Thunder deity

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 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. 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.

Mediterranean

 * Teshub (Hurrian mythology)
 * Adad, Bel, Ishkur, Marduk (Babylonian-Assyrian mythology)
 * Baʿal, Hadad (Canaanite and Phoenician mythology)
 * Set (Egyptian mythology)
 * Aplu (Hurrian mythology)
 * Tarḫunna (Hittite mythology)
 * Tarḫunz (Luwian mythology)
 * Vahagn (Armenian Mythology)
 * Zibelthiurdos (Thracian mythology)
 * Zeus (Greek Mythology)

Northwestern Eurasia

 * Armazi (god) Georgian Mythology
 * Afi (Abkhaz Mythology)
 * Ambisagrus, Loucetios (Gaulish mythology)
 * Atämshkai (Moksha mythology)
 * Gebeleizis (Dacian mythology)
 * Horagalles (Sami mythology)
 * Jupiter, Summanus (Roman mythology)
 * Orko (Basque mythology)
 * Perëndi (Albanian mythology)
 * Perkūnas (Baltic mythology)
 * Perkwunos (Proto-Indo-European mythology)
 * Perun (Slavic mythology)
 * Ukko or Perkele (Finnish mythology)
 * Taranis (Pan-Celtic)
 * Tharapita or Taara (Estonian mythology)
 * Þórr (Norse mythology)
 * Zeus (Greek mythology)
 * Fulgora (Roman mythology)
 * Astrape and Bronte (Greek mythology)
 * Thunor (Anglo Saxon)

East Asia

 * Leigong (Chinese mythology)
 * Dianmu (Chinese mythology)
 * Ajisukitakahikone (Japanese mythology)
 * Raijin (Japanese mythology)
 * Tenjin (Japanese mythology)
 * Susanoo (Japanese mythology)
 * Takemikazuchi (Japanese mythology)

South Asia

 * Indra (Hindu mythology and Buddhist mythology)
 * Parjanya (Hindu mythology)
 * Raja Indainda (Batak mythology)
 * Vajrapani (Buddhist mythology)

Philippines

 * Kidul (Kalinga mythology)
 * Ovug (Ifugao mythology)
 * Aninitud angachar (Ifugao mythology)
 * Child of Kabunian (Ibaloi mythology)
 * Kidu (Bugkalot mythology)
 * Revenador (Ilocano mythology)
 * Bathala (Tagalog mythology)
 * Kidlat (Tagalog mythology)
 * Gugurang (Bicolano mythology)
 * Linti (Bicolano mythology)
 * Dalodog (Bicolano mythology)
 * Kaptan (Bisaya mythology)
 * Linting Habughabug (Capiznon mythology)
 * Ribung Linti (Suludnon mythology)
 * Upu Kuyaw (Pala'wan mythology)
 * God of Animals (Surigaonon mythology)
 * Diwata Magbabaya/Bathala (Subanon mythology)
 * Anit/Anitan (Manobo mythology)
 * Spirit of Lightning and Thunder (Teduray 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, storms, death and rebirth, consort of Shango in Yoruba religion)
 * Nzazi (god of thunder and lightning/master of thunder dogs in Kongo mythology)
 * Azaka-Tonnerre (West African Vodun/Haitian Vodou)
 * Mulungu
 * Xevioso (alternately: Xewioso, Heviosso. Thunder god of the So region)
 * Amadioha (Igbo, Nigeria)
 * Àlamei (So region)
 * Kiwanuka (god of thunder and lightning, Buganda, Uganda)
 * Umvelinqangi (god of thunder, earthquake, sun and sky in Zulu mythology)

Oceania

 * Haikili (Polynesian mythology)
 * Tāwhaki (Polynesian mythology)
 * Kaha'i (Polynesian mythology)
 * Te Uira (Polynesian mythology)
 * Nan Sapwe (Pohnpeian mythology)

Australia

 * Mamaragan (Aboriginal mythology)

New Zealand

 * Whaitiri (Māori mythology)
 * Tāwhirimātea (Māori mythology)

In literature
The Hindu God Indra was the chief deity and at his prime during the Vedic period, where he was considered to be the supreme God. Indra was initially recorded in the Rigveda, the first of the religious scriptures that comprise the Vedas. Indra continued to play a prominent role throughout the evolution of Hinduism and played a pivotal role in the two Sanskrit epics that comprise the Itihasas, appearing in both the Ramayana and Mahabharata. Although the importance of Indra has since been subsided in favor of other Gods in contemporary Hinduism, he is still venerated and worshipped.

In Greek mythology, the Elysian Fields, or the Elysian Plains, was 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. This could be a reference to Zeus, the god of lightning, 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.


 * 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.
 * In June 2019, Eagles Of Death Metal released their electrifying rendition of KISS’s “God Of Thunder”.

Video games

 * Raiden (Mortal Kombat)
 * Orlanth (King of Dragon Pass, Six Ages: Ride Like the Wind, and the fictional Glorantha setting in which these games are set)
 * Raijin (Smite)
 * Zapdos (Pokémon)
 * Raikou (Pokémon)
 * Thundurus (Pokémon)
 * Karana (Everquest)
 * Phosphora (Kid Icarus: Uprising), although she is not a goddess but a heavenly warrior in the service of Viridi
 * Ishtar (Fire Emblem), given the title of Goddess of Thunder due to wielding the holy thunder tome Mjölnir