Ares, the Greek god of war
Mars, the Roman god of war
Sarutahiko.

A war god in mythology associated with war, combat, or bloodshed. They occur commonly in polytheistic religions.

Unlike most gods and goddesses in polytheistic religions, monotheistic deities have traditionally been portrayed in their mythologies as commanding war in order to spread religion. (The intimate connection between "holy war" and the "one true god" belief of monotheism has been noted by many scholars, including Jonathan Kirsch in his book God Against The Gods: The History of the War Between Monotheism and Polytheism and Joseph Campbell in The Masks of God, Vol. 3: Occidental Mythology.)[1][2]

The following is a list of war deities:

North Africa

Egyptian

  • Anat, also known as Anath was a goddess of fertility, sexuality, love, and war. She was the sister of Baal
  • Anhur, god of war, not a native god
  • Anuke, a goddess of war and consort of anhur
  • Apedemak, the lion god of war, he is sometimes shown with three heads
  • Bast, cat-headed goddess associated with war, protection of Lower Egypt and the pharaoh, the sun, perfumes, ointments, and embalming
  • Horus, god of the king, the sky, war, and protection
  • Maahes, lion-headed god of war
  • Menhit, goddess of war, "she who massacres"
  • Montu, falcon-headed god of war, valor, and the Sun
  • Neith, goddess of war, hunting, and wisdom
  • Pakhet, goddess of war
  • Satis, deification of the floods of the Nile River and an early war, hunting, and fertility goddess
  • Sekhmet, goddess of warfare, pestilence, and the desert
  • Set, god of the desert and storms, associated with war
  • Sobek, god of the Nile, the army, military, fertility, and crocodiles
  • Sopdu, god of the scorching heat of the summer sun, associated with war
  • Wepwawet, wolf-god of war and death who later became associated with Anubis and the afterlife

Berber

Sub-Sahara Africa

Nilo-Saharan

Nubian

Western African-Congo

Yoruba

Eastern African-Congo

Igbo

Ethiopian

Kenya

Kalenjin

  • Boryet, Kipsigis Death-wielding god of war. Boryet (also luket) is the act of war. Death (Me'et) is observed as a consequence of war. War is thus personified as such.

Ghanaian

Akan

  • Tano, God of War and Strife for the Akan, and additionally God of Thunder for the Northern Akan peoples, such as the Asante
  • Nkunim - The deity of victory in war, called upon by warriors for victory and protection in battle.
  • Sakumo - The deity of war and duels, guardian of the Ga tribe.

Europe

Balto-Slavic

Baltic

  • Kara Māte, Latvian goddess of war
  • Kauriraris, Lithuanian god of war and war steeds
  • Junda, Lithuanian goddess of war

Slavic

  • Jarovit, god of vegetation, fertility, and spring, also associated with war and harvest
  • Perun, god of thunder and lightning, associated with war
  • Svetovid, god of war, fertility, and abundance
  • Zorya Utrennyaya, goddess of the morning star, sometimes depicted as a warrior goddess who protected men in battle

Celtic

  • Agrona, reconstructed Proto-Celtic name for the river Aeron in Wales, and possibly the name of an associated war goddess
  • Alaisiagae, a pair of goddesses worshipped in Roman Britain, with parallel Celtic and Germanic titles
  • Andarta, Brittonic goddess theorized to be associated with victory, overcoming enemies, war
  • Andraste, Gaulish warrior goddess
  • Anann, Irish goddess of war, death, predicting death in battle, cattle, prosperity, and fertility
  • Atepomarus, god of horses, horsemen, and healing.
  • Badb, Irish goddess of war who took the form of a crow; member of the Morrígan
  • Bandua, Gallaecian God of War
  • Belatucadros, war god worshipped by soldiers and equated with the Roman war god Mars
  • Camulus, god of war of the Belgic Remi and British Trinovantes
  • Catubodua, Gaulish goddess assumed to be associated with victory
  • caturix, god of war
  • Cicolluis, Gaulish and Irish god associated with war
  • Cocidius, Romano-British god associated with war, hunting and forests
  • Macha, Irish goddess associated with war, horses, and sovereignty; member of the Morrígan
  • Mars Cnabetius, Gaelic god of war
  • The Morrígan, Irish triple goddess associated with sovereignty, prophecy, war, and death on the battlefield
  • Neit, Irish god of war, husband of Nemain of Badb
  • Nemain, Irish goddess of the frenzied havoc of war; member of the Morrígan
  • Rudianos, Gaulish god of war
  • Segomo, Gaulish god of war
  • Teutates, British and Gaulish god of war and the tribe

Lusitanian

  • Neto, god believed to be associated with war, death, and weaponry

Norse-Germanic

Idise by Emil Doepler.

Continental Germanic

  • Baduhenna, a western Frisii goddess of warfare
  • Idis (Germanic)/itis/ides, the West Germanic cognates of North Germanic dís, they are connected with battle magic and fettering enemy armies
  • Sandraudiga, goddess whose name may mean "she who dyes the sand red", suggesting she is a war deity or at least has a warrior aspect
  • Týr, god of war, single combat, law, justice, and the thing, who later lost much of his religious importance and mythical role to the god Wōden
  • Wōden, god associated with wisdom, poetry, war, victory, and death

Norse

  • Dís, a group of lesser goddesses who are sometimes connected with battle magic; valkyrie may be a kenning for them
  • Freyja, goddess associated with love, beauty, fertility, gold, seiðr, war, and death
  • Odin, god associated with wisdom, war, battle, and death
  • Týr, god associated with law, justice, victory, and heroic glory
  • Ullr, god associated with archery, skiing, bows, hunting, single combat, and glory
  • Valkyries, choosers of the slain and connected to Odin, ruler of Valhalla; they may be the same as the dís above

Graeco-Roman

Greek / Hellenic

  • Alala, spirit of the war cry
  • Alke, spirit of courage and battle-strength
  • Amphillogiai, goddesses of disputes
  • Androktasiai, spirits of battlefield slaughter
  • Ares, the main Greek god of war
  • Athena, goddess of wisdom, war strategy, and weaving
  • Aphrodite Areia, a goddess of war and beauty worshiped in Kythira and Sparta
  • Bia, spirit of force and compulsion
  • Castor and Pollux, twin brothers that were the gods of war, sailors, and the constellation Gemini.
  • Deimos, personification of terror
  • Enyalius, god of war; in early periods apparently an epithet of Ares, they were differentiated later
  • Enyo, goddess of war, sometimes appears to be identical to Eris
  • Eris, goddess of discord and strife
  • Hera, in the Illiad she has a martial character and fights (and wins) against Artemis; however, this warlike aspect of her appears nowhere else in the surviving corpus, suggesting it was dropped early on
  • Heracles Promachos
  • Homados, spirit of the din of battle
  • Hysminai, female spirits of fighting and combat
  • Ioke, spirit of onslaught, battle-tumult, and pursuit
  • Keres, female spirits of violent or cruel death, including death in battle, by accident, murder, or ravaging disease
  • Kratos, personification of strength and power
  • Kydoimos, spirit of the din of battle
  • Makhai, male spirits of fighting and combat
  • Nike, spirit of victory
  • Palioxis, spirit of backrush, flight, and retreat from battle
  • Pallas, Titan god of war-craft and of the springtime campaign season
  • Perses, the Titan of destruction
  • Phobos, spirit of panic, fear, flight, and battlefield rout
  • Phonoi, spirits of murder, killing, and slaughter
  • Polemos, spirit of war
  • Proioxis, spirit of onrush and battlefield pursuit
  • Zeus Stratios, Zeus had the epithet Stratios (Στράτιος), which means "of armies".[4]

Roman

Juno Sospita Statue holding a spear and shield.
  • Bellona, goddess of war
  • Hercules Invictus
  • Honos, god of chivalry, honor, and military justice
  • Juno, has a consistent martial character and the patron goddess of Rome, the mother of Mars and Bellona
  • Mars, god of war and agriculture, equivalent to Ares as far as being war gods; aside from this they have very little in common
  • Nerio, warrior goddess and personification of valor
  • Victoria, personification of victory, equivalent to the Greek goddess Nike
  • Virtus, god of bravery and military strength

Etruscan

  • Laran, god of war.
  • Menrva, goddess of war, art, wisdom, and health

Balkan

Uralic

Hungarian

  • Hadúr, god of war and the metalsmith of the gods

Asia

Turkic

Mongolian

East Asia

Chinese

Guan Yu, Chinese god of loyalty, righteousness, and valor.
  • Chiyou, god of war
  • Di Qing, Star of Military Fortune, God of Valor
  • Erlang Shen, a three-eyed warrior
  • Guan Yu, Han dynasty general. God of loyalty, righteousness, and valor.
  • Jinzha, marshal of the center altar
  • Jiutian Xuannü, goddess of war, sex, and longevity[5]
  • Li Jing, Guardian of Celestial Palace
  • Muzha, marshal of the center altar
  • Nezha
  • Wang Shan, Song dynasty general. Primordial Lord-General of Heaven. Guardian of Celestial Palace
  • Wen Qiong[6]
  • Yue Fei
  • Zhao Lang (Zhao Gongming), God of Military Fortune, Guardian of Celestial Palace, Protector of Households
  • Xue Rengui, Tang dynasty general.

Japanese

Korean

  • Choe Yeong, general of Goryeo period, god of shamans, protector of humanity.
  • Pagunseong, the star at the edge of the Big Dipper in Taoism, symbolizing swords.
  • Baekmashinjang, god of war who rides a white horse.
  • Dungapshinjang, god of war who has the ability of shapeshifting.
  • Byeorakshinjang, god of war who uses thunder and lightning, sometimes punishes the evil.
  • Damuncheonwang, Buddhist god of war.

Southeast Asia

Filipino

  • Chacha’: the Bontok god of warriors[7]
  • Hipag: the Ifugao spirits of war that give soldiers courage on the field of war but are ferocious and cannibalistic[8]
  • Apolaqui: the Pangasinense war god[9]
  • Aring Sinukûan: the Kapampangan solar deity governing war and death. He taught early humans metallurgy, woodcutting, rice cultivation, and warfare[10]
  • Apolake: the Tagalog god of the sun and warriors[11]
  • Sidapa: another Tagalog god of war, he specifically settles conflicts among mortals[12]
  • Doce Pares: From the Spanish "Twelve Pairs", they are a group of twelve young Tagalog men who went on a quest to retrieve the Golden Calf of Mount Banahaw, together with José Rizal as a culture hero. They are said to return as giants, bearing the Golden Calf, to aid mankind in war.[13]
  • Balangaw: a Hiligaynon and Bisaya god of the rainbow and war[14]
  • Inaginid: a Hiligaynon and Bisaya god of war.[14]
  • Makanduk: a Hiligaynon and Bisaya god of war.[14]
  • Lumalayag: the Tagbanwa spirits who challenge and fight the Salakap, spirits of plague and sickness.[15]
  • Talagbusao: the bloodthirsty Bukidnon god of war.[8]
  • Pamdiya: the Manobo gods who initiate and preside over war.[8]
  • Darago: the Bagobo god of warriors, whose consort is Mandarangan.[16]
  • Mandarangan: the Bagobo war deity married to Darago and resides at the top of Mount Apo. Human sacrifices made to him are rewarded with health, valour in war, and success in the pursuit of wealth.[16]

Vietnamese

Trần Hưng Đạo, Vietnamese god of exorcism and the god of war.
  • Cao Lỗ, god of military innovations
  • Độc Cước, the protector of coastal settlements. Legend has it that he split himself in two with his axe, each half guards coastal villages against sea ogres.
  • Đồng Cổ, the armored protector of the Lý dynasty.
  • Liễu Hạnh, goddess of earth, heaven and war.
  • Thánh Gióng, god of triumph over foreign invaders.
  • Trần Hưng Đạo, is the national hero of the Vietnamese people, after his death he was honored as the god of exorcism and the god of war.

South Asia

Hindu

Kartikeya, god of war by Surendra Nath Ganguly, 1913.

Manipuri

  • Marjing, god of war, polo, horse and sports.
  • Panthoibi, goddess of war, love, courage and longevity.

Tamil

  • Korravai, also spelled Kotravai, is the goddess of war and victory in the Tamil tradition. She is also the mother goddess and the goddess of fertility, agriculture, and hunters.

West Asia

Armenian

  • Anahit, goddess of healing, fertility, wisdom, and water; in early periods associated with war

Canaanite

  • Anat, goddess of war
  • Astarte, goddess of sex and war, western Semitic version of the Mesopotamian Ishtar and Inanna
  • Resheph, god of plague and war
  • Tanit, main Carthaginian goddess whose functions included war and the moon

Hebrew

Hittite

Hurrian

  • Aštabi, a war god of Eblaite origin
  • Ḫešui, a war god
  • Nupatik, a god assumed to have warlike character
  • Shaushka, goddess of love, war, and healing
  • Ugur, a war god of Mesopotamian origin

Mesopotamian

Nuristani

Oceania

Polynesia

Hawaiian

  • Kū, god of war and birds
  • Pele, goddess of fire, lightning, dance, volcanoes, and violence

Māori

Americas

North America

Great Plains

Pacific Northwest

Central American and the Caribbean

Aztec

  • Patterns of War
    • Huitzilopochtli, god of will, authority, war, conflict, light, victory, heroic deeds, and sun; patron of the polar south, often compels Tlaloc to bring about rain
    • Mixcoatl, god of battle, hunting, civilisation, and stars
    • Tlaloc, god of thunder, rain, fertility, child sacrifice, drought, and storms; sometimes associated with the south
    • Xipe-Totec patron of war, agriculture, vegetation, creation, fertility; patron of diseases, pubescent development, rebirth, hunting, trades, human sacrifice, chores, spring, and cardinal east
    • Tezcatlipoca, god of night, darkness, lunar light, creation, providence, power, disorder-disarray, destruction, beauty, tricks, merriment, uninhibited sexuality, deception, virility, mystery, polar north, and winter; also a chthonic deity
    • Xiuhtecuhtli, god of fire, old age, daytime, kingship, the hearth, warmth, chronicles of time, and renewal

Mayan

  • Tohil, god associated with fire, the sun, rain, mountains, and war
  • Buluc Chabtan, Mayan god of war, violence and gambling.
  • Cadmaela, Mayan goddess of war.

Voodoo

  • Ogoun, loa who presides over fire, iron, hunting, politics, and war

References

  1. ↑ Kirsch, J. (2004). God Against the Gods: The History of the War Between Monotheism and Polytheism. Viking Compass. ISBN 9780670032860. Retrieved 2015-06-22.
  2. ↑ Occidental Mythology (Masks of God): Joseph Campbell: 9780140194418: Amazon.com: Books. ISBN 014019441X.
  3. ↑ Morris, Arnold Hugh Martin Jones, John Robert: The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire p. 612
  4. ↑ pseudo-Aristotle, De mundo, Aristotelis Opera, Volume 3, Oxford, Bekker, 1837
  5. ↑ 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.
  6. ↑ http://etheses.lib.cuhk.edu.hk/pdf/004777762.pdf%5B%5D
  7. ↑ Cawed, C. (1972). The Culture of the Bontoc Igorot. Manila: MCS Enterprises .
  8. 1 2 3 Jocano, F. L. (1969). Philippine Mythology. Quezon City: Capitol Publishing House Inc.
  9. ↑ Aduerte, D. (2014). The Philippine Islands, 1493–1898: Volume XXXII, 1640. CreateSpace Independent Publishing.
  10. ↑ Nicdao, A. (1917). Pampangan Folklore. Manila.
  11. ↑ Calderon, S. G. (1947). Mga alamat ng Pilipinas. Manila : M. Colcol & Co.
  12. ↑ Demetrio, F. R., Cordero-Fernando, G., & Zialcita, F. N. (1991). The Soul Book. Quezon City: GCF Books.
  13. ↑ Mojares, R. B. (1974). Philippine Quarterly of Culture and Society Vol. 2, No. 3: The Myth of the Sleeping Hero: Three Philippine Cases. University of San Carlos Publications.
  14. 1 2 3 Loarca, Miguel de. (1582) 1903. Relation of the Filipinas Islands. In Blair and Robertson, The Philippine Islands 5.
  15. ↑ Fox, R. B. (1982). Religion and Society Among the Tagbanuas of Palawan Island, Philippines. Manila: National Museum.
  16. 1 2 Demetrio, F. R., Cordero-Fernando, G., & Zialcita, F. N. (1991). The Soul Book. Quezon City: GCF Books
  17. ↑ Hackett, Jo Ann (2001). "'There Was No King in Israel': The Era of the Judges". In Coogan, Michael David (ed.). The Oxford History of the Biblical World. Oxford University Press. pp. 158–59. ISBN 978-0-19-513937-2.
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