List of knowledge deities

A knowledge deity is a deity in mythology associated with knowledge, wisdom, or intelligence.

A statue of Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom
Odin sacrificing himself to gain knowledge of the runes.

African mythology

Ancient Egyptian
  • Neith, goddess sometimes associated with wisdom
  • Thoth, originally a moon deity, later became god of wisdom and scribe of the gods
  • Sia, the deification of wisdom
  • Isis, goddess of wisdom, magic and kingship. She was said to be "more clever than a million gods".
  • Seshat, goddess of wisdom, knowledge, and writing. Scribe of the gods. Credited with the invention of writing and the alphabet. Later demoted to consort of Thoth.[1]

West African
  • Anansi, the spider trickster and spirit of all stories, best known from Akan and Ashanti folklore; according to some tales, also creator of the sun, moon and stars, and teacher of agriculture to humans[2]
  • Orunmila, god of wisdom, knowledge, and divination[3]

Armenian mythology
  • Anahit, goddess of wisdom[4]
  • Tir, the god of written language, schooling, rhetoric, wisdom, and the arts[5]

Caribbean mythology
  • Papa Legba, loa of speech, communication, understanding, and guardian of crossroads[6]

Celtic mythology
  • Ogma, a figure from Irish and Scottish mythology, said to have invented the Ogham alphabet[7]

Chinese mythology
  • Wenchang Wang, the god of literature and scholarship
  • Kui Xing, God of examinations
  • Zhuyu Xingjun, God of examination successes
  • Guan Yu, God of military exams
  • Lu Dongbin, God of daoist inner alchemy knowledge
  • Laozi, God of wisdom
  • Bao Zheng, Star of literature
  • Manjushri, the bodhisattva of wisdom[8][9]

Etruscan mythology
  • Menrva, goddess of wisdom, war, weaving, and medicine[10]

Greek mythology
  • Apollo, god of knowledge, music, education and youth
  • Athena, Olympian goddess of wisdom, weaving, and war strategy
  • Coeus, Titan of the inquisitive mind, his name meaning "query" or "questioning". He is the grandfather of Apollo.
  • Metis, the Titan associated most closely with wisdom and the mother of Athena, whose name in Ancient Greek described a combination of wisdom and cunning.[11][12]
  • Hecate, goddess of magic, crossroads, and safe passage after death

Hindu mythology
A Saraswati statue in a park.
  • Saraswati, goddess of knowledge, creativity and speech
  • Brihaspati, Guru of the gods, bestower of knowledge and eloquence
  • Shukra, Guru of the demons, bestower of knowledge
  • Dakshinamurthy, aspect of the god Shiva as a guru and bestower of knowledge
  • Hayagriva, god of knowledge and wisdom
  • Gayatri, form of Saraswati and the goddess of hymns
  • Savitri, another form of Saraswati and goddess of wisdom[13][14]

Hittite mythology

Japanese mythology

Middle Eastern mythology

Muisca mythology

Norse mythology
Wodan and Frea by Emil Doepler.
  • Odin, god of wisdom who nevertheless relentlessly keeps searching for more knowledge; associated with the runes
  • Frigg, she is said to know the future, but never tells. The three following goddesses may be hypostases of her.
  • Gefjon, goddess associated with plowing, foreknowledge, and virginity.
  • Sága, goddess of wisdom
  • Snotra, goddess associated with wisdom
  • Vör, goddess associated with wisdom[21][22]
  • Numerous minor characters in Norse mythology are said to be very wise, though there's often no instance of them demonstrating this supposed wisdom:
    • Dwarfs, particularly Alviss, whose name means "all-wise". Thor keeps him from marrying his daughter by challenging him to a wisdom contest that lasts all night. He's turned to stone by the rising sun.
    • Elfs possibly
    • Heimdallr
    • Kvasir
    • Mimir
    • Tyr
    • Utgard-Loki, while not outright stated to be wise, he's notable for being the only giant to be cleverer than the gods and getting to escape with his life
    • Vafthrudnir, a wise jotunn Odin seeks out to challenge to a wisdom contest[23]
    • the Vanir in general[24]

Persian mythology
  • Anahita, goddess of wisdom
  • Ahura Mazda, Zoroastrian god of light, benevolence, creation, truth, and perfect wisdom
  • Chista, goddess of wisdom and knowledge, she leads the mortals to the right way in life and the afterlife; she is also the goddess of religion in Zoroastrian mythology.[25]
Anahita Vessel, 300-500 AD, Sasanian, Iran, silver and gilt – Cleveland Museum of Art – DSC08130

Polynesian mythology

Roman mythology
  • Egeria, a water nymph who gives wisdom and prophecy in return for libations of water or milk at her sacred grove
  • Fabulinus, the God who teaches children to speak
  • Minerva, goddess of wisdom and crafts, the Roman equivalent of Athena
  • Providentia, goddess of forethought
  • Neptune, the god of the sea and freshwater, is said to have all the knowledge of water.[27]

Slavic mythology

Turco-Mongol mythology
  • Mergen, deity of abundance and wisdom. Mergen symbolizes intelligence and thought.[29]

References
  1. "Ancient Gods of Egypt". discoverinegypt.com.
  2. Courlander, Harold (1996). A Treasury of African Folklore. New York: Marlowe & Company. p. 136. ISBN 1-56924-816-8.
  3. Bascom, William (1991). Ifa Divination: Communication Between Gods and Men in West Africa. Indiana University Press. p. ix. ISBN 9780253206381. Retrieved 1 April 2019. Qrunmila is another name for Ifa, the deity
  4. "the-goddess-of-love-and-fertility-anahit".
  5. Herouni, Paris (2004). Armenians and Old Armenia. Yerevan. pp. 8, 133.
  6. Herskovits, Melville J. (1937). "African Gods and Catholic Saints in New World Negro Belief". American Anthropologist. 39 (4): 635–643. doi:10.1525/aa.1937.39.4.02a00080.
  7. Jones, Mary. "The Ogham Tract". Celtic Literature Collective. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
  8. 民間信仰的神明概念 [Hierarchic organisation of the spiritual world]. web.sgjh.tn.edu.tw.
  9. Hackin, J. (1932). Asiatic Mythology: A Detailed Description and Explanation of the Mythologies of All the Great Nations of Asia. Asian Educational Services.
  10. de Grummond, Etruscan Myth, Sacred History and Legend
  11. "Volume: Hellas, Article: Greek Mythology". Encyclopaedia The Helios. 1952.
  12. Homer, Iliad, 8. An epic poem about the Battle of Troy. 366–369
  13. Arthur Anthony Macdonell (1978). Vedic Mythology. Motilal Banarsidass (Reprint). ISBN 978-81-208-1113-3.
  14. Yves Bonnefoy (1993). Asian Mythologies. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-06456-7.
  15. J. G. Macqueen, '"Hattian Mythology and Hittite Monarchy'", Anatolian Studies (1959).
  16. R.Lebrun, "Le zoomorphisme dans la religion hittite," L'Animal, l'homme, le dieu dans le Proche-Orient ancien, (Leuven) 1985:95-103, noted in Beckman 1989.
  17. Chamberlain 2008
  18. Kelsey, W. Michael (1983). "Untitled", Asian Folklore Studies Vol 42
  19. Bertman, Stephen (2005). Handbook to Life in Ancient Mesopotamia (Paperback ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 122. ISBN 9780195183641. Retrieved 2016-08-08.
  20. Hermann & Bullock, 1954
  21. "Most important Gods of Norse Mythology". ancient-origins.net.
  22. "The Children of Odin". gatewaytotheclassics.com.
  23. Orchard (1997:170).
  24. Du Chaillu, P. B. (1889).
  25. "The Library of the world's myths and legends" (PDF). dl.lilibook.ir.
  26. "Handbook of Polynesian Mythology". academia.edu.
  27. "Roman Gods and Goddesses" (PDF). wetheredccn12.com.
  28. "Alkonost and Gamayun - Slavic Folklore". www.ancient-origins.net.
  29. "The Gods of Turks". milliyet.com.
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