Who Are the Sun Gods and Goddesses

Who is the sun god? That varies by religion and tradition. In ancient cultures, where you find deities with specialized functions, youll probably find a sun god or goddess, or several within the same religious tradition. Riding Across the Sky Many sun gods and goddesses are humanoid and ride or drive a vessel of some sort across the sky. It may be a boat, a chariot, or a cup. The sun god of the Greeks and Romans,  for example, rode in a four-horse (Pyrios, Aeos, Aethon, and Phlegon) chariot. In Hindu traditions, the sun god Surya travels across the sky in a chariot pulled by either seven horses or a single seven-headed horse. The chariot driver is Aruna, the personification of dawn. In Hindu mythology, they fight the demons of darkness. There may be more than one god of the sun. The Egyptians differentiated among the aspects of the sun and had several gods associated with it: Khepri for the rising sun, Atum for the setting sun, and Re for the noontime sun, who rode across the sky in a solar bark. The Greeks and Romans also had more than one sun god. Female Sun Deities You may notice that most sun deities are male and act as counterparts to female moon deities, but dont take this as a given. Sometimes the roles are reversed. There are goddesses of the sun just as there are male deities of the moon. In Norse mythology, for example, Sol (also called Sunna) is the goddess of the sun, while her brother, Mani, is the god of the moon. Sol rides a chariot that is drawn by two golden horses. Another sun goddess is  Amaterasu, a major deity in the Shinto religion of Japan. Her brother,  Tsukuyomi, is the god of the moon. It is from the sun goddess that the Japanese imperial family is believed to be descended. Name Nationality/Religion God or Goddess? Notes Amaterasu Japan Sun Goddess Major deity of the Shinto religion. Arinna (Hebat) Hittite (Syrian) Sun Goddess The most important of three Hittite major solar deities Apollo Greece and Rome Sun God Freyr Norse Sun God Not the main Norse sun god, but a fertility god associated with the sun. Garuda Hindu Bird God Helios (Helius) Greece Sun God Before Apollo was the Greek sun god, Helios held that position. Hepa Hittite Sun Goddess The consort of a weather god, she was assimilated with the sun goddess Arinna. Huitzilopochtli (Uitzilopochtli) Aztec Sun God Hvar Khshaita Iranian/Persian Sun God Inti Inca Sun God The national patron of the Inca state. Liza West African Sun God Lugh Celtic Sun God Mithras Iranian/Persian Sun God Re (Ra) Egypt Mid-day Sun God An Egyptian god shown with a solar disk. Center of worship was Heliopolis. Later associated with Horus as Re-Horakhty. Also combined with Amun as Amun-Ra, a solar creator god. Shemesh/Shepesh Ugarit Sun goddess Sol (Sunna) Norse Sun Goddess She rides in a horse-drawn solar chariot. Sol Invictus Roman Sun God The unconquered sun. A late Roman sun god. The title was also used of Mithras. Surya Hindu Sun God Rides the sky in a horse-drawn chariot. Tonatiuh Aztec Sun God Utu (Shamash) Mesopotamia Sun God