by Greg Spalenka for Roxanna Illuminated Perfume |
There's so much love in the world, and now we know why. Take a look at this list of love deities courtesy of Wikipedia.
A love deity is a deity in mythology associated with sexual love, lust or sexuality. Love deities are common in mythology and may be found in many polytheistic religions.
Albanian folklore
- Prende, goddess of love
Armenian mythology
- Astghik, goddess of fertility and love
Aztec mythology
- Xochiquetzal, goddess of fertility, beauty, female sexual power, protection of young mothers, pregnancy, childbirth, and women's crafts
- Xochipilli, god of love, art, games, beauty, dance, flowers, maize, fertility, and song
- Tlazolteotl, goddess of lust, carnality, sexual misdeeds
- Ixcuiname, goddess of the carnality.
Buddhism
- Aizen Myō-ō or Rāgarāja, a deity who transforms worldly lust into spiritual awakening; his red-skinned appearance represents suppressed lust and passion
Canaanite mythology
Celtic mythology
- Aine, Irish goddess of love, summer, wealth and sovereignty
- Cliodhna Irish goddess, sometimes identified as a goddess of love and beauty
Chinese mythology
- Yue-Lao, a god of love, who binds two people together with an invisible red string.
- Tu Er Shen, a deity who oversees the love between homosexual men.
- White Peony (Bai Mudan or Pai Mu-Tan), a goddess who tempts men, especially ascetics.
Egyptian mythology
- Bes, god of music, dance, and sexual pleasure
- Hathor, goddess of the sky, love, beauty, and music
- Bastet, goddess of felines, love, sexuality, protection, beauty, and dance
Etruscan mythology
Greek mythology
- Aphrodite, goddess of love, lust and beauty.
- Philotes, personification of affection, sexual intercourse and friendship.
- Hera, goddess of marriage.
- The Erotes
- Peitho, personification of persuasion and seduction.
Guaraní mythology
- Kurupi, god of sexuality and fertility
Hindu mythology
Lithuanian mythology
- Milda, goddess of love and freedom
Mesopotamian mythology
Moroccan mythology
- Qandisa, goddess of lust who first seduces men then drives them insane
Norse and Germanic mythology
- Frigg, goddess of romance, marriage, sex and reproduction, married women, household duty, and divination.
- Freyja, goddess associated with magic, shamanism, seiðr, sacrifice, war, death, and sexuality.
- Freyr, worshipped as a phallic fertility god, he was said to "[bestow] peace and pleasure on mortals"
- Sjöfn, goddess associated with love
Roman mythology
- Cupid, the Roman equivalent of the Greek god Eros
- Venus, the Roman equivalent of the Greek goddess Aphrodite
- Suadela, the Roman equivalent of the Greek goddess Peitho
Slavic mythology
- Dogoda, Polish spirit of the west wind, associated with love and gentleness
- Dzydzilelya, Polish goddess of love and marriage and of sexuality and fertility
- Lada, fakeloric goddess of harmony, merriment, youth, love and beauty
- Siebog, god of love and marriage
- Živa, goddess of love and fertility
Vodou
- Baron La Croix, loa of the dead and sexuality
- Baron Samedi, loa of the dead, sex and resurrection
- Erzulie Freda Dahomey, loa of love, beauty, jewelry, dancing, luxury, and flowers
Yoruba mythology
- Mami Wata, a pantheon of water deities sometimes associated with love and lust
- Oshun, goddess of love, intimacy, beauty, wealth and diplomacy