A sky deity is a deity associated with the sky, and are a common feature of polytheistic religions, and as hypothesized by Wilhelm Schmidt potentially early forms of monotheism. The sky often has great religious significance.
The daytime sky deities are typically distinct from the nighttime ones. Stith Thompson's Motif-Index of Folk-Literature reflects this by separating the category of "Sky-god" (A210) from that of "Star-god" (A250). In mythology, nighttime gods are usually known as night deities and gods of stars simply as star gods. Both of these categories are included here since they relate to the sky. Luminary deities are included as well since the sun and moon are located in the sky. Some religions may also have a deity or personification of the day, distinct from the god of the day lit sky, to complement the deity or personification of the night.
Daytime gods and nighttime gods are frequently deities of an "upper world" or "celestial world" opposed to the earth and a "netherworld" (gods of the underworld are sometimes called "chthonic" deities). Within Greek mythology, Uranus was the primordial sky god, who was ultimately succeeded by Zeus, who ruled the celestial realm atop Mount Olympus. In contrast to the celestial Olympians was the chthonic deity Hades, who ruled the underworld, and Poseidon, who ruled the sea.
Any masculine sky god is often also king of the gods, taking the position of patriarch within a pantheon. Such king gods are collectively categorized as "sky father" deities, with a polarity between sky and earth often being expressed by pairing a "sky father" god with an "earth mother" goddess (pairings of a sky mother with an earth father are less frequent). A main sky goddess is often the queen of the gods and may be an air/sky goddess in her own right, though she usually has other functions as well with "sky" not being her main. In antiquity, several sky goddesses in ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, and the Near East were called Queen of Heaven.
Gods may rule the sky as a pair (for example, ancient Semitic supreme god El and the fertility goddess Asherah whom he was most likely paired with).El was identified with the obscure deity Yahweh in early Hebrew religion, ultimately giving rise to Hebrew monotheism by the 7th century BCE; according to the Hebrew Bible it was 7th-century Judean king Josiah who removed the statue of Asherah from the temple of Yahweh in Jerusalem. See also The Hebrew Goddess. The following is a list of sky deities in various polytheistic traditions arranged mostly by language family, which is typically a better indicator of relatedness than geography.
African
Central African
Khonvoum, Mbuti supreme creator god and sky father Nzambi Ampungu, Bakongo creator, sky and sun god Nzambici, Bakongo sky, moon and earth goddess
East African Mulungu, Nyamwezi creator and sky god Waaq creator and sky god
North African
Amun, Ancient Egyptian god of creation and the wind Anhur, Ancient Egyptian originally a foreign war god Denka, Dinka god of sky, rain and fertility Hathor, Ancient Egyptian originally a sky goddess Horus, Ancient Egyptian god of the sun, sky, kings, and war Khonsu, Ancient Egyptian moon god Mehet-Weret, Ancient Egyptian goddess of the sky Nut, Ancient Egyptian goddess of the sky Ra, Ancient Egyptian god of the sun that ruled the sky, earth and underworld Shu, Ancient Egyptian god of the air Thoth, Ancient Egyptian original moon god
Southern African Modimo, Ramasedi sky god Umvelinqangi, Zulu sky god Utixo, Khoikhoi sky god Xamaba, Heikum creator and sky god
West African
Nyame, Akan supreme deity, god of the sky Olorun, Yoruba supreme deity, God of the sky and heaven Shango, Yoruba sky father and thunder god Amadioha, Igbo thunder and lightning god Osalobua, Benin supreme creator god and sky father Wulbari, Guang sky god Abasi Ibom Enyon, Ibibio People God, or the one who is forever; compound word, Kingdom of High Achamán, Guanche creator and sky god
Asian Central Asian Turkic and Mongolic Tengri, god of the sky Ülgen Kayra
Hindu Aditi, celestial mother of the gods Chandra, god of the moon Dyaus Pita, sky father Indra, king of the gods, associated with weather Ratri, goddess of night Saranyu, goddess of clouds Surya, god of the sun Ushas, goddess of dawn Varuna, a sky god
Eastern Asian Chinese Yu Huang Dadi-Jade Emperor (center) Ziwei Dadi-polestar emperor (north) Changsheng Dadi-longevity emperor (south) Qinghua Dadi-azure-illustrious emperor (east) Taiji Tianhuang Dadi-ultimate heaven emperor (west) Chang'e, moon goddess who lives with the moon rabbit Shang Di, the celestial emperor Tian or Heaven Xihe (deity), sun goddess Zhinü, weaver of the clouds Xian, Taoist spirits associated with the sky and tian
Japanese Amaterasu, goddess of the sun and the universe, ancestor of the emperors of Japan, and the most important deity in Shintoism. Amenominakanushi, heavenly ancestral god. Izanagi, creator of Japan and sky father. Izanami, creator goddess of Japan with her husband; starts off as a sky goddess, but after she dies becomes a death/underworld/chthonic goddess. Marici, Buddhist goddess of the heavens. Tsukuyomi, god of the moon and brother of Amaterasu.
Korean Hwanin, sky god. Hwanung, son of Hwanin.
Thai Phaya Thaen (), the king of heaven, the protagonist in a Rocket Festival
Vietnamese Ông Trời, sky god in Vietnamese indigenous religion Ông Tử Vi, king of the stars Mẫu Cửu Trùng Thiên, she is the daughter of Ông Trời, the sister of the Mẫu Thượng Thiên, Mặt Trời, Mặt Trăng and also a goddess who rules the sky Mẫu Thượng Thiên, she is the daughter of Ông Trời and also one of the rulers of the sky Pháp Vân, cloud goddess Thần Mặt Trời, goddess of the sun, daughter of Ông Trời Thần Mặt Trăng, goddess of the moon, daughter of Ông Trời Hằng Nga, the goddess who lives on the moon with uncle Cuội and Moon Rabbit
Western Asian
Asherah, sky goddess and consort of El; after the rise of Yahweh, she may have become Yahweh's consort before she was demonized and the Israelite religion became monotheistic Baalshamin, "Lord of the Heavens" (cf. Armenian Barsamin) El (god), original sky god and sky father of the Semitic speakers (replaced by Yahweh among Israelites) Yahweh, according to some scholars like Mircea Eliade.
Iranian Asmān, god of sky Māh, god of the moon Ohrmazd, sky father, the Great God Tīštar, god of Sirius star and Rainfall. Xwarxšēd, god of the sun
The Americas Haitian Badessy, Vodou loa associated with the sky.
Incan Chaska Coyllur, goddess of beauty, flowers and young maidens. Personification of planet Venus. Chuqui Chinchay, incarnation of various stars and meteorological phenomena. Coyllur, goddess of all the stars. Illapa, god of the sky, atmospheric phenomena and war. Inti, god of the Sun. Kon, god of the wind and rain. Kuychi, god of rainbows. Pachakamaq, creator and sustainer god of all the universe. Mama Killa, goddess of the Moon. Viracocha, heavenly father and god creator of all that exists.
Inuit Anguta, sky father and psychopomp. Ataksak, goddess of the sky. Negafook, god of weather systems. Torngarsuk, god of the sky.
Iroquoian Atahensic, Iroquois sky goddess who fell to Earth at the time of creation.
Lakota Anpao wichapi, the Morning Star spirit, bringer of knowledge and new beginnings Han, the spirit of night, representative of ignorance Wanbli Gleska, the Spotted Eagle spirit, usually regarded as Wakan Thanka Hanwi, the moon spirit of knowledge, feminine power, sometimes considered to be the wife of Wi Mahpiya Oyate, the Cloud People, also known as the Wichapi Oyate (Star People) Wohpe, the spirit of meteors or falling stars (often confused with Fallen Star), also the spirit of beauty, love, wishes, dreams, and prophecy Wakinyan, thunder spirit usually taking the form of a bird Wi, the sun spirit responsible for bringing light and wisdom to the Lakota oyate Wichapi oyate, the Star People, each having respective powers however they usually represent knowledge to some degree Wichapi Hinhpaya, the Fallen Star, the son of Wichapi owáŋžila and Tapun Sa Win Wichapi owáŋžila, the Resting Star or Polaris, the widower of Tapun Sa Win (Red Cheeked Woman)
Lencans
Itanipuca, sky father and god of celestial bodies Icelca, god of time and seasons
Mayan Cabaguil, god of the sky. Hunab Ku, sky father. Tzacol, sky god and creator deity.
Puebloans Ápoyan Ta'chu, sky father in Zuni mythology
Taíno mythology Yaya, supreme god in Taíno mythology
Uto-Aztecan Citlalincue, goddess of the Milky Way Cipactonal, god of the daytime Oxomoco, goddess of nighttime Centzonmimixcoa, 400 gods of the northern stars Centzonhuitznahua, 400 gods of the southern stars Coyolxauhqui, goddess of the Moon Meztli, goddess of the Moon Tonatiuh, god of the Sun Tianquiztli, star goddesses (see the Pleiades) Citlaltonac, god of male stars Citlalmina, goddess of female stars Citlaxonecuilli, goddess of Ursa Major Eototo, Hopi head kachina and sky father
Australian Altjira, Arrernte creator and sky god. Baiame, southeast Australian creator and sky god. Bila (sun), cannibalistic sun goddess. Binbeal, god of rainbows. Bunjil, Kulin creator and sky god. Daramulum, one-legged emu sky god. Numakulla, a pair of creator and sky gods. Rainbow Serpent, creator god in many Aboriginal cultures associated with water, rain, and rainbows, though it also has a chthonic connection.
Burmese Akathaso, the spirits of the sky
Etruscan Ani, primordial god of the sky identified with the Greek Uranus and Roman Caelus Tinia, god of the sky
European Albanian Zojz, the sky-god Dielli, the Sun Hëna, the Moon Prende, Afër-dita, the dawn, Venus
Baltic Auštaras, the god of the northeast wind Dievs, the god of the day-lit sky and the chief god in Latvian mythology Vejopatis, the god of the wind who guards the divine realm of Dausos
Celtic Latobius, sky and mountain god equated with the Greek gods Zeus and Ares Nuada, god of the sky, wind, and war Sulis, goddess of the hot springs at Bath; probably originally the pan-Celtic sun goddess Ambisagrus, Cisalpine god of rain, sky and hail equated to the Roman god Jupiter Tuireann, Irish god of thunder and the sky, Gaulish name Taranis.
English Nuit, goddess of "Infinite Space and Infinite Stars" in Thelema
Germanic Dagr, personification of day Eostre, spring and fertility goddess; originally the Germanic dawn goddess Mēnô, the moon Nótt, personification of night Sōwilō, the sun Teiwaz, early Germanic sky god, also the god of law, justice, and the thing (assembly) Thor, God of Sky, Strength and thunder, champion of the deities. Equated with Jupiter
Greek Aether, primeval god of the upper air Apollo, god of light, archery, prophecy, medicine, plagues... Artemis, goddess of the moon, hunt, virginity, childbirth... Astraeus, dusk god Eos, dawn goddess Helios, personification/titan of the sun Hemera, primordial goddess of day Hera, goddess of the air, marriage, women, women's fertility, childbirth, heirs, kings, and empires Iris, goddess of the rainbow and messenger of Hera Nephele, cloud nymph in Hera's likeness Nyx, primordial goddess of night Selene, personification/titan of the moon Uranus, primeval god of the sky Zeus, king of the gods, ruler of Mount Olympus, god of the sky, thunder, weather, law, order, and civilization
Messapian Zis, god of the sky
Proto-Indo-European Dyeus, the chief sky father of the Proto-Indo-European religion Hausos, dawn goddess and daughter of Dyeus Menot, moon deity Sehul, sun deity
Roman Aurora, dawn goddess Caelus, personification of the sky, equivalent to the Greek Uranus Juno, goddess of the sky, queen of the gods, and Jupiter's wife, equivalent to the Greek Hera Jupiter, king of heaven and god of the sky and weather, equivalent to the Greek Zeus Luna, moon goddess