List of Solar Deities

A solar deity is a god or goddess in mythology who represents the Sun, 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 in various forms. The following is a list of solar deities:

• African mythology

  • Anyanwu, Igbo god believed to dwell in the sun
  • Magec, Tenerife god of the sun and light
  • Mawu, Dahomey goddess associated with the sun and the moon
  • Ngai, Kamba, Kikuyu and Maasai god of the sun

• Australian Aboriginal mythology

  • Gnowee, solar goddess who searches daily for her lost son; the light of her torch is the sun
  • Wala, solar goddess
  • Wuriupranili, solar goddess whose torch is the sun
  • Yhi, Karraur goddess of the sun, light and creation

• Ainu mythology

  • Chup Kamui, a lunar goddess who switched places with her brother to become goddess of the sun

• Arabian mythology

  • Malakbel, god of the sun

• Aztec mythology

  • Huitzilopochtli, god of the sun and war
  • Nanauatzin, 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
  • Xiuhtecuhtli, god of fire, day and heat

• Baltic mythology

  • Saulė, goddess of the sun and fertility

• Basque mythology

  • Ekhi, goddess of the sun and protector of humanity

• Brazilian mythology

  • Meri, folk hero and god of the sun

• Buddhism

  • Marici, goddess of the heavens, sun and light

• Canaanite mythology

  • Shapash, goddess of the sun

• Celtic mythology

  • Áine, Irish goddess of love, summer, wealth and sovereignty, associated with the sun and midsummer
  • Alaunus, Gaulish god of the sun, healing and prophecy
  • Belenos, Gaulish god of the sun
  • Étaín, Irish sun goddess
  • Grannus, god associated with spas, healing thermal and mineral springs, and the sun
  • Lugh, Irish deity sometimes regarded as a sun god
  • Mug Ruith, Irish deity sometimes regarded as a sun or storm god

• Chinese mythology

  • Xihe, sun goddess and mother of the ten suns

• Egyptian mythology

  • Bast, cat goddess associated with the sun
  • Horus, god of the sky whose right eye was considered to be the sun and his left the moon
  • Amun, creator deity sometimes identified as a sun god
  • Atum, the "finisher of the world" who represents the sun as it sets
  • Aten, god of the sun
  • Khepri, god of rebirth and the sunrise
  • Nefertem, god of healing and beauty, who represents the first sunlight
  • Ra, god of the sun
  • Sekhmet, goddess of war and of the sun, and sometimes plagues and creator of the desert
  • Sopdu, god of war and the scorching heat of the summer sun
  • Ptah, god creation, the arts and fertility, sometimes said to represent the sun at night
  • Khnum, god of sunset

• Etruscan mythology

  • Albina, goddess of the dawn and protector of ill-fated lovers
  • Thesan, goddess of the dawn, associated with new life
  • Usil, etruscan equivalent of Helios

• Germanic mythology

  • Sól (Sunna)

• Greek mythology

  • Apollo, Olympian god of light, the sun, prophecy, healing, plague, archery, music and poetry
  • Helios, Titan god of the sun
  • Hyperion, Titan god of light
  • Alectrona, goddess of the sun, morning and waking up
  • Eos, Titan goddess of the dawn

• Hinduism

  • Agni, god of fire, associated with the sun
  • Aryaman, god of the sun
  • Mitra, god of honesty, friendship, contracts, meetings and the morning sun
  • Ravi, god of the sun
  • Saranyu, goddess of the dawn and clouds
  • Savitr, god of the sun at sunrise and sunset
  • Surya, god of the sun

• Hittite mythology

  • Arinna, goddess of the sun
  • Istanu, god of the sun and judgment

• Incan mythology

  • Inti, god of the sun and patron deity of the Inca Empire

• Inuit mythology

  • Akycha, solar deity worshipped in Alaska
  • Malina, goddess of the sun found most commonly in the legends of Greenland

• Japanese mythology

  • Amaterasu, goddess of the sun

• Lusitanian mythology

  • Endovelicus, god of health and safety. Worshipped both as a solar deity and a chthonic one.
  • Neto, claimed to be both a solar and war deity.

• Māori mythology

  • Ao, personification of daylight
  • Tama-nui-te-rā, personification of the sun

• Maya mythology

  • Ah Kin, god of the sun, bringer of doubt and protector against the evils associated with darkness
  • Kinich Ahau, god of the sun
  • Hunahpu, one of the Maya Hero Twins; he transformed into the sun while his brother transformed into the moon
  • Tohil, god associated with thunder, lightning and sunrise

• Mesopotamian mythology

  • Shamash, Akkadian god of the sun and justice
  • Utu, Sumerian god of the sun and justice

• Native American mythology

  • Wi, Lakota god of the sun

• Norse mythology

  • Baldr, god associated with light, beauty, love and happiness
  • Dagr, personification of the daytime
  • Freyr, god of fertility, sexuality, peace and sunlight

• Persian mythology

  • Nahundi, god of the sun and law

• Polynesian mythology

  • Atanua, Marquesan goddess of the dawn
  • Atarapa, goddess of the dawn

• Sami mythology

  • Beiwe, goddess of the sun, spring, fertility and sanity

• Slavic mythology

  • Belobog, reconstructed deity of light and the sun who may or may not have been worshipped by pagan Slavs
  • Dažbog, god of the sun
  • Hors, god of the sun
  • Radegast, god of hospitality, fertility and crops, associated with war and the sun, who may or may not have been worshipped by pagan Slavs
  • Zorya, two daughters of Dažbog
    • Zorya Utrennyaya, the morning star, who openes the palace gates each dawn for the sun-chariot's departure
    • Zorya Vechernyaya, the evening star, who closes the palace gates each night after the sun-chariot's

• Turkic mythology

  • Koyash, god of the sun