A solar deity is a deity who represents the

Sun The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...

, or an aspect of it, usually by its perceived power and strength. Solar deities and Sun worship can be found throughout most of

recorded history Recorded history or written history describes the historical events that have been recorded in a written form or other documented communication which are subsequently evaluated by historians using the historical method. For broader world his ...

in various forms. The following is a list of solar deities:

African

Anyanwu Anyanwu (''anyaanwū'', meaning "eye of the sun" in Igbo) is an Igbo solar deity and a surname given to people of the Igbo people of Nigeria. Anyanwu is also the name given to a major character in the Octavia E. Butler's '' Patternist seri ...

Igbo Igbo may refer to: * Igbo people, an ethnic group of Nigeria * Igbo language, their language * anything related to Igboland, a cultural region in Nigeria See also * Ibo (disambiguation) * Igbo mythology * Igbo music * Igbo art * * Igbo-Ukwu, a ...

god believed to dwell in the Sun *

Magec Magec ( Guanche Berber ''Ma-ɣeq'', "possesses radiance" or "mother of brightness" ), in Tenerife,Prehistoria de Canarias

Tenerife Tenerife (; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands. It is home to 43% of the total population of the archipelago. With a land area of and a population of 978,100 inhabitants as of Janu ...

goddess of the Sun and light *

Mawu Mawu-Lisa (alternately: Mahu) is a creator goddess, associated with the Sun and Moon in Dahomey mythology. In some myths, she is the wife of the male god Lisa. Mahu and Lisa are the children of Nana Buluku, and are the parents of Xevioso. Af ...

, Dahomey goddess associated with the Sun and the Moon *

uMvelinqangi UMvelinqangi is a Nguni word which translates to "the Most High" or "Divine Consciousness"; that is considered the source of all that has been, that is and all that ever will be. UMvelinqangi, contrary to widespread belief is not personified. Umv ...

Xhosa Xhosa may refer to: * Xhosa people, a nation, and ethnic group, who live in south-central and southeasterly region of South Africa * Xhosa language, one of the 11 official languages of South Africa, principally spoken by the Xhosa people See als ...

and

Zulu people Zulu people (; zu, amaZulu) are a Nguni ethnic group native to Southern Africa. The Zulu people are the largest ethnic group and nation in South Africa, with an estimated 10–12 million people, living mainly in the province of KwaZulu-Nata ...

's god of the Sun and sky * iNyanga,

, goddess of the Moon * Ukhulukhulwanaa star,

's ancestor who came from the stars. He taught them to build huts and taught them the high laws of isiNtu

Egyptian mythology Egyptian mythology is the collection of myths from ancient Egypt, which describe the actions of the Egyptian gods as a means of understanding the world around them. The beliefs that these myths express are an important part of ancient Egyp ...

* Amun, creator deity sometimes identified as a Sun god *

Aten Aten also Aton, Atonu, or Itn ( egy, jtn, ''reconstructed'' ) was the focus of Atenism, the religious system established in ancient Egypt by the Eighteenth Dynasty pharaoh Akhenaten. The Aten was the disc of the sun and originally an aspect o ...

, god of the Sun, the visible disc of the Sun *

Atum Atum (, Egyptian: ''jtm(w)'' or ''tm(w)'', ''reconstructed'' ; Coptic ''Atoum''), sometimes rendered as Atem or Tem, is an important deity in Egyptian mythology. Name Atum's name is thought to be derived from the verb ''tm'' which means 'to c ...

, the "finisher of the world" who represents the Sun as it sets * Bast, cat goddess associated with the Sun *

Hathor Hathor ( egy, ḥwt-ḥr, lit=House of Horus, grc, Ἁθώρ , cop, ϩⲁⲑⲱⲣ, Meroitic: ) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion who played a wide variety of roles. As a sky deity, she was the mother or consort of the sk ...

, mother of Horus and Ra and goddess of the Sun * Horus, god of the sky whose right eye was considered to be the Sun and his left the Moon * Khepri, god of the rising Sun, creation and renewal of life *

Ptah Ptah ( egy, ptḥ, reconstructed ; grc, Φθά; cop, ⲡⲧⲁϩ; Phoenician: 𐤐𐤕𐤇, romanized: ptḥ) is an ancient Egyptian deity, a creator god and patron deity of craftsmen and architects. In the triad of Memphis, he is the hu ...

, god of craftsmanship, the arts, and fertility, sometimes said to represent the Sun at night * Ra, god of the Sun *

Sekhmet In Egyptian mythology, Sekhmet ( or Sachmis (), also spelled Sakhmet, Sekhet, Sakhet among other spellings, cop, Ⲥⲁⲭⲙⲓ, Sakhmi), is a warrior goddess as well as goddess of healing. She is depicted as a lioness. Sekhmet is a solar de ...

, goddess of war and of the Sun, sometimes also plagues and creator of the desert *

Montu Montu was a falcon-god of war in ancient Egyptian religion, an embodiment of the conquering vitality of the pharaoh.Hart, George, ''A Dictionary of Egyptian Gods and Goddesses'', Routledge, 1986, . p. 126. He was particularly worshipped in Upp ...

, god of war and the scorching heat of the summer Sun *

Wadjet Wadjet (; egy, wꜢḏyt "Green One"), known to the Greek world as Uto (; grc-koi, Οὐτώ) or Buto (; ) among other renderings including Wedjat, Uadjet, and Udjo, was originally the ancient local goddess of the city of Dep. It became part ...

, snake goddess with associations to Ra and the sun disk

American

Aztec mythology Aztec mythology is the body or collection of myths of the Aztec civilization of Central Mexico. The Aztecs were Nahuatl-speaking groups living in central Mexico and much of their mythology is similar to that of other Mesoamerican cultures. Accord ...

* Huitzilopochtli, god of the Sun and war *

Nanahuatzin In Aztec mythology, the god Nanahuatzin or Nanahuatl (or Nanauatzin, the suffix -tzin implies respect or familiarity; nci-IPA, Nanāhuātzin, nanaːˈwaːtsin), the most humble of the gods, sacrificed himself in fire so that he would continue to ...

, god of the Sun * Teoyaomicqui, god of lost souls, the Sun, and the sixth hour of the day * Tonatiuh, god of the Sun and ruler of the heavens

Incan mythology Inca mythology or religion includes many stories and legends that attempt to explain or symbolize Inca beliefs. Basic beliefs Scholarly research demonstrates that Runa (Quechua speakers) belief systems were integrated with their view of the c ...

Inti INTI International University & Colleges are private university colleges located in Malaysia. The main campus was initially known as INTI University College until 31 May 2010 when the Higher Education Ministry announced its upgrade to universi ...

, god of the Sun and patron deity of the

Inca Empire The Inca Empire (also known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, ( Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts", "four parts together" ) was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The adm ...

* Ch'aska ("Venus") or Ch'aska Quyllur ("Venus star") was the goddess of dawn and twilight, and the planet Venus

Inuit mythology Inuit religion is the shared spiritual beliefs and practices of the Inuit, an Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous people from Alaska, northern Canada, parts of Siberia and Greenland. Their religion shares many similarities with some Al ...

* Akycha, Sun goddess worshiped in

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S. ...

* Malina, goddess of the Sun found most commonly in the legends of

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland i ...

Maya mythology Maya or Mayan mythology is part of Mesoamerican mythology and comprises all of the Maya tales in which personified forces of nature, deities, and the heroes interacting with these play the main roles. The myths of the era have to be reconstruct ...

Ah Kin Kinich Ahau (Kʼinich Ajaw) is the 16th-century Yucatec name of the Maya sun god, designated as God G when referring to the codices. In the Classic period, God G is depicted as a middle-aged man with an aquiline nose, large square eyes, cross-eyed ...

, god of the Sun, bringer of doubt, and protector against the evils associated with darkness *

Hunahpu The Maya Hero Twins are the central figures of a narrative included within the colonial Kʼicheʼ document called Popol Vuh, and constituting the oldest Maya myth to have been preserved in its entirety. Called Hunahpu and Xbalanque in the Kʼic ...

, one of the

Maya Hero Twins The Maya Hero Twins are the central figures of a narrative included within the colonial Kʼicheʼ document called Popol Vuh, and constituting the oldest Maya myth to have been preserved in its entirety. Called Hunahpu and Xbalanque in the Kʼi ...

; he transformed into the Sun while his brother transformed into the Moon *

Kinich Ahau Kinich Ahau (Kʼinich Ajaw) is the 16th-century Yucatec name of the Maya sun god, designated as God G when referring to the codices. In the Classic period, God G is depicted as a middle-aged man with an aquiline nose, large square eyes, cross-eye ...

, god of the Sun

Other Amerindian mythology

Guaraci Guaraci or Quaraci (from Tupi ''kûarasý'', "sun") in the Guaraní mythology is the god of the Sun, creator of all living creatures. See also * List of solar deities A solar deity is a deity who represents the Sun, or an aspect of it, usuall ...

, god of the Sun ( Guarani mythology) * Jóhonaaʼéí, the Navajo Sun god, known as The One Who Rules the Day * Kisosen, the

Abenaki The Abenaki ( Abenaki: ''Wαpánahki'') are an Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands of Canada and the United States. They are an Algonquian-speaking people and part of the Wabanaki Confederacy. The Eastern Abenaki language was pre ...

solar deity, an eagle whose wings opened to create the day and closed to cause the nighttime * Meri,

folk hero A folk hero or national hero is a type of hero – real, fictional or mythological – with their name, personality and deeds embedded in the popular consciousness of a people, mentioned frequently in folk songs, folk tales and other folklore; a ...

and god of the Sun among the

Bororo people The Bororo are indigenous people of Brazil, living in the state of Mato Grosso. They also extended into Bolivia and the Brazilian state of Goiás. The Western Bororo live around the Jauru and Cabaçal rivers. The Eastern Bororo ( Orarimogodoge) ...

* Napioa, the Blackfoot deity of the Sun *

Sué Sué, Xué, Sua, Zuhe or Suhé was the god of the Sun in the religion of the Muisca. He was married to Moon goddess Chía.Ocampo López, 2013, Ch.4, p.33 The Muisca and their confederation were one of the four advanced civilizations of the Ameri ...

, god of the Sun and husband of moon goddess Chía in

Muisca mythology Knowledge of Muisca mythology has come from Muisca scholars Javier Ocampo López, Pedro Simón, Lucas Fernández de Piedrahita, Juan de Castellanos and conquistador Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada who was the European making first contact with t ...

* Tawa, the Hopi creator and god of the Sun * Wi,

Lakota Lakota may refer to: * Lakota people, a confederation of seven related Native American tribes *Lakota language, the language of the Lakota peoples Place names In the United States: * Lakota, Iowa * Lakota, North Dakota, seat of Nelson County * La ...

god of the Sun

Asian

Ainu mythology The Ainu are the indigenous people of the lands surrounding the Sea of Okhotsk, including Hokkaido Island, Northeast Honshu Island, Sakhalin Island, the Kuril Islands, the Kamchatka Peninsula and Khabarovsk Krai, before the arrival of the Yam ...

Chup Kamui Tokapcup-kamuy (Ainu: , day-illuminating god) is the solar goddess of the Ainu people. Her husband is the moon god Kunnecup-kamuy. Kotan-kar-kamuy was given the task of illuminating the human world, as well raising the culture hero Aynurakkur. ...

, a lunar goddess who switched places with her brother to become goddess of the Sun

Arabian mythology Religion in pre-Islamic Arabia included indigenous Arabian polytheism, ancient Semitic religions, Christianity, Judaism, Mandaeism, and Iranian religions such as Zoroastrianism, and Manichaeism, and rarely Buddhism. Arabian polytheism, the ...

Malakbel Malakbel (Arabic: ملاك بعل) was a sun god worshiped in the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra, frequently associated and worshiped with the moon god Aglibol as a party of a trinity involving the sky god Baalshamin. Etymology Malakbel's na ...

, god of the Sun * Nuha, the Sun goddess of Qedar * Shams/Shamsun, a solar goddess exalted in

Himyar The Himyarite Kingdom ( ar, مملكة حِمْيَر, Mamlakat Ḥimyar, he, ממלכת חִמְיָר), or Himyar ( ar, حِمْيَر, ''Ḥimyar'', / 𐩹𐩧𐩺𐩵𐩬) (fl. 110 BCE–520s CE), historically referred to as the Homerite ...

and by the

Sabaeans The Sabaeans or Sabeans ( Sabaean:, ; ar, ٱلسَّبَئِيُّوْن, ''as-Sabaʾiyyūn''; he, סְבָאִים, Səḇāʾīm) were an ancient group of South Arabians. They spoke the Sabaean language, one of the Old South Arabian langu ...

Armenian mythology Armenian mythology originated in ancient Indo-European traditions, specifically Proto-Armenian, and gradually incorporated Hurro- Urartian, Mesopotamian, Iranian, and Greek beliefs and deities."Armenia (Vannic)" by A.H. Sayce, p.793-4; "Ar ...

* Ar, Arev, Areg, Aregak, Arpi, the Sun god with its people as "children of the Sun" *

Buddhist mythology

* Marici, goddess of the heavens, the Sun, and light * Surya, god of the Sun (Suriya Pariththa, Suthra Pitaka, Pali canon, Theravada Buddhism)

Chinese mythology Chinese mythology () is mythology that has been passed down in oral form or recorded in literature in the geographic area now known as Greater China. Chinese mythology includes many varied myths from regional and cultural traditions. Much of t ...

Doumu Dǒumǔ (), also known as Dǒumǔ Yuánjūn ( "Lady Mother of the Chariot"), Dòulǎo Yuánjūn ( "Lady Ancestress of the Chariot") and Tàiyī Yuánjūn ( "Lady of the Great One"), is a goddess in Chinese religion and Taoism. She is also named ...

, Sun goddess sometimes conflated with Marici. * Xihe, Sun goddess and mother of the ten suns * Yu Yi, god that carries the Sun across the sky * Xu Kai, god of the Sun star

Elamite

* Nahundi, god of the Sun and law

Filipino mythology Philippine mythology is the body of stories and epics originating from, and part of, the indigenous Philippine folk religions, which include various ethnic faiths distinct from one another. Philippine mythology is incorporated from various ...

*Init-init: the Itneg god of the Sun married to the mortal Aponibolinayen; during the day, he leaves his house to shine light on the world *Chal-chal: the Bontok god of the Sun whose son's head was cut off by Kabigat; aided the god Lumawig in finding a spouse *Mapatar: the

Ifugao Ifugao, officially the Province of Ifugao ( ilo, Probinsia ti Ifugao; tl, Lalawigan ng Ifugao), is a landlocked province of the Philippines in the Cordillera Administrative Region in Luzon. Its capital is Lagawe and it borders Benguet to the ...

sun deity of the sky in charge of daylight *Sun God: the Ibaloi deity who pushed up the skyworld and pushed down the underworld, creating earth, after he was hit by a man's arrow during the war between the peoples of the skyworld and the underworld *Elag: the Bugkalot deity of the Sun, worshiped with the moon and stars; has a magnificent house in the sky realm called Gacay; retreats to his home during nights; giver of light and growth *Apo Init: the Ilocano deity of the sun *Amman: the Ilocano god of the Sun, where the sun is his eye *Agueo: the morose and taciturn Pangasinense sun god who is obedient to his father, Ama; lives in a palace of light *Algao: the Aeta Sun god who battled the giant turtle Bacobaco *Mangetchay: also called Mangatia; the Kapampangan supreme deity who created life on earth in remembrance of his dead daughter; lives in the Sun; in other versions, she is the creator and net-weaver of the heavens *Aring Sinukûan: the Kapampangan Sun god of war and death, taught the early inhabitants the industry of metallurgy, wood cutting, rice culture and even waging war; lives in Mount Arayat, and later included a female form *Apolaki: the Tagalog god of sun and warriors; son of Anagolay and Dumakulem; sometimes referred as son of Bathala and brother of Mayari; ruler of the world during daytime *Quadruple Deities: the four childless naked Tau-buid Mangyan deities, composed of two gods who come from the Sun and two goddesses who come from the upper part of the river; summoned using the paragayan or diolang plates *Adlao: the Bicolano son of Dagat and Paros; joined Daga's rebellion and died; his body became the sun; in another myth, he was alive and during a battle, he cut one of Bulan's arm and hit Bulan's eyes, where the arm was flattened and became the earth, while Bulan's tears became the rivers and seas *Unnamed God: a Bicolano Sun god who fell in love with the mortal, Rosa; refused to light the world until his father consented to their marriage; he afterwards visited Rosa, but forgetting to remove his powers over fire, he accidentally burned Rosa's whole village until nothing but hot springs remained *Sanghid: the Waray giant who wove cloth on a gold loom with supernatural speed; has the power to move back the Sun *Liadlao: the gold-bodied Bisaya son of Lidagat and Lihangin; killed by Kaptan's rage during the great revolt; his body became the Sun *Adlaw: the Bisaya Sun deity worshiped by the good *Launsina: the Capiznon goddess of the Sun, Moon, stars, and seas, and the most beloved because people seek forgiveness from her *Magrakad: the Tagbanwa god found at exactly noontime on the other side of the Sun; gives the warmth which sustains life and, when the people are ill, carries away sickness *Tumangkuyun: wash and keep clean the trunks of the two sacred cardinal trees in Sidpan and Babatan by using the blood of those who have died in epidemics; the blood he uses causes the colors of the sunrise and sunset *Libtakan: the Manobo god of sunrise, sunset, and good weather *Unnamed Gods: the Bagobo gods whose fire create smoke that becomes the white clouds, while the Sun creates yellow clouds that make the colors of the rainbow *Kadaw La Sambad: one of the two T'boli supreme deities; married to Bulon La Mogoaw; lives in the seventh layer of the universe *Lageay Lengkuos: the greatest of Teduray heroes and a shaman (beliyan) who made the earth and forests; the only one who could pass the magnet stone in the straight between the big and little oceans; inverted the directions where east became west, inverted the path of the Sun, and made the water into land and land into water *Sun Deity: the divine Maranao being depicted in an anthropomorphic form as a flaming young man; angels serve as his charioteers

Gondi mythology

* Narayan-Pen, god of the sun.

Hinduism

WLANL - 23dingenvoormusea - Suryabeeldje

The manifestations of sun god in Hindu belief are: See also other Indian-origin religions, namely

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religions, Indian religion or Indian philosophy#Buddhist philosophy, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha. ...

and

Jainism Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle bein ...

. *

Adityas In Hinduism, Adityas ( sa, आदित्य, Āditya, of Aditi, ), refers to the offspring of Aditi, the goddess representing the infinity. The name ''Aditya'', in the singular, is taken to refer to the solar deity, sun god Surya. Generally, A ...

and

Aditi Aditi (Sanskrit: अदिति, lit. 'boundless' or 'limitless' or 'innocence') is an important Vedic goddess in Hinduism. She is the personification of the sprawling infinite and vast cosmos. She is the goddess of motherhood, conscio ...

* Aruna, charioteer of Surya, god of the morning Sun. *

Aryaman Aryaman () is one of the early Vedic Hindu deities. His name signifies "Life-Partner", "close friend", "Partner", "play-fellow" or "companion".Monier-Williams Sanskrit Dictionary He is the third son of Kashyapa and Aditi, the father and mothe ...

, god of the midday Sun * Bhaskar *

Mihir Mihir is a given name. Notable people with the given name include: *Mihir Bose, British Indian journalist and author *Mihir Das, Indian actor *Mihir Desai, Indian human rights lawyer *Mihir A. Desai, American economist * Mihir Diwakar (born 1982), ...

, meaning Sun. * Mitra, often associated with the Sun *

Savitr Savitṛ (Sanskrit: stem ', nominative singular '), also rendered as Savitur, in Vedic scriptures is an Aditya i.e. off-spring of the Vedic primeval mother goddess Aditi. His name in Vedic Sanskrit connotes "impeller, rouser, vivifier." ...

, god of the sun at sunrise and sunset * Surya, the Sun god, rides across the sky in a horse-drawn chariot à la Helios and Sol *

Tapati Tapati ( sa, तपती, tapatī) is a goddess in Hinduism. She is known also as the goddess of the river Tapati and mother-goddess of the South (home of the sun) where she brings heat to the earth. According to certain Hindu texts, Tapati wa ...

, Sun goddess.

Hittite mythology Hittite mythology and Hittite religion were the religious beliefs and practices of the Hittites, who created an empire centered in what is now Turkey from . Most of the narratives embodying Hittite mythology are lost, and the elements that wo ...

Istanu The Sun goddess of Arinna, also sometimes identified as Arinniti or as Wuru(n)šemu, is the chief goddess and companion of the weather god Tarḫunna in Hittite mythology. She protected the Hittite kingdom and was called the "Queen of all lands." ...

, goddess/god of the Sun and judgment * Sun goddess of Arinna * Sun god of Heaven, daylight god of judgement * Sun goddess of the Earth, infernal goddess of the underworld.

Japanese mythology

* Amaterasu, goddess of the Sun

Mesopotamian mythology Mesopotamian mythology refers to the myths, religious texts, and other literature that comes from the region of ancient Mesopotamia which is a historical region of Western Asia, situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system that occupies ...

* Shamash, Akkadian god of the Sun and justice *

Utu Utu (dUD "Sun"), also known under the Akkadian name Shamash, ''šmš'', syc, ܫܡܫܐ ''šemša'', he, שֶׁמֶשׁ ''šemeš'', ar, شمس ''šams'', Ashurian Aramaic: 𐣴𐣬𐣴 ''š'meš(ā)'' was the ancient Mesopotamian sun god. ...

, Sumerian god of the Sun and justice * Šerida, Sumerian goddess of light, married to the god of the Sun (Akkadian name Aya)

Meitei mythology Meitei mythology or Manipuri mythology ( mni, Meitei Mi Lai Tingi Wari) is a collection of myths, belonging to the religious and cultural traditions of the Meitei people, the predominant ethnic group of Manipur. It is associated with tradi ...

* Korouhanba *

Lainingthou Sanamahi Laininthou Sanamahee (Meetei: ꯂꯥꯏꯅꯤꯡꯊꯧ ꯁꯥꯅꯥꯃꯍꯤ) is the Supreme Guardian God of mankind and the supreme deity of the household in Meetei religion and mythology. He originated from the ancient kingdom of Kangleipak ...

Scythian religion The Scythian religion refers to the mythology, ritual practices and beliefs of the Scythian cultures, a collection of closely related ancient Iranian peoples who inhabited Central Asia and the Pontic–Caspian steppe in Eastern Europe throughout C ...

Tabiti The Scythian religion refers to the mythology, ritual practices and beliefs of the Scythian cultures, a collection of closely related ancient Iranian peoples who inhabited Central Asia and the Pontic–Caspian steppe in Eastern Europe throughout C ...

, ancient Iranian goddess possibly connected with the Sun.

Tocharian

* A "sun deity" (''kaum näkte''), possibly a goddess.

Turkic mythology Turkic mythology refers to myths and legends told by the Turkic people. It features Tengrist and Shamanist strata of belief along with many other social and cultural constructs related to the nomadic and warrior way of life of Turkic and Mongo ...

Gun Ana Gun Ana (Old Turkic: ''𐰚𐰇𐰤:𐰣𐰀'', Turkish: ''Gün Ana'', Azerbaijani : ''Gün Ana'', Kyrgyz: ''Күн Эне'', Kazakh: ''Күн Ана'', Hungarian: ''Nap Anya'', Sakha: ''Күн Ий̃э'', Balkar: ''Кюн Ана'', sometim ...

, common Turkic solar deity, seen as a goddess in the Kazakh and Kyrgyz traditions *

Koyash Koyash ( Orkhon: 𐰸𐰆𐰖𐰽𐰴) is the god of sun in Turkic mythology. Kök Tengri created the earth with rays of sun light, thus, Koyash took part in the creation of Earth. Solar rays are also considered to be "strings" between the Sun a ...

, god of the Sun

Persian mythology Persian mythology or Iranian mythology ( Persian:اساطیرشناسی ایرانی) is the body of the myths originally told by ancient Persians and other Iranian peoples, and a genre of Ancient Persian folklore. These stories concern the ori ...

Mithra Mithra ( ae, ''Miθra'', peo, 𐎷𐎰𐎼 ''Miça'') commonly known as Mehr, is the Iranian deity of covenant, light, oath, justice and the sun. In addition to being the divinity of contracts, Mithra is also a judicial figure, an all-seein ...

, often associated with the Sun. * Hvare-khshaeta, the Sun

yazata Yazata ( ae, 𐬫𐬀𐬰𐬀𐬙𐬀) is the Avestan word for a Zoroastrian concept with a wide range of meanings but generally signifying (or used as an epithet of) a divinity. The term literally means "worthy of worship or veneration",.. and i ...

Zunism

* The

Zunbil dynasty Zunbil, also written as Zhunbil, or Rutbils of Zabulistan, was a royal dynasty south of the Hindu Kush in present southern Afghanistan region. They ruled from circa 680 AD until the Saffarid conquest in 870 AD. The Zunbil dynasty was founded by R ...

and the subjects of

Zabulistan Zabulistan ( fa, زابلستان ''Zābulistān''/''Zābolistān''/''Zāwulistān'' or simply ''Zābul'', ps, زابل ''Zābəl''), was a historical region in southern Afghanistan roughly corresponding to the modern provinces of Zabul and ...

worshiped the Sun, which they called Zun. They believed that the Sun was the god of justice, the force of good in the world and, consequently, the being that drove out the darkness and allowed man to live another day.

Vietnamese mythology Vietnamese mythology ( vi, Thần thoại Việt Nam 神話越南) comprises national myths, legends or fairy tales from the Vietnamese people with aspects of folk religion in Vietnam. Vietnamese folklore and oral traditions may have also been infl ...

* Goddess Thần Mặt Trời, the embodiment of the sun, the daughter of Ông Trời

European

Baltic mythology Baltic mythology is the body of mythology of the Baltic people stemming from Baltic paganism and continuing after Christianization and into Baltic folklore. Baltic mythology ultimately stems from Proto-Indo-European mythology. The Baltic regio ...

Saulė Saulė ( lt, Saulė, lv, Saule) is a solar goddess, the common Baltic solar deity in the Lithuanian and Latvian mythologies. The noun ''Saulė''/''Saule'' in the Lithuanian and Latvian languages is also the conventional name for the Sun an ...

, goddess of the Sun

Basque mythology The mythology of the ancient Basques largely did not survive the arrival of Christianity in the Basque Country between the 4th and 12th century AD. Most of what is known about elements of this original belief system is based on the analysis of ...

Ekhi Eki (also Ekhi, Eguzki, Iuski, Iguzki, Iduzki or Eguzku) are the names of the Sun in the Basque language. Michel Duvert, Dictionnaire illustré de mythologie basque � Diccionario Ilustrado de Mitología Vasca y algunas de sus fuentes » Donost ...

, goddess of the Sun and protector of humanity

Celtic mythology

Áine Áine () is an Irish goddess of summer, wealth and sovereignty. She is associated with midsummer and the sun,MacKillop, James (1998) ''Dictionary of Celtic Mythology'' Oxford: Oxford University Press pp.10, 16, 128 and is sometimes represent ...

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

goddess of love, summer, wealth, and sovereignty, associated with the Sun and

midsummer Midsummer is a celebration of the season of summer usually held at a date around the summer solstice. It has pagan pre-Christian roots in Europe. The undivided Christian Church designated June 24 as the feast day of the early Christian martyr ...

* Alaunus,

Gaulish Gaulish was an ancient Celtic language spoken in parts of Continental Europe before and during the period of the Roman Empire. In the narrow sense, Gaulish was the language of the Celts of Gaul (now France, Luxembourg, Belgium, most of Switze ...

god of the Sun, healing, and prophecy *

Belenos Belenus (Gaulish: ''Belenos'', ''Belinos'') is an ancient Celtic healing god. The cult of Belenus stretched from the Italian Peninsula to the British Isles, with a main sanctuary located at Aquileia, on the Adriatic coast. Through ''interpretati ...

god of the Sun *

Brigid Brigid ( , ; meaning 'exalted one' from Old Irish),Campbell, MikBehind the Name.See also Xavier Delamarre, ''brigantion / brigant-'', in ''Dictionnaire de la langue gauloise'' (Éditions Errance, 2003) pp. 87–88: "Le nom de la sainte irlandais ...

, an Irish goddess sometimes described as having a solar nature *

Étaín Étaín or Édaín (Modern Irish spelling: Éadaoin) is a figure of Irish mythology, best known as the heroine of ''Tochmarc Étaíne'' (''The Wooing Of Étaín''), one of the oldest and richest stories of the Mythological Cycle. She also figu ...

, Irish Sun goddess *

Grannus Grannus (also ''Granus'', '' Mogounus,'' and ''Amarcolitanus'') was a Celtic deity of classical antiquity. He was regularly identified with Apollo as Apollo Grannus and frequently worshipped in conjunction with Sirona, and sometimes with Mars and ...

, god associated with spas, healing thermal and mineral springs, and the Sun *

Lugh Lugh or Lug (; ga, label= Modern Irish, Lú ) is a figure in Irish mythology. A member of the Tuatha Dé Danann, a group of supernatural beings, Lugh is portrayed as a warrior, a king, a master craftsman and a savior.Olmsted, Garrett. ''The Go ...

, Sun god as well as a writing and warrior god *

Macha Macha () was a sovereignty goddess of ancient Ireland associated with the province of Ulster, particularly the sites of Navan Fort (''Eamhain Mhacha'') and Armagh (''Ard Mhacha''), which are named after her.Koch, John T. ''Celtic Culture: A H ...

, "Sun of the womanfolk" and occasionally considered synonymous with

Grian Grian or ''Greaney'' is the name of a river, a lake, and region in the portion of the Sliabh Aughty mountains in County Clare. It formed part of the boundary of the kingdom of Síol Anmchadha. Áine#Related goddesses, Grian (literally, "Sun") is ...

Olwen In Welsh mythology, Olwen (or Olwyn) is the daughter of the giant Ysbaddaden and cousin of Goreu. She is the heroine of the story ''Culhwch and Olwen'' in the Mabinogion. Her father is fated to die if she ever marries, so when Culhwch (sometimes ...

, female figure often constructed as originally the Welsh Sun goddess *

Sulis In the localised Celtic polytheism practised in Great Britain, Sulis was a deity worshiped at the thermal spring of Bath (now in Somerset). She was worshiped by the Romano-British as Sulis Minerva, whose votive objects and inscribed lead tabl ...

, British goddess whose name is related to the common

Proto-Indo-European Proto-Indo-European (PIE) is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European language family. Its proposed features have been derived by linguistic reconstruction from documented Indo-European languages. No direct record of Proto-Indo- ...

word for "Sun" and thus cognate with Helios, Sól, Sol, and Surya and who retains solar imagery, as well as a domain over healing and thermal springs. Probably the de facto solar deity of the Celts.

Etruscan mythology Etruscan religion comprises a set of stories, beliefs, and religious practices of the Etruscan civilization, heavily influenced by the mythology of ancient Greece, and sharing similarities with concurrent Roman mythology and religion. As the Et ...

Usil Usil is the Etruscan religion, Etruscan solar deity, god of the sun. This name appears on the bronze liver of Piacenza, next to ''Tiur'', the moon. Another iconic depiction features Usil rising out of the sea, with a fireball in either outstretch ...

, Etruscan equivalent of Helios

Finnish mythology Finnish mythology is a commonly applied description of the folklore of Finnish paganism, of which a modern revival is practiced by a small percentage of the Finnish people. It has many features shared with Estonian and other Finnic mythologies, ...

* Päivätär, goddess of the Sun

Germanic mythology Germanic mythology consists of the body of myths native to the Germanic peoples, including Norse mythology, Anglo-Saxon mythology, and Continental Germanic mythology. It was a key element of Germanic paganism. Origins As the Germanic langu ...

* Sól/Sunna/Sunne, the common Sun goddess among the Germanic tribes, from Proto-Germanic Sōwilō; was chased across the sky in her horse-drawn chariot by a wolf

Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities ...

* Hyperion, titan god and personification of the Sun; father of Helios. * Helios, god and personification of the Sun who drove across the sky in a chariot. *

Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label= Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label ...

, god of the Sun and light, among others. His most common epithet was Phoebus (“Radiant”) *

Eos In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Eos (; Ionic and Homeric Greek ''Ēṓs'', Attic ''Héōs'', "dawn", or ; Aeolic ''Aúōs'', Doric ''Āṓs'') is the goddess and personification of the dawn, who rose each morning from her home at ...

, goddess and personification of the dawn *

Hemera In Greek mythology, Hemera (; grc, Ἡμέρα, Hēméra, Day ) was the personification of day. According to Hesiod, she was the daughter of Erebus (Darkness) and Nyx (Night), and the sister of Aether. Though separate entities in Hesiod's '' ...

, goddess of the day *

Electryone In Greek mythology, Electryone (Ancient Greek: Ἠλεκτρυώνην) or Alectrona (Doric form) was a daughter of Helios and Rhodos, and sister to the Heliadae. She died a virgin and was worshipped as a heroine on the island of Rhodes. She was ...

, goddess of the sunrise *

Zeus Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label= genitive Boeotian Aeolic and Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label= genitive el, Δίας, ''Días'' () is the sky and thunder god in ancient Greek reli ...

, sky god who has minor solar associations and functions

Hungarian mythology Hungarian mythology includes the myths, legends, folk tales, fairy tales and gods of the Hungarians, also known as the Magyarok. Sources of knowledge Much of Magyar mythology is believed to be lost. However, in the last hundred years scholars o ...

* Nap Király, the Hungarian god of sun. He's said to ride his silver fur horse everyday from east to west. *

Nap Anya A nap is a short period of sleep, typically taken during daytime hours as an adjunct to the usual nocturnal sleep period. Naps are most often taken as a response to Somnolence, drowsiness during waking hours. A nap is a form of Biphasic and po ...

, Goddess of the sun, partner of Nap király

Lusitanian mythology

Endovelicus Endovelicus ( Portuguese: ''Endouellicus'', ''Endovélico''; Spanish: ''Endovélico'', ''Enobólico'') is the best known of the pre-Roman Lusitanian and Celtiberian gods of the Iron Age. He was originally a chthonic god. He was the God/Lord of th ...

, god of health and safety, worshiped both as a solar deity and a chthonic one * Neto, claimed to be both a solar and war deity * A possible sun goddess, whose cult has become that of

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

Nossa Senhora de Antime.

Minoan mythology

* A solar goddess of some sort, possibly the

Snake Goddess A snake goddess is a goddess associated with a snake theme. Examples include: * Meretseger ("She Who Loves Silence"), Egyptian snake goddess * Minoan snake goddess figurines, a type of figurine in Minoan archaeology *Renenutet, Egyptian snake godde ...

Roman mythology Roman mythology is the body of myths of ancient Rome as represented in the literature and visual arts of the Romans. One of a wide variety of genres of Roman folklore, ''Roman mythology'' may also refer to the modern study of these representa ...

Aurora An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...

, goddess of dawn * Sol, god of the Sun, rides in a horse-drawn chariot

Sami mythology

Beiwe Beaivi, Beiwe, Bievve, Beivve or Biejje is the Sami Sun-deity; the name of the deity is the same as the name of the Sun. The Sami Sun-deity is usually depicted as female, but sometimes as male. In Sápmi, north of the Polar circle, where the ...

, goddess of the Sun, spring, fertility, and sanity

Slavic mythology Slavic mythology or Slavic religion is the religious beliefs, myths, and ritual practices of the Slavs before Christianisation, which occurred at various stages between the 8th and the 13th century. The South Slavs, who likely settled in the Balk ...

* Dažbog, god of the Sun *

Khors Khors, Хорсъ is a Slavic god of uncertain functions mentioned since the 12th century. Generally interpreted as a sun god, sometimes as a moon god. The meaning of the theonym is also unknown: most often his name has been combined with th ...

, god of the Sun

Other

Lucifer Lucifer is one of various figures in folklore associated with the planet Venus. The entity's name was subsequently absorbed into Christianity as a name for the devil. Modern scholarship generally translates the term in the relevant Bible passa ...

is referred to as the god of the Sun in Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches Chapter I

Oceanic

Australian Aboriginal mythology Australian Aboriginal religion and mythology is the sacred spirituality represented in the stories performed by Aboriginal Australians within each of the language groups across Australia in their ceremonies. Aboriginal spirituality includes ...

* Bila, cannibal sun goddess of the

Adnyamathanha The Adnyamathanha (Pronounced: ) are a contemporary Aboriginal Australian people of the northern Flinders Ranges, South Australia, formed as an aggregate of several distinct peoples. Strictly speaking the ethnonym Adnyamathanha was an alternativ ...

* Gnowee, solar goddess who searches daily for her lost son; the light of her torch is the Sun * Wala, solar goddess * Bazza, solar goddess whose torch is the Sun *

Yhi In Gamilaraay mythology), Yhi (sometimes also rendered Yarai/Yaay) is a female creator spirit and personification of the sun. She chases Bahloo (the moon) across the sky; supernovas are said to happen when she catches up to him. According to a c ...

, Karraur goddess of the sun, light and creation

Māori mythology

Tama-nui-te-rā In Māori mythology, Tama-nui-te-rā (Tamanuiterā) is the personification of the Sun. Etymology In the Māori language, ''Tama-nui-te-rā'' means "Great Son of the Sun". The Māori word for "sun" or "day" is ''rā'', deriving from Proto-Po ...

, personification of the Sun

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Solar Deities Lists of deities *