Deity

This article is about gods and goddesses. See also God.

Some people believe that deities are powerful spirits that control the nature of things. Deities are also called gods. A female god is called a goddess. "Divine" is the adjective of deity.

Different religions believe in different gods. Since there are many thousands of religions in the world there are many different ideas about what deities are and can do. Followers of many ancient religions and some modern religions believe in many gods and goddesses. The belief in more than one god is called polytheism, while the belief in only one god is called monotheism.

In most religions, a deity is believed to be immortal (cannot die), and to have powers far beyond those of humans.

Examples

Some of the gods and goddesses of different religions are:

• From the Ancient Greek religion: Zeus, Apollo, Athena, Ares, Aphrodite, Poseidon, Hades, Dionysus, Hera, Artemis, Hephaestus, Hermes
• From the Ancient Norse religion: Thor, Odin
• From the Ancient Roman religion: Jupiter, Mars, Venus
• From the Ancient Egyptian religion: Isis, Osiris, Horus, Thoth, Ra, Hathor
• From Islam: Allah
• From Ayyavazhi: Ekam, Ayya Vaikundar, Narayana, Sivan, Vethan, Thirumal
• From Christianity: Jesus, Yahweh, the Holy Spirit
• From Judaism: Hashem
• From Hinduism: Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, Krishna, Durga, Ganesha
• From Shinto: Amaterasu the Sun Goddess, Inari the Fox God, Izanagi the First Human, Ryuujin the Sea God, Susanoo the Storm God