Deity

Yoruba deity from Nigeria

Diverse African cultures developed theology and concepts of deities over their history. In Nigeria and neighboring West African countries, for example, two prominent deities (locally called Òrìṣà)[78] are found in the Yoruba religion, namely the god Ogun and the goddess Osun.[78] Ogun is the primordial masculine deity as well as the archdivinity and guardian of occupations such as tools making and use, metal working, hunting, war, protection and ascertaining equity and justice.[79][80] Osun is an equally powerful primordial feminine deity and a multidimensional guardian of fertility, water, maternal, health, social relations, love and peace.[78] Ogun and Osun traditions were brought into the Americas on slave ships. They were preserved by the Africans in their plantation communities, and their festivals continue to be observed.[78][79]

In Southern African cultures, a similar masculine-feminine deity combination has appeared in other forms, particularly as the Moon and Sun deities.[81] One Southern African cosmology consists of Hieseba or Xuba (deity, god), Gaune (evil spirits) and Khuene (people). The Hieseba includes Nladiba (male, creator sky god) and Nladisara (females, Nladiba's two wives). The Sun (female) and the Moon (male) deities are viewed as offspring of Nladiba and two Nladisara. The Sun and Moon are viewed as manifestations of the supreme deity, and worship is timed and directed to them.[82] In other African cultures the Sun is seen as male, while the Moon is female, both symbols of the godhead.[83]^{: 199–120} In Zimbabwe, the supreme deity is androgynous with male-female aspects, envisioned as the giver of rain, treated simultaneously as the god of darkness and light and is called Mwari Shona.[83]^: 89 In the Lake Victoria region, the term for a deity is Lubaale, or alternatively Jok.[84]

Egyptian tomb painting showing the gods Osiris, Anubis, and Horus, who are among the major deities in ancient Egyptian religion.[85]

Ancient Egyptian culture revered numerous deities. Egyptian records and inscriptions list the names of many whose nature is unknown and make vague references to other unnamed deities.[86]^: 73 Egyptologist James P. Allen estimates that more than 1,400 deities are named in Egyptian texts,[87] whereas Christian Leitz offers an estimate of "thousands upon thousands" of Egyptian deities.[88]^: 393–94 Their terms for deities were nṯr (god), and feminine nṯrt (goddess);[89]^: 42 however, these terms may also have applied to any being – spirits and deceased human beings, but not demons – who in some way were outside the sphere of everyday life.[90]^: 216[89]^: 62 Egyptian deities typically had an associated cult, role and mythologies.[90]^{: 7–8, 83}

Around 200 deities are prominent in the Pyramid texts and ancient temples of Egypt, many zoomorphic. Among these, were Min (fertility god), Neith (creator goddess), Anubis, Atum, Bes, Horus, Isis, Ra, Meretseger, Nut, Osiris, Shu, Sia and Thoth.[85]^: 11–12 Most Egyptian deities represented natural phenomenon, physical objects or social aspects of life, as hidden immanent forces within these phenomena.[91][92] The deity Shu, for example represented air; the goddess Meretseger represented parts of the earth, and the god Sia represented the abstract powers of perception.[93]^{: 91, 147} Deities such as Ra and Osiris were associated with the judgement of the dead and their care during the afterlife.[85]^: 26–28 Major gods often had multiple roles and were involved in multiple phenomena.[93]^: 85–86

The first written evidence of deities are from early 3rd millennium BCE, likely emerging from prehistoric beliefs.[94] However, deities became systematized and sophisticated after the formation of an Egyptian state under the Pharaohs and their treatment as sacred kings who had exclusive rights to interact with the gods, in the later part of the 3rd millennium BCE.[95][86]^: 12–15 Through the early centuries of the common era, as Egyptians interacted and traded with neighboring cultures, foreign deities were adopted and venerated.[96][88]^: 160

A 4th century BC drachm (quarter shekel) coin from the Persian province of Yehud Medinata, possibly representing Yahweh seated on a winged and wheeled sun-throne.

The ancient Canaanites were polytheists who believed in a pantheon of deities,[97][98][99] the chief of whom was the god El, who ruled alongside his consort Asherah and their seventy sons.[97]^: 22–24[98][99] Baal was the god of storm, rain, vegetation and fertility,[97]^: 68–127 while his consort Anat was the goddess of war[97]^{: 131, 137–39} and Astarte, the West Semitic equivalent to Ishtar, was the goddess of love.[97]^: 146–49 The people of the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah originally believed in these deities,[97][99][100] alongside their own national god Yahweh.[101][102] El later became syncretized with Yahweh, who took over El's role as the head of the pantheon,[97]^: 13–17 with Asherah as his divine consort[103]^: 45[97]^: 146 and the "sons of El" as his offspring.[97]^: 22–24 During the later years of the Kingdom of Judah, a monolatristic faction rose to power insisting that only Yahweh was fit to be worshipped by the people of Judah.[97]^: 229–33 Monolatry became enforced during the reforms of King Josiah in 621 BCE.[97]^: 229 Finally, during the national crisis of the Babylonian captivity, some Judahites began to teach that deities aside from Yahweh were not just unfit to be worshipped, but did not exist.[104][39]^: 4 The "sons of El" were demoted from deities to angels.[97]^: 22

Akkadian cylinder seal impression showing Inanna, the Sumerian goddess of love, sex, and war

Wall relief of the Assyrian national god Aššur in a "winged male" hybrid iconography

Ancient Mesopotamian culture in southern Iraq had numerous dingir (deities, gods and goddesses).[17]^: 69–74[105] Mesopotamian deities were almost exclusively anthropomorphic.[106]^: 93[17]^: 69–74[107] They were thought to possess extraordinary powers[106]^: 93 and were often envisioned as being of tremendous physical size.[106]^: 93 They were generally immortal,[106]^: 93 but a few of them, particularly Dumuzid, Geshtinanna, and Gugalanna were said to have either died or visited the underworld.[106]^: 93 Both male and female deities were widely venerated.[106]^: 93

In the Sumerian pantheon, deities had multiple functions, which included presiding over procreation, rains, irrigation, agriculture, destiny, and justice.[17]^: 69–74 The gods were fed, clothed, entertained, and worshipped to prevent natural catastrophes as well as to prevent social chaos such as pillaging, rape, or atrocities.[17]^: 69–74[108]^: 186[106]^: 93 Many of the Sumerian deities were patron guardians of city-states.[108]

The most important deities in the Sumerian pantheon were known as the Anunnaki,[109] and included deities known as the "seven gods who decree": An, Enlil, Enki, Ninhursag, Nanna, Utu and Inanna.[109] After the conquest of Sumer by Sargon of Akkad, many Sumerian deities were syncretized with East Semitic ones.[108] The goddess Inanna, syncretized with the East Semitic Ishtar, became popular,[110][111]^{: xviii, xv}[108]^: 182[106]^: 106–09 with temples across Mesopotamia.[112][106]^: 106–09

The Mesopotamian mythology of the first millennium BCE treated Anšar (later Aššur) and Kišar as primordial deities.[113] Marduk was a significant god among the Babylonians. He rose from an obscure deity of the third millennium BCE to become one of the most important deities in the Mesopotamian pantheon of the first millennium BCE. The Babylonians worshipped Marduk as creator of heaven, earth and humankind, and as their national god.[17]^: 62, 73[114] Marduk's iconography is zoomorphic and is most often found in Middle Eastern archaeological remains depicted as a "snake-dragon" or a "human-animal hybrid".[115][116][117]

The Kirkby Stephen Stone, discovered in Kirkby Stephen, England, depicts a bound figure, who some have theorized may be the Germanic god Loki.

In Germanic languages, the terms cognate with 'god' such as Old English: god and Old Norse: guð were originally neuter but became masculine, as in modern Germanic languages, after Christianisation due their use in referring to the Christian god.[118]

In Norse mythology, Æsir (singular áss or ǫ́ss) are the principal group of gods,[119] while the term ásynjur (singular ásynja) refers specifically to the female Æsir.[120] These terms, states John Lindow, may be ultimately rooted in the Indo-European root for "breath" (as in "life giving force"), and are cognate with Old English: os (a heathen god) and Gothic: anses.[121]^: 49–50

Another group of deities found in Norse mythology are termed as Vanir, and are associated with fertility. The Æsir and the Vanir went to war, according to the Nordic sources. The account in Ynglinga saga describes the Æsir–Vanir War ending in truce and ultimate reconciliation of the two into a single group of gods, after both sides chose peace, exchanged ambassadors (hostages),[122]^: 181 and intermarried.[121]^: 52–53[123]

The Norse mythology describes the cooperation after the war, as well as differences between the Æsir and the Vanir which were considered scandalous by the other side.[122]^: 181 The goddess Freyja of the Vanir taught magic to the Æsir, while the two sides discover that while Æsir forbid mating between siblings, Vanir accepted such mating.[122]^: 181[124][125]

Temples hosting images of Germanic deities (such as Thor, Odin and Freyr), as well as pagan worship rituals, continued in Nordic countries into the 12th century, according to historical records. It has been proposed that over time, Christian equivalents were substituted for the Germanic deities to help suppress paganism, during Christianisation.[122]^: 187–88 Worship of the Germanic gods has been revived in the modern period as part of the new religious movement of Heathenry.[126]

Zeus, the king of the gods in ancient Greek religion, shown on a gold stater from Lampsacus (c. 360–340 BCE)

Corinthian black-figure plaque of Poseidon, the Greek god of the seas (c. 550–525 BCE)

Attic white-ground red-figured kylix of Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, riding a swan (c. 46–470 BCE)

Bust of Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom, copy after a votive statue of Kresilas in Athens (c. 425 BCE)

The ancient Greeks revered both gods and goddesses.[127] These continued to be revered through the early centuries of the common era, and many of the Greek deities inspired and were adopted as part of much larger pantheon of Roman deities.[128]^: 91–97 The Greek religion was polytheistic, but had no centralized church, nor any sacred texts.[128]^: 91–97 The deities were largely associated with myths and they represented natural phenomena or aspects of human behavior.[127][128]^: 91–97

Several Greek deities probably trace back to more ancient Indo-European traditions, since the gods and goddesses found in distant cultures are mythologically comparable and are cognates.[31]^: 230–31[129]^: 15–19 Eos, the Greek goddess of the dawn, for instance, is cognate to Indic Ushas, Roman Aurora and Latvian Auseklis.[31]^: 230–32 Zeus, the Greek king of gods, is cognate to Latin Iūpiter, Old German Ziu, and Indic Dyaus, with whom he shares similar mythologies.[31]^: 230–32[130] Other deities, such as Aphrodite, originated from the Near East.[131][132][133][134]

Greek deities varied locally, but many shared panhellenic themes, celebrated similar festivals, rites, and ritual grammar.[135] The most important deities in the Greek pantheon were the Twelve Olympians: Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Aphrodite, Hermes, Demeter, Dionysus, Hephaestus, and Ares.[129]^: 125–70 Other important Greek deities included Hestia, Hades and Heracles.[128]^: 96–97 These deities later inspired the Dii Consentes galaxy of Roman deities.[128]^: 96–97

Besides the Olympians, the Greeks also worshipped various local deities.[129]^: 170–81[136] Among these were the goat-legged god Pan (the guardian of shepherds and their flocks), Nymphs (nature spirits associated with particular landforms), Naiads (who dwelled in springs), Dryads (who were spirits of the trees), Nereids (who inhabited the sea), river gods, satyrs (a class of lustful male nature spirits), and others. The dark powers of the underworld were represented by the Erinyes (or Furies), said to pursue those guilty of crimes against blood-relatives.[136]

The Greek deities, like those in many other Indo-European traditions, were anthropomorphic. Walter Burkert describes them as "persons, not abstractions, ideas or concepts".[129]^: 182 They had fantastic abilities and powers; each had some unique expertise and, in some aspects, a specific and flawed personality.[137]^: 52 They were not omnipotent and could be injured in some circumstances.[138] Greek deities led to cults, were used politically and inspired votive offerings for favors such as bountiful crops, healthy family, victory in war, or peace for a loved one recently deceased.[128]^: 94–95[139]

4th-century Roman sarcophagus depicting the creation of man by Prometheus, with major Roman deities Jupiter, Neptune, Mercury, Juno, Apollo, Vulcan watching.

The Roman pantheon had numerous deities, both Greek and non-Greek.[128]^: 96–97 The more famed deities, found in the mythologies and the 2nd millennium CE European arts, have been the anthropomorphic deities syncretized with the Greek deities. These include the six gods and six goddesses: Venus, Apollo, Mars, Diana, Minerva, Ceres, Vulcan, Juno, Mercury, Vesta, Neptune, Jupiter (Jove, Zeus); as well Bacchus, Pluto and Hercules.[128]^: 96–97[140] The non-Greek major deities include Janus, Fortuna, Vesta, Quirinus and Tellus (mother goddess, probably most ancient).[128]^: 96–97[141] Some of the non-Greek deities had likely origins in more ancient European culture such as the ancient Germanic religion, while others may have been borrowed, for political reasons, from neighboring trade centers such as those in the Minoan or ancient Egyptian civilization.[142][143][144]

The Roman deities, in a manner similar to the ancient Greeks, inspired community festivals, rituals and sacrifices led by flamines (priests, pontifs), but priestesses (Vestal Virgins) were also held in high esteem for maintaining sacred fire used in the votive rituals for deities.[128]^: 100–01 Deities were also maintained in home shrines (lararium), such as Hestia honored in homes as the goddess of fire hearth.[128]^: 100–01[145] This Roman religion held reverence for sacred fire, and this is also found in Hebrew culture (Leviticus 6), Vedic culture's Homa, ancient Greeks and other cultures.[145]

Ancient Roman scholars such as Varro and Cicero wrote treatises on the nature of gods of their times.[146] Varro stated, in his Antiquitates Rerum Divinarum, that it is the superstitious man who fears the gods, while the truly religious person venerates them as parents.[146] Cicero, in his Academica, praised Varro for this and other insights.[146] According to Varro, there have been three accounts of deities in the Roman society: the mythical account created by poets for theatre and entertainment, the civil account used by people for veneration as well as by the city, and the natural account created by the philosophers.[147] The best state is, adds Varro, where the civil theology combines the poetic mythical account with the philosopher's.[147] The Roman deities continued to be revered in Europe through the era of Constantine, and past 313 CE when he issued the Edict of Toleration.[137]^: 118–20

Left: Inti Raymi, a winter solstice festival of the Inca people, reveres Inti, the sun deity—offerings include round bread and maize beer; Right: Deity Viracocha

The Inca culture has believed in Viracocha (also called Pachacutec) as the creator deity.[148]^: 27–30[149]^: 726–29 Viracocha has been an abstract deity to Inca culture, one who existed before he created space and time.[150] All other deities of the Inca people have corresponded to elements of nature.[148][149]^: 726–29 Of these, the most important ones have been Inti (sun deity) responsible for agricultural prosperity and as the father of the first Inca king, and Mama Qucha the goddess of the sea, lakes, rivers and waters.[148] Inti in some mythologies is the son of Viracocha and Mama Qucha.[148][151]

Inca people have revered many male and female deities. Among the feminine deities have been Mama Kuka (goddess of joy), Mama Ch'aska (goddess of dawn), Mama Allpa (goddess of harvest and earth, sometimes called Mama Pacha or Pachamama), Mama Killa (moon goddess) and Mama Sara (goddess of grain).[151][148]^: 31–32 During and after the imposition of Christianity during Spanish colonialism, the Inca people retained their original beliefs in deities through syncretism, where they overlay the Christian God and teachings over their original beliefs and practices.[153][154][155] The male deity Inti became accepted as the Christian God, but the Andean rituals centered around Inca deities have been retained and continued thereafter into the modern era by the Inca people.[155][156]

The zoomorphic feathered serpent deity (Kukulkan, Quetzalcoatl)

In Maya culture, Kukulkan has been the supreme creator deity, also revered as the god of reincarnation, water, fertility and wind.[149]^: 797–98 The Maya people built step pyramid temples to honor Kukulkan, aligning them to the Sun's position on the spring equinox.[149]^: 843–44 Other deities found at Maya archaeological sites include Xib Chac – the benevolent male rain deity, and Ixchel – the benevolent female earth, weaving and pregnancy goddess.[149]^: 843–44 The Maya calendar had 18 months, each with 20 days (and five unlucky days of Uayeb); each month had a presiding deity, who inspired social rituals, special trading markets and community festivals.[156]

A deity with aspects similar to Kulkulkan in the Aztec culture has been called Quetzalcoatl.[149]^: 797–98 However, states Timothy Insoll, the Aztec ideas of deity remain poorly understood. What has been assumed is based on what was constructed by Christian missionaries. The deity concept was likely more complex than these historical records.[157] In Aztec culture, there were hundred of deities, but many were henotheistic incarnations of one another (similar to the avatar concept of Hinduism). Unlike Hinduism and other cultures, Aztec deities were usually not anthropomorphic, and were instead zoomorphic or hybrid icons associated with spirits, natural phenomena or forces.[157][158] The Aztec deities were often represented through ceramic figurines, revered in home shrines.[157][159]

Deities of Polynesia carved from wood (bottom two are demons)

The Polynesian people developed a theology centered on numerous deities, with clusters of islands having different names for the same idea. There are great deities found across the Pacific Ocean. Some deities are found widely, and there are many local deities whose worship is limited to one or a few islands or sometimes to isolated villages on the same island.[160]^: 5–6

The Māori people, of what is now New Zealand, called the supreme being as Io, who is also referred elsewhere as Iho-Iho, Io-Mataaho, Io Nui, Te Io Ora, Io Matua Te Kora among other names.[161]^: 239 The Io deity has been revered as the original uncreated creator, with power of life, with nothing outside or beyond him.[161]^: 239Other deities in the Polynesian pantheon include Tangaloa (god who created men),[160]^: 37–38 La'a Maomao (god of winds), Tu-Matauenga or Ku (god of war), Tu-Metua (mother goddess), Kane (god of procreation) and Rangi (sky god father).[161]^{: 261, 284, 399, 476}

The Polynesian deities have been part of a sophisticated theology, addressing questions of creation, the nature of existence, guardians in daily lives as well as during wars, natural phenomena, good and evil spirits, priestly rituals, as well as linked to the journey of the souls of the dead.[160]^{: 6–14, 37–38, 113, 323}

Holy Trinity (1756–1758) by Szymon Czechowicz, showing God the Father, God the Son, and the Holy Spirit, all of whom are revered in Christianity as a single deity.

Christianity is a monotheistic religion in which most mainstream congregations and denominations accept the concept of the Holy Trinity.[162]^: 233–34 Modern orthodox Christians believe that the Trinity is composed of three equal, cosubstantial persons: God the Father, God the Son, and the Holy Spirit.[162]^: 233–34 The first person to describe the persons of the Trinity as homooúsios (ὁμοούσιος; "of the same substance") was the Church Father Origen.[163] Although most early Christian theologians (including Origen) were Subordinationists,[164] who believed that the Father was superior to the Son and the Son superior to the Holy Spirit,[163][165][166] this belief was condemned as heretical by the First Council of Nicaea in the fourth century, which declared that all three persons of the Trinity are equal.[164] Christians regard the universe as an element in God's actualization[162]^: 273 and the Holy Spirit is seen as the divine essence that is "the unity and relation of the Father and the Son".[162]^: 273 According to George Hunsinger, the doctrine of the Trinity justifies worship in a Church, wherein Jesus Christ is deemed to be a full deity with the Christian cross as his icon.[162]^: 296

The theological examination of Jesus Christ, of divine grace in incarnation, his non-transferability and completeness has been a historic topic. For example, the Council of Chalcedon in 451 CE declared that in "one person Jesus Christ, fullness of deity and fullness of humanity are united, the union of the natures being such that they can neither be divided nor confused".[167] Jesus Christ, according to the New Testament, is the self-disclosure of the one, true God, both in his teaching and in his person; Christ, in Christian faith, is considered the incarnation of God.[39]^: 4, 29[168][169]

Ilah, ʾIlāh (Arabic: إله; plural: آلهة ʾālihah), is an Arabic word meaning "god".[170][171] It appears in the name of the monotheistic god of Islam as Allah (al-Lāh).[172][173][174] which literally means "the god" in Arabic.[170][171] Islam is strictly monotheistic[175] and the first statement of the shahada, or Muslim confession of faith, is that "there is no ʾilāh (deity) but al-Lāh (God)",[176] who is perfectly unified and utterly indivisible.[175][176][177]

The term Allah is used by Muslims for God. The Persian word Khuda (Persian: خدا) can be translated as god, lord or king, and is also used today to refer to God in Islam by Persian, Urdu, Tat and Kurdish speakers. The Turkic word for god is Tengri; it exists as Tanrı in Turkish.

The tetragrammaton in Phoenician (12th century BCE to 150 BCE), Paleo-Hebrew (10th century BCE to 135 CE), and square Hebrew (3rd century BCE to present) scripts.

Judaism affirms the existence of one God (Yahweh, or YHWH), who is not abstract, but He who revealed himself throughout Jewish history particularly during the Exodus and the Exile.[39]^: 4 Judaism reflects a monotheism that gradually arose, was affirmed with certainty in the sixth century "Second Isaiah", and has ever since been the axiomatic basis of its theology.[39]^: 4

The classical presentation of Judaism has been as a monotheistic faith that rejected deities and related idolatry.[178] However, states Breslauer, modern scholarship suggests that idolatry was not absent in biblical faith, and it resurfaced multiple times in Jewish religious life.[178] The rabbinic texts and other secondary Jewish literature suggest worship of material objects and natural phenomena through the medieval era, while the core teachings of Judaism maintained monotheism.[178][179]

According to Aryeh Kaplan, God is always referred to as "He" in Judaism, "not to imply that the concept of sex or gender applies to God", but because "there is no neuter in the Hebrew language, and the Hebrew word for God is a masculine noun" as he "is an active rather than a passive creative force".[180]

In Mandaeism, Hayyi Rabbi (lit=The Great Life), or 'The Great Living God',[181] is the supreme God from which all things emanate. He is also known as 'The First Life', since during the creation of the material world, Yushamin emanated from Hayyi Rabbi as the "Second Life."[182] "The principles of the Mandaean doctrine: the belief of the only one great God, Hayyi Rabbi, to whom all absolute properties belong; He created all the worlds, formed the soul through his power, and placed it by means of angels into the human body. So He created Adam and Eve, the first man and woman."[183] Mandaeans recognize God to be the eternal, creator of all, the one and only in domination who has no partner.[184]

Left: Bakunawa depicted in a Bisaya sword hilt; Right: Ifugao rice deity statues

Anitism, composed of a diverse array of indigenous religions from the Philippines, has multiple pantheon of deities, with each ethnic group having their own. The most notable deities are almost always the deity or deities considered by specific ethnic groups as their supreme deity or deities.[185]

Bathala is the Tagalog supreme deity,[186] while Mangechay is the Kapampangan supreme deity.[187] The Sambal supreme deity is Malayari,[188] the Blaan supreme deity is Melu,[189] the Bisaya supreme deity is Kaptan,[190] and so on. There are more than a hundred different ethnic groups in the Philippines, each having their own supreme deity or deities. Each supreme deity or deities normally rules over a pantheon of deities, contributing to the sheer diversity of deities in Anitism.[185]

Left: Buddhist deity in Ssangbongsa in South Korea; Right: Chinese deity adopted into Buddhism

Buddhists do not believe in a creator deity.[191] However, deities are an essential part of Buddhist teachings about cosmology, rebirth, and saṃsāra.[191] Buddhist deities (such as devas and bodhisattvas) are believed to reside in a pleasant, heavenly realm within Buddhist cosmology, which is typically subdivided into twenty six sub-realms.[192][191][9]^: 35

Devas are numerous, but they are still mortal;[192] they live in the heavenly realm, then die and are reborn like all other beings.[192] A rebirth in the heavenly realm is believed to be the result of leading an ethical life and accumulating very good karma.[192] A deva does not need to work, and is able to enjoy in the heavenly realm all pleasures found on Earth. However, the pleasures of this realm lead to attachment (upādāna), lack of spiritual pursuits, and therefore no nirvana.[9]^: 37 The vast majority of Buddhist lay people in countries practicing Theravada, states Kevin Trainor, have historically pursued Buddhist rituals and practices because they are motivated by their potential rebirth into the deva realm.[192][193][194] The deva realm in Buddhist practice in Southeast Asia and East Asia, states Keown, include gods found in Hindu traditions such as Indra and Brahma, and concepts in Hindu cosmology such as Mount Meru.[9]^: 37–38

Mahayana Buddhism also includes different kinds of deities, such as numerous Buddhas, bodhisattvas and fierce deities.

Left: Ganesha deity of Hinduism; Right: Saraswati, Hindu goddess of knowledge and music

The concept of God varies in Hinduism, it being a diverse system of thought with beliefs spanning henotheism, monotheism, polytheism, panentheism, pantheism and monism among others.[195][196]

In the ancient Vedic texts of Hinduism, a deity is often referred to as Deva (god) or Devi (goddess).[32]^: 496[34] The root of these terms mean "heavenly, divine, anything of excellence".[32]^: 492[34] Deva is masculine, and the related feminine equivalent is devi. In the earliest Vedic literature, all supernatural beings are called Asuras.[197]^{: 5–11, 22, 99–102}[32]^: 121 Over time, those with a benevolent nature become deities and are referred to as Sura, Deva or Devi.[197]^: 2–6[198]

Devas or deities in Hindu texts differ from Greek or Roman theodicy, states Ray Billington, because many Hindu traditions believe that a human being has the potential to be reborn as a deva (or devi), by living an ethical life and building up saintly karma.[199] Such a deva enjoys heavenly bliss, till the merit runs out, and then the soul (gender neutral) is reborn again into Saṃsāra. Thus deities are henotheistic manifestations, embodiments and consequence of the virtuous, the noble, the saint-like living in many Hindu traditions.[199]

Padmavati, a Jain guardian deity

Like many ancient Indian traditions, Jainism does not believe in a creator, omnipotent, omniscient, eternal God; however, the cosmology of Jainism incorporates a meaningful causality-driven reality, and includes four realms of existence (gati), and one of them for deva (celestial beings, gods).[10]^: 351–57 A human being can choose and live an ethical life (karma), such as being non-violent (ahimsa) against all living beings, thereby gain merit and be reborn as deva.[10]^: 357–58[200]

Jain texts reject a trans-cosmic God, one who stands outside of the universe and lords over it, but they state that the world is full of devas who are in human-image with sensory organs, with the power of reason, conscious, compassionate and with finite life.[10]^: 356–57 Jainism believes in the existence of the soul (Self, atman) and considers it to have "god-quality", whose knowledge and liberation is the ultimate spiritual goal in both religions. Jains also believe that the spiritual nobleness of perfected souls (Jina) and devas make them worship-worthy beings, with powers of guardianship and guidance to better karma. In Jain temples or festivals, the Jinas and Devas are revered.[10]^: 356–57[201]

Investiture of Sassanid emperor Shapur II (center) with Mithra (left) and Ahura Mazda (right) at Taq-e Bostan, Iran

Ahura Mazda (/əˌhʊrəˌmæzdə/);[202] is the Avestan name for the creator and sole God of Zoroastrianism.[203] The literal meaning of the word Ahura is "mighty" or "lord" and Mazda is wisdom.[203] Zoroaster, the founder of Zoroastrianism, taught that Ahura Mazda is the most powerful being in all of the existence[204] and the only deity who is worthy of the highest veneration.[204] Nonetheless, Ahura Mazda is not omnipotent because his evil twin brother Angra Mainyu is nearly as powerful as him.[204] Zoroaster taught that the daevas were evil spirits created by Angra Mainyu to sow evil in the world[204] and that all people must choose between the goodness of Ahura Mazda and the evil of Angra Mainyu.[204] According to Zoroaster, Ahura Mazda will eventually defeat Angra Mainyu and good will triumph over evil once and for all.[204] Ahura Mazda was the most important deity in the ancient Achaemenid Empire.[205] He was originally represented anthropomorphically,[203] but, by the end of the Sasanian Empire, Zoroastrianism had become fully aniconic.[203]