List of thunder gods

Indra, the Indian/ Hindu god of thunder.

Polytheistic peoples of many cultures have postulated a thunder god, the personification or source of the forces of thunder and lightning; a lightning god does not have a typical depiction, and will vary based on the culture. In Indo-European cultures, the thunder god is frequently known as the chief or king of the gods, e.g. Indra in Hinduism, Zeus in Greek mythology, and Perun in ancient Slavic religion; or a close relation thereof, e.g. Thor, son of Odin, in Norse mythology. This is also true of Shango in Yoruba religion and in the syncretic religions of the African Diaspora, such as Santería (Cuba, Puerto Rico, United States and Candomblé (Brazil).

In Greek mythology, the Elysian Fields, or the Elysian Plains, the final resting places of the souls of the heroic and the virtuous, evolved from a designation of a place or person struck by lightning, enelysion, enelysios.^[1] This could be a reference to Zeus, the god of lightning/Jupiter, so "lightning-struck" could be saying that the person was blessed (struck) by Zeus (/lightning/fortune). Egyptologist Jan Assmann has also suggested that Greek Elysion may have instead been derived from the Egyptian term ialu (older iaru), meaning "reeds," with specific reference to the "Reed fields" (Egyptian: sekhet iaru / ialu), a paradisiacal land of plenty where the dead hoped to spend eternity.^[2]

List of thunder gods

Ancient Near East

• Teshub (Hurrian mythology)
• Adad, Bel, Ishkur, Marduk (Babylonian-Assyrian mythology)
• Baʿal, Hadad (Canaanite & Phoenician mythology)
• Set (Egyptian mythology)

Eurasia

• Afi (Abkhaz Mythology)
• Ambisagrus, Loucetios (Gaulish mythology)
• Aplu (Etruscan mythology)
• Astrape and Bronte (Greek mythology)
• Atämshkai (Moksha mythology)
• Brontes (Greek mythology)
• Fulgora (Roman mythology)
• Gebeleizis (Dacian mythology)
• Horagalles (Sami mythology)
• Jupiter, Summanus (Roman mythology)
• Perëndi (Albanian mythology)
• Perkūnas (Baltic mythology)
• Perun (Slavic mythology)
• Ukko or Perkele (Finnish mythology)
• Taranis (Pan-Celtic) or Tuireann (Irish mythology)
• Tarhunt (Hittite/Luwian mythology)
• Tharapita or Taara (Estonian mythology)
• Thor (Scandinavian mythology), also Anglo-Saxon Þunor, German Donar, Norse Þórr, North Germanic Tor, Thor
• Zibelthiurdos (Thracian mythology)
• Zeus (Greek Mythology)

East Asia

• Wen Zhong (Lei Zu, Antecedent of Thunder) (Chinese mythology)
• Feng Lung (Lei Gong, Lord of Thunder) (Chinese mythology)
• Dian Mu, the Goddess of Lightning (Chinese mythology)

Thunder Emperors of the Five Regions

• Hu Fengya, God of Thunder of the East (Chinese mythology)
• Bing Jiulu, God of Thunder of the South (Chinese mythology)
• Rong Yaoling, God of Thunder of the West (Chinese mythology)
• Lu Xingmeng, God of Thunder of the North (Chinese mythology)
• Sun Zhener, God of Thunder of the Center (Chinese mythology)

Thunder Kings of the Five Regions

• Yan Fu, Thunder King of the East (Chinese mythology)
• Zhuo Bin, Thunder King of the South (Chinese mythology)
• Gao Hui, Thunder King of the West (Chinese mythology)
• Wu Xi, Thunder King of the North (Chinese mythology)
• Zhao Jian, Thunder King of the Center (Chinese mythology)

Marshals of Thunder

• Deng Zhong (Chinese mythology)
• Tian Hua (Chinese mythology)
• Liu Hou (Chinese mythology)
• Xin Xing (Chinese mythology)
• Pang Qiao (Chinese mythology)

Thunder Generals of the Five Regions

• Wu Chong, Thunder General of the East (Chinese mythology)
• Wang Jian, Thunder General of the South (Chinese mythology)
• Meng Zhang, Thunder General of the West (Chinese mythology)
• Sun Heng, Thunder General of the North (Chinese mythology)
• Guo Zhen, Thunder General of the Center (Chinese mythology)

Twelve Lords of Heaven’s Thunder

1. Shénxiāo Leigong
2. Wǔfāng Leigong
3. Hángyǔ Leigong
4. Háng fēng Leigong
5. Hángyún Leigong
6. Bùzé Leigong
7. Hángxuě Leigong
8. Hángbīng Leigong
9. Fēishā Leigong
10. Shísuì Leigong
11. Tūnguǐ Leigong
12. Fúmó Leigong

Twelve Lords of Earth’s Thunder

1. Shǎngshàn Leigong
2. Fáě Leigong
3. Shèlíng Leigong
4. Fādào Leigong
5. Sìxù Leigong
6. Quèzāi Leigong
7. Shōudú Leigong
8. Jiùbìng Leigong
9. Fúwēi Leigong
10. Tàishēng Leigong
11. Xúntiān Leigong
12. Chádì Leigong

Twelve Lords of Man’s Thunder

1. Shōuwēn Leigong
2. Shèdú Leigong
3. Chúhài Leigong
4. Quèhuò Leigong
5. Fēngshān Leigong
6. Pòcháo Leigong
7. Dáguǐ Leigong
8. Fúhǔ Leigong
9. Pòzhàng Leigong
10. Mièshī Leigong
11. Dàngguài Leigong
12. Guǎnpò Leigong

Thirty Five Lords of Thunder

1. Wǔdi Leigong
2. Yīnyáng Leigong
3. Sìlíng Leigong
4. Liùjiǎ Leigong
5. Pīléi Leigong
6. Fāshuǐ Leigong
7. Bāfēng Leigong
8. Shíyǔ Leigong
9. Liùdào Leigong
10. Zhìdiàn Leigong
11. Xīngfēng Leigong
12. Hángyǔ Leigong
13. Wǔyuè Leigong
14. Sìlì Leigong
15. Bājié Leigong
16. Liùhóu Leigong
17. Dàchuān Leigong
18. Xīgǔ Leigong
19. Jiānghé Leigong
20. Sìhǎi Leigong
21. Mínggǔ Leigong
22. Hōnglún Leigong
23. Huǒchē Leigong
24. Huǒlún Leigong
25. Yíshān Leigong
26. Zǒushí Leigong
27. Xīngyún Leigong
28. Sǎyǔ Leigong
29. Hángyún Leigong
30. Bùshuāng Leigong
31. Dáwēn Leigong
32. Qūxié Leigong
33. Guāngmíng Leigong
34. Hēiàn Leigong
35. Pòmiào Leigong
36. Huǒyìn Leigong

Thirty Six Gods of Thunder

1. Yùshū Leishen
2. Yùfǔ Leishen
3. Yùzhù Leishen
4. Shǎngqīng Dàdòng Leishen
5. Huǒlún Leishen
6. Guàndǒu Leishen
7. Fēnghuǒ Leishen
8. Fēijié Leishen
9. Běijí Leishen
10. Zǐwēi Xuánshū Leishen
11. Shénxiāo Leishen
12. Xiāndū Leishen
13. Dàyǐ Hōngtiān Leishen
14. Zǐfǔ Leishen
15. Tiějiǎ Leishen
16. Shàoyáng Leishen
17. Yùhuǒ Leishen
18. Shèlíngmán Leishen
19. Dezhīmíng Leishen
20. Sānjiè Leishen
21. Zhǎnkuàng Leishen
22. Dàwēi Leishen
23. Dàbō Leishen
24. Qīngcǎo Leishen
25. Bāguà Leishen
26. Hùnyuán Yīngquǎn Leishen
27. Xiàomìngfēng Leishen
28. Huǒyún Leishen
29. Yǔbù Dàtǒngshè Leishen
30. Tàijí Leishen
31. Nèijiàn Leishen
32. Wàijiàn Leishen
33. Shénfǔ Tiānshū Leishen
34. Dàfàn Dòushū Leishen
35. Yùchén Leishen

Japanese Mythology

• Ajisukitakahikone, Raijin (Raiden-sama, Kaminari-sama), Tenjin (kami) (Japanese mythology)
• Susanoo (Japanese mythology)
• Takemikazuchi (Japanese mythology)

South Asia

• Indra (Hindu mythology and Buddhist mythology)
• Parjanya (Hindu mythology)
• Vajrapani (Buddhist mythology)

Americas

• Thunderbird (Iroquois and Huron mythology)
• Aktzin (Totonac mythology)
• Haokah (Lakota mythology)
• Xolotl and Tlaloc (Aztec mythology)
• Cocijo (Zapotec mythology)
• Chaac (Maya mythology)
• Yopaat (Maya mythology)
• Chibchacum (Muisca mythology)
• Apocatequil (Incan mythology)
• Tupã (Guaraní mythology)

Sub-Saharan Africa

• Shango (god of thunder and lightning, Yoruba Nigeria)
• Oya (goddess of hurricanes, consort of Shango in Yoruba religion)
• Azaka-Tonnerre (West African Vodun/Haitian Vodou)
• Mulungu
• Xevioso (alternately: Xewioso, Heviosso. Thunder god of the So region)
• Amadioha (Igbo, Nigeria)
• Àlamei (So region)

Oceania

Polynesian mythology

• Haikili (Polynesian mythology)
• Tāwhaki (Polynesian mythology)
• Kaha'i (Polynesian mythology)
• Te Uira (Polynesian mythology)

Micronesian mythology

• Nan Sapwe (Pohnpeian mythology)

Australia

• Mamaragan (Aboriginal mythology)

New Zealand

• Whaitiri (Māori mythology)
• Tāwhirimātea (Māori mythology)

Literature

• H. Munro Chadwick, The Oak and the Thunder-God, Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland (1900).

Music

• Gene Simmons of KISS's title song is "God of Thunder", regarding his "Demon" onstage persona.
• Rick Allen of Def Leppard was first referred to as the "Thunder God" by Joe Elliott, the lead singer, during the first concert of the Hysteria World Tour.

Video games

• Raiden (Mortal Kombat)
• Orlanth (King of Dragon Pass)
• Raijin (Smite)
• Chaac (Smite)
• Zeus (Smite)
• Thor (Smite)
• Susano (Smite)

See also

• Catatumbo lightning
• Donar's Oak
• Nature worship
• Sky deity
• Thunderbolt

References

1. ↑ Walter Burkert, Greek Religion, 1985. p. 198.
2. ↑ Assmann, Jan (2001). Death and Salvation in Ancient Egypt. Cornell University Press. p. 392