Fire bringer

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Agni , the fire god of the Hindi

As Feuerbringer in various myths and literature is a demi-god or a hero of early human history called, where the man fire brought.

In two of the best-known myths, that of the Greek Prometheus and the New Zealand Māui (from which the name Māori of the indigenous people there derives), these heroes manage to steal the fire of a deity. For this act of philanthropy, which, however, was reprehensible from the point of view of the gods, the fire thieves were severely punished. They generally have the characteristics of a trickster , their actions, although promoting civilization, are regarded as outrageous because they violate the privilege of rulers over fire.

In European history, the name Prometheus ( Greek Προμηθεύς , "the forerunner") from Greek mythology is the friend and founder of human culture; at times he was viewed as the creator of humans and animals. The fire for the freezing people was captured by a few sparks from Helios ' sun chariot . Because he had previously angered Zeus with a pretended sacrifice, the latter had him forged against a rock by the fire god Hephaestus , where he had to endure without food, drink and sleep and an eagle chopped into his liver until the hero Heracles freed him could. Pandora's ominous box is also woven into this myth . Prometheus was given some epithets , including Pyrphoros ("fire-bringer", literally "fire bearer") and Desmotes ("bound one").

In Oceania, on the other hand, the fire-bringer is associated with Māui. With the Māori , too , fire was brought to earth by theft. The philanthropic demigod Māui looked for the fire goddess Mahuika , found her at the end of the world and came to the fire with a few tricks. After this deed he got caught in a world fire kindled by the angry goddess, but was able to narrowly escape by turning into a falcon .

The following overview is incomplete, it also draws names known from mythologies that entwine themselves with fire-bringing, including stove goddesses who are venerated as fire-bringers. Within a mythology, different names can be associated with that of a fire bringer . The distinction between whether it is considered to be the actual founder of culture or just the “goddess of the hearth” arises from analyzes of the mythological narratives in question. You can be a recognized part of cosmogony , or just part of mythology .

African mythology

comparison

Syncretistic

Egypt

  • Re , fire god, sun god for warmth and light
  • Sachmet , protective goddess for sun and fire
  • Wadjet , protective snake goddess who sent fire to destroy enemies, in Greek mythology she was equated with Leto

Yoruba

  • Aganju , Orisha god of fire and volcanoes
  • Ayao , martial Orisha god of fire, tornadoes and the forest and air
  • Ogún , god of fire, invoked by craftsmen and warriors
  • Shango , fire god of kindling

Asian mythology

Chinese mythology

  • Kitchen god , also in English as Kitchen God, Stove God, in Chinese as Zao Jun, Zao Shen, or Zhang Lang, daily worshiped deity from China to South Korea
  • Zhurong , ( Chinese   祝融 , Pinyin Zhùróng , W.-G. Chu-jung ), god of fire

Hindu mythology

  • Agneya , daughter of Agni, guardian of the southeast
  • Agni , ( Sanskrit m., अग्नि Agni "fire", "god of fire"), main gods of Hinduism
  • Ida , also Ila ( Sanskrit इडा iḍā f.) "Labetrank"

Korea

Japanese mythology

Mongolia

Niwchen

  • Turgmam, goddess of fire

Philippines

Turkish mythology

Europe

Basque mythology

Caucasia

  • Alpan , Lezghin , goddess of fire
  • Uorsar, probably Adygian, goddess of the hearth
  • Wine Gwasche, stove goddess

Celtic mythology

  • Belenus , sun god
  • Brigit , Irish goddess of fire, poetry, the arts and crafts
  • Grannus , god of fire, health, the spring of water and the sun
  • Nantosuelta , goddess of fire, nature, fertility, rivers and earth

Etruscan

  • Sethlans , fire god of blacksmiths and crafts

Georgian mythology

  • Kamar, goddess of fire, mentioned in connection with Amirani

Greek mythology

  • Hephaestus , god of blacksmiths, crafts, fire and volcanoes
  • Hestia , goddess of the hearth fire
  • Prometheus , most famous name of a fire bringer

Chanting

  • Ney-Anki, goddess of fire

Lithuanian mythology

Norse mythology

  • Glöð , personification of embers, as the goddess of fire she was Logi's wife
  • Logi , fire giant , personification of fire

Roman mythology

  • Caca , sister of Cacus
  • Cacus , fire-breathing son of Vulcan
  • Stata Mater , deity associated with conflagrations
  • Vesta , chaste keeper of the sacred fire
  • Vulcanus , equated with the Greek Hephaestus , god of craft and fire

Sicily

Slavic mythology

Middle Eastern mythology

Canaanites

  • Ishat , Phoenician goddess of fire and drought, slain by Anat .
  • Moloch , ammonite deity
  • Shapash , sun goddess

Hittite mythology

Mesopotamia

  • Gerra , god of fire according to sources from Akkadia and Babylonia
  • Gibil , god of fire and blacksmith according to sources from Sumeria
  • Išum , god of fire, brother of the sun god Šamaš and the Babylonian plague goddess Erra

American indigenous people

Aztecs

Brazil

  • Iansã , goddess of fire and wind

Huicholen

Maya

  • Huracán , fire god, creating and destroying storm god
  • Jacawitz , god of fire, companion of the sun deity “one leg”, known as Tohil or Huracán

Navajo

Quechua

  • Manqu Qhapaq , fire and sun god, who brought civilization and technology to the Inca

Oceanic mythology

Fiji

  • Gedi , fire bringer in connection with fertility

Hawaii

  • Pele , goddess of fire, wind and volcanoes

Māori

literature

Literature on individual fire bringers can be found in the general encyclopedias on mythology under the respective keyword; the list offers an entry point.

Individual evidence

  1. Ishat, Phoenician Goddess of Fire - fire goddess phenicia phenician goddess canaanite goddess canaan levantine goddess heat goddess .
  2. Hittite mythologist: The Top Deities , Balladeer's Blog