Sky deity

"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 religion and mythology

The sky has important religious significance. Most polytheistic religions have a deity associated with the sky.

It is important to note that in mythology, the daylit sky is typically distinct from the night-time heavens of the stars. Stith Thompson's Motif-Index of Folk-Literature reflects this by separating the category of Sky-god (A210) from that of Star-god (A250), both within the chapter dedicated to "gods of the upper world" (although in some mythologies, the night sky is associated with the netherworld)

Masculine sky gods are often also king of the gods, taking the position of patriarch within a pantheon. Such gods are collectively categorised as Sky father deities. A polarity between sky and earth is often expressed by pairing a "Sky father" god with an Earth mother goddess (more rarely, a sky goddess and an earth god).

Many polytheistic mythologies make a clear distinction between the celestial realm (or upper world) and the chtonic realm or netherworld. In such cases, there may be 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 chthonic realms. When there was a main sky goddess, she often held the title of the "Queen of Heaven" or "Heavenly Mother". Another notable example of a sky god and goddess was the ancient Semitic supreme god El, who was most likely paired with the sky goddess Asherah.[1]

List of sky deities

The following is a list of sky deities in various polytheistic traditions, by ethno-linguistic or geographic grouping.

Ancient Near East

Egyptian

Sumerian

Semitic

Further information: Ancient Semitic religion

Hurrian


Indo-European


Celtic

Germanic

Greek

Roman

Slavic

Thracian

Etruscan

Ural-Altaic

Finnic

Turkic

Udmurt

Indian

Indra

East Asian

Chinese

Twenty Four Sky Emperors (Tiandi)

Twenty Eight Sky Emperors (Tiandi)

Thirty Two Sky Emperors (Tiandi)

Japanese

Southeast Asian

Americas

Inuit

Uto-Aztecan

Incan

Mayan

Iroquoian

Sub-Saharan Africa

Oceania

Australian

Māori

Pacific Islands

References

  1. ↑ El was identified with the storm deity Yahweh in early Hebrew religion, ultimately giving rise to Hebrew monotheism by the 7th century BC; according to the Hebrew Bible it was 7th-century Judean king Josiah who removed the statue of Asherah from the temple of Yahweh in Jerusalem. See also The Hebrew Goddess.

See also

  • Categories:
    • Agricultural deities
    • Love deities