Horned Deity

The "Cernunnos" type antlered figure on the Gundestrup Cauldron.

A deity depicted with horns or antlers.

This trope is a fairly common trope in religion, mythology, and fantasy. Gods with horns are often depicted as evil, but there are many neutral, and even good aligned gods in fantasy who have horns, and horns are not always a sign of good or evil.

Horned deities can either be humanoids with horns or those that take the form of a beast or monster with horns.

Examples of Horned Deity include:

Religion and Mythology

• Hathor the cow goddess from Egyptian Mythology could take on humanoid and beast forms, and in both was depicted with horns. Bat, a similar goddess, was also depicted with horns, except Bat's curved inward and Hathor's outward, a possible allusion to different breeds of cattle.
  • The bull god Apis (also known as Mnevis) was also a prominent god in the same mythos, and was seen as figure of strength and life force, and Egyptian rulers were seen as descendants of Apis and Hathor.
  • Rams were revered as signs of fertility and marital prowess. So much so, there were several ram gods:
    • Khnum (one of the earliest Egyptian deities)
    • Heryshaf (a ram god of Heracleopolis)
    • Kherty (a variant of Aken, The chief deity in Egyptian mythology)
    • Andjety (precursor of Osiris, Auf "Efu Ra").
    • Horem Akhet (a god depicted as a sphinx with the head of a man, lion, or ram)
    • Banebdjedet (ram god linked to the first four Egyptian gods: Osiris, Geb, Shu, Ra-Atum)
    • Amun (the ram deity that inspired the cult of Ammon)
• The Greeks has the Cult of Ammon (also called Amun) in their Classical Era, a ram deity often considered an incarnation of Zeus and vice versa, depending on whom you talked to during that period. Even Alexander the Great considered himself the son of Zeus-Ammon (often considered one and the same to the Greeks).
  • The god Amun was linked to the ancient Berbers and often conflated with the Phoenician/Carthaginian god Baal-hamon (also known as Baʿal Qarnaim, or "Lord of Two Horns")
• In Christianity and Judaism, the Canannite god Moloch is often depicted as a bull demon.
  • Interestingly, Yahweh was depicted as having horns, and several quotes in the scripture allude to this very fact as well as other referenced to horned deities, such as:

  Psalm 75:10 "I will cut off the horns of all the wicked, but the horns of the righteous will be lifted up."

  Deuteronomy 33:17 In majesty he (Jacob) is like a firstborn bull; his horns are the horns of a wild ox. With them he will gore the nations, even those at the ends of the earth.

  Revelation 13:11 Then I saw a second beast, coming out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb, but it spoke like a dragon.

  Leviticus 4:7 The priest shall then put some of the blood on the horns of the (Yahweh's) altar of fragrant incense that is before the LORD in the tent of meeting. The rest of the bull’s blood he shall pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering at the entrance to the tent of meeting.

• In Celtic Mythology, Pan was the mountain god of shepherding, music, and the wilderness.
• In Roman Mythology, especially that which developed in Britain under Roman occupation, they revered Cocidius, a war god associated with the woodlands.
• Although often associated with Satanism, Baphomet was considered an alternative name for Ammon above, and was originally considered a god worshiped by heretical Knights Templar.
• In African mythology, adherents of Odinani (the traditional folk religion of the Igbo people of south-eastern Nigeria) worship the Ikenga, a horned god of honest achievement, whose two horns symbolize self-will.
• The Hindu god Pushan was depicted as protector of cattle, as a seated humanoid being with horns. The Vedic fire god Agni was also depicted as having horns.
• In Wiccan Mythology and other neopaganistic traditions, some sort of Horned God is revered, and which is often mistaken for the horned depictions of Satan in some Christian and Jewish circles. Pan mentioned above is thought to be one of the horned gods worshiped by the antecedents of the Wiccans. Gardnerian Wicca uses the name Cernunnos or Kernunno, a Latin word discovered on a stone carving found in France meaning "the Horned One".
• The god Beelzebub is a parody of the original Ba'al (depicted as a horned bull), often believed in some Christian traditions to be the name chanted during ceremonies by witches in defiance of Christ. It was also believed the being chiefly responsible for the witches in the Salem Witch Trials.

Live-Action Television

• The 1980s ITV series Robin of Sherwood drew heavily on neopagan elements and featured Herne the Hunter, a horned figure who charged both Robins with their missions. Encounters with Herne were mystical and there were strong hints that he was supernatural in some way.