All Deities Mythical and Autochthonal

 All Deities Mythical and Autochthonal

Deity comes from the Latin word for God – Deus, then in French it is Deité, and in English it is "Deity". Deification is to deify – treat something or someone god-like. Deify can be appreciated as a cognate of deity. From an etymological perspective, Augustine of Hippo derived the term deity from “divine nature” – which is translated as Deitas in Latin. Deity is often associated with the supernatural or the divine and the identifiers can be pluralized or genderized as gods or goddesses – which are common terms in polytheism.  

From history to date, all deities, regardless of their geographical situation, emanation or manifestation, are either mythological or autochthonous. There are many examples of autochthonous deities named after aspects of nature, natural phenomenon, cosmology and astronomy. For instance, sun and moon deities are revered across various cultural traditions and were at times given indigenous names or titles associated with a particular geographical location. According to Greek mythology, their sun deity was called Helios and sometimes Apollo. To the Aztecs, the sun deity was Tonatiuh, and for the Hindu, it was named Surya. As for the Arabs, the sun deity was named Shams, and to ancient Egyptian religion it was known as Ra. Though, some of these deities had various references in different civilizations, nations and ethnic groups, their meanings and what they portrayed were very much similar across different geographical regions across the world. Generally, deities are meant to be totemic. 

The African continent had many ancient civilizations with vast empires such as Oyo, Benin, Nubia, Egypt, Carthage, Songhai, Mali, Aksum, Kongo, and Zulu. Most of Africa's historic empires or kingdoms now exist as various nationstates and had autochthonous deities unique to their respective cultures. For example, the Yoruba of modern-day Nigeria have autochthonous deities revered in West Africa and Brazil, and some of them include Obatala, Ogun, Sango, Esu, Yewa, Olokun, and Osun. Some deities according to ancient Egyptian traditions include Anubis, Bastet, Set, Horus, Isis, Osiris, Thoth, Ptah, Ra, and Hathor. 

Mesoamerican beliefs such as the Olmec, Maya, Zapotec, and Aztec had hundreds of gods. A few examples of their gods include, Huitzilopochtli, Quetzalcoatl, Tezcatlipoca, Xiuhtecuhtli and Tlaloc, which were Aztec, and Itzamna, Ix Chel, Kinich Ahau, and Chaac for the Mayans.

Autochthonous deities existed across Europe, from east to west. Slavic traditions had deities such as Perun, Lada, Zorya, Veles, Dzbog, Belobog, and Czernobog. Greek traditions had deities such as Zeus, Athena, Hera, Poseidon, Demeter, Ares, and Apollo. Actually, Apollo was also revered among the Romans, and some of their other deities include Jupiter, Neptune, Pluto, Mars, Cupid, and Saturn. 

Across Asia, cultures were also polytheistic with numerous autochthonous deities. The Hindu tradition comprises millions of gods, some of which include, Ardhanarishvara, Brahma, Durga, Ganesha, Harihara, Lakshmi, Parvati, Sati, Shiva, Saraswati, and Vishnu.  Some deities according to Chinese traditions include, Pangu, Fuxi Mazu, Xihe, and Ba Xian – which is translated as Eight Immortals or Eight Genies.

According to Arabian traditions, Arabs literally had deities for each day of the year, at least 360 gods! Some of the Arab deities include, Abgal, Al-Lat, Al-Uzza, Manat, Anbay, 'Amm, Baal, Sa'd, Basamum, Dhul-Khalasa, Hubal, Quzah, Wadd, Suwa', Yaghuth, Ya'uq, and Nasr.  

The Quran mentions the three aforementioned Arab deities as a trilogy: 

Have you then considered Al-Lat, and Al-'Uzza (two idols of the pagan Arabs). And Manat (another idol of the pagan Arabs), the other third? Is it for you the males and for Him the females? That indeed is a division most unfair! They are not but [mere] names you have named them - you and your forefathers - for which Allah has sent down no authority. They follow not except assumption and what [their] souls desire, and there has already come to them from their Lord guidance. – Quran 53:19-23 

The aforementioned deities are just a few examples across some world cultures. Deliberately, not all deities of the world are enumerated, but based on extensive research, the summation is that the deity pattern is similar across all cultures and culturally-oriented religions globally. Autochthonous deities are usually part of a pantheon – often with hierarchical venerative attributions. Some ethnic groups, nations or civilizations had, and still have, their pantheon of gods, in the hundreds, thousands or even millions. 

Excerpt from pgs 11-13 of P.R.I.S.M: Primal Religious Instruction Serving Mankind by M.B.O Owolowo ©️