Water deity

This article is about Water Deities. For the novel by Wilbur Smith, see River God.

See also: Water and religion

File:Poseidon sculLolisjxissenhagen 2005.jpg

Poseidon, Greek god of seas and waters.

A water deity is a deity in mythology associated with water or various bodies of water. Water deities are common in mythology and were usually more important among civilizations in which the sea or ocean, or a great river was more important. Another important focus of worship of water deities were springs or holy wells.

List of water deities

Aztec mythology

• Atlacamani, goddess of oceanic storms
• Amimitl, god of lakes and fishermen
• Atlaua, a water deity, patron of fishers and archers
• Chalchiuhtlatonal, god of water
• Chalchiuhtlicue, goddess of lakes, rivers, seas, streams, horizontal waters, storms, and baptism
• Huixtocihuatl, fertility goddess who presided over salt and salt water
• Tlaloc, god of rain, fertility, and water

Ainu mythology

• Repun Kamui, god of the sea

Canaanite mythology

• Yam (god), god of rivers and the sea

Celtic mythology

• Acionna (Gaulish) - a water goddess/genius loci of the Orleanais region and the Essonne
• Boann - goddess of the River Boyne (Irish)
• Dylan Eil Ton (Welsh)
• Grannus, a god associated with spas, the sun, fires and healing thermal and mineral springs
• Lir (Irish), god of the sea
• Llŷr (Welsh), god of the sea
• Manannán mac Lir (Irish), god of the sea
• Nodens, god associated with healing, the sea, hunting and dogs
• Sinann (Irish), goddess of the River Shannon
• Sequana (Gaulish), goddess of the River Seine

Chinese mythology

• Gong Gong, water god who is responsible for the great floods, together with his associate, Xiang Yao
• Mazu, water goddess and protector of sailors

Egyptian mythology

• Anti, god of ferrymen
• Hapy, god of the annual flooding of the river Nile
• Khnum, god of creation and the waters
• Nu, deification of the primordial watery abyss
• Sobek, crocodile god of the Nile river, warfare and fertility
• Wadj-wer, fertility god and personification of the Mediterranean Sea
• Tefnut, a goddess of rain

Fijian mythology

• Daucina, god of seafaring
• Dakuwaqa, a shark god

Finnish mythology

• Ahti, god of the depths and fish
• Iku-Turso, a malevolent sea monster
• Vedenemo, a goddess of water
• Vellamo, the wife of Ahti, goddess of the sea, lakes and storms.

Greek mythology

Main article: Greek sea gods

• Aegaeon, god of violent sea storms and ally of the Titans
• Akheilos, shark-shaped sea spirit
• Amphitrite, sea goddess and consort of Poseidon
• Anapos, water god of eastern Sicily
• Brizo, goddess of sailors
• Carcinus, a giant crab who allied itself with the Hydra against Heracles. When it died, Hera placed it in the sky as the constellation Cancer.
• Ceto, goddess of the dangers of the ocean and of sea monsters
• Charybdis, a sea monster and spirit of whirlpools and the tide
• Cymopoleia, a daughter of Poseidon and goddess of giant storm waves
• Delphin, the leader of the dolphins, Poseidon placed him in the sky as the constellation Delphin
• Doris, goddess of the sea's bounty
• Eidothea, prophetic sea nymph and daughter of Proteus
• Electra, an Oceanid, consort of Thaumas
• Eurybia, goddess of the mastery of the seas
• Galene (Γαλήνη), goddess of calm seas
• Glaucus, the fisherman's sea god
• Gorgons, three monstrous sea spirits
  • Stheno
  • Euryale
  • Medusa
• The Graeae, three ancient sea spirits who personified the white foam of the sea; they shared one eye and one tooth between them
• The Harpies, winged spirits of sudden, sharp gusts of wind
• Hippocampi, the horses of the sea
• The Ichthyocentaurs, a pair of centaurine sea-gods with the upper bodies of men, the lower fore-parts of horses, ending in the serpentine tails of fish
  • Bythos
  • Aphros
• Ladon, a hundred-headed sea serpent who guarded the western reaches of the sea, and the island and golden apples of the Hesperides
• Leucothea, a sea goddess who aided sailors in distress
• Nerites, watery consort of Aphrodite and/or beloved of Poseidon
• Nereus, the old man of the sea, and the god of the sea's rich bounty of fish
• Nymphs
  • Naiades, fresh water nymphs
  • Nereides, sea nymphs
  • Oceanides, fresh water nymphs
• Oceanus, Titan god of the Earth-encircling river Okeanos, the font of all the Earth's fresh-water
• Pan,Patron God of fishing
• Palaemon, a young sea god who aided sailors in distress
• Phorcys, god of the hidden dangers of the deep
• Pontus, primeval god of the sea, father of the fish and other sea creatures
• Poseidon, king of the sea and lord of the sea gods; also god of rivers,storms, flood and drought, earthquakes, and horses. His Roman equivalent is Neptune.
• Potamoi, deities of rivers, fathers of Naiads, brothers of the Oceanids, and as such, the sons of Oceanus and Tethys.
• Proteus, a shape-shifting, prophetic old sea god, and the herdsman of Poseidon's seals
• Psamathe, goddess of sand beaches
• Scylla, a Nereid metamorphosed into a sea monster
• The Sirens, three sea nymphs who lured sailors to their death with their song
• The Telchines, sea spirits native to the island of Rhodes; the gods killed them when they turned to evil magic
• Tethys, wife of Okeanos, and the mother of the rivers (Potamoi), springs, streams, fountains and clouds
• Thalassa, primeval spirit of the sea and consort of Pontos
• Thaumas, god of the wonders of the sea and father of the Harpies and the rainbow goddess Iris
• Thetis, leader of the Nereids who presided over the spawning of marine life in the sea, mother of Achilles
• Triteia, daughter of Triton and companion of Ares
• Triton, fish-tailed son and herald of Poseidon
• Tritones, fish-tailed spirits in Poseidon's retinue

Haitian Vodou

• Agwé, a loa who rules over the sea, fish, and aquatic plants, as well as the patron loa of fishermen and sailors
• Clermeil, the loa who made rivers flood their banks
• Pie, a soldier-loa who lives at the bottoms of lakes and rivers and causes floods

Hawaiian mythology

• Kamohoalii, shark god
• Nāmaka, sea goddess
• Ukupanipo, shark god who controls the amount of fish close enough for the fisherman to catch

Hindu/Vedic mythology

Varuna, the Lord of the oceans

• Apam Napat, god of fresh water, such as in rivers and lakes
• Ganga goddess of the Ganges River
• Varuna (celestial ocean)
• Various rivers associated with goddesses in the Rigveda, such as Sarasvati (Sarasvati River) and Yamuna

Incan mythology

• Pariacaca, god of water and rainstorms
• Paricia, god who sent a flood to kill humans who did not respect him adequately

Inuit mythology

• Aipaloovik, an evil sea god associated with death and destruction
• Alignak, a lunar deity and god of weather, water, tides, eclipses, and earthquakes
• Arnapkapfaaluk, a fearsome sea goddess
• Idliragijenget, god of the ocean
• Nootaikok, god who presided over icebergs and glaciers
• Sedna, goddess of the sea

Japanese mythology

• Mizuchi, Japanese dragon and sea god
• Ōhoyamatsumi, god of mountains, sea and war
• Ryūjin or Watatsumi, Japanese dragon and tutelary deity of the sea
• Suijin, Shinto god of water
• Susanoo, Shinto god of storms and the sea

Lithuanian mythology

• Bangpūtys, god of sea and storm

Lusitanian mythology

• Borvo, a healing deity associated with bubbling spring water
• Durius, a river god associated with the Douro river
• Nabia, goddess of rivers and lakes

Māori mythology

• Ikatere, a fish god, the father of all the sea creatures including mermaids
• Tangaroa, god of the sea

Mesopotamian mythology

• Enbilulu, god of rivers and canals
• Enki, god of water and of the River Tigris
• Marduk, god associated with water, vegetation, judgment, and magic
• Sirsir, god of mariners and boatmen
• Nammu, goddess of the primeval sea.
• Tiamat, goddess of salt water and chaos, also mother of all gods
• Apsu, god of fresh water, father of all other gods

Norse/Germanic mythology

• Aegir, personification of the sea
• Rán, sea goddess of love who collects the drowned in a net
• Njord, god of the sea, particularly of seafaring
• Nerthus, goddess of lakes, springs, holy waters
• Nix, water spirits who usually appear in human form

Pirate lore

• Davy Jones, the Devil of the seas

Roman mythology

• Fontus, god of wells and springs
• Neptune, king of the sea
• Salacia, Neptune's queen
• Volturnus, god of the waters

Slavic mythology

• Bagiennik, water demons who lived in lakes and rivers
• Rusalki, female ghosts, water nymphs, succubi or mermaid-like demons that dwell in waterways.
• Veles, god of earth, waters, and the underworld

Tonga (Zambezi Valley Zimbabwe)

• Nyami Nyami, river god

Yoruba, Afro-American religion, Santería,Orisha worship, IFA

• Yemaja,or Yemaya goddess of the ocean, the essence of motherhood, and a protector of children
• Mami Wata, a pantheon of water deities
• Oshun, deity of rivers, beauty, sensuality. In Santería she also represents wealth
• Okie, deity of lakes, daughter of Obatala
• Olokun, deity of the oceans often synchronized with Poseidon or Neptune

Igbo, African religion

• Idemili, goddess of a river
• Uhammiri/ Ogbuide, a lake goddess
• Urashi/ Okita, a river god
• Ava, a pair of river goddess and god

See also

• Holy wells
• Nature worship
• Sea monster
• Water spirit