Triple deity

A triple deity is a deity with three apparent forms that function as a singular whole. Such deities may sometimes be referred to as threefold, tripled, triplicate, tripartite, triune, triadic, or as a trinity. The number three has a long history of mythical associations and triple deities are common throughout world mythology. Carl Jung considered the arrangement of deities into triplets an archetype in the history of religion.

In classical religious traditions, three separate beings may represent either a triad who typically appear as a group (the Greek Moirai, the Roman Parcae, the Norse Norns, the Baltic Dēkla, Kārta and Laima, or the Irish Badb, Macha and Morrígan), or a single deity notable for having three aspects (Greek Hecate and Hellenistic Hermes Trismegistus). Trinitarian Christianity instead recognizes three "divine persons" in God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, which are usually distinguished from the idea of independent gods or aspects.

Origins

Georges Dumézil proposed in his trifunctional hypothesis that ancient Indo-European society conceived of itself as structured around three activities: worship, war, and toil. As social structures developed, particular segments of societies became more closely associated with one of the three fundamental activities. These segments, in turn, became entrenched as three distinct "classes", each one represented by its own god. In 1970, Dumézil proposed that some goddesses represented these three qualities as different aspects or epithets.