Goddesses throughout Time and the World
These lists are not, unfortunately, all-inclusive. There are many, many more Goddesses in each of the cultures listed below that are not listed here, as well as cultures, ancient and modern, which aren't listed either. If you find a culture to which you're drawn, I would recommend researching the Web and libraries for a more complete list of Gods and Goddesses of that culture, as well as their many and varied stories.
North America
Many Indian tribes believe that life originated from females. Many also believe that all spirits that are life-giving forces, such as rain and corn, come from female deities.
Ataentsic (Iroquois) She is the goddess of the earth. She was the Woman Who fell from the sky and creatress of the sun and moon. It is she who gives counsel in dreams.
Blue Corn Woman and White Corn Maiden were the first mothers of the Tewa Pueblo people. Blue was the summer mother; White was the winter mother.
Eithinoha (Iroquois) In Iroquois mythology, Eithinoha is the mother earth, and mother of Onatah. She is associated with agricultural fertility, spring and summer.
Komorkis. The Blackfoot tribe celebrated her as the Goddess of the moon.
Nokomis (Algonquin) "Grandmother." The Sacred Earth Mother. Nokomis nurtures all living things.
Sedna ruled over the sea animals. The Inuits (Eskimos) believed that she used ugliness as protection. Anyone who dared to look at her would be struck dead.
Selu the Corn Mother of the Cherokee, cut open her breast so that corn could spring forth and give life to the people.
Sun (Cherokee) A goddess. When Sun's daughter was bitten by a snake and taken to the Ghost Country, Sun hid herself in grief. The world was ever dark, and Sun's tears became a flood. At last the Cherokee sent their young men and women to heal Sun's grief, which they did with singing and dancing.
Sun (Inuit/Eskimo) A beautiful young maiden carrying a torch who is chased through the sky by her brother Aningan, the moon.
Sussistanako (Pueblo). In Pueblo mythology, Sussistanako (Thinking-Woman) is a goddess of creation. A spider woman and a spirit and power of intelligence. She who thinks into being.
Three Sisters In the Iroquois tradition, the life-giving forces of corn, beans, and squash were given by the Three Sisters, who were thanked daily.
Uelanuhi was a Cherokee Goddess of the Sun, her name meant "apportioner", as she was responsible for dividing time into units. Her warmth was captured for man by Grandmother Spiderwoman's web.
White-painted Mother is the mother of Child of the Water, from whom all Apaches are descended. She keeps her child safe in her womb, slays all evil monsters, and keeps the world safe for Apaches.
White Buffalo Calf Woman is the giver of the Pipe for the Lakota Indians. The Pipe represents truth.
Yolkai Estsan is a Navajo moon deity fashioned from an abalone shell by her sister Yolkai, the Goddess of the sky. She was the Navaho Goddess of the earth and the seasons, and is also known as White Shell Woman.
Ancient Aztecs
Chalchiuhtlicue was the goddess of all waters on earth, but especially associated with running water. She was frequently depicted as a river that nourished a prickly pear tree.
Chicomecoatl was the goddess of corn and fertility. So important was corn to the Aztecs that she was also known as "the goddess of nourishment." She was sometimes depicted carrying the sun as a shield.
Coatlicue was goddess of the earth and mother of all the gods. She also gave birth to the moon and stars. She was depicted wearing a skirt made of snakes.
Coyolxauhqui was the Aztec moon Goddess, her name meaning "Golden Bells." She was the daughter of the Earth goddess, Coatlicue and the sister of the Sun god, Huitzilopochtli
Metzli - In Aztec mythology mother moon leapt into a blazing fire and gave birth to the sun and the sky.
Teczistecatl (Aztec) - A Goddess of sex, symbolized by the four phases of the moon: dark, waxing, full, and waning.
Xochiquetzal was goddess of flowers, dance, and love. Birds and butterflies loved her very much and were frequently in her company.
China
Chang-O is the Chinese Goddess who lived on the moon. She is celebrated to this day on full moon night of the 8th lunar month.
The Chinese goddess Ma-Ku personifies the goodness in all people. She took land from the sea and planted it with mulberry trees. She freed the slaves from her cruel father.
Kuan Yin represents wisdom and purity for the Chinese. She has a thousand arms, symbolizing her infinite compassion.
Ancient Greece and Rome
Aega was a beautiful moon deity. Her mother Gaia, the ancient earth Goddess, hid her in a cave during a Titan attack on the Olympic deities to prevent her from being taken away.
Andromeda (Greek) - Although today she is linked with the stars many scholars believe that Andromeda was a pre-Hellenic moon deity.
Aphrodite was the Greek goddess who brought and maintained love in the world. In Roman she was known as Venus.
Artemis was the Greek goddess who ruled over the hunt and over women in childbirth. In Rome, she was known as Diana.
Athena was the Greek goddess of crafts, war, and wisdom. In Rome, she was Minerva.
Demeter was the Greek goddess who made all things grow. In Rome, she was Ceres.
Diana was the Goddess of the hunt and wild animals. She later took over from Luna as the Roman Goddess of the moon, responsible for fertility and childbirth.
Epona is a Roman/Celtic horse Goddess associated with the night and dreams. In western Ireland, legends still abound of hearing the hoof-beats of her horse as she rides west to escape the rays of the rising sun. She was also a Goddess of magic, fertility and feminine power.
Eos was the Greek goddess of the dawn. It was thought that she emerged every day from the ocean and rose into the sky on a chariot drawn by horses. The morning dew represented her tears of grief for her slain son.
Gaea was the Greek Earth Goddess. In Rome, she was Terra.
Hekate is a crone Moon Goddess, deeply associated with the waning and dark moons. She is depicted as haunting crossroads with her two large hounds, and carrying a torch, symbolic of her great wisdom.
Hera was the Greek protector of marriage and women. In Rome, she was Juno.
Hestia was the Greek goddess of the hearth and home. Her Roman name was Vesta.
Juna was the Roman Goddess of the new moon . She was worshipped mainly by women as she was the Goddess of marriage, pregnancy and childbirth. Her Greek equivalent was Hera.
Lucina was a Roman Goddess of light with both solar and lunar attributes. She was Christianized as St. Lucia, a saint still honored at Yule in many parts of Europe.
Luna is an ancient moon Goddess, the namesake for the Latin word luna meaning 'moon'. Her name also forms the root of the English words 'lunar' and 'lunatic'.
Selene is a Greek mother Goddess linked to the full moon. She is widely worshipped by Pagans today.
Ancient Egypt
Bast was the Lion Goddess of sunset, among her many roles she symbolized the fertilizing rays of the sun.
Isis invented agriculture. She was the goddess of law, healing, motherhood, and fertility. She is sometimes depicted with a disk from the sun between two cow horns on her head or a headdress in the shape of a vulture.
Hathor the goddess of love and mirth, who protected children and pregnant women. She embodied the sky and was often depicted as a star-speckled "Celestial Cow," or just with a cow head or cow horns.
Nephthys was goddess of the dead. She was a kind and understanding companion to the newly dead as well as to those left behind. She was sometimes represented as a bird, or with hieroglyphics that spelled her name above her head.
Nut represented the heavens and helped to put the world in order. She had the ability to swallow stars and the pharaohs and cause them to be born again. Her body was covered with painted stars. She existed before all else had been created.
Sekhet, according to some Egyptian myths, was a lunar Goddess betrothed to Thoth. She was also the deity of time, the stars, and architecture.
Sekhmet was a Lion headed Goddess of Egypt, she represented the destructive qualities of the suns rays causing drought and famine.
Hawaii
Hina Hine is a Polynesian Goddess. In Hawaii, this Goddess' name means 'woman who works the moon'. In her myths it is said that she grew tired of working for her brother and fled to the moon to live in peace.
Hiiaka is the youngest sister of Pele. She is a fierce warrior and yet a kind and calm friend of humanity. She gave people the healing arts, creative arts, and the gift of storytelling.
Pele is the powerful Hawaiian goddess of fire. She lived in the Kilauea Volcano and ruled over the family of fire gods. When she was angry she would erupt and pour fiery rock over the land.
Sina was the sister of the sun God Maui. She was sometimes called Ina.
Ireland
Aine was the Irish Goddess who represented the spark of life. Her festival was celebrated on Midsummer’s eve. Later she was remembered in Christian times as the fairy queen.
Arianrhod was the Celtic Goddess of the moon and stars, her name means “silver- wheel” the wheel of the year and the web of fate.
Brigit was a three-fold goddess. She ruled poetry and inspiration; healing and medicine; and war and weapons-crafting.
Caillech was the wisest woman. She ruled the seasons and the weather and was believed to have the power to move mountains.
Cerridwen is a Celtic crone Goddess, most famous for her cauldron of wisdom. She was the mother of the great bard Taliesin, and is deeply linked to the image of the waning moon.
Danu was the goddess of the earth. She was the mother of gods, as well as mother of the Tuatha De Danann, a mythological race of people who were known as the original inhabitants of what is now Ireland.
The Irish goddess Cerridwin gave intelligence and knowledge to humans.
Rhiannon was a Celtic Goddess of fertility, the moon, night, and death. Her name means 'night queen'. She is also known as Rigantona.
Ancient Mayans
Ixchel was the goddess of the moon and the protector of pregnant women. She was often depicted as an old woman wearing a full skirt holding a serpent.
Ixtab was goddess of the hanged. The Mayans believed that those who died by hanging went to paradise. Ixtab was depicted with a noose around her neck.
Scandinavia
Freyja was the goddess of love and fertility. She was said to bea beautiful goddess who enjoyed music and song. Fairies were among her most beloved companions.
Frigg was the goddess of the sky, marriage, and motherhood. It was believed that she knew the fate of each person, but kept it a close secret.
Hel was the goddess of the dead and queen of the underworld.
Norns were three sisters who lived around the tree of life. They controlled fate: Urth ruled the past, Verthandi ruled the present, and Skuld ruled the future.
Ancient Sumer
Ereshkigal was the goddess of the underworld.
Inanna was the goddess of love, fertility, and war. Sometimes called "Queen of the Sky," her symbol was an eight-pointed star. Inanna was also queen of all beasts, and counted the lion as her special companion.
Ninhursag was the goddess of earth and mother of the gods, as well as the creator of all plant life. When she was pleased, the ground was fertile and the seasons were rich. But when she was angry, fields would be barren.
Sadarnuna was the Goddess of the new moon.
Sarpandit was the Goddess of moonrise. This pregnant Goddess's name means "silver shining" referring to the reflective quality of the moon.