For other uses, see God (disambiguation) and Names of God.
A god is a male deity, in contrast with a goddess, a female deity. While the term "goddess" specifically refers to a female deity, the plural "gods" can be applied to gods collectively, regardless of gender.
In most polytheistic religions, both in history and in the present, male deities had the more prominent role. The Greek and Roman pantheons were ruled by Zeus and Jupiter.[1][page needed]
When Ancient Egyptian religion developed closer to monotheism, it was Amun, a male god, who rose to the most prominent place.[2][need quotation to verify]
War gods like the rulers of the pantheon, could often be male: Ares/Mars and Toutatis[3][page needed] are obvious examples.[need quotation to verify]
Examples
- Anubis - god of mummification in Egypt
- Dyeus, sky father for the Proto-Indo-Europeans
- Dyaus Pita, the reflex of Dyeus in the historical Vedic religion
- Jupiter - chief god in Roman mythology
- Tengri - primary chief deity and sky father of the early Turkic peoples and the proto-Mongols.
- Zeus - supreme god in ancient Greece
- Ra, sun god in Ancient Egyptian religion
- Enki, patron god of the Mesopotamian city of Eridu
See also
- Mother goddess
- Gender of God
- Goddess
- Lists of deities
- Patriarchy
- Polytheism
- Pantheism
- Sky father
- Norse
References
- ^ Hornblower, Simon (2003). The Oxford Classical Dictionary (3rd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-860641-9.
- ^ Redford, Donald B. (2003). The Oxford Essential Guide to Egyptian Mythology (Berkley ed.). New York: Berkley Books. p. 20. ISBN 0-425-19096-X.
- ^ Duval, Paul-Marie (1993). Les dieux de la Gaule. Paris: Payot. ISBN 2-228-88621-1.
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