Greek God Of Thunder

Jupiter, king of gods and weather god in ancient Rome

Mariamman, the Hindu goddess of rain.

Zeus is the Olympian god of the sky and the thunder, the king of all other gods and men, and, consequently, the chief figure in Greek mythology. The son of Cronus and Rhea, he is probably most famous for his infidelity to his sister and wife, Hera. Greek God of the Sky and King of the Gods. Zeus was the first of the gods and a very imposing figure. Often referred to as the “Father of Gods and men”, he is a sky god who controls lightning (often using it as a weapon) and thunder. Jul 22, 2016 In the Norse mythology, Thor is associated with lightning. Raijin or Raiden (as featured in the game Mortal Kombat) is the god of lightning and thunder in Japanese mythology.

A weather god, also frequently known as a storm god, is a deity in mythology associated with weather phenomena such as thunder, lightning, rain, wind, storms, tornados, and hurricanes. Should they only be in charge of one feature of a storm, they will be called after that attribute, such as a rain god or a lightning/thunder god. This singular attribute might then be emphasized more than the generic, all-encompassing term 'storm god', though with thunder/lightning gods, the two terms seem interchangeable. They feature commonly in polytheistic religions.

Storm gods are most often conceived of as wielding thunder and/or lightning (some lightning gods' names actually mean 'thunder'^[1]^[2]^[3], but since you cannot have thunder without lightning, they presumably wielded both). The ancients didn't seem to differentiate between the two, which is presumably why both the words 'lightning bolt' and 'thunderbolt' exist despite being synonyms. Storm gods are typically male (especially the lightning/thunder ones), powerful and irascible (the irascibility is probably a trait because of the command over thunder/lightning, thus the god's power over this aspect of the natural world influences his personality). Rain and wind deities tend to not be portrayed as wrathful as thunder/lightning deities.

1Africa

Africa[edit]

Ancient Egypt[edit]

Horus, the Egyptian beneficial storm, sun, and war god. Personified in the pharaoh.
Set, the Egyptian storm god, lord of the desert.

Sub-Saharan Africa[edit]

Umvelinqangi, god of thunder, Zulu mythology
Mbaba Mwana Waresa, goddess of rain, Zulu mythology
Oya, the Yorubaorisha of winds, tempests, and cyclones

Americas[edit]

Chaac, Maya rain god. Aztec equivalent is Tlaloc.
Coatrisquie, Taíno rain goddess, servant of Guabancex, and sidekick of thunder god Guatauva.
Cocijo, Zapotec god of lightning.
Ehecatl, Aztec god of wind.
Guabancex, top Taíno storm goddess; the Lady of the Winds who also dishes out earthquakes and other natural disasters.
Guatauva, Taíno god of thunder and lightning who is also responsible for rallying the other storm gods.
Huracán, K'iche Maya god of wind, storms, and fire.
Juracán, Taíno zemi or deity of chaos and disorder believed to control the weather, particularly hurricanes
K'awiil, classic Maya god of lightning.
Q'uq'umatz, K'iche Maya god of wind and rain, also known as Kukulkan, Aztec equivalent is Quetzalcoatl
Tezcatlipoca, Aztec god of hurricanes and night winds.
Tlaloc, Aztec rain and earthquake god. Mayan equivalent is Chaac.
Tohil, K'iche Maya god of rain, sun, and fire.
Tupã, the Guaraní god of thunder and light. Creator of the universe.
Yopaat, a Classic-period Maya storm god.

Asia and Oceania[edit]

Adad, the Assyrian storm god
Ba'al, Canaanite god of fertility, weather, and war.
Hadad, the Canaanite and Carthaginian storm, fertility, & war god. Identified as Baʿal's true name at Ugarit.
Fuujin, Japanese wind god.
Indra, Hindu thunder/lightning god.
Küdryrchö Jumo, the Mari storm god.
Marduk, Babylonian god of water, vegetation, judgment, and magic.
Mariamman, Hindu rain goddess.
Raijin, Japanese god of thunder, lightning, and storms
Susanoo, tempestuous Japanese god of storms and the sea.
Tamar (goddess), Georgian virgin goddess who controlled the weather.
Tarḫunna, Hittite storm god; other Anatolian languages had similar names for their storm gods, such as Luwian below.
Tarḫunz, Luwian storm god.
Tāwhirimātea, Maori storm god.
Teshub, Hurrian storm god.
Theispas or Teisheba, the Urartian storm and war god.
Vayu, Hindu/Vedic wind god.
Vayu-Vata, Iranian duo of gods, the first is the god of wind, much like the Hindu Vayu.
Weather god of Nerik, Hittite god of the weather worshiped in the village of Nerik.
Weather god of Zippalanda, Hittite god of the weather worshiped in the village of Zippalanda.
Yahweh, Hebrew divine warrior and god of the entire cosmos.
There was no single storm god in Chinese mythology. There had to be many deities for a single storm:
- Dian Wu, Lei Gong, and Wen Zhong, the Thunder Deities.
- Feng Bo, Feng Po Po, and Han Zixian, the Deities of Wind.
- Yunzhongzi, the Master of Clouds.
- Yu Shi, the God of Rain.
- Sometimes the Dragon Kings were included instead of Yu Shi

Europe[edit]

Aeolus (son of Hippotes), keeper of the winds in the Odyssey
Anemoi, collective name for the gods of the winds in Greek mythology, their number varies from 4 to more
Audra, Lithuanian god of storms
Bangpūtys, Lithuanian god of storms and the sea
Freyr, Norse god of rain and sunshine
Jupiter, the Roman thunder/lightning and sky god and king of the gods
Perkūnas, Baltic god of thunder, rain, mountains, and oak trees. Servant of the creator god Dievas.
Perun, Slavic god of thunder and lightning and king of the gods
Tempestas, Roman goddess of storms or sudden weather. Commonly referred to in the plural, Tempestates.
Thor, Norse god of thunder/lightning, oak trees, protection, strength, and hallowing. Also Thunor and Donar, the Anglo-Saxon and Continental Germanic versions, respectively, of him. All descend from Common Germanic *Thunraz, the reflex of the PIE thunder god for this language branch of the Indo-Europeans.^[4]
Taranis, Celtic god of thunder, often depicted with a wheel as well as a thunderbolt^[5]
Ukko, Finnish thunder and harvest god and king of the gods
Zeus, Greek thunder/lightning and sky god and king of the gods

References[edit]

^Scheffer, Johannes (1674). The History of Lapland. Oxford
^Eesti Keele Instituut (Eesti Teaduste Akadeemia); Eesti Rahvaluule Arhiiv (1 January 2004). Folklore: electronic journal of folklore. The Institute. Retrieved 19 August 2012.
^Orel (2003:429)
^Orel (2003:429)
^Paul-Marie Duval. 2002. Les Dieux de la Gaule. Paris, Éditions Payot.

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Wooden Sculpture of Raijin at Sanjusangendo Temple

Raijin (雷神), also known as Yakusa no ikazuchi no kami, Kaminari-sama, and Raiden-sama, is a god of lightning, thunder and storms in Japanese mythology and the Shinto religion. The name 'Raijin' is derived from the Japanese words kaminari (雷, meaning thunder) and kami (神, meaning god). Raijin is typically depicted with fierce and aggressive facial expressions, standing atop a cloud, and is shown beating on drums. The drums are often shown to have the symbol tomoe drawn on them. Raijin is often depicted as a protector and/or warrior figure within Japanese temples and shrines.

2Mythology

Greek God Of Lightning

Description[edit]

Raijin is often depicted with a fierce, frightening face and a muscular figure with gravity-defying hair. He is surrounded by Taiko drums that he plays to create the sound of thunder. Raijin holds large hammers in his hands that he uses to play the drums. In some cases, Raijin is portrayed with three fingers which are said to represent the past, present and future. Two of the most notable sculptures of Raijin are located in the Sanjusangendo temple and the Taiyuin Rinnoji temple.

Raijin and Fujin reside side by side in the Kaminarimon gate that guards the entrance to the Sanjusangendo temple. These sculptures are made of wood with lacquer, gold leaf and paint along with crystal, inlaid eyes. The Raijin and Fujin sculptures in Sanjusangendo are considered national treasures.

In the Taiyuin Rinnoji temple, Raijin and Fujin are located in the Niten-mon gate. They are made of wood with paint and are seen with their token talismans, Raijin's drums and Fujin's wind bag^[1].

Mythology[edit]

Raijin was born from the divine pair Izanagi and Izanami after Japan was first created. Raijin came from Izanami's corpse when she was in Yomi, the land of darkness^[2]. Izanami later sent Raijin and several female demons to chase after Izanagi, after he fled the image of her rotting form, to bring him back to Yomi^[3]. Raijin has many siblings, most notably, Fujin (the god of wind), Kagutsuchi (the god of fire), Susanoo (the god of the sea and storms), and Amaterasu (the goddess of the sun).

Raijin is also often seen in the company of his brother, Fujin, and his son, Raitaro^[4]. He is often seen fighting with Fujin, mending his drums, or causing mischief. He is also shown in the company of Raiju, a thunder-beast or thunder demon.

Prayers to Raijin were mainly based upon agriculture as it was believed that rice that was struck by lightning would produce the best harvest.

Fūjin-raijin-zu by Tawaraya Sōtatsu, with Raijin shown on the left and Fūjin right.

Legends[edit]

In one legend, Raijin is shown to defend Japan against the invading Mongols. In this legend, the Mongols are driven off by a vicious storm in which Raijin is in the clouds throwing lightning and arrows at the invaders^[5].

Another legend depicts how a man named Sugaru (nicknamed the God-catcher) was ordered to catch the Thunder God Raijin and deliver him to the Emperor in order to stop a storm. Sugaru commands Raijin to cease the storm in the name of the Emperor but to no avail. Sugaru prayed to Kannon who later delivered Raijin to him. Sugaru then tied him up in a sack and took him to the Emperor^[6].

Modern role[edit]

Some Japanese parents tell their children to hide their belly buttons during thunderstorms so that Raijin doesn't take them away and eat them.

Raijin also appears in the kabuki play Narukami, in which he is imprisoned under a pool of water, thus causing a drought.^[7]