List of war deities

A war deity is a god or goddess in mythology associated with war, combat or bloodshed. They occur commonly in polytheistic religions. The following is a list of war deities.

• African mythology

  • Agurzil, Berber god of war
  • Apedemak, Nubian lion-headed warrior god
  • Kokou, powerful Yoruba warrior god
  • Maher, Ethiopian god of war
  • Ogoun, Yoruba deity who presides over fire, iron, hunting, politics and war
  • Oya, Yoruba warrior-goddess of the Niger River

• Arabian mythology

  • Al-Qaum, Nabatean god of war and the night, and guardian of caravans

• Armenian mythology

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

• Aztec mythology

  • Huitzilopochtli, god of war and the sun
  • Itzpapalotl, skeletal warrior goddess
  • Mextli, god of the moon, born fully armed as a warrior
  • Mixcoatl, god of fire, war and the hunt
  • Teoyaomicqui, god of lost dead souls, particularly those who have died in battle
  • Tezcatlipoca, god associated with the night sky, the night winds, hurricanes, the north, the earth, obsidian, enmity, discord, rulership, divination, temptation, jaguars, sorcery, beauty, war and strife
  • Toci, goddess of the earth, sometimes associated with 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
  • Alaisiagae, a pair of goddesses worshiped in Roman Britain, with parallel Celtic and Germanic titles
  • Andarta, Gaulish warrior goddess
  • Anann, Irish goddess of war, death, predicting death in battle, cattle, prosperity and fertility
  • Badb, Irish goddess of war who took the form of a crow; member of the Morrígan
  • Belatu-Cadros, 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
  • Smertrios, Gaulish god of war

• Chinese mythology

  • Chi You, god of war
  • Guan Yu, red-faced warrior deity

• Continental Germanic mythology

  • Wōden, god associated with wisdom, war, battle, and death, and also magic, poetry, prophecy, victory, and the hunt
  • Andraste, Teutonic goddess theorised to be associated with victory

• Egyptian mythology

  • Anhur, god of war
  • Ankt, goddess of war, possibly originating from Asia Minor
  • Bast, 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"
  • Monthu, falcon-headed god of war, valor and the sun
  • Neith, goddess of creation, hunting and the dead; associated with 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
  • 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

• Fijian mythology

  • Samulayo, god of war and those dead souls who died in battle

• Greek mythology

  • Alala, spirit of the war cry
  • Androktasiai, spirits of battlefield slaughter
  • Ares, god of war, bloodlust, weapons of war, the defence and sacking of cities, rebellion and civil order, banditry, manliness and courage
  • Athena, goddess of wisdom, warfare, strategy, heroic endeavour, handicrafts and reason
  • Bia, spirit of force, power, bodily strength and compulsion
  • Enyalius, an epithet for Ares, sometimes identified as a separate, minor god of war
  • Enyo, goddess of destructive war
  • Eris, goddess of strife and discord, who initiated the Trojan War
  • Homados, spirit of the din of battle
  • Hysminai, female spirits of fighting and combat
  • Keres, female spirits of violent or cruel death, including death in battle, by accident, murder or ravaging disease
  • 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, killed by Athena
  • Phobos, spirit of panic fear, flight and battlefield rout
  • Polemos, spirit of war
  • Proioxis, spirit of onrush and battlefield pursuit

• Hawaiian mythology

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

• Hinduism

• • Chamunda, goddess of war and disease
  • Durga, the fiercer, demon-fighting form of Shiva's wife, the goddess Parvati
  • Hanuman, god associated with war 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
  • Murugan, god of war and victory

• Hittite mythology

  • Shaushka, goddess of fertility, war and healing
  • Wurrukatte, god of war

• Hungarian mythology

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

• Japanese mythology

  • Bishamonten, armour-clad god of war
  • Futsunushi, god of swords and lightning
  • Hachiman, Shinto god of war, and divine protector of Japan and the Japanese people

• Lusitanian mythology

  • Cariocecus, god of war
  • Neto, god believed to be associated with war

• Māori mythology

  • Tūmatauenga, god of war

• Maya mythology

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

• Mesopotamian mythology

  • Belus, Babylonian god of war
  • Inanna, Sumerian goddess of sexual love, fertility, and warfare
  • Ishtar, Assyrian and Babylonian counterpart to Inanna
  • Nergal, Babylonian god of war, fire, the underworld, and pestilence
  • Pap-nigin-gara, Akkadian and Babylonian god of war
  • Sebitti, group of minor Akkadian and Babylonian war gods
  • Shala, Akkadian and Babylonian goddess of war and grain
  • Shara, minor Sumerian god of war
  • Shulmanu, god of the underworld, fertility, and war

• Native American mythology

  • Qamaits, Nuxálk warrior goddess
  • Winalagalis, Kwakwaka'wakw god of war

• Norse mythology

  • Freyja, goddess associated with love, beauty, fertility, gold, seiðr, war, and death
  • Odin, god associated with wisdom, war, battle, and death, and also magic, poetry, prophecy, victory, and the hunt
  • Thor, god associated with thunder, strength, Lightning, defense, oaks, goats, lightning, storms, weather, crops, trading voyages, courage, trust, revenge, protection, warfare and battles
  • Týr, god associated with single combat,law, victory and heroic glory
  • Valkyries, goddesses who decide who will die in battle and bring the dead to Valhalla, the afterlife hall of the slain

• Nuristani mythology

  • Great Gish, god of war

• Paleo-Balkan mythology

  • Thracian Rider
  • Sabazios
  • Danubian Rider

• Polynesian mythology

  • 'Oro, god of war

• Roman mythology

  • Bellona, goddess of war
  • Honos, god of chivalry, honor and military justice
  • Lua, goddess to whom soldiers sacrificed captured weapons
  • Mars, god of war and bloodshed, 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
  • Vica Pota, goddess of victory
  • Victoria, personification of victory, equivalent to the Greek goddess Nike
  • Virtus, god of bravery and military strength

• Semitic mythology

  • Agasaya, "the Shrieker", goddess of war
  • Anat, goddess of war
  • Astarte, goddess of fertility, sexuality and war, associated with the Mesopotamian Ishtar or Inanna
  • Resheph, god of plague and war
  • Tanit, Phoenician lunar goddess associated with war

• 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

• Vodou

  • Bugid Y Aiba, loa associated with war
  • Ogoun, loa who presides over fire, iron, hunting, politics and war
  • Pie, soldier-loa who lives at the bottoms of lakes and rivers and causes floods