The Norse night goddess Nótt riding her horse, in a 19th-century painting by Peter Nicolai Arbo
A night deity is a goddess or god in mythology associated with night, the night sky, or darkness. They commonly feature in polytheistic religions. The following is a list of night deities in various mythologies.
List of Night deities[]
Arabian[]
- Al-Qaum, Nabatean god of war and the night, and guardian of caravans
Aztec[]
- Lords of the Night, group of nine gods, each of whom ruled over a particular night
- Itzpapalotl, fearsome skeletal goddess of the stars
- Metztli, god or goddess of the moon, night and farmers
- Tezcatlipoca, god of the night sky, the night winds, hurricanes, the north, the earth, obsidian, enmity, discord, rulership, divination, temptation, jaguars, sorcery, beauty, war and strife
- Tzitzimimeh, skeletal goddesses of the stars
- Yohaulticetl, lunar goddess known as the "Lady of the Night"
Canaanite[]
- Shalim, god of dusk
- Araphel, the divine darkness
Egyptian[]
- Apep, the serpent god, deification of evil and darkness
- Kuk, uncreated god and the personification of the primordial darkness
- Khonsu, god of the moon
- Nut, goddess of night also associated with rebirth
Etruscan[]
- Artume (also called Aritimi, Artames, or Artumes), Etruscan goddess of night
Greek[]
- Achlys, primordial goddess of the clouding of eyes after death, the eternal night, and poison
- Artemis, goddess of the hunt who was commonly associated with the moon
- Asteria, goddess of nocturnal oracles and the stars
- Erebus, primordial god of darkness
- Hades, god of the underworld, whose domain included night and darkness.
- Hecate, goddess of witchcraft who was commonly associated with the moon
- Hypnos, god of sleep
- Nyx, primordial goddess of night
- Selene, goddess of the moon
- Thanatos, personification of death, twin brother of Hypnos and son of Nyx and Erebus
Hindu[]
- Ratri, goddess of night
- Chandra, god of the moon
- Rahu, celestial deity of darkness and eclipse
- Indra, god of the sky, ruler of all other sky gods
- Bhairava, god of night, guardian of all 52 shaktipeethas
- Kali, goddess of time
- Dewi Ratih, Balinese goddess of the moon
Iranic[]
- Ahriman, god of darkness, night and evils.
Lithuanian[]
- Aušrinė, goddess of the morning star
- Breksta, goddess of twilight and dreams, who protects people from sunset to sunrise
- Mėnuo, god of the moon
- Vakarinė, goddess of the evening star
- Žvaigždės, goddesses of the stars and planets
Māori[]
- Hine-nui-te-pō, goddess of night and death and the ruler of the underworld in Māori mythology
Norse[]
- Nótt, female personification of night
Polynesian[]
- Ira, sky goddess and mother of the stars
Roman[]
- Diana Trivia, goddess of the hunt, the moon, crossroads, equivalent to both Artemis and Hekate.
- Latona, a mother goddess of day and night, an equivalent to the goddesses Leto and Asteria.
- Luna, goddess of the moon, equivalent to Selene.
- Nox, primordial goddess of night; equivalent to the Greek goddess Nyx
- Scotus, primordial god of darkness; equivalent to the Greek god Erebus
- Summanus, god of nocturnal thunder
- Somnus, god of sleep, equivalent to Hypnos.
Slavic[]
- Zorya, two guardian goddesses, representing the morning and evening stars.