"Air spirit" redirects here. It is not to be confused with
Spirit Air.
"Spirit of the sky" and "Spirits of the sky" redirect here. For the 1969 psychedelic rock song, see
Spirit in the Sky. For the American alternative rock group, see
Spirits in the Sky.
The sky has important religious significance. Most polytheistic religions have a deity or deities whose portfolio includes or is even limited to the sky or the heavens. While there are often multiple sky deities, sometimes this position is reserved for a deity who is conceived as reigning over the others, or at least is one of the most powerful. When the main sky deity was seen as feminine, she often held the title of the "Queen of Heaven." Ancient sky goddesses who held the title "Queen of Heaven" included Isis, Astarte, Ishtar, and Inanna. (The title was later applied to the Virgin Mary, along with various other features and attributes of ancient pagan goddesses.)
Another common conception is that of a complementary polarity between Earth and sky that may be ascribed genders as a mated pair. In some religions this takes the form of a Sky father and an Earth mother, while in other religions the mated couple are a sky goddess and an earth god. (For example, Nut and Geb in ancient Egypt.) In still other religions, there is a main pair of deities who rule the sky as husband and wife (for example, Zeus and Hera in ancient Greece), while a different pair of deities (e.g., Hades and Persephone) rule the Earth and/or chthonic realms. Along similar lines, some scholars of religion hold that Jehovah or Yahweh, the monotheistic deity of the Jewish bible, originally had a wife who was most likely the sky goddess Asherah. (See The Hebrew Goddess.) In some contemporary religions, the divine pair of sky deities are known as the "Heavenly Father" and the "Heavenly Mother."
[edit] Africa
[edit] Egyptian mythology
- Amun, god of creation and the wind
- Anhur, originally a foreign war god who became associated with the air god, Shu
- Hathor, goddess connected with the sun and the waters in the sky on which the sun sailed
- Horus, god of the sun, sky, kings and war
- Mehet-Weret, goddess of the waters in the sky on which the sun sailed
- Nut, goddess of the sky
- Shu, god of the wind and air
[edit] Sub Saharan mythology
- Achamán, Guanche creator and sky god
- Achuhucanac, Guanche rain god, associated with the sky god Achamán
- Badessy, Vodou loa associated with the sky
- Denka, Dinka god of sky, rain and fertility
- Khonvoum, supreme creator god and sky father of Mbuti Pygmies
- Mulungu, Nyamwezi creator and sky god
- Numakulla, a pair of creator and sky gods
- Olorun, supreme deity, god of the sky, and heaven
- Shango, Yoruba sky father and thunder god
- Umvelinqangi, Zulu sky god
- Utixo, Khoikhoi sky god
- Xamaba, creator and sky god of the Heikum of South Africa
[edit] Ancient Near East
[edit] Ancient Semitic religion
[edit] Hurrian mythology
- Hepit, goddess of the sky
- Teshub, god of the sky and storms
[edit] Mesopotamian mythology
- An, goddess of the sky
- Anshar, god of the sky
- Anu, king of the gods, associated with the sky, heaven and constellations
- Beelshamen, god of the sky
- Enlil, god of breath, wind, loft, and breadth
[edit] Armenian mythology
[edit] Europe
[edit] Basque mythology
[edit] Celtic mythology
- Latobius, sky and mountain god equated with the Greek gods Zeus and Ares
- Taranis, sky and thunder god, equated and syncretized with Jupiter
[edit] Etruscan mythology
- Ani, god of the sky
- Tinia, god of the sky
[edit] Finnish mythology
- Ilmatar, virgin spirit of the air
- Jumala, god of the sky
- Perkele, supreme sky and thunder god
- Ukko, god of sky, weather, crops (harvest) and other natural things
[edit] Greek mythology
- Aether, primeval god of the upper air
- Chaos, the nothingness from which all else sprang, she also represented the lower atmosphere which surrounded the earth
- Hera, queen of heaven and goddess of marriage, women, childbirth, heirs, kings, empires, air and the sky
- Iris, goddess of the rainbow and divine messenger
- Nephelai, cloud nymphs
- Theia, goddess of sight and the shining light of the clear blue sky
- Uranus, primeval god of the sky
- Zeus, king of the gods, the ruler of Mount Olympus and the god of the sky, weather, thunder, law, order and fate
[edit] Roman mythology
- Caelus, personification of the sky, equivalent to the Greek Ouranos
- Jupiter, king of heaven and god of the sky and weather, equivalent to the Greek Zeus
[edit] Sami mythology
- Horagalles, god of the sky, thunder and lightning, the rainbow, weather, oceans, lakes, human life, health and wellbeing
- Mano, goddess of the moon
[edit] Slavic mythology
- Stribog, god of the winds, sky and air
- Triglav, a triple god whose three heads represent sky, earth and underworld
[edit] Thracian mythology
[edit] South Asia
[edit] East and Southeast Asia
[edit] Chinese mythology
[edit] Japanese mythology
- Izanagi, Creator of the world and sky father
- Marici, goddess of the heavens
[edit] Māori mythology
- Ao, god of light and the sky
- Rangi, sky father
- Tane-rore, personification of shimmering air
- Tāwhirimātea, god of weather, including thunder and lightning, wind, clouds and storms
- Uenuku, god of rainbows
[edit] Thai and Lao Mythology
[edit] Central Asia
[edit] Turkic mythology
[edit] Udmurt mythology
- Inmar, god of the heavans
[edit] Americas
[edit] Arctic
[edit] Aztec mythology
- Citlalincue, goddess of the Milky Way
- Cipactonal, god of the daytime
- Oxomoco, goddess of nightime
- Centzonmimixcoa, 400 gods of the northern stars
- Centzonhuitznahua, 400 gods of the southern stars
- Coyolxauhqui, goddess of moon
- Meztli, goddess of moon
- Tonatiuh, god of sun
- Tianquiztli, star goddesses (see the pleyads)
- Citlaltonac, god of male stars
- Citlalmina, goddess of female stars
- Citlaxonecuilli, goddess of the Ursa Major
[edit] Inca Mythology
[edit] Maya mythology
[edit] Native American mythology
[edit] Australia and Oceania
[edit] Australia
[edit] Oceania mythology
[edit] See also
