List of war deities

Kartikeya, the Hindu god of war

Mars, the Roman god of war

A war deity is a god or goddess in mythology associated with war, combat, or bloodshed. They occur commonly in both monotheistic and 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 their 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 partial list of war deities.

African mythology

• Agurzil, Berber god of war
• Apedemak, Nubian lion-headed warrior god
• Kokou, powerful Yoruba warrior god
• Maher, Ethiopian god of war
• Ogoun, Yoruba deity who presides over fire, iron, hunting, politics, and war
• Oya, Yoruba warrior-goddess of the Niger River

Armenian mythology

• Anahit, goddess of fertility, birth, beauty, and water; in early periods associated with war

Aztec mythology

• Patterns of War
  • Mixcoatl, god of war and hunting.
  • Xipe-Totec, god of force, patron of war, agriculture, vegetation, diseases, seasons, rebirth, hunting, trades, and Spring, the lord of the East.
  • Tlaloc, god of thunder, rain, and earthquakes.
  • Xiuhtecuhtli, god of fire.
• Huitzilopochtli, god of will, patron of war, fire, and sun, the lord of the South.

Baltic mythology

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

Berber mythology

• Gurzil, war god
• Ifri, war goddess

Celtic mythology

• Agrona, reconstructed Proto-Celtic name for the river Aeron in Wales, and possibly the name of an associated war goddess
• Andarta, Brittonic goddess theorised to be associated with victory, overcoming enemies, war
• Alaisiagae, a pair of goddesses worshiped in Roman Britain, with parallel Celtic and Germanic titles
• Andraste, Gaulish warrior goddess
• Anann, Irish goddess of war, death, predicting death in battle, cattle, prosperity, and fertility
• Bandua, Gallaecian God of War
• Badb, Irish goddess of war who took the form of a crow; member of the Morrígan
• 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
• 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
• 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

Chinese mythology

• Ba Yikao, Polestar Emperor. God of Military Outcomes
• Wang Shan, Primordial Lord-General
• Chi You, God of War
• Yang Jian, Three Eyed Warrior
• Li Jinzha, Marshal of the Center Alter
• Li Muzha, Marshal of the Center Alter
• Di Qing, Star of Military Fortune, God of Valor

Four Saints/Guardians of the Numinous Heaven Hall

• Li Jing, Heavenly King & Holder of the Pagoda.
• Wang Shan
• Zhao Lang (赵公明 Zhao Gongming)
• Zhang (Full name unknown, likely to be Zhang Daoling)

Four Great Marshals (There are discrepancies between difference sources regarding who the Four Great Marshals are. The following includes all names mentioned)

• Ma Shen
• Wen Qiong^[3]
• Zhao Lang
• Kang Miaowei
• Yin Jiao
• Li Nezha (the family name Li come from his father, Li Jing)
• Wang Shan
• Gao Yan
• Zhou Guanze
• Ma Zizhen
• Ma Lingyao

Guan Yu, Chinese god of loyalty, righteousness, and valor

Five Graced Lords

• Wang Shan
• Guan Yu, god of Loyalty, righteousness, and valor
• Zhang Shan
• Yue Fei
• Lu Yan

Eight Great Generals of Halting

• Jia Ziyuan
• Wang Ziguan
• Liu Zida
• Du Zaizhen
• Fan Zizhang
• Li Zaide
• Chen Zichun
• Zhang Shu

Four Sages of the North

• Tienpeng Yuanshuai (Marshal of Canopy)
• Tienyou Yuanshuai (Marshal of Strategy)
• Yisheng Yuanshuai (Marshal of Sage Support)
• Xuanwu Yuanshuai (Marshal of the Black Tortoise)

Thirty-six Celestial Generals

• Jiang Guang
• Zhong Ying
• Jin You
• Pang Yu
• Liu Ji
• Guan Yu
• Me Sheng
• Wen Qiong
• Wang Shan
• Kang Ying
• Zhu Yan
• Lu Kui
• Fang Jue
• Geng Tong
• Deng Bawen
• Xin Hanchen
• Zhang Yuanba
• Yao Yuanxin
• Xun Leiji
• Bi Zongyuan
• Zhao Lang (Zhao Gongming)
• Wu Mingyuan
• Li Qingtian
• Mei Tianshun
• Xiong Guangxian
• Shi Yuanxin
• Kong Leijie
• Chen Yuanyuan
• Lin Dahua
• Zhou Qingyuan
• Ji Leigang
• Cui Zhixu
• Jiang Feijie
• He Tianxiang
• Gao Ke

Thirty-six Celestial Generals (Ver.2)

• Commander Lei Ling & Zhu Le
• Chen Xi
• Sun Chang
• Wang Herou
• Xu Xun
• Zhao Chong
• Zhou Xiong
• Zhao Gang
• Wang Guoxian
• You Kuiju
• Yuan Yanchen
• Feng XiangFu
• Ma Shaoxin
• Bu Shun
• Ni TianSun
• Xiang Zhong
• Huang Gong
• Chu Zhen
• Wei Jinfu
• Liu Shao
• Zhao Ping
• Xu Chunchen
• Wang Jie
• Xu Xi
• Fang Shangwen
• Fu Yu
• Dou Yannian
• GaoXian
• Li Yi
• Ma Yaochen
• Diao HanChen
• Zhu Xuan
• Gao Wen
• Xu Shen
• Shan Xi
• Fung Hing
• Wang Gang

Generals of the Heaven-Mind

• Zhang Tingzhong
• Zhu Xizhen
• Su Chengli
• Zheng Tianying
• Zhao Tenzheng
• Wang Huoguang
• Liu Cishen
• Wu Zhongyuan
• Ju Zizhen
• Du Guangzhi
• Yao Yaozhen
• Xu Tianxin
• Yuan Tongning

Generals of the Divine House of Celestial Tomes

• Wang Wenxuan
• Ding Zhonggui
• Wang Yan
• Zhao Zhongming
• Feng Hao
• Dong Long
• Zhai De
• Ding Zongcheng
• Jiang Deyou
• Liu Tong
• Ding Zongsheng
• Ma Sheng
• Chen Meng
• Zhuang Dejiang
• Zhao Hou
• Yuan Zhen
• Ying Suyuan
• Ding Youzhong
• Lu Huayuan
• Zhang Gongming
• Hao Li
• Zhang Guang
• Cui Gangzhong
• Wen Tong
• Meng Hao
• Zhuoli
• Xu Shiheng
• Wen Youzi
• Zheng E
• Chu Fei
• Yang Fu
• Chang Zheng
• Wan Qiangu
• Ying Yau
• Xie Bing
• Zhou Shining
• Peng Zhiliang
• Feng Hang
• Sun Ji
• Ling Yun
• Dong Shen

Continental Germanic mythology

• Baduhenna, a western-Frisii goddess of warfare
• Wōden, god associated with wisdom, war, battle, and death, as well as also magic, poetry, prophecy, victory, and the hunt

Egyptian mythology

Sekhmet, Egyptian warrior goddess

• Anhur, god of war
• 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 chaos, associated with war
• Sobek, god of the Nile, the army, military, fertility and of 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

Etruscan mythology

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

Greek mythology

• Alala, spirit of the war cry
• Androktasiai, spirits of battlefield slaughter
• Ares, god of war, bloodlust, weapons of war, the defence and sacking of cities, rebellion and civil order, banditry, manliness, and courage; the son of Zeus and Hera
• Athena, goddess of wisdom, war strategy, heroic endeavour, handicrafts, and reason
• Bia, spirit of force and compulsion
• Deimos, personification of terror
• Enyalius, an epithet for Ares, sometimes identified as a separate, minor god of war
• Enyo, goddess of destructive war and blood, sister of Ares, Hera and Zeus' daughter
• Erida, twin sister of Ares goddess of hatred, blood-lust
• Eris, goddess of discord, chaos and battle strife
• Heracles, known for strength, health, athletics, and protection
• Homados, spirit of the din of battle
• Hysminai, female spirits of fighting and combat
• Keres, female spirits of violent or cruel death, including death in battle, by accident, murder, or ravaging disease
• Kratos, the personification of strength and power
• Kydoimos, spirit of the din of battle
• Makhai, male spirits of fighting and combat
• Nike, spirit of victory
• Otrera, wife of Ares, goddess of violence and chaos, mother of the Amazons, daughter of Eurus the east wind
• Palioxis, spirit of backrush, flight, and retreat from battle
• Perses, the Titan of destruction
• Phobos, spirit of panic, fear, flight, and battlefield route
• Polemos, spirit of war
• Proioxis, spirit of onrush and battlefield pursuit

Hawaiian mythology

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

Hinduism

Durga slays the buffalo demon

• Chamunda, Goddess of war and disease
• Durga, The fiercer, demon-fighting form of Shiva's wife, the goddess Parvati
• Hanuman, God associated with war, wisdom, and courage
• Indra, God of war, storms, and rainfall
• Kali, Goddess associated with time, change, and war
• Kartikeya, God of war and battle
• Kathyayini, Goddess of vengeance and victory
• Mangala, God of war
• Matrikas, Goddesses of war, children, and emancipation
• Parashurama, Axe God "Rama with an axe", God of war and battle,
• Karna,Referred to as bull among warriors by Vyasa,true warrior
• Shiva,god of avenging and destroying
• Bhaargava,The axe warrior aka as Parashurama
• Yama, God of Death
• Narasimha,God of Justice
• Murugan, The God Of War
• Balarama, Weapon Plough, Mace
• Yudhishthira,King of dharma
• Bhima, Fighter against falsehood
• Arjuna, One who concentrates the most,destroyer of enemies from his concentration
• Ganesha, Heroically taking action against demons
• Kalki, "Destroyer of foulness", "destroyer of darkness", or "destroyer of ignorance"
• Virabhadra, The God of Warriors
• Lakshmana, Highly skilled in the science of archery
• Ravana, Mastered the holy books, and also the arts and ways of Kshatriyas (warriors)
• Indrajit, Possessor of several supreme celestial weapons, including Brahmanda astra, Pashupatastra, and Vaishnavastra
• Bhishma, Unparalleled archer and warrior
• Ashwatthama, Master of the science of weapons

Hittite mythology

• Shaushka, goddess of fertility, war, and healing
• Wurrukatte, god of war

Hungarian mythology

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

Japanese mythology

• Hachiman Daimyōjin, Shinto god of war (on land) and agriculture, divine protector of the Minamoto clan and Imperial Dynasty ownership of Japan
• Takemikazuchi-no-kami, god of war, conquest, martial arts, Sumo, and lightning; general of the Amatsukami; god of Kashima and Ujigami of Nakatomi clan
• Futsunushi, god of swords, martial arts, and conquest; god of the Mononobe clan
• Sarutahiko Ōkami, deity of war and misogi; the Great God who stands at the junction of Heaven and Earth; one of the main Kunitsukami; actively worshipped by Ueshiba Morihei
• Suwa Myōjin (Takeminakata-no-kami), god of valor and duty, protector of Japanese religion
• Sumiyoshi Sanjin, gods of navigation and war on sea; partner of Hachiman
• Bishamonten, armor-clad god of war
• Marishiten, Buddhist goddess of light worshipped by samurai and ninja for invisibility, secrecy, and mystical protection; often linked to Amaterasu and Dainichi Nyōrai

Lusitanian Mythology

• Neto, god believed to be associated with war

Inanna, Mesopotamian goddess of sexual love, fertility, and warfare

Māori mythology

• Tūmatauenga, god of war

Maya mythology

• Tohil, god associated with fire, the sun, rain, mountains and war

Mesopotamian mythology

• Belus, Babylonian god of war
• Inanna, Sumerian goddess of sexual love, fertility, and warfare
• Ishtar, Assyrian and Babylonian counterpart to Inanna
• Nergal, Babylonian god of war, fire, the underworld, and pestilence
• Pap-nigin-gara, Akkadian and Babylonian god of war
• Sebitti, group of minor Akkadian and Babylonian war gods
• Shala, Akkadian and Babylonian goddess of war and grain
• Shara, minor Sumerian god of war
• Shulmanu, god of the underworld, fertility, and war

Mongolian shamanism

• Dayisun Tngri

Native American mythology

• Qamaits, Nuxálk warrior goddess
• Winalagalis, Kwakwaka'wakw god of war

Norse mythology

• Freyja, goddess associated with love, beauty, fertility, gold, seiðr, war, and death
• Odin, god associated with wisdom, war, battle, and death
• Thor, god associated with thunder, strength, defense, oaks, goats, lightning, storms, weather, crops, trading voyages, courage, trust, revenge, protection, warfare, and battles
• Týr, god associated with honor, law (the "Allthing"), justice in battle, victory, and heroic glory
• Ullr, god associated with archery, male beauty, skiing, winter sports, single combat, and war
• Valkyries, goddesses who decide who will die in battle and bring the dead to Valhalla, the afterlife hall of the slain

Nuristani mythology

• Great Gish, god of war

Paleo-Balkan mythology

• Thracian Rider
• Sabazios
• Danubian Rider

Polynesian mythology

• 'Oro, god of war

Roman mythology

• Bellona, goddess of war
• Honos, god of chivalry, honor, and military justice
• Mars, god of war and agriculture, equivalent to the Greek god Ares
• Minerva, goddess of wisdom and war, equivalent to the Greek goddess Athena
• Nerio, warrior goddess and personification of valor
• Victoria, personification of victory, equivalent to the Greek goddess Nike
• Virtus, god of bravery and military strength

Semitic mythology

• Agasaya, "the Shrieker", goddess of war
• Anat, goddess of war
• Astarte, goddess of fertility, sexuality, and war, associated with the Mesopotamian Ishtar or Inanna
• Resheph, god of plague and war
• Tanit, Phoenician lunar goddess associated with war
• Yahweh (Canaanite deity), war god of southern Canaan during the Late Bronze Age

Slavic mythology

• Jarovit, god of vegetation, fertility, and spring, also associated with war and harvest
• Perun, god of thunder and lightning, associated with war
• Radegast, West Slavic god of hospitality, fertility and crops, associated with war and the sun; may or may not have been worshipped by ancient Slavs
• 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
• Serbon, Illyrian god of fertility and war

Turco-Mongol mythology

• Kyzaghan, Turkic deity of war

Vietnamese mythology

• Thánh Gióng, god of triumph over foreign invaders
• Thần Đồng Cổ, the armored protector of Lý dynasty.
• 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.
• Cao Lỗ, god of military innovations.

Vodou

• Bugid Y Aiba, loa associated with war
• Ogoun, loa who presides over fire, iron, hunting, politics, and war
• Pie, soldier-loa who lives at the bottoms of lakes and rivers and causes floods

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". amazon.com. Retrieved 2015-06-22.
3. http://etheses.lib.cuhk.edu.hk/pdf/004777762.pdf