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Thor by Abrar Ajmal

Þórr, the god of thunder in Norse mythology.

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.

List of thunder gods[]

Mediterranean[]

Northwestern Eurasia[]

East Asia[]

South Asia[]

Philippines[]

Template:Main article

  • Kidul (Kalinga mythology)[1]
  • Ovug (Ifugao mythology)[2]
  • Aninitud angachar (Ifugao mythology)[3]
  • Child of Kabunian (Ibaloi mythology)[4]
  • Kidu (Bugkalot mythology)[5]
  • Revenador (Ilocano mythology)[6]
  • Bathala (Tagalog mythology)[7]
  • Kidlat (Tagalog mythology)[8]
  • Gugurang (Bicolano mythology)[9]
  • Linti (Bicolano mythology)[10]
  • Dalodog (Bicolano mythology)[11]
  • Kaptan (Bisaya mythology)[12]
  • Linting Habughabug (Capiznon mythology)[13]
  • Ribung Linti (Suludnon mythology)[14]
  • Upu Kuyaw (Pala'wan mythology)[15]
  • God of Animals (Surigaonon mythology)[16]
  • Diwata Magbabaya/Bathala (Subanon mythology)[17]
  • Anit/Anitan (Manobo mythology)[18]
  • Spirit of Lightning and Thunder (Teduray mythology)[19]

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[]

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.[20][21] Indra was initially recorded in the Rigveda, the first of the religious scriptures that comprise the Vedas.[22] 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.[23] 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.[24]

  • 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

Gallery[]

Mediterranean[]

Northwestern Eurasia[]

East Asia[]

South Asia[]

Americas[]

Sub-Saharan Africa[]

See also[]

References[]

  1. Zaide, S. M. (1999). The Philippines: A Unique Nation. All-Nations Publishing.
  2. Beyer, H. O. (1913). Origin Myths Among the Mountain Peoples of the Philippines. Philippine Journal of Science, 85–117.
  3. Bimmolog, H., Sallong, L., Montemayor, L. (2005). The Deities of the Animistic Religion of Mayaoyao, Ifugao.
  4. Moss, C. R. (1924). Nabaloi Tales. University of California Publications in American Archaeology, 227–353.
  5. Wilson, L. L. (1947). Ilongot Life and Legends. Southeast Asia Institute.
  6. Alacacin, C. (1952). The Gods and Goddesses. Historical and Cultural Data of Provinces.
  7. Jocano, F. L. (1969). Philippine Mythology. Quezon City: Capitol Publishing House Inc.
  8. Romulo, L. (2019). Filipino Children's Favorite Stories. China: Tuttle Publishing, Periplus Editions (HK) Ltd.
  9. Vibal, H. (1923). Asuang Steals Fire from Gugurang. Ethnography of The Bikol People, ii.
  10. Vibal, H. (1923). Asuang Steals Fire from Gugurang. Ethnography of The Bikol People, ii.
  11. Vibal, H. (1923). Asuang Steals Fire from Gugurang. Ethnography of The Bikol People, ii.
  12. Hill, P. (1934). Philippine Short Stories. Manila: Oriental Commercial Company.
  13. Cruz-Lucero, R., Pototanon, R. M. (2018). Capiznon. With contributions by E. Arsenio Manuel. In Our Islands, Our People: The Histories and Cultures of the Filipino Nation, edited by Cruz-Lucero, R.
  14. Jocano, F. L. (1958). The Sulod: A Mountain People In Central Panay, Philippines. Ateneo de Manila University
  15. "Archived copy". http://nlpdl.nlp.gov.ph:81/CC01/NLP00VM052mcd/v1/v37.pdf. Retrieved March 28, 2019. 
  16. Esteban, R. C., Casanova, A. R., Esteban, I. C. (2011). Folktales of Southern Philippines. Anvil Publishing.
  17. Esteban, R. C., Casanova, A. R., Esteban, I. C. (2011). Folktales of Southern Philippines. Anvil Publishing.
  18. Jocano, F. L. (1969). Philippine Mythology. Quezon City: Capitol Publishing House Inc.
  19. Wood, G. L. (1957). Philippine Sociological Review Vol. 5, No. 2: The Tiruray. Philippine Sociological Society.
  20. Perry, Edward Delavan (1885). "Indra in the Rig-Veda". Journal of the American Oriental Society 11: 117–208. doi:10.2307/592191. JSTOR 592191. 
  21. Kaegi, Adolf (1886). The Rigveda: The Oldest Literature of the Indians. https://books.google.com/books?id=85WR0ae1WRQC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false: Boston: Ginn and Company. pp. 40. ISBN 978-1428626676. 
  22. Kaegi, Adolf (1886). The Rigveda: The Oldest Literature of the Indians. https://books.google.com/books?id=85WR0ae1WRQC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false: Boston: Ginn and Company. pp. 41. ISBN 978-1428626676. 
  23. Walter Burkert, Greek Religion, 1985. p. 198.
  24. Assmann, Jan (2001). Death and Salvation in Ancient Egypt. Cornell University Press. p. 392
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