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Sky deity

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Dcxf (talk | contribs) at 18:02, 15 March 2015 (Moved Māori mythology from Southeast Asia to Oceania, Australia is part of Oceania so fixed section title). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

"Air spirit" redirects here. Not to be confused with Spirit Air.
"Spirits of the air" redirects here. For the 1989 science fiction film, see Spirits of the Air, Gremlins of the Clouds.
"Spirit of the sky" and "Spirits of the sky" redirect here. For the 1969 psychedelic rock song, see Spirit in the Sky. For the American alternative rock group, see Spirits in the Sky.
Jupiter, the sky father of Greco-Roman mythology

The sky has important religious significance. Most polytheistic religions have a deity or deities whose portfolio includes or is even limited to the sky or the heavens. While there are often multiple sky deities, sometimes this position is reserved for a deity who is conceived as reigning over the others, or at least is one of the most powerful. When the main sky deity was seen as feminine, she often held the title of the "Queen of Heaven." Ancient sky goddesses who held the title "Queen of Heaven" included Isis, Astarte, Ishtar, and Inanna. (The title was later applied to the Virgin Mary, along with various other features and attributes of ancient pagan goddesses.)

Another common conception is that of a complementary polarity between Earth and sky that may be ascribed genders as a mated pair. In some religions this takes the form of a Sky father and an Earth mother, while in other religions the mated couple are a sky goddess and an earth god. (For example, Nut and Geb in ancient Egypt.) In still other religions, there is a main pair of deities who rule the sky as husband and wife (for example, Zeus and Hera in ancient Greece), while a different pair of deities (e.g., Hades and Persephone) rule the Earth and/or chthonic realms. Along similar lines, some scholars of religion hold that Jehovah or Yahweh, the monotheistic deity of the Jewish bible, originally had a wife who was most likely the sky goddess Asherah. (See The Hebrew Goddess.) In some contemporary religions, the divine pair of sky deities are known as the "Heavenly Father" and the "Heavenly Mother."

Africa

Egyptian mythology

  • Amun, god of creation and the wind
  • Anhur, originally a foreign war god who became associated with the air god, Shu
  • Hathor, goddess of the sky, love, beauty and music
  • Horus, god of the sun, sky, kings and war
  • Mehet-Weret, goddess of the sky
  • Nut, goddess of the sky
  • Shu, god of the wind and air

Sub Saharan mythology

Ancient Near East

Ancient semitic mythology

Hurrian mythology

  • Hepit, goddess of the sky
  • Teshub, god of the sky and storms

Mesopotamian mythology

  • An, goddess of the sky
  • Anshar, god of the sky
  • Anu, king of the gods, associated with the sky, heaven and constellations
  • Beelshamen, god of the sky
  • Enlil, god of breath, wind, loft, and breadth

Armenian mythology

Europe

Basque mythology

  • Aide, goddess of the air

Celtic mythology

  • Latobius, sky and mountain god equated with the Greek gods Zeus and Ares
  • Taranis, sky and thunder god, equated and syncretized with Jupiter
  • Brigid, goddess of weather, hearth, water, poetry and crafts equated with the Greek goddesses Athena and Hestia

Etruscan mythology

  • Ani, god of the sky
  • Tinia, god of the sky

Finnish mythology

  • Ilmatar, virgin spirit of the air
  • Perkele, supreme sky and thunder god
  • Ukko, god of sky, weather, crops (harvest) and other natural things

Germanic mythology

Greek mythology

  • Aether, primeval god of the upper air
  • Chaos, the nothingness from which all else sprang, she also represented the lower atmosphere which surrounded the earth
  • Hemera, primeval goddess of the day
  • Iris, goddess of the rainbow and divine messenger
  • Nephelai, cloud nymphs
  • Uranus, primeval god of the sky
  • Zeus, king of the gods, the ruler of Mount Olympus and the god of the sky, weather, thunder, law, order and fate

Roman mythology

  • Caelus, personification of the sky, equivalent to the Greek Uranus
  • Jupiter, king of heaven and god of the sky and weather, equivalent to the Greek Zeus
  • Tempestas, goddess of storms or sudden weather

Sami mythology

  • Horagalles, god of the sky, thunder and lightning, the rainbow, weather, oceans, lakes, human life, health and wellbeing
  • Mano, goddess of the moon

Slavic mythology

  • Stribog, god of the winds, sky and air
  • Triglav, a triple god whose three heads represent sky, earth and underworld

Thracian mythology

South Asia

Indra

East and Southeast Asia

Chinese mythology

Japanese mythology

  • Izanagi, Creator of the world and sky father
  • Marici, goddess of the heavens

Thai and Lao Mythology

Central Asia

Turkic mythology

Udmurt mythology

  • Inmar, god of the heavens

Americas

Arctic

Aztec mythology

Inca mythology

Maya mythology

Native American mythology

Oceania

Australia

Māori mythology

  • Ao, god of light and the sky
  • Rangi, sky father
  • Tane-rore, personification of shimmering air
  • Tāwhirimātea, god of weather, including thunder and lightning, wind, clouds and storms
  • Uenuku, god of rainbows

Oceania mythology

See also

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