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List of war deities

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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionSep 15, 2026
Entity authorityQ1752560
Source-derived summary

A war god in mythology associated with war, combat, or bloodshed. They occur commonly in polytheistic religions.

Unlike most gods and goddesses in polytheistic religions, monotheistic deities have traditionally been portrayed in their mythologies as commanding war in order to spread religion. (The intimate connection between "holy war" and the "one true god" belief of monotheism has been noted by many scholars, including Jonathan Kirsch in his book God Against The Gods: The History of the War Between Monotheism and Polytheism and Joseph Campbell in The Masks of God, Vol. 3: Occidental Mythology.)

The following is a list of war deities:

Africa

Egyptian

Anat-- also known as Anath-- was a goddess of fertility, sexuality, love, and war. She was the sister of Baal

Anhur, god of war, not a native god

Anuke, a goddess of war and consort of Anhur

Apedemak, the lion god of war: he is sometimes depicted with three heads

Bast, cat-headed goddess associated with war, protection of Lower Egypt and the pharaoh, the sun, perfumes, ointments, and embalming

Horus, god of the king, the sky, war, and protection

Maahes, lion-headed god of war

Menhit, goddess of war, "she who massacres"

Montu, falcon-headed god of war, valor, and the Sun

Neith, goddess of war, hunting, and wisdom

Pakhet, goddess of war

Satis, deification of the floods of the Nile River and an early war, hunting, and fertility goddess

Sekhmet, goddess of warfare, pestilence, and the desert

Set, god of the desert and storms, associated with war

Sobek, god of the Nile, the army, military, fertility, and crocodiles

Sopdu, god of the scorching heat of the summer sun, associated with war

Wepwawet, wolf-god of war and death who later became associated with Anubis and the afterlife

Berber

Gurzil, bull-headed warrior god.

Nilo-Saharan

Nubian

Apedemak, Nubian lion-headed warrior god.

Western African-Congo

Yoruba

Ogun, oriṣa of war and iron

Oya, warrior oriṣa of storms and the dead.

Eastern African-Congo

Igbo

Amadioha

Ekwensu

Ethiopian

Maher, god of war.

Kenya

Kalenjin

Boryet, Kipsigis Death-wielding god of war.

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