The mythology or religion of most cultures incorporate a god of death or, more frequently, a divine being closely associated with death, an afterlife, or an underworld. They are often amongst the most powerful and important entities in a given tradition, reflecting the fact that death, like birth, is central to the human experience. In religions where a single god is the primary object of worship, the representation of death is usually that god's antagonist, and the struggle between the two is central to the folklore of the culture. In such dualistic models, the primary deity usually represents good, and the death god embodies evil. Similarly, death worship is used as a derogatory term to accuse certain groups of morally abhorrent practices which set no value on human life. In monotheistic religions, death is commonly personified by an angel or demon standing in opposition to the god.
Occurrence In polytheistic religions which have a complex system of deities governing various natural phenomena and aspects of human life, it is common to have a deity who is assigned the function of presiding over death. This deity may perform the act of taking life or, more commonly, simply rule over the afterlife of that particular belief system. A single religion may have separate deities performing each tasks, as is seen in Greek mythology with Thanatos and Hades. The deity in question may be depicted as good, evil, or neutral and simply doing their job, in sharp contrast to modern portrayals of death deities (which tend to be villainizing due to prominent cultural fears surrounding death). The Greek underworld deity Hades is an especially common target due to Christian theology, in which the term "Hades" is typically interchangeable with "death" or "hell". The inclusion of such a "departmental" deity of death in a religion's pantheon is not necessarily a glorification of death.
Both male and female death deities are common, unlike those of other functions that tend to be one gender in particular; for example, fertility and earth deities are typically female, while storm deities are typically male. A single religion/mythology may have death gods of more than one gender existing at the same time, and they are often envisioned as a married couple ruling over the afterlife together, as seen with the Aztecs, Greeks, and Romans.
In monotheistic religions, a single god governs both life and death, as well as all other domains. This manifests as rituals and traditions that differ substantially with those of polytheistic religions, and varies according to a number of factors, including geography, politics, traditions, and the influence of other religions.
Africa and the Middle East
West Africa
Igbo Ala (Igbo mythology) Ogbunabali (Igbo mythology)
Yoruba Èṣù, oriṣa of crossroads and trickery who controls the Ajogun, of which Iku (Death) is a member. (Yoruba religion) Iku, personification of death. (Yoruba religion) Ọya, oriṣa of storms and the dead. (Yoruba religion)Fatunmbi, A. F. (1993). Oya: Ifá and the Spirit of the Wind. United States: Original Publications Babalú-Ayé, oriṣa of disease and mortality. (Yoruba religion) Yewa, oriṣa of fertility, decay and cemeteries, guardian of the transition between life and death. (Yoruba religion)
Akan
Owuo, Akan God of Death and Destruction, and the Personification of death. Name means death in the Akan language. Asase Yaa, one half of an Akan Goddess of the barren places on Earth, Truth and is Mother of the Dead Amokye, Psychopomp in Akan religion who fishes the souls of the dead from the river leading to Asamando, the Akan underworld Nkrabea, The deity of destiny and fate, believed to influence human fortunes and life paths, as well as their deaths.
East Africa
Somali
Huur, a messenger of Death who had the form of a large bird similar to Horus of ancient Egypt.
Afroasiatic Middle East
Armenian Spandaramet, an old Armenian goddess of death and the underworld
Canaanite Mot
Egyptian Aker (Egyptian mythology) Andjety, an old Egyptian god Anubis, guardian of the dead, mummification, and the afterlife in ancient Egyptian religion Aqen, a rarely mentioned deity in the Book of the Dead Assessors of Maat, charged with judging the souls of the dead in the afterlife Duamutef, one of the four sons of Horus Hapi, one of the four sons of Horus Imset, one of the four sons of Horus Kherty Egyptian earth god Medjed, an unusual looking god mentioned in the Book of the Dead Nephthys (NebetHuet), Anubis' mother; sister of Osiris and Isis (Aset); also a guardian of the dead. She was believed to also escort dead souls to Osiris Nehebkau, the primordial snake and funerary god associated with the afterlife, and one of the forty-two assessors of Maat Osiris, lord of the Underworld Qebehsenuef, one of the four sons of Horus Seker, a falcon god of the Memphite necropolis who was known as a patron of the living, as well as a god of the dead. He is known to be closely tied to Osiris Serapis, Graeco-Egyptian syncretistic deity, combining elements of Osiris, the Apis Bull, Hades, Demeter, and Dionysus. Also, patron of the Ptolemaic Kingdom and Alexandria Wepwawet, a wolf god of war, and brother of Anubis, being seen as one who opened the ways to, and through, Duat, for the spirits of the dead
Mesopotamian Ereshkigal (Sumerian mythology, Akkadian mythology, Babylonian mythology),"The counterpart to these deities of sky, air, water, and earth was the underworld, the realm of the dead, originally seen as ruled by the powerful Goddess Ereshkigal." Ruether, Rosemary Radford. Goddesses and the Divine Feminine: A Western Religious History. Berkeley: University of California Press. "After consulting his mistress Ereshkigal, the queen of the Nether World, he admits Ishtar" Kramer, "Ishtar in the Nether World According to a New Sumerian Text" Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research. 1940. Google scholar results as the JSTOR link is unlikely to be universally available. first lady of the Underworld Namtar (Sumerian mythology, Akkadian mythology, Babylonian mythology), Ereshkigal's sukkal. Nergal (Sumerian mythology, Akkadian mythology, Babylonian mythology), second lord of the Underworld Inshushinak (Elamite mythology; also present in the Mesopotamian An-Anum god list.F. Wiggermann, Transtigridian Snake Gods [in:] I. L. Finkel, M. J. Geller (eds.), Sumerian Gods and their Representations, 1997, p. 34) Nungal (Babylonian mythology), daughter of Ereshkigal Erra (god) Ugur (Hurrian religion;M. Krebernik, dU.GUR [in] Reallexikon der Assyriologie und vorderasiatischen Archäologie vol 14, 2014, p. 297 also a sukkal of NergalF. Wiggerman, Nergal A. philologisch [in:] Reallexikon der Assyriologie und vorderasiatischen Archäologie vol. 9, 1998, p. 220) Ninazu Ningishzida Allani Enmesharra, a primordial deity described as "lord of the underworld" Kanisurra, a goddess whose name is derived from the term "ganzer," referring to the underworld (Mesopotamian) Shuwala, a goddess of Hurrian origin worshipped in Ur Lagamal, minor underworld deity Birtum, husband of Manungal
Western Eurasia
European
Albanian Djall, symbolizes the devil. (Djaj(plural)) Mortja, personification of death. An equivalent of Grim Reaper.(Female)(Mortjet, plural) Vdekja, personification of death. (Female) E Bukura e Dheut, goddess of earth, underworld, afterlife
Balto-Finnic Tuoni (Finnish mythology, Estonian mythology)
Balto-Slavic Giltinė (Lithuanian mythology) Māra (Latvian mythology) Morana (Slavic mythology) Peckols (Prussian mythology) Peklenc Veles Chernobog (Slavic mythology)
Basque Herio (Basque mythology)
Celtic Ankou (Breton people) Arawn Cichol Crom Cruach Donn Mannanan The Morrigan
Germanic
Freyja, presides over Fólkvangr; chooses half of those who die in battle Gefjon, a goddess who oversees those who die as virgins Hel, goddess of the dead and ruler of the land of the same name, Hel, OdinKveldulf Gundarsson. (1993, 2005) Our Troth. The dwelling one went to after death varied depending on where one died, at the battlefield or not. If not at the battlefield, one would go to Hel (not to be confused with the Christian Hell). Of the slain at the battlefield, some went to Fólkvangr, the dwelling of Freyja and some went to Valhalla, the dwelling of Odin (see Grímnismál). The ninth hall is Folkvang, where bright Freyja. Decides where the warriors shall sit. Some of the fallen belong to her. And some belong to Odin. presides over Valhalla and gets half of those who die in battle; there they train for Ragnarök Rán, the sea goddess who collects the drowned in her net
Etruscan Aita, god of the underworld Culga, a female underworld spirit Februus, god of purification, death, the underworld, and riches Mani, spirits of the dead Mania, goddess of the dead Mantus, god of the underworld Orcus, god of the underworld Tuchulcha, an underworld spirit Vanth, winged spirit of the underworld
Greek
Achlys, goddess who symbolizes the mist of death. Goddess of poisons, personification of misery and sadness. Apollo, god of diseases Atropos, one of the moirai, who cut the thread of life. Charon, a daimon who acted as ferryman of the dead. Erebus, the primordial god of darkness, his mists encircled the underworld and filled the hollows of the earth Erinyes, chthonic deities of vengeance Hades, king of the underworld and god of the dead Hecate, goddess of witchcraft, she helped Demeter in the search for Persephone and was allowed to live in the Underworld as her magic works best at night Hermes, the messenger god who acted as psychopompos Hypnos, personification of sleep, twin of Thanatos, his Roman counterpart is Somnus Keres, goddesses of violent death, sisters of Thanatos Lampades, torch-bearing underworld nymphs Limos was the goddess of starvation in ancient Greek religion. She was opposed by Demeter, goddess of grain and the harvest with whom Ovid wrote Limos could never meet, and Plutus, the god of wealth and the bounty of rich harvests. Persephone, queen of the underworld; wife of Hades and goddess of spring growth Serapis, Graeco-Egyptian syncretistic deity, combining elements of Osiris, the Apis Bull, Hades, Demeter, and Dionysus. Also, patron of the Ptolemaic Kingdom and Alexandria. Tartarus, the darkest, deepest part of the underworld, often used for imprisoning enemies of the Olympians Thanatos, personification of death, Roman counterpart is Mors Gods of the seven rivers of the underworld: Acheron, god of the river Acheron Alpheus, god of the river Alpheus Cocytus, god of the river Cocytus Eridanos, god of the river Eridanos Lethe, goddess of the river Lethe Phlegethon, god of the river Phlegethon Styx, goddess of the river Styx, a river that formed a boundary between the living and the dead
Roman Dea Tacita, goddess of the dead Di inferi, ancient Roman deities associated with death and the Underworld Dis Pater, god of the underworld Laverna, goddess of thieves, cheats, and the underworld Lemures, the malevolent dead Libitina, goddess of funerals and burials Manes, spirits of the dead Mania, goddess of death Mors, personification of death, Greek equivalent is Thanatos Nenia Dea, goddess of funerals Orcus, punisher of broken oaths; usually folded in with Pluto Pluto, ruler of the Underworld Proserpina, queen of the underworld Soranus, underworld Sabine god adopted by the Romans Viduus, god who separated the soul and body after death
Western Asia
Elamite Inshushinak
Persian-Zoroastrian Angra Mainyu or Ahriman, the destructive spirit (Persian mythology) Asto Vidatu or Astiwihad or Asto-widhatu, death deity (Persian mythology)
Ossetian Aminon, gatekeeper of the underworld. Barastyr, ruler of the underworld. Ishtar-Deela, lord of the underworld in Nakh.
Uralic Azyren (Mari people) Kalma, Finnish goddess of death and decay, her name meaning "the stench of corpses" Nga (Nenets)