List of solar deities

Solar Apollo with the radiant halo of Helios in a floor mosaic, El Djem, Tunisia, late 2nd century.

A solar deity is a god or goddess who represents the Sun, or an aspect of it, usually by its perceived power and strength. Solar deities and sun worship can be found throughout most of recorded history in various forms. The following is a list of solar deities:

African mythology

• Anyanwu, Igbo god believed to dwell in the sun
• Magec, Tenerife god of the sun and light
• Mawu, Dahomey goddess associated with the sun and the moon
• Ngai, Kamba, Kikuyu and Maasai god of the sun

Australian Aboriginal mythology

• Gnowee, solar goddess who searches daily for her lost son; the light of her torch is the sun
• Wala, solar goddess
• Wuriupranili, solar goddess whose torch is the sun
• Yhi, Karraur goddess of the sun, light and creation

Ainu mythology

• Chup Kamui, a lunar goddess who switched places with her brother to become goddess of the sun

Arabian mythology

• Malakbel, god of the sun

Aztec mythology

• Huitzilopochtli, god of the sun and war
• Nanauatzin, god of the sun
• Teoyaomicqui, god of lost souls, the sun and the sixth hour of the day
• Tonatiuh, god of the sun and ruler of the heavens
• Xiuhtecuhtli, god of fire, day and heat

Baltic mythology

• Saulė, goddess of the sun and fertility

Basque mythology

• Ekhi, goddess of the sun and protector of humanity

Brazilian mythology

• Meri, folk hero and god of the sun

Buddhism

• Marici, goddess of the heavens, sun and light

Canaanite mythology

• Shapash, goddess of the sun

Celtic mythology

• Áine, Irish goddess of love, summer, wealth and sovereignty, associated with the sun and midsummer
• Alaunus, Gaulish god of the sun, healing and prophecy
• Belenos, Gaulish god of the sun
• Gronw Pebr, Welsh figure occasionally constructed as a god of light.
• Étaín, Irish sun goddess
• Epona, horse deity occasionally linked with Étaín.
• Grannus, god associated with spas, healing thermal and mineral springs, and the sun
• Olwen, female figure often constructed as originally the Welsh sun goddess.
• Sulis, British deity whose name is related to the common Proto-Indo-European word for "sun" (and thus cognate with Helios, Sól, Sol, Usil and Surya) and who retains solar imagery, as well as a domain over healing and thermal springs. Probably the de facto solar deity of the celts.

Chinese mythology

Statue of the goddess Xihe charioteering the sun, being pulled by a dragon, in Hangzhou

• Doumu, sun goddess sometimes conflated with Marici.
• Yuyi, the sun god
• Xu Kai, the god of the sun-star
• Xihe, sun goddess and mother of the ten suns
• Zhulong, dragon deity of daylight.

Egyptian mythology

• Bastet, cat goddess associated with the sun
• Horus, god of the sky whose right eye was considered to be the sun and his left the moon
• Amun, creator deity sometimes identified as a sun god
• Atum, the "finisher of the world" who represents the sun as it sets
• Aten, god of the sun, the visible disc of the sun
• Khepri, god of rebirth and the sunrise
• Nefertem, god of healing and beauty, who represents the first sunlight
• Ra, god of the sun
• Sekhmet, goddess of war and of the sun, and sometimes plagues and creator of the desert
• Sopdu, god of war and the scorching heat of the summer sun
• Ptah, god of craftsmanship, the arts and fertility, sometimes said to represent the sun at night
• Khnum, god of sunset

Etruscan mythology

• Albina, goddess of the dawn and protector of ill-fated lovers
• Thesan, goddess of the dawn, associated with new life
• Usil, Etruscan equivalent of Helios

Germanic mythology

• Sól (Sunna)

Greek mythology

• Alectrona, goddess of the sun, morning and waking up
• Athena, goddess of wisdom and crafts, with solar deity characteristics
• Apollo, Olympian god of light, the sun, prophecy, healing, plague, archery, music and poetry
• Eos, Titan goddess of the dawn
• Helios, Titan god of the sun
• Hyperion, Titan god of light
• Phanes, protogenoi of light and life, described with "golden wings", surrounded by the signs of the Zodiac and equated with Mithras.
• Theia, a titan goddess associated with the sun

Hinduism

Surya

• Agni, god of fire, associated with the sun
• Aryaman, god of the sun
• Mitra, god of honesty, friendship, contracts, meetings and the morning sun
• Ravi, god of the sun
• Saranyu, goddess of the dawn
• Savitr, god of the sun at sunrise and sunset
• Surya, god of the sun

Hittite mythology

• Arinna, goddess of the sun
• Istanu, god of the sun and judgment

Incan mythology

• Inti, god of the sun and patron deity of the Inca Empire
• Ch'aska ("Venus") or Ch'aska Quyllur ("Venus star") was the goddess of dawn and twilight, the planet

Inuit mythology

• Akycha, solar deity worshipped in Alaska
• Malina, goddess of the sun found most commonly in the legends of Greenland

Japanese mythology

Amaterasu emerging out of a cave, bringing sunlight back to the universe

• Amaterasu, goddess of the sun

Lusitanian mythology

• Endovelicus, god of health and safety. Worshipped both as a solar deity and a chthonic one.
• Neto, claimed to be both a solar and war deity.

Māori mythology

• Ao, personification of daylight
• Tama-nui-te-rā, personification of the sun

Maya mythology

• Ah Kin, god of the sun, bringer of doubt and protector against the evils associated with darkness
• Kinich Ahau, god of the sun
• Hunahpu, one of the Maya Hero Twins; he transformed into the sun while his brother transformed into the moon
• Tohil, god associated with thunder, lightning and sunrise

Mesopotamian mythology

• Shamash, Akkadian god of the sun and justice
• Utu, Sumerian god of the sun and justice

Minoan religion

• A solar goddess of some sort, possibly the Snake Goddess.

Native American mythology

• Wi, Lakota god of the sun

Norse mythology

• Baldr, god associated with light, beauty, love and happiness
• Dagr, personification of the daytime
• Freyr, god of fertility, sexuality, peace and sunlight
• Sól, de facto solar goddess.

Persian mythology

• Nahundi, god of the sun and law

Polynesian mythology

• Atanua, Marquesan goddess of the dawn
• Atarapa, goddess of the dawn

Roman mythology

• Apollo, the Greco-Roman god of light, music, knowledge, and the sun
• Sol

Sami mythology

• Beiwe, goddess of the sun, spring, fertility and sanity

Slavic mythology

• Belobog, reconstructed deity of light and the sun who may or may not have been worshipped by pagan Slavs
• Dažbog, god of the sun
• Hors, god of the sun
• Radegast, god of hospitality, fertility and crops, associated with war and the sun, who may or may not have been worshipped by pagan Slavs
• Zorya, two daughters of Dažbog
  • Zorya Utrennyaya, the morning star, who openes the palace gates each dawn for the sun-chariot's departure
  • Zorya Vechernyaya, the evening star, who closes the palace gates each night after the sun-chariot's

Turkic mythology

• Gun Ana, Turkic solar goddess.
• Koyash, god of the sun

Zoroastrianism

• Hvare-khshaeta, the sun yazata.

Zunism

• The Zunbil dynasty and the subjects of Zabulistan worshipped the sun, which they called Zun. They believed that the sun was the god of justice, the force of good in the world and, consequently, the being that drove out the darkness and allowed man to live another day.