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Asclepius comes to Rome by Villenave

Asclepius, the Greek god of healing comes to Rome.

health deity is a god or goddess in mythology or religion associated with health, healing and wellbeing. They may also be related to childbirth or Mother Goddesses. They are a common feature of polytheistic religions.

List of health deities[]

African[]

  • Agwu, Igbo god of health and divination
  • Jengu, water spirits that bring good fortune and cure disease
  • !Xu, sky god of the Bushmen of southern Africa who is invoked in illness
  • Osanyin orisha of herbalism
  • Sonzwaphi, deity of healing, Zulu mythology

Armenian[]

  • Anahit, goddess of fertility and healing, wisdom and water in Armenian mythology.

Aztec[]

  • Ixtlilton, god of medicine.
  • Patecatl, god of Pulque and healing.

Celtic[]

  • Airmed, Irish goddess associated with healing and resurrection.
  • Alaunus, Gaulish god of the sun, healing and prophecy associated with Greek god Helios-Apollo
  • Atepomarus, Gaulish healing god associated with the Greek god Apollo
  • Borvo, Celto-Lusitanian healing god associated with bubbling spring water
  • Brigid, Irish goddess associated with healing
  • Dian Cecht, Irish god of healing
  • Glanis, Gaulish god associated with a healing spring at the town of Glanum
  • Grannus, Gaulish god associated with spas, healing thermal and mineral springs, and the sun and associated with Apollo
  • Hooded Spirits, hooded deities associated with health and fertility
  • Ianuaria, goddess associated with healing
  • Iovantucarus, Gaulish healer-god and protector of youth associated with Lenus Mars
  • Lenus, Gaulish healing god associated with the Greek god Ares
  • Maponos, god of youth, associated with the Greek god Apollo
  • Mullo, Gaulish deity associated with the Greek god Ares and said to heal afflictions of the eye
  • Nodens, Gallo-Roman and Roman British god associated with healing, the sea, hunting and dogs
  • Sirona, Gallo-Roman and Celto-Germanic goddess associated with healing

Chinese[]

  • Wu Ben (Baosheng Dadi, the King of Medicine)
  • Shennong, a mythical emperor who spread knowledge of herbs and medicine.
  • Taiyi Zhushen, God of Qi
  • Taokang Geyan, God of Essence
  • Zhang Guolao, one of the Eight Immortals, whose wine was considered to have healing properties
  • He Xiangu, one of the Eight Immortals, whose lotus flower improves one's mental and physical health
  • Li Tieguai, one of the Eight Immortals, who alleviates the suffering of the poor, sick and needy with special medicine from his gourd
  • Wong Tai Sin, a god with the power of healing
  • Jiutian Xuannü, goddess of war, sex, and longevity (long life), who is connected to calisthenics, diet, alchemy, neidan (inner alchemy), and physiology [1]

Egyptian[]

  • Sekhmet, goddess of healing and medicine of Upper Egypt
  • Heka, deification of magic, through which Egyptians believed they could gain protection, healing and support
  • Serket, goddess of healing stings and bites
  • Ta-Bitjet, a scorpion goddess whose blood is a panacea for all poisons
  • Isis, goddess of healing, magic, marriage and perfection

Etruscan[]

  • Fufluns, god of plant life, happiness and health and growth in all things
  • Menrva, goddess of war, art, wisdom and healthcare
  • Vejovis, god of healing

Greek[]

  • Apollo, god of plague, healing, medicine, and diseases
  • Asclepius, god of the medicinal arts
  • Artemis, goddess of young women and childbirth
  • Chiron, a centaur known for his knowledge and skill in medicinal arts
  • Eileithyia, goddess of childbirth
  • Epione, goddess of the soothing of pain
  • Aceso, goddess of curing sickness and healing wounds
  • Aegle, goddess of radiant good health
  • Hygieia, goddess of cleanliness and sanitation
  • Iaso, goddess of cures and remedies
  • Paean, physician of the gods, who was later syncretised with Apollo
  • Panacea, goddess of the cure by medicines and salves
  • Telesphorus, demi-god of convalescence

Hindu[]

Vaidyanatha - Shiva as healer of all

  • Ashvins, twin doctors of the gods and gods of Ayurvedic medicine
  • Dhanvantari, physician of the gods and god of Ayurvedic medicine
  • Dharti, or Earth is considered god of nature and well being of living creatures
  • Mariamman, goddess of disease and rain
  • Shitala Devi, goddess of smallpox and disease
  • Jvarasura, Demon of fever
  • Paranasabari, diseases

Hittite[]

  • Kamrusepa, goddess of healing, medicine, and magic
  • Shaushka, goddess of fertility, war, and healing

Inuit[]

  • Eeyeekalduk, god of medicine and good health
  • Pinga, goddess of the hunt, fertility and medicine

Japanese[]

  • Ashitekōjin, god of hands and feet
  • Sukunabhikona-no-Kami, god of medicine, as well as nation building, incantation, agriculture and hot springs

Maya[]

  • Ixchel, jaguar goddess of midwifery and medicine
  • Maximón, hero god of health

Mesopotamian[]

  • Anahita, Indo-Iranian goddess of fertility, healing and wisdom
  • Namtar, god of death and disease
  • Ninazu, god of the underworld and healing
  • Ningishzida, god of the underworld and patron of medicine
  • Nintinugga, goddess of healing
  • Ninurta, god of the South Wind and healing

Native American[]

  • Kumugwe, Nuxalk underwater god with the power to see into the future, heal the sick and injured, and bestow powers on those whom he favors
  • Angak, a Hopi kachina spirit, represents a healing and protective male figure.

Norse[]

  • Eir, goddess associated with medical skill

Persian[]

  • Haoma, god of health

Phoenician[]

  • Eshmun, god of healing

Roman[]

  • Angitia, snake goddess associated with magic and healing
  • Apollo, Greco-Roman god of light, music, healing, and the sun
  • Bona Dea, goddess of fertility, healing, virginity, and women
  • Cardea, goddess of health, thresholds and door hinges and handles
  • Carna, goddess who presided over the heart and other organs
  • Endovelicus, god of public health and safety
  • Febris, goddess who embodied and protected people from fever and malaria
  • Feronia, goddess of wildlife, fertility, health, and abundance
  • Valetudo, Roman name for the Greek goddess Hygieia, goddess of health, cleanliness, and hygiene
  • Verminus, god who protected cattle from disease

Sami[]

  • Beiwe, goddess of the sun, spring, fertility and sanity, who restored the mental health of those driven mad by the darkness of the winter

Slavic[]

  • Żywie, goddess of health and healing

Thracian[]

  • Derzelas, god of abundance and the underworld, health and human spirit's vitality

Yoruba and Afro-American[]

  • Aja, spirit of the forest, the animals within it and herbal healers
  • Babalu Aye, spirit of illness and disease
  • Erinle, spirit of abundance, the healer, and Physician to the Orisha
  • Loco, patron of healers and plants
  • Mami Wata, a pantheon of water deities associated with healing and fertility
  • Sopona, god of smallpox

References[]

  1. Cahill, Suzanne E. (18 July 2013). "Sublimation in Medieval China: The Case of the Mysterious Woman of the Nine Heavens". Journal of Chinese Religions 20 (1): 91–102. doi:10.1179/073776992805307692. 
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