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God, as a male deity
Deity

A deity is a postulated preternatural or supernatural immortal being, who may be thought of as holy, divinity, or sacred, held in high regard, and respected by human beings....
, contrasts with female deities, or "goddess
Goddess

A goddess is a female deity. Often deities are part of a polytheism system that includes several deities in a pantheon .Common associations of goddesses are the Earth goddess, the Mother Goddess, Love goddess, and the hearth goddess, reflecting historical gender roles....
es". While the term 'goddess' specifically refers to a female deity, words like 'gods' and 'deities' can be applied to all gods collectively, regardless of gender. They don't necessarily refer to male gods in specific. This article focuses on the last category.

The most prominent triad of Hinduism, Trimurti
Trimurti

The Trimurti is a concept in Hinduism "in which the cosmic functions of creation, maintenance, and destruction are personified by the forms of Brahma the creator, Vishnu the maintainer or preserver, and Shiva the destroyer or transformer." These three deities have been called "the Hindu triad" or the "Great Trinity"....
 (which can be seen as three aspects of the same god) is usually depicted as all male (Brahma
Brahma

Brahma is the Hinduism god of creation and one of the Trimurti, the others being Vishnu and Shiva. He is not to be confused with the Supreme Cosmic Spirit in Hindu Vedanta philosophy known as Brahman....
, Shiva
Shiva

Shiva: is a major Hinduism god, and one aspect of Trimurti. In the Shaiva tradition of Hinduism, Shiva is seen as the supreme God. In the Smarta tradition, he is one of panchadeva....
 and Vishnu
Vishnu

Vishnu , , is the Supreme God in Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism. Smarta followers of Adi Shankara, among others, venerate Vishnu as one of panchadeva, and his supreme status is declared in the Hindu sacred texts like Yajurveda, the Rigveda and the Bhagavad Gita....
).






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God, as a male deity
Deity

A deity is a postulated preternatural or supernatural immortal being, who may be thought of as holy, divinity, or sacred, held in high regard, and respected by human beings....
, contrasts with female deities, or "goddess
Goddess

A goddess is a female deity. Often deities are part of a polytheism system that includes several deities in a pantheon .Common associations of goddesses are the Earth goddess, the Mother Goddess, Love goddess, and the hearth goddess, reflecting historical gender roles....
es". While the term 'goddess' specifically refers to a female deity, words like 'gods' and 'deities' can be applied to all gods collectively, regardless of gender. They don't necessarily refer to male gods in specific. This article focuses on the last category.

The most prominent triad of Hinduism, Trimurti
Trimurti

The Trimurti is a concept in Hinduism "in which the cosmic functions of creation, maintenance, and destruction are personified by the forms of Brahma the creator, Vishnu the maintainer or preserver, and Shiva the destroyer or transformer." These three deities have been called "the Hindu triad" or the "Great Trinity"....
 (which can be seen as three aspects of the same god) is usually depicted as all male (Brahma
Brahma

Brahma is the Hinduism god of creation and one of the Trimurti, the others being Vishnu and Shiva. He is not to be confused with the Supreme Cosmic Spirit in Hindu Vedanta philosophy known as Brahman....
, Shiva
Shiva

Shiva: is a major Hinduism god, and one aspect of Trimurti. In the Shaiva tradition of Hinduism, Shiva is seen as the supreme God. In the Smarta tradition, he is one of panchadeva....
 and Vishnu
Vishnu

Vishnu , , is the Supreme God in Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism. Smarta followers of Adi Shankara, among others, venerate Vishnu as one of panchadeva, and his supreme status is declared in the Hindu sacred texts like Yajurveda, the Rigveda and the Bhagavad Gita....
). In most polytheistic
Polytheism

Polytheism is the belief in or worship of multiple deities, such as gods and goddesses. These are usually assembled into a Pantheon , along with their own mythology and rituals....
 religions, both in history and in the present, male deities had the more prominent role. The Greek
Greek mythology

Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the Ancient Greece concerning their List of Greek mythological figures#Immortals and Greek hero cult, Cosmology#Metaphysical cosmology, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices....
 and Roman
Roman mythology

Roman mythology, or more appropriately, Latin mythology, refers to the mythology beliefs of the Italic people inhabiting the region of Latium and its main city, Rome....
 pantheon
Pantheon (gods)

A pantheon is a set of all the gods of a particular polytheistic religion or mythology.Max Weber's 1922 opus, Economy and Society discusses the link between a pantheon of gods and the development of monotheism....
 was ruled by Zeus
Zeus

Zeus in Greek mythology is the king of the gods, the ruler of Mount Olympus and the god of the sky father and List of thunder gods. His symbols are the thunderbolt, eagle, bull , and oak....
 and Jupiter
Jupiter (mythology)

In Roman mythology, Jupiter or Jove was the king of the gods,and the god of sky and thunder. He is the equivalent of Zeus in the Greek pantheon....
, while Woden
Woden

Woden is a god in Anglo-Saxon paganism, together with Norse Odin representing a development of a Proto-Germanic god, *Wodanaz. Other West Germanic forms of the name include Old High German Wuotan, Low German and Dutch language Wodan....
 had a similar role in the Germanic religion. When Ancient Egyptian religion developed closer to monotheism
Monotheism

In theology, monotheism is the belief that only one god exists. The concept of "monotheism" tends to be dominated by the concept of God in the Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity and Islam, and the Neoplatonism concept of God as put forward by Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite....
, it was Amun
Amun

Amun, reconstructed Egyptian language Yamanu , was the name of a deity in Egyptian mythology who gradually rose from being an abstract concept to the patron deity of Thebes, Egypt and one of the most important deities in Ancient Egypt before fading into obscurity....
, a male god, who rose to the most prominent place. War gods were, like the rulers of the pantheon, typically male, too; Ares
Ares

In Greek mythology, Ares is the son of Zeus and Hera. Though often referred to as the Twelve Olympians God of warfare, he is more accurately the god of bloodlust, or slaughter personified: "Ares is apparently an ancient abstract noun meaning throng of battle, war."...
/Mars
Mars (mythology)

Mars was the Roman mythology warrior God , the son of Juno and Jupiter , husband of Bellona , and the lover of Venus . He was the most prominent of the military gods that were worshipped by the Roman legions....
 and Toutatis
Toutatis

Toutatis or Teutates was a Celtic polytheism worshipped in ancient Gaul and Roman Britain. On the basis of his name's etymology, he has been widely interpreted to be a tribal protector....
 are obvious examples. Woden
Woden

Woden is a god in Anglo-Saxon paganism, together with Norse Odin representing a development of a Proto-Germanic god, *Wodanaz. Other West Germanic forms of the name include Old High German Wuotan, Low German and Dutch language Wodan....
 was both king of the gods and a god of war. Athena
Athena

In Greek mythology, Athena is the shrewd companion of Hero and the goddess of Hero endeavour. She is the virgin patron of Athens, which built the Parthenon to worship her....
, a goddess also often associated with war and strategy, is a notable exception. Sekhmet also is an exception, as is Ishtar. Gods have taken several different forms including animals, and elements of nature.

See also


  • God and gender
    God and gender

    The gender of God can be viewed as a literal or as an allegorical aspect of a deity. In polytheistic religions, the gods are more likely to have literal sexual genders which would enable them to interact with each other, and even with humans, in a sexual way....
  • Goddess
    Goddess

    A goddess is a female deity. Often deities are part of a polytheism system that includes several deities in a pantheon .Common associations of goddesses are the Earth goddess, the Mother Goddess, Love goddess, and the hearth goddess, reflecting historical gender roles....
  • List of deities
    List of deities

    This list of deities is an index to polytheistic deity of the different religions, cultures and mythologies of the world, listed by type and by region....
  • Patriarchy
    Patriarchy

    Patriarchy can be defined as the structuring of society on the basis of family units, where fathers have primary Social responsibility for the welfare of, and authority over, their families....
  • Polytheism
    Polytheism

    Polytheism is the belief in or worship of multiple deities, such as gods and goddesses. These are usually assembled into a Pantheon , along with their own mythology and rituals....
  • Pantheism
    Pantheism

    Pantheism is the view that everything is part of an all-encompassing Immanence abstract God. In pantheism the Universe, or nature, and God are equivalent....
  • Sky father
    Sky father

    The sky father is a recurring theme in mythology. The sky father is the complement of the earth mother and appears in some creation myths, many of which are European or ancient Near Eastern....
  • Hindu views on God and gender
    Hindu views on God and gender

    In Hinduism there are diverse approaches to the understanding of Gender of God.While most Hindus focus upon God in the neutral form, Brahman being of neuter gender grammatically, there are prominent Hindu traditions that alleviate God in the female conception, even as the source of the male form of God....