Skip to content
Category

Plague gods

page 1
Apollo
Nergal
Nergal (Sumerian: dKIŠ.UNU or ; ; Aramaic: ܢܸܪܓܲܠ; ) was a Mesopotamian god worshiped through all periods of Mesopotamian history, from Early Dynastic to Neo-Babylonian times, with a few attestations indicating that his cult survived into the period of Achaemenid domination. He was primarily associated with war, death, and disease, and has been described as the "god of inflicted death". He reigned over Kur, the Mesopotamian underworld, depending on the myth either on behalf of his parents Enlil and Ninlil, or in later periods as a result of his marriage with the goddess Ereshkigal. Originally
Xolotl
In Aztec mythology, Xolotl () was a god of fire and lightning. He was commonly depicted as a dog-headed man and was a psychopomp. He was also god of twins, monsters, death, misfortune, sickness, and deformities. Xolotl is the canine brother and twin of Quetzalcōātl, the pair being sons of the virgin Chīmalmā. He is the dark personification of Venus as the Evening Star, and was associated with heavenly fire. The axolotl is named after him.
Xipe Totec
Aztec deity
Resheph
Resheph (also Reshef and many other variants, see below; Eblaite , Rašap, , ršp, Egyptian '', , ršp, Rešep̄'') was a god associated with war and plague, originally worshiped in Ebla in the third millennium BCE. He was one of the main members of the local pantheon, and was worshiped in numerous hypostases, some of which were associated with other nearby settlements, such as Tunip. He was associated with the goddess Adamma, who was his spouse in Eblaite tradition. Eblaites considered him and the Mesopotamian god Nergal to be equivalents, most likely based on their shared role as war deities.
Namtar
Namtar () was a figure in ancient Mesopotamian religion who, depending on the context, could be regarded both as a minor god and as a demon of disease. He is best attested as the sukkal (attendant deity) of Ereshkigal, the goddess of the underworld. Like her, he was not the object of active worship, though references to it are made in literary texts, and additionally some incantations entrust him with keeping various other malevolent forces in the underworld.
Vejovis
Vejovis or Vejove ( or ; rare or ) was a Roman god of Etruscan origins (, or ).
Erra
babylonian deity
Nanahuatzin
In Aztec mythology, the god Nanāhuātzin or Nanāhuātl (or Nanauatzin, the suffix -tzin implies respect or familiarity; ), the most humble of the gods, sacrificed himself in fire so that he would continue to shine on Earth as the Sun, thus becoming the solar deity. Nanāhuātzin means "full of sores." According to a translation of the Histoyre du Mechique, Nanāhuātzin is the son of Ītzpāpālōtl and Cozcamiauh or Tonantzin, but was adopted by Piltzintecuhtli and Xōchiquetzal. In the Codex Borgia, Nanāhuātzin is represented as a man emerging from a fire. This was originally interpreted as an illustra
Apulu
Apulu (), also syncopated as Aplu (), is an epithet of the Etruscan fire god Śuri as chthonic sky god, roughly equivalent to the Greco-Roman god Apollo. Their names are associated on Pyrgi inscriptions too. The name Apulu or Aplu did not come directly from Greece but via a Latin center, probably Palestrina.
Śuri
Śuri (), Latinized as '''''', was an ancient Etruscan infernal, volcanic and solar fire god, also venerated by other Italic peoples – among them Capenates, Faliscans, Latins and Sabines – and later adopted into ancient Roman religion.
Babalú-Ayé
Babalú-Aye (from Yoruba Obalúayé; also called Oluaye, Omolu, Ṣọpọna, Ayé in Trinidad Orisha, or Obaluaiye) is one of the Oriṣa or manifestations of the Supreme Deity Olodumare in the Yoruba religion of West Africa. Babalú-Aye is a spirit of the Earth and is strongly associated with healing and illness.
Parṇa-śāvari
thumb|Goddess Parnashavari
Šanta
Šanta (Santa) was a god worshiped in Bronze Age Anatolia by Luwians and Hittites. It is presumed that he was regarded as a warlike deity, and that he could additionally be associated with plagues and possibly with the underworld, though the latter proposal is not universally accepted. In known texts he frequently appears alongside Iyarri, a deity of similar character. He is first attested in documents from Kanesh dated to the Old Assyrian period, and continues to appear in later treaties, ritual texts and theophoric names. He is also present in an offering lists from Emar written in Akkadian,
Jvarasura
Jvara (), also called Jvarasura, is the personification of fever in Hindu tradition. He is the servant, and sometimes the attendant, of the pox-goddess, Shitala.
Shakpana
redirect Sopona
Gozu Tennō
Japanese plague deity, historically conflated with Susanoo
Matarajin
Matarajin (摩多羅神) or Madarajin (摩怛哩神) is a Buddhist god chiefly venerated in the Tendai school of Japanese Buddhism. While originally regarded as a wrathful deity obstructing rebirth in the pure land, and thus a "god of obstacles", with time he also came to be seen as a protector of adherents of Tendai doctrine, capable of warding off demons, especially tengu, as well as epidemics. He also acquired other roles, including these of a protector of performing arts (for example noh and sarugaku) and of an astral god of destiny. He additionally came to be identified with a large number of other figur
Shu-pa-e
Šulpae was a Mesopotamian god. Much about his role in Mesopotamian religion remains uncertain, though it is agreed he was an astral deity associated with the planet Jupiter and that he could be linked to specific diseases, especially bennu. He was regarded as the husband of Ninhursag. Among the deities considered to be their children were Ashgi, Panigingarra and Lisin. The oldest texts which mention him come from the Early Dynastic period, when he was worshiped in Kesh. He is also attested in documents from other cities, for example Nippur, Adab and Girsu. Multiple temples dedicated to him are