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index Index (or its plural form indices) may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities * Index (''A Certain Magical Index''), a character in the light novel series ''A Certain Magical Index'' * The Index, an item on a Halo megastru ...
to
deities A deity or god is a supernatural being who is considered divine or sacred. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines deity as a god or goddess, or anything revered as divine. C. Scott Littleton defines a deity as "a being with powers greate ...
of the different religions, cultures and mythologies of the world, listed by type of deity.


Motif-index

A basic classification of the types of gods as based on the ''
Motif-Index of Folk-Literature The ''Motif-Index of Folk-Literature'' is a six volume catalogue of motifs, granular elements of folklore, composed by American folklorist Stith Thompson (1932–1936, revised and expanded 1955–1958). Often referred to as Thompson's motif-index ...
, by
Stith Thompson Stith Thompson (March 7, 1885 – January 10, 1976) was an American folklorist: he has been described as "America's most important folklorist". He is the "Thompson" of the Aarne–Thompson–Uther Index, which indexes folktales by type, and the ...
:'' *A0 Creator (not a god) *A100—A199. The gods in general **A101.
Supreme God In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...
**A104. The Making of the Gods **A107. Gods of Darkness and Light (darkness thought of as evil and light as good). **A109.1.
Triple deity A triple deity is a deity with three apparent forms that function as a singular whole. Such deities may sometimes be referred to as threefold, tripled, triplicate, tripartite, triune, triadic, or as a trinity. The number three has a long history ...
**A116. Triplet gods **A111.1. Mother of the gods **A111.2. Father of the Gods **A117.5. Gods as spirits of the deified dead **A131. Gods with animal features ***A132.3. Equine god / goddess ***A132.5. Bear god / goddess ***A132.9. Cattle god /
goddess A goddess is a female deity. In many known cultures, goddesses are often linked with literal or metaphorical pregnancy or imagined feminine roles associated with how women and girls are perceived or expected to behave. This includes themes of s ...
**A161.2. King of the Gods **A177.1. Gods as Dupe or
Trickster In mythology and the study of folklore and religion, a trickster is a character in a story (god, goddess, spirit, human or anthropomorphisation) who exhibits a great degree of intellect or secret knowledge and uses it to play tricks or otherwi ...
s **A192.
Death or departure of the gods A dying god, or departure of the gods, is a motif in mythology in which one or more gods (of a pantheon) die, are destroyed, or depart permanently from their place on Earth to elsewhere. Frequently cited examples of dying gods are Baldr in Norse ...
**A193. Gods of Dying-and-rising *A200—A299. Gods of the Upper World **A210. Gods of the Sky **A220. Gods of the Sun **A240. Gods of the Moon **A250. Gods of the Stars **A260. Gods of Light **A270. Gods of the Dawn **A280. Gods of the Weather ***A281. Gods of Storms ***A282. Gods of the Wind ***A284. Gods of Thunder ***A287. Gods of Rain *A300—A399. Gods of the
Underworld The underworld, also known as the netherworld or hell, is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underworld. ...
**A310. God of the World of the Dead **A311.
Conductor of the Dead Psychopomps (from the Greek word , , literally meaning the 'guide of souls') are supernatural creatures, spirits, entities, angels, demons or deities in many religions whose responsibility is to escort newly deceased souls from Earth to the afte ...
*A400—A499. Gods of the Earth ''( The Human Sphere)'' **A400.
Gods of the Earth ''Gods of the Earth'' is the second studio album by American doom metal band The Sword, released in Europe on March 31, 2008, and in the United States on April 1. It gave the band their first experience of commercial success when it peaked at #10 ...
**A401. Mother Earth **A405. Gods of Nature **A410. Local Gods **A411. Gods of the Hearth and Household **A415. Gods of Clans or Nations **A420.
Gods of Water A water deity is a deity in mythology associated with water or various bodies of water. Water deities are common in mythology and were usually more important among civilizations in which the sea or ocean, or a great river was more important. Anoth ...
**A430. Gods of Vegetation **A431. Gods of Fertility **A435. Gods of Trees and Forests **A440. Gods of Animals **A450. Gods of Trades and Professions ***A451. Artisan Gods ***A452. Gods of Hunting ***A454. Gods of Healing **A460. Gods of Abstractions (also Z110. Abstractions personified) ***A461. Gods of Wisdom ***A463. Gods of Fate ****A463.1.
the Fates The Fates are a common motif in European polytheism, most frequently represented as a trio of goddesses. The Fates shape the destiny of each human, often expressed in textile metaphors such as spinning fibers into yarn, or weaving threads on ...
, (goddesses who preside over the fates of men) ***A464. Gods of Justice ***A465. Gods of the Arts ***A472. Gods of Sleep ***A473. Gods of Wealth ***A475. Gods of Love and Lust ***A484. Gods of Oaths ***A485. Gods of War ***A486.
the Furies The Erinyes ( ; sing. Erinys ; grc, Ἐρινύες, pl. of ), also known as the Furies, and the Eumenides, were female chthonic deities of vengeance in ancient Greek religion and mythology. A formulaic oath in the ''Iliad'' invokes ...
, (goddesses of vengeance) ***A487. Gods of Death **A490. Miscellaneous Gods of the Earth ***A491. God of Travellers ***A493. Gods of Fire *A500—A599.
Demigod A demigod or demigoddess is a part-human and part-divine offspring of a deity and a human, or a human or non-human creature that is accorded divine status after death, or someone who has attained the "divine spark" ( spiritual enlightenment). A ...
s and
Culture Hero A culture hero is a mythological hero specific to some group ( cultural, ethnic, religious, etc.) who changes the world through invention or discovery. Although many culture heroes help with the creation of the world, most culture heroes are imp ...
es **A502. Heroes or demigods as fourth race of men. **A510. Origin of the culture hero (demigod). **A515.1.1. Twin culture heroes. **A521. Culture hero as dupe or
trickster In mythology and the study of folklore and religion, a trickster is a character in a story (god, goddess, spirit, human or anthropomorphisation) who exhibits a great degree of intellect or secret knowledge and uses it to play tricks or otherwi ...
. **A531. Culture hero (demigod) overcomes monsters.


Other deities by association

* Gods of Chaos * Gods of Doorways and Thresholds * Gods of the Night *
Queen of Heaven Queen of Heaven ( la, Regina Caeli) is a title given to the Virgin Mary, by Christians mainly of the Catholic Church and, to a lesser extent, in Anglicanism, Lutheranism, and Eastern Orthodoxy. The Catholic teaching on this subject is expresse ...
* Gods of Smithing * Gods of wine and beer * Gods of poppy


Other classifications

*
Apotheosis Apotheosis (, ), also called divinization or deification (), is the glorification of a subject to divine levels and, commonly, the treatment of a human being, any other living thing, or an abstract idea in the likeness of a deity. The term has ...
* Deified heroes *
Divine Council A Divine Council is an assembly of deities over which a higher-level god presides. Historical setting The concept of a divine assembly (or council) is attested in the archaic Sumerian, Akkadian, Old Babylonian, Ancient Egyptian, Babylon ...
*
God In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...
/
Goddess A goddess is a female deity. In many known cultures, goddesses are often linked with literal or metaphorical pregnancy or imagined feminine roles associated with how women and girls are perceived or expected to behave. This includes themes of s ...
*
Horned deity Deities depicted with horns or antlers are found in many religions across the world. In religions that venerate animal deities, horned bulls, goats, and rams may be worshiped as deities or serve as the inspiration for a deity's appearance. Many ...
*
Imperial Cult An imperial cult is a form of state religion in which an emperor or a dynasty of emperors (or rulers of another title) are worshipped as demigods or deities. "Cult" here is used to mean "worship", not in the modern pejorative sense. The cult may ...
*
Incarnation Incarnation literally means ''embodied in flesh'' or ''taking on flesh''. It refers to the conception and the embodiment of a deity or spirit in some earthly form or the appearance of a god as a human. If capitalized, it is the union of divinit ...
* Master of Animals / Potnia Theron * Mother Nature *
Sacred king In many historical societies, the position of kingship carries a sacral meaning; that is, it is identical with that of a high priest The term "high priest" usually refers either to an individual who holds the office of ruler-priest, or to one ...


Related concepts

*
Legendary creature A legendary creature (also mythical or mythological creature) is a type of fictional entity, typically a hybrid, that has not been proven and that is described in folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses ...
**
Hybrid Hybrid may refer to: Science * Hybrid (biology), an offspring resulting from cross-breeding ** Hybrid grape, grape varieties produced by cross-breeding two ''Vitis'' species ** Hybridity, the property of a hybrid plant which is a union of two dif ...
*** Human hybrid *
Liminal being Liminal beings are those that cannot easily be placed into a single category of existence. Associated with the threshold state of liminality, from Latin ''līmen'', "threshold", they represent and highlight the semi-autonomous boundaries of the so ...
*
Pantheon Pantheon may refer to: * Pantheon (religion), a set of gods belonging to a particular religion or tradition, and a temple or sacred building Arts and entertainment Comics *Pantheon (Marvel Comics), a fictional organization * ''Pantheon'' (Lone S ...
*
Spirit Spirit or spirits may refer to: Liquor and other volatile liquids * Spirits, a.k.a. liquor, distilled alcoholic drinks * Spirit or tincture, an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in ethanol * Volatile (especially flammable) liquids, ...
**
Angel In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles include ...
**
Demon A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in religion, occultism, literature, fiction, mythology, and folklore; as well as in media such as comics, video games, movies, ani ...
/
Devil A devil is the personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conceptions of t ...
***
Demonology Demonology is the study of demons within religious belief and myth. Depending on context, it can refer to studies within theology, religious doctrine, or pseudoscience. In many faiths, it concerns the study of a hierarchy of demons. Demons may b ...
/
Archdemon In some occult and similar writings, an archdemon (also spelled archdaemon) is a spiritual entity, prominent in the infernal hierarchy as a leader of demons. Essentially, the archdemons are the evil opponents of the archangels. Christian tradit ...
**
Fairy A fairy (also fay, fae, fey, fair folk, or faerie) is a type of mythical being or legendary creature found in the folklore of multiple European cultures (including Celtic, Slavic, Germanic, English, and French folklore), a form of spirit, ...
** Geist **
Ghost A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to rea ...
**
Holy Spirit In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is the divine force, quality, and influence of God over the Universe or over his creatures. In Nicene Christianity, the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost is the third person of the Trinity. In Islam, the Holy Spirit acts as ...
**
Soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...
** Water spirit


Lists

*
Demigods A demigod or demigoddess is a part-human and part-divine offspring of a deity and a human, or a human or non-human creature that is accorded divine status after death, or someone who has attained the "divine spark" ( spiritual enlightenment). ...
*
Ghosts A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to rea ...
*
Goddesses A goddess is a female deity. In many known cultures, goddesses are often linked with literal or metaphorical pregnancy or imagined feminine roles associated with how women and girls are perceived or expected to behave. This includes themes of s ...
* Pantheons * Theological demons **
Ars Goetia ''The Lesser Key of Solomon'', also known as ''Lemegeton Clavicula Salomonis'' or simply ''Lemegeton'', is an anonymous grimoire on demonology. It was compiled in the mid-17th century, mostly from materials a couple of centuries older.''Lemegeto ...
**
Sigils A sigil () is a type of symbol used in magic. The term has usually referred to a pictorial signature of a deity or spirit. In modern usage, especially in the context of chaos magic, sigil refers to a symbolic representation of the practitione ...


See also

*
Religious cosmology Religious cosmology is an explanation of the origin, evolution, and eventual fate of the universe from a religious perspective. This may include beliefs on origin in the form of a creation myth, subsequent evolution, current organizational form ...


References

{{List of mythological figures by region
Classification Classification is a process related to categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated and understood. Classification is the grouping of related facts into classes. It may also refer to: Business, organizat ...