List of war deities

Murugan, Hindu god of war
Mars, the Roman god of war

A war deity is a god or goddess in mythology associated with war, combat, or bloodshed. They occur commonly in both monotheistic and polytheistic religions.

Unlike most gods and goddesses in polytheistic religions, monotheistic deities have traditionally been portrayed in their mythologies as commanding war in order to spread their religion. (The intimate connection between "holy war" and the "one true god" belief of monotheism has been noted by many scholars; including Jonathan Kirsch in his book God Against The Gods: The History of the War Between Monotheism and Polytheism and Joseph Campbell in The Masks of God, Vol. 3: Occidental Mythology.) [1][2]

The following is a partial list of war deities.

African mythology

Armenian mythology

  • Anahit, goddess of fertility, birth, beauty, and water; in early periods associated with war

Aztec mythology

  • Patterns of War
    • Mixcoatl, god of war and hunting.
    • Xipe-Totec, god of force, patron of war, agriculture, vegetation, diseases, seasons, rebirth, hunting, trades, and Spring, the lord of the East.
    • Tlaloc, god of thunder, rain, and earthquakes.
    • Xiuhtecuhtli, god of fire.
  • Huitzilopochtli, god of will, patron of war, fire, and sun, the lord of the South.

Baltic mythology

  • Kara Māte, Latvian goddess of war
  • Kauriraris, Lithuanian god of war and war steeds
  • Kovas, Lithuanian god of war

Berber mythology

  • Gurzil, war god
  • Ifri, war goddess

Celtic mythology

  • Agrona, reconstructed Proto-Celtic name for the river Aeron in Wales, and possibly the name of an associated war goddess
  • Andarta, Brittonic goddess theorised to be associated with victory, overcoming enemies, war
  • Alaisiagae, a pair of goddesses worshiped in Roman Britain, with parallel Celtic and Germanic titles
  • Andraste, Gaulish warrior goddess
  • Anann, Irish goddess of war, death, predicting death in battle, cattle, prosperity, and fertility
  • Bandua, Gallaecian God of War
  • Badb, Irish goddess of war who took the form of a crow; member of the Morrígan
  • Belatucadros, war god worshipped by soldiers and equated with the Roman war god Mars
  • Camulus, god of war of the Belgic Remi and British Trinovantes
  • Catubodua, Gaulish goddess assumed to be associated with victory
  • Cicolluis, Gaulish and Irish god associated with war
  • Cocidius, Romano-British god associated with war, hunting and forests
  • Macha, Irish goddess associated with war, horses, and sovereignty; member of the Morrígan
  • The Morrígan, Irish triple goddess associated with sovereignty, prophecy, war, and death on the battlefield
  • Neit, Irish god of war, husband of Nemain of Badb
  • Nemain, Irish goddess of the frenzied havoc of war; member of the Morrígan
  • Rudianos, Gaulish god of war
  • Segomo, Gaulish god of war
  • Teutates, British and Gaulish god of war and the tribe

Chinese mythology

Guan Yu, Chinese god of loyalty, righteousness, and valor
  • Jiutian Xuannü, goddess of war, sex, and longevity [3]
  • Chiyou, God of War
  • Yang Jian, Three Eyed Warrior
  • Jinzha, Marshal of the Center Altar
  • Muzha, Marshal of the Center Altar
  • Li Jing, Heavenly King and Holder of the Pagoda.
  • Wen Qiong [4]
  • Nezha (the family name Li comes from his father, Li Jing)
  • Guan Yu, a historical general from the Han Dynasty who came to be worshiped as god of loyalty, righteousness, and valor
  • Yue Fei

Continental Germanic mythology

  • Baduhenna, a western-Frisii goddess of warfare
  • Wōden, god associated with wisdom, war, battle, and death, as well as magic, poetry, prophecy, victory, and the hunt
  • Týr, god of war, law, the thing and tribal bonds, who later lost much of his religious importance and mythical roles to the god Wōden

Egyptian mythology

Sekhmet, Egyptian warrior goddess
  • Anhur, god of war
  • Bast, cat-headed goddess associated with war, protection of Lower Egypt and the pharaoh, the sun, perfumes, ointments, and embalming
  • Horus, god of the king, the sky, war, and protection
  • Maahes, lion-headed god of war
  • Menhit, goddess of war, "she who massacres"
  • Montu, falcon-headed god of war, valor, and the Sun
  • Neith, goddess of war, hunting, and wisdom
  • Pakhet, goddess of war
  • Satis, deification of the floods of the Nile River and an early war, hunting, and fertility goddess
  • Sekhmet, goddess of warfare, pestilence, and the desert
  • Set, god of chaos, associated with war
  • Sobek, god of the Nile, the army, military, fertility and of crocodiles
  • Sopdu, god of the scorching heat of the summer sun, associated with war
  • Wepwawet, wolf-god of war and death who later became associated with Anubis and the afterlife

Etruscan mythology

  • Laran, god of war.
  • Menrva, goddess of war, art, wisdom, and health

Greek mythology

  • Alala, spirit of the war cry
  • Alke, spirit of courage and battle-strength
  • Amphillogiai, goddesses of disputes
  • Androktasiai, spirits of battlefield slaughter
  • Ares, god of war, bloodlust, weapons of war, the defence and sacking of cities, rebellion, civil order, banditry, manliness, and courage; the son of Zeus and Hera
  • Athena, goddess of wisdom, war strategy, heroic endeavour, handicrafts, and reason
  • Bia, spirit of force and compulsion
  • Deimos, personification of terror
  • Enyalius, god of battle
  • Enyo, goddess of war
  • Eris, goddess of discord, chaos and strife
  • Homados, spirit of the din of battle
  • Hysminai, female spirits of fighting and combat
  • Ioke, spirit of onslaught, battle-tumult, and pursuit
  • Keres, female spirits of violent or cruel death, including death in battle, by accident, murder, or ravaging disease
  • Kratos, the personification of strength and power
  • Kydoimos, spirit of the din of battle
  • Makhai, male spirits of fighting and combat
  • Nike, spirit of victory
  • Palioxis, spirit of backrush, flight, and retreat from battle
  • Pallas, Titan god of warcraft and of the springtime campaign season
  • Perses, the Titan of destruction
  • Phobos, spirit of panic, fear, flight, and battlefield route
  • Phonoi, spirits of murder, killing, and slaughter
  • Polemos, spirit of war
  • Proioxis, spirit of onrush and battlefield pursuit

Hawaiian mythology

  • Kū, God of war, bird, fire
  • Pele, goddess of fire, lightning, dance, volcanoes, and violence

Hindu mythology

Durga slays the buffalo demon
  • Chamunda, Goddess of war and disease
  • Durga, The fiercer, demon-fighting form of Shiva's wife, the goddess Parvati
  • Hanuman, God associated with war, wisdom, and courage
  • Indra, God of war, storms, and rainfall
  • Kali, Goddess associated with time, change, and war
  • Kartikeya, God of war and battle
  • Kathyayini, Goddess of vengeance and victory
  • Mangala, God of war
  • Matrikas, Goddesses of war, children, and emancipation
  • Parasurama, Axe God "Rama with an axe", God of war and battle,
  • Shiva, God of avenging and destroying
  • Yama, God of Death
  • Narasimha, God of Justice
  • Ganesha, Heroically taking action against demons
  • Kalki, Destroyer of foulness, darkness and ignorance
  • Virabhadra, The God of Warriors
  • Nirrti, Goddess of Strife
  • Rama, God associated with War, Justice, Kingship
  • Krishna, God of strategies of War

Hittite mythology

Hungarian mythology

  • Hadúr, god of war and the metalsmith of the gods

Japanese mythology

  • Hachiman Daimyōjin, Shinto god of war (on land) and agriculture, divine protector of the Minamoto clan and Imperial Dynasty ownership of Japan
  • Takemikazuchi-no-kami, god of war, conquest, martial arts, Sumo, and lightning; general of the Amatsukami; god of Kashima and Ujigami of Nakatomi clan
  • Futsunushi, god of swords, martial arts, and conquest; god of the Mononobe clan
  • Sarutahiko Ōkami, deity of war and misogi; the Great God who stands at the junction of Heaven and Earth; one of the main Kunitsukami; actively worshipped by Ueshiba Morihei
  • Suwa Myōjin (Takeminakata-no-kami), god of valor and duty, protector of Japanese religion
  • Bishamonten, armor-clad god of war

Lusitanian mythology

  • Neto, god believed to be associated with war, death, and weaponry
Inanna, Mesopotamian goddess of sexual love, fertility, and warfare

Māori mythology

Maya mythology

  • Tohil, god associated with fire, the sun, rain, mountains and war

Mesopotamian mythology

Mongolian mythology

Native American mythology

Norse mythology

  • Freyja, goddess associated with love, beauty, fertility, gold, seiðr, war, and death
  • Odin, god associated with wisdom, war, battle, and death
  • Thor, god associated with thunder, strength, defense, oaks, goats, lightning, storms, weather, crops, trading voyages, courage, trust, revenge, protection, warfare, and battles
  • Týr, god associated with honor, law (the "Allthing"), justice in battle, victory, and heroic glory
  • Ullr, god associated with archery, male beauty, skiing, winter sports, single combat, and war

Nuristani mythology

Paleo-Balkan mythology

Polynesian mythology

Roman mythology

  • Bellona, goddess of war
  • Honos, god of chivalry, honor, and military justice
  • Mars, god of war and agriculture, equivalent to the Greek god Ares
  • Minerva, goddess of wisdom and war, equivalent to the Greek goddess Athena
  • Nerio, warrior goddess and personification of valor
  • Victoria, personification of victory, equivalent to the Greek goddess Nike
  • Virtus, god of bravery and military strength

Semitic mythology

Slavic mythology

  • Jarovit, god of vegetation, fertility, and spring, also associated with war and harvest
  • Perun, god of thunder and lightning, associated with war
  • Radegast, West Slavic god of hospitality, fertility and crops, associated with war and the sun; may or may not have been worshipped by ancient Slavs
  • Svetovid, god of war, fertility, and abundance
  • Zorya Utrennyaya, goddess of the morning star, sometimes depicted as a warrior goddess who protected men in battle

Turkic mythology

Vietnamese mythology

  • Thánh Gióng, god of triumph over foreign invaders
  • Thần Đồng Cổ, the armored protector of Lý dynasty.
  • Độc Cước, the protector of coastal settlements. Legend has it that he split himself in two with his axe, each half guards coastal villages against sea ogres.
  • Cao Lỗ, god of military innovations.

Vodou

  • Ogoun, loa who presides over fire, iron, hunting, politics, and war

References

  1. ↑ Kirsch, J. (2004). God Against the Gods: The History of the War Between Monotheism and Polytheism. Viking Compass. ISBN 9780670032860. Retrieved 2015-06-22.
  2. ↑ "Occidental Mythology (Masks of God): Joseph Campbell: 9780140194418: Amazon.com: Books". amazon.com. Retrieved 2015-06-22.
  3. ↑ Cahill, Suzanne E. (18 July 2013). "Sublimation in Medieval China: The Case of the Mysterious Woman of the Nine Heavens". Journal of Chinese Religions. 20 (1): 91–102. doi:10.1179/073776992805307692.
  4. ↑ http://etheses.lib.cuhk.edu.hk/pdf/004777762.pdf%5Bpermanent+dead+link%5D
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