List of health deities

A statue of Asclepius, the Greek god of healing

A health deity is a god or goddess in mythology or religion associated with health, healing and wellbeing. They may also be related to childbirth or Mother Goddesses. They are a common feature of polytheistic religions.

List of health deities

African

• Agwu, Igbo god of health and divination
• Jengu, water spirits that bring good fortune and cure disease
• !Xu, sky god of the Bushmen of southern Africa who is invoked in illness

Aztec

• Ixtlilton, god of medicine.
• Patecatl, god of Pulque and healing.

Celtic

• Airmed, Irish goddess associated with healing and resurrection.
• Alaunus, Gaulish god of the sun, healing and prophecy associated with Greek god Helios-Apollo
• Atepomarus, Gaulish healing god associated with the Greek god Apollo
• Borvo, Celto-Lusitanian healing god associated with bubbling spring water
• Brigid, Irish goddess associated with healing
• Dian Cecht, Irish god of healing
• Glanis, Gaulish god associated with a healing spring at the town of Glanum
• Grannus, Gaulish god associated with spas, healing thermal and mineral springs, and the sun and associated with Apollo
• Hooded Spirits, hooded deities associated with health and fertility
• Ianuaria, goddess associated with healing
• Iovantucarus, Gaulish healer-god and protector of youth associated with Lenus Mars
• Lenus, Gaulish healing god associated with the Greek god Ares
• Maponos, god of youth, associated with the Greek god Apollo
• Mullo, Gaulish deity associated with the Greek god Ares and said to heal afflictions of the eye
• Nodens, Gallo-Roman and Roman British god associated with healing, the sea, hunting and dogs
• Sirona, Gallo-Roman and Celto-Germanic goddess associated with healing

Chinese

• Wu Ben (Baosheng Dadi, the King of Medicine)
• Shennong, a mythical emperor who spread knowledge of herbs and medicine.
• Hua Tuo, the God of Surgery
• Pian Que, Medicine God-King
• Sun Simiao, Medicine King & God of Internal Medicine
• Wei Chizhuang, Medicine King
• Wei Shanjun, Medicine King
• Wei Gudao, Medicine King
• Pi Tong, Medicine King
• Wang Wei, God of Acupuncture
• Li Shizhen, God of Herbal Medicine
• Tàiyī Zhǔshén, God of Qi
• Táokāng Gěyán, God of Essence
• Zhang Guolao, one of the Eight Immortals, whose wine was considered to have healing properties
• He Xiangu, one of the Eight Immortals, whose lotus flower improves one's health, mental and physical
• Li Tieguai, one of the Eight Immortals, who alleviates the suffering of the poor, sick and needy with special medicine from his gourd
• Wong Tai Sin, a god with the power of healing
• Jiutian Xuannü, goddess of longevity (long life)^[1]
• Gods of the Nine Chambers
  • Jiànggōng Zhenren (Heart)
  • Dānyuángōng Zhenren (Kidneys)
  • Lántáigōng Zhenren (Liver)
  • Shàngshūgōng Zhenren (Lungs)
  • Huángtínggōng Zhenren (Spleen)
  • Tiānlínggōng Zhenren (Gall Bladder)
  • Xuánlínggōng Zhenren (Small Intestine)
  • Wèijìngōng Zhenren (Large Intestine)
  • Yùfánggōng Zhenren (Bladder)
• Gods of Hygiene/Cleanliness/Sanitation
  • Língbǎo Huǎnzhàosī Língguān
  • Yùqīng Tōngbiàn Shèmó Hīnghuì Língguān
  • Dāntiān Jiǔfèng Pòhuì Língguān
  • Wǔfāng Wǔdì Xièhuì Xiānguān
  • Tiānhé Dōngjǐngjūn
  • Yuànzhào Fūren
  • Jiǔtiān Yùnhuì Shénjūn
  • Jiǔtiān Xièhuì Shénjūn
  • Shōuhuì Shénjūn
  • Quèhuì Shénjūn
  • Chúhuì Shénjūn
  • Duànhuì Shénjūn
  • Mièhuì Shénjūn
  • Xǐhuì Shénjūn
  • Dànghuì Shénjūn

Egyptian

• Sekhmet, goddess of healing and medicine of Upper Egypt
• Heka, deification of magic, through which Egyptians believed they could gain protection, healing and support
• Serket, goddess of healing stings and bites
• Ta-Bitjet, a scorpion goddess whose blood is a panacea for all poisons
• Isis, goddess of healing, magic, marriage and perfection

Etruscan

• Fufluns, god of plant life, happiness and health and growth in all things
• Menrva, goddess of war, art, wisdom and health

Greek

• Aceso, goddess of curing sickness and healing wounds
• Aegle, goddess of the healthy glow
• Artemis, goddess of the hunt, wild animals, the wilderness, fertility, plague and good health, girls and young women
• Apollo, god of the sun and light, music, poetry, prophecy, archery, healing, medicine and plague
• Asclepius, god of medicine and healing
• Chiron, a centaur known for his knowledge and skill in healing
• Eileithyia, goddess of childbirth
• Epione, goddess of the soothing of pain
• Hebe, goddess of eternal youth, and cupbearer to the gods
• Hygieia, goddess of health, cleanliness and sanitation
• Iaso, goddess of cures, remedies, and modes of healing
• Paean, physician of the gods
• Panacea, goddess of the universal cure
• Telesphorus, demi-god of convalescence, who "brought to fulfillment" recuperation from illness or injury

Hindu

Lord Dhanvantari, the Hindu god of medicine and Lord of Ayurvedic medicine

• Ashvins, twin doctors of the gods and gods of Ayurvedic medicine
• Dhanvantari, physician of the gods and god of Ayurvedic medicine
• Dhatri, solar god of health and domestic tranquility
• Mariamman, goddess of disease and rain
• Shitala Devi, goddess of smallpox and disease
• Jvarasura, god of fever
• Paranasabari, diseases

Hittite

• Kamrusepa, goddess of healing, medicine, and magic
• Shaushka, goddess of fertility, war, and healing

Inuit

• Eeyeekalduk, god of medicine and good health
• Pinga, goddess of the hunt, fertility and medicine

Japanese

• Ebisu, god of fishermen, good luck, and workingmen, and the guardian of the health of small children

Maya

• Ixchel, jaguar goddess of midwifery and medicine

Mesopotamian

• Anahita, Indo-Iranian goddess of fertility, healing and wisdom
• Namtar, god of death and disease
• Ninazu, god of the underworld and healing
• Ningishzida, god of the underworld and patron of medicine
• Nintinugga, goddess of healing
• Ninurta, god of the South Wind and healing

Native American

• Kumugwe, Nuxalk underwater god with the power to see into the future, heal the sick and injured, and bestow powers on those whom he favors
• Angak, a Hopi kachina spirit, represents a healing and protective male figure.

Norse

• Eir, goddess associated with medical skill

Persian

• Haoma, god of health

Phoenician

• Eshmun, god of healing

Roman

• Angitia, snake goddess associated with magic and healing
• Apollo, Greco-Roman god of light, music, healing, and the sun
• Bona Dea, goddess of fertility, healing, virginity, and women
• Cardea, goddess of health, thresholds and door hinges and handles
• Carna, goddess who presided over the heart and other organs
• Endovelicus, god of public health and safety
• Febris, goddess who embodied and protected people from fever and malaria
• Feronia, goddess of wildlife, fertility, health and abundance
• Valetudo, Roman name for the Greek goddess Hygieia, goddess of health, cleanliness and hygiene
• Vejovis, god of healing
• Verminus, god who protected cattle from disease

Sami

• Beiwe, goddess of the sun, spring, fertility and sanity, who restored the mental health of those driven mad by the darkness of the winter

Slavic

• Żywie, goddess of health and healing

Thracian

• Derzelas, god of abundance and the underworld, health and human spirit's vitality

Yoruba and Afro-American

• Aja, spirit of the forest, the animals within it and herbal healers
• Babalu Aye, spirit of illness and disease
• Erinle, spirit of abundance, the healer, and Physician to the Orisha
• Loco, patron of healers and plants
• Mami Wata, a pantheon of water deities associated with healing and fertility
• Sopona, god of smallpox

References