List of health deities

A statue of Asclepius, the Greek god of healing

A health deity is a god or goddess in mythology or religion associated with health, healing and wellbeing. They may also be related to childbirth or Mother Goddesses. They are a common feature of polytheistic religions.

List of health deities

African

  • Agwu, Igbo god of health and divination
  • Jengu, water spirits that bring good fortune and cure disease
  • !Xu, sky god of the Bushmen of southern Africa who is invoked in illness
  • Osanyin orisha of herbalism

Armenian

  • Anahit, goddess of fertility and healing, wisdom and water in Armenian mythology.

Aztec

Celtic

  • Airmed, Irish goddess associated with healing and resurrection.
  • Alaunus, Gaulish god of the sun, healing and prophecy associated with Greek god Helios-Apollo
  • Atepomarus, Gaulish healing god associated with the Greek god Apollo
  • Borvo, Celto-Lusitanian healing god associated with bubbling spring water
  • Brigid, Irish goddess associated with healing
  • Dian Cecht, Irish god of healing
  • Glanis, Gaulish god associated with a healing spring at the town of Glanum
  • Grannus, Gaulish god associated with spas, healing thermal and mineral springs, and the sun and associated with Apollo
  • Hooded Spirits, hooded deities associated with health and fertility
  • Ianuaria, goddess associated with healing
  • Iovantucarus, Gaulish healer-god and protector of youth associated with Lenus Mars
  • Lenus, Gaulish healing god associated with the Greek god Ares
  • Maponos, god of youth, associated with the Greek god Apollo
  • Mullo, Gaulish deity associated with the Greek god Ares and said to heal afflictions of the eye
  • Nodens, Gallo-Roman and Roman British god associated with healing, the sea, hunting and dogs
  • Sirona, Gallo-Roman and Celto-Germanic goddess associated with healing

Chinese

  • Wu Ben (Baosheng Dadi, the King of Medicine)
  • Shennong, a mythical emperor who spread knowledge of herbs and medicine.
  • Hua Tuo, legendary physician who lived between 140-208AD, known for his diagnostic and surgical skills
  • Bian Que, legendary physician who lived around 400BC, known for his multidisciplinary medical skills, especially early diagnosis and complicated surgery
  • Sun Simiao, legendary physician known for Chinese medicine, titled as China's "King of Medicine".
  • Wei Chizhuang, ancient physician
  • Wei Shanjun, ancient physician
  • Wei Gudao, ancient physician
  • Pi Tong, ancient physician
  • Wang Wei, ancient physician known for Acupuncture
  • Li Shizhen, legendary physician from the Ming Dynasty known for profiling Chinese medicine
  • Taiyi Zhushen, God of Qi
  • Taokang Geyan, God of Essence
  • Zhang Guolao, one of the Eight Immortals, whose wine was considered to have healing properties
  • He Xiangu, one of the Eight Immortals, whose lotus flower improves one's mental and physical health
  • Li Tieguai, one of the Eight Immortals, who alleviates the suffering of the poor, sick and needy with special medicine from his gourd
  • Wong Tai Sin, a god with the power of healing
  • Jiutian Xuannü, goddess of longevity (long life) as well as war and sex [1]

Egyptian

  • Sekhmet, goddess of healing and medicine of Upper Egypt
  • Heka, deification of magic, through which Egyptians believed they could gain protection, healing and support
  • Serket, goddess of healing stings and bites
  • Ta-Bitjet, a scorpion goddess whose blood is a panacea for all poisons
  • Isis, goddess of healing, magic, marriage and perfection

Etruscan

  • Fufluns, god of plant life, happiness and health and growth in all things
  • Menrva, goddess of war, art, wisdom and healthcare

Greek

  • Apollo, god of the sun and light, music, poetry, prophecy, archery, healing, medicine and plague
  • Asclepius, god of medicine and healing
  • Aceso, goddess of curing sickness and healing wounds
  • Aegle, goddesss of the healthy glow
  • Artemis, goddess of the hunt, wild animals, the wilderness, fertility, good health, girls and young women
  • Chiron, a centaur known for his knowledge and skill in healing
  • Eileithyia, goddess of childbirth
  • Epione, goddess of the soothing of pain
  • Hebe, goddess of eternal youth, and cupbearer to the gods
  • Hygieia, goddess of health, cleanliness and sanitation
  • Iaso, goddess of cures, remedies, and modes of healing
  • Paean, physician of the gods. An epithet of Apollo and Asclepius.
  • Panacea, goddess of the universal cure
  • Telesphorus, demi-god of convalescence, who "brought to fulfillment" recuperation from illness or injury

Hindu

Vaidyanatha - Shiva as healer of all

Lord Dhanvantari, the Hindu god of medicine and Lord of Ayurvedic medicine

Hittite

  • Kamrusepa, goddess of healing, medicine, and magic
  • Shaushka, goddess of fertility, war, and healing

Inuit

  • Eeyeekalduk, god of medicine and good health
  • Pinga, goddess of the hunt, fertility and medicine

Japanese

  • Ebisu, god of fishermen, good luck, and workingmen, and the guardian of the health of small children

Maya

  • Ixchel, jaguar goddess of midwifery and medicine
  • Maximón, hero god of health

Mesopotamian

Native American

  • Kumugwe, Nuxalk underwater god with the power to see into the future, heal the sick and injured, and bestow powers on those whom he favors
  • Angak, a Hopi kachina spirit, represents a healing and protective male figure.

Norse

  • Eir, goddess associated with medical skill

Persian

Phoenician

Roman

  • Angitia, snake goddess associated with magic and healing
  • Apollo, Greco-Roman god of light, music, healing, and the sun
  • Bona Dea, goddess of fertility, healing, virginity, and women
  • Cardea, goddess of health, thresholds and door hinges and handles
  • Carna, goddess who presided over the heart and other organs
  • Endovelicus, god of public health and safety
  • Febris, goddess who embodied and protected people from fever and malaria
  • Feronia, goddess of wildlife, fertility, health, and abundance
  • Valetudo, Roman name for the Greek goddess Hygieia, goddess of health, cleanliness, and hygiene
  • Vejovis, god of healing
  • Verminus, god who protected cattle from disease

Sami

  • Beiwe, goddess of the sun, spring, fertility and sanity, who restored the mental health of those driven mad by the darkness of the winter

Slavic

  • Żywie, goddess of health and healing

Thracian

  • Derzelas, god of abundance and the underworld, health and human spirit's vitality

Yoruba and Afro-American

  • Aja, spirit of the forest, the animals within it and herbal healers
  • Babalu Aye, spirit of illness and disease
  • Erinle, spirit of abundance, the healer, and Physician to the Orisha
  • Loco, patron of healers and plants
  • Mami Wata, a pantheon of water deities associated with healing and fertility
  • Sopona, god of smallpox

References

  1. ↑ 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.
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