian mythology

• Khepri, god of rebirth and the sunrise
• Nefertem, god who represents the first sunlight

Guanche

• Magec, deity of the sun and light, exact gender unknown

Dahomean religion

• Lisa, deity of the sun, heat, sky^[1]

American

Lakota mythology

• Anpao, two-faced spirit of the dawn

Maya mythology

• Tohil, god associated with thunder, lightning, and sunrise

Aztec

• Centzonhuitznahua, 400 gods of the southern stars
• Centzonmimixcoa, 400 gods of the northern stars
• Cipactonal, god of the daytime
• Citlālicue, goddess who created the stars
• Citlalmina, goddess of female stars
• Citlalatonac, god of male stars
• Tianquiztli, star goddesses
• Xiuhtecuhtli, god of fire, day, and heat

Zapotec

• Coquihani, god of light

Incan

• Inti, god of the sun
• Ch'aska ("Venus") or Ch'aska Quyllur ("Venus star"), goddess of dawn and twilight, the planet
• Mama Killa, goddess of the moon

Asian

Chinese

• Zhulong, dragon deity of daylight

Hindu

• Aruṇa, personification of the reddish glow of the rising sun
• Dyaus Pita, continues the name of the Proto-Indo-European god of the day-lit sky
• Ushas, dawn goddess

Sumerian

• Inanna, primary goddess of the planet Venus
• Ninsianna, goddess of the planet Venus
• Šul-pa-e, underworld god who became associated with Jupiter
• Shulsaga, stellar god
• Aya (goddess), goddess of light and the dawn

European

Albanian

• Nëna e Diellit, "the Mother of the Sun"
• Dielli, personification of the Sun
• Hëna, personification of the Moon
• E Bija e Hënës dhe e Diellit, "the Daughter of the Moon and the Sun"
• Prende, dawn goddess, also referred to as Hylli i Dritës, Afêrdita "the Star of Light, Afêrdita" (Venus)
• Zojz, as a reflex of *Dyeus, god of the day-lit sky

Baltic

• Dievas, creator god in Baltic myths

Celtic

• Lugh, personification of the sun

Etruscan

• Albina, goddess of the dawn and protector of ill-fated lovers
• Thesan, goddess of the dawn, associated with new life

Germanic

• Baldr, god thought to be associated with light and/or day; is known by many other names, all of which have cognates in other Germanic languages, suggesting he may have been a pan-Germanic deity
• Dagr, personification of day
• Earendel, god of rising light and/or a star
• Eostre, considered to continue the Proto-Indo-European dawn goddess
• Freyr, god of sunshine, among other things
• Sól, goddess and personification of the sun
• Teiwaz, as a reflex of *Dyeus, was probably originally god of the day-lit sky
• Thor, god of lightning, thunder, weather, storms, and the sky

Slavic

• Dazhbog, god of the sun and day

Greek

• Aether, primarily associated with upper air but associated with light in Hesiod's Theogony
• Apollo, god of light, among many other things
• Eos, goddess of the dawn
• Hemera, personification of day
• Hyperion, Titan of light; sometimes conflated with his son Helios
• Lampetia, goddess of light, and one of the Heliades or daughters of Helios , god of the Sun, and of the nymph Neera . 
• Theia, Titaness of sight and the shining light of the clear blue sky. She is the consort of Hyperion and mother of Helios, Selene, and Eos.
• Zeus, as a reflex of *Dyeus, could be considered god of the day-lit sky

Mari

Roman

• Aurora (mythology), goddess of the dawn
• Jupiter (mythology), as a reflex of *Dyeus, god of the day-lit sky
• Mater Matuta, goddess associated with Aurora

Oceania

Polynesian

• Atanua, Marquesan goddess of the dawn
• Atarapa, goddess of the dawn
• Ira, sky goddess and mother of the stars

Māori mythology

• Ao (mythology), personification of light

See also

• List of night deities
• List of solar deities
• Lucifer
• Sky deity

References

This page was last edited on 19 March 2024, at 09:52