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Gods and Goddesses of War in Mythology

The Valkyries are waiting.

By Charlotte WilliamsPublished 6 years ago 5 min read
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Battlefield by Jakub Skop

Indulge me for a minute, would you? You’re about to go into battle against your country’s most formidable foe. They have 100,000 men in their army and have been burning and pillaging the countryside. Not only that, but they want to wipe your nation from the face of the earth and leave no traces behind. Every monument is to be destroyed, every book burned, every man killed.

You have roughly 20,000 men fighting alongside you. The odds, I’m sad to say, are not in your favour. So, you'd better start praying. But who did our ancestors reach out to in times of war? Here is a list of eight war deities in mythology. Choose one, and hope for the best.

1. Aztec: Mixcoatl

As god of the hunt and war, as well as being identified with the heavens and the stars, Mixcoatl is one of the lesser-known deities of the Aztec pantheon. He is represented with a black mask over his eyes and red and white stripes painted on his body. He is often seen carrying hunting gear or dead game.

Mixcoatl is one of the four children of Tonacatecutli, a creator god, and Cihuacoatl, a fertility goddess. As the first god to strike a fire with flint, he was made god of the hunt and war. He had 400 sons, who were each killed after plotting to murder their pregnant mother. It seems as though violence runs in the family.

November 19th is dedicated to the god. In old traditions, celebration was a series of hunts and feasts in the countryside. Those partaking in the festivities would dress up as Mixcoatl to roast the meat. A man and a woman would also be sacrificed to the god at his temple.

2. Celtic: Morrighan

Morrighan is the collective goddess of battle and war, though she is often depicted as a triune of female deities that unite to form this legendary figure. Despite her genealogy, Morrighan often presents herself as a raven.

She is associated with war and fate, including the foretelling of doom or victory in battle. Morrighan is also referred to as the ‘washer at the ford’ because, if a soldier saw her cleaning his armour in a river, then it meant he would not survive the upcoming conflict. It is Morrighan that’s responsible for the tide of a battle, and only her that can change destinies.

3. Egyptian: Menhit

Originally of Nubian origin, Menhit’s name translates to ‘she who massacres’. She is the Crown goddess, as well as the goddess of war and lions, often being seen with the head of a lioness and the body of a woman.

Menhit was the consort of the Nubian war god, Anhur, until he brought her to Egypt where she’s taken root. She is thought to ride at the head of Egyptian armies, inflaming hearts with courage or fear, and vanquishes mighty enemy warriors by shooting them with arrows. Due to her nature on the battlefield, she is thought to be the protector of kings, pharaohs, and the armies that march in their name.

4. Greek: Deimos and Phobos

The twins of Ares and Aphrodite serve to represent emotions on the battlefield. Deimos embodies feelings of dread that gripped those in war, while Phobos personifies the feelings of fear and crippling panic, which could send a man straight to his death.

Both Deimos and Phobos, their father’s sons entirely, accompany Ares and his sister Enyo to the battlefield, along with their father’s attendants: Trembling, Fear, Dread and Panic.

While they are considered deities, the twins are not physical apparitions, but instead an abstraction of pure and utter terror induced by war. Neither appear in any Greek myths.

5. Hindu: Durga

Depicted in the Hindu pantheon as riding a lion or a tiger with multiple arms carrying multiple weapons, Durga is a warrior goddess. Her mythology centres around defeating evil forces that threaten to disturb peace. She’s a fierce, protective mother willing to release her anger against the world's wrongdoings.

She is originally Adi Parashakti, present before creation and after the destruction of the universe, and is within each of the gods in the form of shakti (primordial cosmic energy). She manifested herself through Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva to end the torture of Asura Mahishasura.

6. Hungarian: Hadúr

Meaning ‘lord of the armies’ in Hungarian, Hadúr is the god of fire and war. He is the third son of Arany Atyácska, the Golden Father, and Hajnal Anyácska, the Dawn Mother, the main god and goddess. Although he has many siblings, the best-known are his brothers Napkirály, the Sun King, and Szélkirály, the Wind King.

On the World Tree, on the first level of heaven, is Arany’s grand castle. Napkirály's Golden Forest is below it, and Szélkirály's Silver Forest is below that. Then you come to Hadúr's Copper Forest. He resides here as a blacksmith to the other immortals.

Hadúr is a great man with weapons and armour made of his sacred metal, pure copper. He supposedly made the legendary Sword of God, which was discovered by Attila the Hun and secured his rule. Magyars would sacrifice white stallions to him before a battle.

7. Norse: Freyja

Freyja is one of the preeminent goddesses in Norse mythology. She’s a member of the Vanir but became an honorary member of the Aesir gods after the Aesir-Vanir War.

Freyja rules over her heavenly field Fólkvangr and there receives half of those that die in battle, whereas the other half go to the god Odin's hall, Valhalla. Within Fólkvangr lies her hall, Sessrúmnir.

8. Roman: Bellona

Bellona is the Roman goddess of war, often seen with a military helmet on her head, as well as holding a sword, spear, or shield.

The first temple in Rome dedicated to her was in 296BC, and her festival is celebrated on June 3rd. It was not uncommon for her worshippers to use their limbs to offer blood sacrifices to the goddess.

In her military cult, she’s associated with Virtus, the personification of valour. She eventually travelled outside Rome with the imperial legions and her temples took root in France, Germany, Britain, and North Africa.

religion
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About the Creator

Charlotte Williams

Instagram: @charmwillwrites

Creative Writing Grad from the UK.

Interested in myths, and true crime.

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