A solar deity is a god or goddess who represents the Sun, or an aspect of it, usually by its perceived power and strength. Solar deities and Sun worship can be found throughout most of recorded history in various forms. The following is a list of solar deities:

African

Bakongo mythology

Nzambi Mpungu, Kongo god of the Sun and creation

Bantu mythology

Nyambe, the Bantu god of the Sun and creation

Berber/Amazigh mythology

Magec, Tenerife goddess of the Sun and light

Igbo mythology

Anyanwu, Igbo god believed to dwell in the Sun

Dahomey mythology

Mawu, Dahomey goddess associated with the Sun and the Moon

Egyptian mythology

Amun, creator deity sometimes identified as a Sun god
Aten, god of the Sun, the visible disc of the Sun
Atum, the "finisher of the world" who represents the Sun as it sets
Bast, cat goddess associated with the Sun
Hathor, mother of Horus and Ra and goddess of the Sun
Horus, god of the sky whose right eye was considered to be the Sun and his left the Moon
Khepri, god of the rising Sun, creation and renewal of life
Ptah, god of craftsmanship, the arts, and fertility, sometimes said to represent the Sun at night
Ra, god of the Sun
Sekhmet, goddess of war and of the Sun, sometimes also plagues and creator of the desert
Sopdu, god of war and the scorching heat of the summer Sun

Zulu mythology

uMvelinqangi, Xhosa and Zulu people's god of the Sun and sky
iNyanga, Zulu people, goddess of the Moon
Ukhulukhulwana, Zulu people's ancestor who came from the stars. He taught them to build huts and taught them the high laws of isiNtu

American

Aztec mythology

Huitzilopochtli, god of the Sun and war
Nanahuatzin, god of the Sun
Teoyaomicqui, god of lost souls, the Sun, and the sixth hour of the day
Tonatiuh, god of the Sun and ruler of the heavens

Brazilian mythology

Guaraci, god of the Sun (Guarani mythology)
Meri, folk hero and god of the Sun

Incan mythology

Inti, god of the Sun and patron deity of the Inca Empire
Ch'aska ("Venus") or Ch'aska Quyllur ("Venus star") was the goddess of dawn, twilight, and, the planet

Mapuche mythology

Antü, Sun deity or pillán of the mapuche from Chile and Argentina

Inuit mythology

Akycha, Sun goddess worshiped in Alaska
Malina, goddess of the Sun found most commonly in the legends of Greenland

Maya mythology

Ah Kin, god of the Sun, bringer of doubt, and protector against the evils associated with darkness
Hunahpu, one of the Maya Hero Twins; he transformed into the Sun while his brother transformed into the Moon
Kinich Ahau, god of the Sun

Muisca mythology

Sué, god of the Sun and husband of Chía, the Moon

Other Amerindian mythology

Jóhonaaʼéí, the Navajo Sun god, known as "The One Who Rules the Day"
Kisosen, the Abenaki solar deity, an eagle whose wings opened to create the day and closed to cause the nighttime
Napioa, the Blackfoot deity of the Sun
Tawa, the Hopi creator and god of the Sun
Wi, Lakota god of the Sun

Asian

Ainu mythology

Chup Kamui, a lunar goddess who switched places with her brother to become goddess of the Sun

Arabian mythology

Malakbel, god of the Sun
Shams/Shamsun, a solar goddess exalted in Himyar and by the Sabaeans.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]

Armenian mythology

Ar/Arev, the Sun god with its people as "children of the Sun"

Buddhist mythology

Marici, goddess of the heavens, the Sun, and light
Surya, god of the Sun (Suriya Pariththa, Suthra Pitaka, Pali canon, Theravada Buddhism)

Canaanite mythology

Shapash, goddess of the Sun
Ba'al, god of life and fertility, also associated with the Sun and storms

Chinese mythology

Doumu, Sun goddess sometimes conflated with Marici.
Xihe, Sun goddess and mother of the ten suns
Yu Yi, god that carries the Sun across the sky
Xu Kai, god of the Sun star

Elamite

Nahundi, god of the Sun and law

Filipino mythology

Main article: List of Philippine mythological figures

Init-init: the Itneg god of the Sun married to the mortal Aponibolinayen; during the day, he leaves his house to shine light on the world^[5]
Chal-chal: the Bontok god of the Sun whose son's head was cut off by Kabigat;^[6] aided the god Lumawig in finding a spouse^[7]
Mapatar: the Ifugao sun deity of the sky in charge of daylight^[8]
Sun God: the Ibaloi deity who pushed up the skyworld and pushed down the underworld, creating earth, after he was hit by a man's arrow during the war between the peoples of the skyworld and the underworld^[9]
Elag: the Bugkalot deity of the Sun, worshiped with the moon and stars; has a magnificent house in the sky realm called Gacay; retreats to his home during nights; giver of light and growth^[10]
Apo Init: the Ilocano deity of the sun^[11]
Amman: the Ilocano god of the Sun, where the sun is his eye^[12]
Agueo: the morose and taciturn Pangasinense sun god who is obedient to his father, Ama; lives in a palace of light^[13]
Algao: the Aeta Sun god who battled the giant turtle Bacobaco^[14]
Mangetchay: also called Mangatia; the Kapampangan supreme deity who created life on earth in remembrance of his dead daughter; lives in the Sun;^[15] in other versions, she is the creator and net-weaver of the heavens^[16]
Aring Sinukûan: the Kapampangan Sun god of war and death, taught the early inhabitants the industry of metallurgy, wood cutting, rice culture and even waging war;^[17] lives in Mount Arayat, and later included a female form^[18]
Apolaki: the Tagalog god of sun and warriors;^[19] son of Anagolay and Dumakulem;^[20] sometimes referred as son of Bathala and brother of Mayari; ruler of the world during daytime^[21]
Quadruple Deities: the four childless naked Tau-buid Mangyan deities, composed of two gods who come from the Sun and two goddesses who come from the upper part of the river; summoned using the paragayan or diolang plates^[22]
Adlao: the Bicolano son of Dagat and Paros; joined Daga's rebellion and died; his body became the sun;^[23] in another myth, he was alive and during a battle, he cut one of Bulan's arm and hit Bulan's eyes, where the arm was flattened and became the earth, while Bulan's tears became the rivers and seas^[24]
Unnamed God: a Bicolano Sun god who fell in love with the mortal, Rosa; refused to light the world until his father consented to their marriage; he afterwards visited Rosa, but forgetting to remove his powers over fire, he accidentally burned Rosa's whole village until nothing but hot springs remained^[25]
Sanghid: the Waray giant who wove cloth on a gold loom with supernatural speed; has the power to move back the Sun^[26]
Liadlao: the gold-bodied Bisaya son of Lidagat and Lihangin; killed by Kaptan's rage during the great revolt; his body became the Sun^[27]
Adlaw: the Bisaya Sun deity worshiped by the good^[28]
Launsina: the Capiznon goddess of the Sun, Moon, stars, and seas, and the most beloved because people seek forgiveness from her^[29]
Magrakad: the Tagbanwa god found at exactly noontime on the other side of the Sun; gives the warmth which sustains life and, when the people are ill, carries away sickness^[30]
Tumangkuyun: wash and keep clean the trunks of the two sacred cardinal trees in Sidpan and Babatan by using the blood of those who have died in epidemics; the blood he uses causes the colors of the sunrise and sunset^[30]
Libtakan: the Manobo god of sunrise, sunset, and good weather^[20]
Unnamed Gods: the Bagobo gods whose fire create smoke that becomes the white clouds, while the Sun creates yellow clouds that make the colors of the rainbow^[31]
Kadaw La Sambad: one of the two T'boli supreme deities; married to Bulon La Mogoaw; lives in the seventh layer of the universe^[32]
Lageay Lengkuos: the greatest of Teduray heroes and a shaman (beliyan) who made the earth and forests; the only one who could pass the magnet stone in the straight between the big and little oceans; inverted the directions where east became west, inverted the path of the Sun, and made the water into land and land into water^[33]
Sun Deity: the divine Maranao being depicted in an anthropomorphic form as a flaming young man; angels serve as his charioteers^[34]

Hindu mythology

Aryaman, god of the midday Sun
Savitr, god of the sun at sunrise and sunset
Surya, the Sun god, rides across the sky in a horse-drawn chariot à la Helios and Sol
Mitra, often associated with the Sun
Mihir, meaning Sun.
Aruna, charioteer of Surya, god of the morning Sun.
Tapati, Sun goddess.

Hittite mythology

Istanu, goddess/god of the Sun and judgment
Sun goddess of Arinna
Sun god of Heaven, daylight god of judgement
Sun goddess of the Earth, infernal goddess of the underworld.

Japanese mythology

Amaterasu, goddess of the Sun

Mesopotamian mythology

Shamash, Akkadian god of the Sun and justice
Utu, Sumerian god of the Sun and justice
Šerida, Sumerian goddess of light, married to the god of the Sun (Akkadian name Aya)

Scythian religion

Tabiti, ancient Iranian goddess possibly connected with the Sun.

Tocharian

A "sun deity" (kaum näkte),^[35] possibly a goddess.^[36]

Turkic mythology

Gun Ana, common Turkic solar deity, seen as a goddess in the Kazakh and Kyrgyz traditions
Koyash, god of the Sun

Persian mythology

Mithra, often associated with the Sun.
Hvare-khshaeta, the Sun yazata

Zunism

The Zunbil dynasty and the subjects of Zabulistan worshiped the Sun, which they called Zun. They believed that the Sun was the god of justice, the force of good in the world and, consequently, the being that drove out the darkness and allowed man to live another day.

Vietnamese mythology

Goddess Thần Mặt Trời,^[37] the embodiment of the sun, the daughter of Ông Trời, old sister of Thần Mặt Trăng, she and her sister have a husband who is a bear, when the Bear God wants to meet them, a solar or lunar eclipse will appear.

European

Baltic mythology

Saulė, goddess of the Sun

Armenian mythology

Arev
Areg
Arpʻi

Basque mythology

Ekhi, goddess of the Sun and protector of humanity

Celtic mythology

Áine, Irish goddess of love, summer, wealth, and sovereignty, associated with the Sun and midsummer
Alaunus, Gaulish god of the Sun, healing, and prophecy
Belenos, Gaulish god of the Sun
Brighid, Irish sun goddess
Étaín, Irish Sun goddess
Grannus, god associated with spas, healing thermal and mineral springs, and the Sun
Lugh, Sun god as well as a writing and warrior god
Macha, "Sun of the womanfolk" and occasionally considered synonymous with Grian
Olwen, female figure often constructed as originally the Welsh Sun goddess
Sulis, British goddess whose name is related to the common Proto-Indo-European word for "Sun" and thus cognate with Helios, Sól, Sol, and Surya and who retains solar imagery, as well as a domain over healing and thermal springs. Probably the de facto solar deity of the Celts.

Etruscan mythology

Usil, Etruscan equivalent of Helios

Finnish mythology

Päivätär, goddess of the Sun

Germanic mythology

Sól/Sunna/Sunne, the common Sun goddess among the Germanic peoples, who according to Nordic mythology is chased across the sky in her horse-drawn chariot by a wolf

Greek mythology

Helios, god and personification of the Sun who drives across the sky in a chariot
Apollo, god of the Sun and light, among others. His most common epithet is Phoebus (“Radiant”)
Eos, goddess and personification of the dawn
Hemera, goddess of the day
Electryone, goddess of the sunrise

Hungarian mythology

Nap Király, the Hungarian god of sun who rides his silver fur horse everyday from east to west.
Nap Anya, Goddess of the sun and partner of Nap király

Lusitanian mythology

Endovelicus, god of health and safety, worshipped both as a solar deity and a chthonic one
Neto, potentially both a solar and war deity
A possible sun goddess, whose cult has become that of Virgin Mary Nossa Senhora de Antime.^[38]^[39]^[40]

Minoan mythology

Possibly the Snake Goddess.^[41]^[42]

Proto-Indo-European mythology

Sehul^[43]^[44]
eye of Dyēws^[45]

Roman mythology

Aurora, goddess of dawn
Sol, god of the Sun, rides in a horse-drawn chariot

Sami mythology

Beiwe, goddess of the Sun, spring, fertility, and sanity

Slavic mythology

Dažbog, god of the Sun
Hors, god of the Sun

Oceania

Australian Aboriginal mythology

Bila, cannibal sun goddess of the Adnyamathanha
Gnowee, solar goddess who searches daily for her lost son; the light of her torch is the Sun
Wala, solar goddess
Wuriupranili, solar goddess whose torch is the Sun
Yhi, Karraur goddess of the sun, light and creation

Māori mythology

Tama-nui-te-rā, personification of the Sun

References

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The Sun

List

Internal structure

Atmosphere

Photosphere	Supergranulation Granule Faculae Sunspot Ellerman bomb
Chromosphere	Plage Spicule Moreton wave
Corona	Transition region Coronal hole Coronal loop Coronal mass ejection Nanoflare Prominence Helmet streamer Supra-arcade downflows Alfvén surface

Variation

Heliosphere

G-type main-sequence star

Exploration

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