List of health deities
A health deity is a god or goddess in mythology or religion associated with health, healing and wellbeing. They may also be related to childbirth or Mother Goddesses. They are a common feature of polytheistic religions.
List of health deities
African
- Agwu, Igbo god of health and divination
- Jengu, water spirits that bring good fortune and cure disease
- !Xu, sky god of the Bushmen of southern Africa who is invoked in illness
Aztec
Celtic
- Airmed, Irish goddess associated with healing and resurrection.
- Alaunus, Gaulish god of the sun, healing and prophecy associated with Greek god Helios-Apollo
- Atepomarus, Gaulish healing god associated with the Greek god Apollo
- Borvo, Celto-Lusitanian healing god associated with bubbling spring water
- Brigid, Irish goddess associated with healing
- Dian Cecht, Irish god of healing
- Glanis, Gaulish god associated with a healing spring at the town of Glanum
- Grannus, Gaulish god associated with spas, healing thermal and mineral springs, and the sun and associated with Apollo
- Hooded Spirits, hooded deities associated with health and fertility
- Ianuaria, goddess associated with healing
- Iovantucarus, Gaulish healer-god and protector of youth associated with Lenus Mars
- Lenus, Gaulish healing god associated with the Greek god Ares
- Maponos, god of youth, associated with the Greek god Apollo
- Mullo, Gaulish deity associated with the Greek god Ares and said to heal afflictions of the eye
- Nodens, Gallo-Roman and Roman British god associated with healing, the sea, hunting and dogs
- Sirona, Gallo-Roman and Celto-Germanic goddess associated with healing
Chinese
- Wu Ben (Baosheng Dadi, the King of Medicine)
- Shennong, a mythical emperor who spread knowledge of herbs and medicine.
- Hua Tuo, the God of Surgery
- Pian Que, Medicine God-King
- Sun Simiao, Medicine King & God of Internal Medicine
- Wei Chizhuang, Medicine King
- Wei Shanjun, Medicine King
- Wei Gudao, Medicine King
- Pi Tong, Medicine King
- Wang Wei, God of Acupuncture
- Li Shizhen, God of Herbal Medicine
- Tàiyī Zhǔshén, God of Qi
- Táokāng Gěyán, God of Essence
- Zhang Guolao, one of the Eight Immortals, whose wine was considered to have healing properties
- He Xiangu, one of the Eight Immortals, whose lotus flower improves one's health, mental and physical
- Li Tieguai, one of the Eight Immortals, who alleviates the suffering of the poor, sick and needy with special medicine from his gourd
- Wong Tai Sin, a god with the power of healing
- Jiutian Xuannü, goddess of longevity (long life)[1]
- Gods of the Nine Chambers
- Jiànggōng Zhenren (Heart)
- Dānyuángōng Zhenren (Kidneys)
- Lántáigōng Zhenren (Liver)
- Shàngshūgōng Zhenren (Lungs)
- Huángtínggōng Zhenren (Spleen)
- Tiānlínggōng Zhenren (Gall Bladder)
- Xuánlínggōng Zhenren (Small Intestine)
- Wèijìngōng Zhenren (Large Intestine)
- Yùfánggōng Zhenren (Bladder)
- Gods of Hygiene/Cleanliness/Sanitation
- Língbǎo Huǎnzhàosī Língguān
- Yùqīng Tōngbiàn Shèmó Hīnghuì Língguān
- Dāntiān Jiǔfèng Pòhuì Língguān
- Wǔfāng Wǔdì Xièhuì Xiānguān
- Tiānhé Dōngjǐngjūn
- Yuànzhào Fūren
- Jiǔtiān Yùnhuì Shénjūn
- Jiǔtiān Xièhuì Shénjūn
- Shōuhuì Shénjūn
- Quèhuì Shénjūn
- Chúhuì Shénjūn
- Duànhuì Shénjūn
- Mièhuì Shénjūn
- Xǐhuì Shénjūn
- Dànghuì Shénjūn
Egyptian
- Sekhmet, goddess of healing and medicine of Upper Egypt
- Heka, deification of magic, through which Egyptians believed they could gain protection, healing and support
- Serket, goddess of healing stings and bites
- Ta-Bitjet, a scorpion goddess whose blood is a panacea for all poisons
- Isis, goddess of healing, magic, marriage and perfection
Etruscan
- Fufluns, god of plant life, happiness and health and growth in all things
- Menrva, goddess of war, art, wisdom and health
Greek
- Aceso, goddess of curing sickness and healing wounds
- Aegle, goddess of the healthy glow
- Artemis, goddess of the hunt, wild animals, the wilderness, fertility, plague and good health, girls and young women
- Apollo, god of the sun and light, music, poetry, prophecy, archery, healing, medicine and plague
- Asclepius, god of medicine and healing
- Chiron, a centaur known for his knowledge and skill in healing
- Eileithyia, goddess of childbirth
- Epione, goddess of the soothing of pain
- Hebe, goddess of eternal youth, and cupbearer to the gods
- Hygieia, goddess of health, cleanliness and sanitation
- Iaso, goddess of cures, remedies, and modes of healing
- Paean, physician of the gods
- Panacea, goddess of the universal cure
- Telesphorus, demi-god of convalescence, who "brought to fulfillment" recuperation from illness or injury
Hindu
- Ashvins, twin doctors of the gods and gods of Ayurvedic medicine
- Dhanvantari, physician of the gods and god of Ayurvedic medicine
- Dhatri, solar god of health and domestic tranquility
- Mariamman, goddess of disease and rain
- Shitala Devi, goddess of smallpox and disease
- Jvarasura, god of fever
- Paranasabari, diseases
Hittite
Inuit
- Eeyeekalduk, god of medicine and good health
- Pinga, goddess of the hunt, fertility and medicine
Japanese
- Ebisu, god of fishermen, good luck, and workingmen, and the guardian of the health of small children
Maya
- Ixchel, jaguar goddess of midwifery and medicine
Mesopotamian
- Anahita, Indo-Iranian goddess of fertility, healing and wisdom
- Namtar, god of death and disease
- Ninazu, god of the underworld and healing
- Ningishzida, god of the underworld and patron of medicine
- Nintinugga, goddess of healing
- Ninurta, god of the South Wind and healing
Native American
- Kumugwe, Nuxalk underwater god with the power to see into the future, heal the sick and injured, and bestow powers on those whom he favors
- Angak, a Hopi kachina spirit, represents a healing and protective male figure.
Norse
- Eir, goddess associated with medical skill
Persian
- Haoma, god of health
Phoenician
- Eshmun, god of healing
Roman
- Angitia, snake goddess associated with magic and healing
- Apollo, Greco-Roman god of light, music, healing, and the sun
- Bona Dea, goddess of fertility, healing, virginity, and women
- Cardea, goddess of health, thresholds and door hinges and handles
- Carna, goddess who presided over the heart and other organs
- Endovelicus, god of public health and safety
- Febris, goddess who embodied and protected people from fever and malaria
- Feronia, goddess of wildlife, fertility, health and abundance
- Valetudo, Roman name for the Greek goddess Hygieia, goddess of health, cleanliness and hygiene
- Vejovis, god of healing
- Verminus, god who protected cattle from disease
Sami
- Beiwe, goddess of the sun, spring, fertility and sanity, who restored the mental health of those driven mad by the darkness of the winter
Slavic
- Żywie, goddess of health and healing
Thracian
- Derzelas, god of abundance and the underworld, health and human spirit's vitality
Yoruba and Afro-American
- Aja, spirit of the forest, the animals within it and herbal healers
- Babalu Aye, spirit of illness and disease
- Erinle, spirit of abundance, the healer, and Physician to the Orisha
- Loco, patron of healers and plants
- Mami Wata, a pantheon of water deities associated with healing and fertility
- Sopona, god of smallpox
References
- ^ Cahill, Suzanne E. (18 July 2013). "Sublimation in Medieval China: The Case of the Mysterious Woman of the Nine Heavens". Journal of Chinese Religions. 20 (1): 91–102. doi:10.1179/073776992805307692.