Tlaloc
The Aztec god of rain, fertility, and water. Tlaloc's distinctive goggled eyes and fanged mouth make him one of the most recognizable deities in Mesoamerican art. He shared the summit of the Templo Mayor with Huitzilopochtli.
Divine domains
Gods of Lightning
12 deities from 10 traditions whose entries in this atlas list lightning among their domains, grouped by tradition.
Mesoamerican
Chaac
The Maya god of rain, lightning, and thunder. Chaac wields his lightning axe to split the clouds and bring life-giving rain to the maize fields. One of the most widely worshipped Maya deities.
Polynesian
Pele
The Hawaiian goddess of volcanoes, fire, and lightning. Pele is a fierce and passionate deity who creates new land through volcanic eruptions and whose temper is as volatile as the lava she commands.
Hi'iaka
The youngest and most beloved sister of Pele. Hi'iaka is the patron goddess of hula dancers and the protagonist of one of the longest epic narratives in Hawaiian mythology, her journey to fetch Pele's lover Lohiau.
Aztec
Xolotl
The dog-headed god of lightning, twins, and deformities. Xolotl was the twin brother of Quetzalcoatl and guided the dead through the underworld. His name is preserved in the axolotl salamander.
Greek
Zeus
King of the gods and ruler of Mount Olympus. God of the sky, thunder, and justice. Zeus overthrew his father Cronus to become the supreme deity of the Greek pantheon.
Inca and Andean
Illapa
The Thunder of the Inca state cult, imagined as a man in the sky with a sling and club who draws rain from the heavenly river; after the conquest he was widely identified with Saint James (Santiago).
Japanese
Raijin
God of thunder, lightning, and storms. Depicted as a demon beating drums to create thunder. Works with Fujin (wind god).
Norse
Thor
Son of Odin and the earth goddess Jord. God of thunder, lightning, and storms. Protector of mankind and the gods, wielding the mighty hammer Mjolnir.
Roman
Jupiter
King of the gods and god of sky, lightning, and thunder. Supreme deity of the Roman state religion, protector of Rome and source of divine authority for Roman emperors.
Slavic
Perun
The thunder god of the Kievan Rus', sworn by in treaties and installed at the head of Prince Vladimir's official pantheon in 980 before Vladimir himself had his idol destroyed in 988.
Yoruba
Shango
The Orisha of thunder, lightning, and fire. Shango was once a mortal king of Oyo who became deified after death.
Parallels across traditions
Editorial comparisons recorded on these entries; a shared role does not establish a shared origin.
Zeus (Greek) and Jupiter (Roman)
Jupiter is the direct Roman equivalent, sharing Zeus's role as sky father and king of gods
Compare Zeus and JupiterThor (Norse) and Raijin (Japanese)
Both are hammer/drum-wielding thunder gods depicted as fearsome, muscular warriors who cause storms
Compare Thor and RaijinChaac (Mesoamerican) and Tlaloc (Mesoamerican)
Tlaloc is the Aztec equivalent of Chaac, both being rain gods essential to maize agriculture
Compare Chaac and TlalocChaac (Mesoamerican) and Zeus (Greek)
Both are thunder gods who wield divine weapons to produce storms
Compare Chaac and ZeusTlaloc (Mesoamerican) and Thor (Norse)
Both are thunder gods associated with storms and agricultural fertility
Compare Tlaloc and ThorShango (Yoruba) and Zeus (Greek)
Both are thunder gods and kings associated with divine justice
Compare Shango and ZeusShango (Yoruba) and Thor (Norse)
Both wield thunder and lightning as weapons
Compare Shango and ThorPerun (Slavic) and Thor (Norse)
Both are hammer/axe-wielding thunder gods invoked in oaths, part of the wider Indo-European storm-god pattern; Perun's name is directly cognate with Baltic Perkūnas, Thor's closest attested parallel outside Scandinavia.
Compare Perun and ThorIllapa (Inca and Andean) and Tlaloc (Mesoamerican)
Both are storm and rain gods of American states, petitioned on mountains in time of drought; Illapa wields a sling, Tlaloc the lightning serpent. The resemblance is typological, not historical.
Compare Illapa and Tlaloc
Quick answers
- Who is the Mesoamerican god of lightning?
- In the Mythos Atlas catalog, the Mesoamerican deities whose domains include lightning are Tlaloc and Chaac.
- Who is the Polynesian god of lightning?
- In the Mythos Atlas catalog, the Polynesian deities whose domains include lightning are Pele and Hi'iaka.
- Who is the Aztec god of lightning?
- In the Mythos Atlas catalog, the Aztec deity whose domains include lightning is Xolotl.
- Who is the Greek god of lightning?
- In the Mythos Atlas catalog, the Greek deity whose domains include lightning is Zeus.
- Who is the Inca and Andean god of lightning?
- In the Mythos Atlas catalog, the Inca and Andean deity whose domains include lightning is Illapa.
- Who is the Japanese god of lightning?
- In the Mythos Atlas catalog, the Japanese deity whose domains include lightning is Raijin.
Related domains
Built from each deity's catalog entry. See every domain side by side on Divine Domains, or browse every cross-pantheon parallel.