Who |
Image |
When |
Notability |
Egyptian pharaohs |
|
3050 – 30 BC |
Egyptian pharaohs were kings of Ancient Egypt, and were considered gods by their culture. Their titles equated them with aspects of the likes of the hawk god Horus, the vulture goddess Nekhbet, and the cobra-goddess Wadjet. The Egyptians believed that when their Pharaoh died, he would continue to lead them in the next life, which is why his burial was grand and completed to perfection—to please him in the next life and ensure his immortality to protect his people. See List of pharaohs.[1][2] |
Chinese Emperors |
|
221 BC – AD 1911 |
Deified as "Sons of Heaven" since the Qin Dynasty under Qin Shi Huang.[3] |
Roman Emperors |
|
42 BC – AD 363 |
Following Julius Caesar who in 42 BC was formally deified as "the Divine Julius", and Caesar Augustus henceforth became Divi filius ("Son of the Divine One"), some (not all) Roman Emperors of the 1st to 4th centuries claimed divinity, including Tiberius 14–37, Caligula 37–41, Claudius 41–54, Hadrian 117–138, Commodus 161–192, Constantine I 306–312, Julian the Apostate 361–363
|
Japanese Emperors |
|
660 BC – |
Claimed, at least by some Shintoists, including government officials, to be divine descendants of the goddess Amaterasu. Hirohito, the Showa emperor, repudiated the "false conception" of his divinity in the Humanity Declaration in 1945.[4] |
Natchez rulers |
|
700 |
The Natchez were a theocracy ruled by "The Great Sun." This ruler has sometimes been deemed a God-king.[5] |
The Sailendras |
|
700 |
The Sailendra dynasty of Java were active promoters of Mahayana Buddhism and covered the plains of Central Java with Buddhist monuments, including the world famous Borobudur.[6] |
Dalai Lamas |
|
1391 – |
Considered re-incarnations of Avalokiteśvara in Tibetan Buddhism. Panchen Lamas are incarnations of Amitābha.[7][8][9] |
Inca Emperors |
|
1438 |
The Inca Emperors had a status very similar to that of the Pharaohs of Egypt. |
Nepalese monarchs |
|
1768–2008 |
In Nepal, the kings of the Shah dynasty were considered incarnations of Vishnu.[citation needed] |
Who |
Image |
When |
Notability |
Imhotep |
|
2600 BC |
Ancient Egyptian architect and physician, who two thousand years after his death, was raised to that of a god, becoming the god of medicine and healing. |
Queen Dido of Carthage |
|
814 BC |
Founder and first queen of Carthage, after her death, she was deified by her people with the name of Tanit and assimilated to the Great Goddess Astarte (Roman Juno).[10] The cult of Tanit survived Carthage's destruction by the Romans; it was introduced to Rome itself by Emperor Septimius Severus, himself born in North Africa. It was extinguished completely with the Theodosian decrees of the late 4th century. |
Homer (hero cult) |
|
8th century BC |
Venerated at Alexandria by Ptolemy IV Philopator. |
Romulus and Remus (hero cult) |
|
771–717 BC |
Founders of Rome, sons of Mars, Romulus served as first king. After his death, Romulus was defined as the god, Quirinus, the divine persona of the Roman people. He is now regarded as a mythological figure, and his name a back-formation from the name Rome, which may ultimately derive from a word for "river". Some scholars, notably Andrea Carandini believe in the historicity of Romulus, in part because of the 1988 discovery of the Murus Romuli on the north slope of the Palatine Hill in Rome.[11] |
Siddhārtha Gautama Buddha |
|
563 BC(?) |
Believed a god by some Mahayana sects, and worshipped as an avatar of Vishnu by some Vaishnavas. |
Hephaestion |
|
356–324 BC |
Deified by Alexander the Great |
Alexander III of Macedon the Great (hero cult) |
|
356–323 BC |
Some believe he implied he was a demigod by actively using the title "Son of Ammon–Zeus". The title was bestowed upon him by Egyptian priests of the god Ammon at the Oracle of the god at the Siwah oasis in the Libyan Desert.[12]
|
Jesus |
|
~4 BC – ~33 AD |
In Romans 1 Paul the Apostle described Jesus as being the Son of God and the Lord. The First Council of Nicaea was a synod assembly of bishops in 325 AD called by the Roman emperor Constantine the Great, which formalized this in the Nicene and Jesus was declared God Incarnate. He is now considered divine in most Christian views of Jesus; God the Son in Trinitarian Christianity. He claimed he was God in passages in the New Testament, such as John 10:30,[13] and John 14:9.[14] |
Antinous |
|
111 AD–130 AD |
Deified by Hadrian. He is the last non-Imperial human formally deified in Western civilization. |
Mary (mother of Jesus) |
|
300 AD |
In 300 AD she was worshipped as a Mother Goddess in the Christian sect Collyridianism, which was found throughout the Thrace. Collyridianism was made up mostly of women followers and female priests. Followers of Collyridianism were known to make bread and wheat offerings to the Virgin Mary, along with other sacrificial practices. The cult was heavily condemned as heretical and schismatic by other Christians and was preached against by Epiphanius of Salamis, who discussed the group in his recollective writings titled Panarion. |
Guan Yu |
|
581 AD–618 AD |
Guan Yu has been deified as early as the Sui Dynasty and is still popularly worshipped today among the Chinese people variedly as an indigenous Chinese deity, a bodhisattva in Buddhism and a guardian deity in Taoism. He is also held in high esteem in Confucianism. In Hong Kong both police and gangsters consider him a divine object of reverence. In certain schools of Taoism and Chinese Buddhism he has been deemed divine or semi-divine status. The reverence for him may date back to the Sui dynasty.[15] |
Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib |
|
599 AD–661 AD |
According to the Alawite faith, Ali ibn Abi Talib is one member of a trinity (Ali-Muhammad-Salman the Persian) corresponding roughly to the Christian Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He is considered the second emanation of God by Yarsan and the supreme deity in Ali-Illahism. |
Sugawara no Michizane |
|
845 AD–903 AD |
Japanese Imperial courtier banished from the capital and deified upon his death to appease his angry spirit. Worshipped as Tenjin, kami of scholarship. |
El-Hakem b'Amr Allah |
|
985 AD–1021 AD |
Sixth Fatimid Caliph in Egypt, ruling from 996 to 1021. The members of the Druze faith believe that the Fatimid Caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah is the Mahdi. The Muslim schoolar and early preacher Nashtakin ad-Darazi claimed that the caluph was God incarnate. Because of that he was executed by al hakim who did not proclaim he that he was God. The druze today do reject Ad-Darazi's preaching completely[16][17][18][19][20] |
Majapahit Kings |
|
1293–1597 |
Javanese rulers of South East Asia's largest ever kingdom, in Indonesia. After death, they were depicted as Hindu gods (see for instance Raden Wijaya). |
Tokugawa Ieyasu |
|
1543–1616 |
Deified posthumously with the name Tōshō Daigongen by his successors. |
George Washington |
|
1732–1799 |
Worshiped as a kami in Hawaiian Shinto shrines.[21] In the United States Capitol dome, he is also depicted ascending into Heaven and becoming a god, in the famous painting called The Apotheosis of Washington. |
L. L. Zamenhof |
|
1859–1917 |
Considered a god by members of the Oomoto religion. |
José Rizal |
|
1861–1896 |
Deified by some people in the Philippines due to his contributions to the Philippine Revolution.[22][23] |
Wallace Fard Muhammad |
|
~1877 – ~1934 |
Posthumously (?) deified by Elijah Muhammad. He is also given other titles by the Nation of Islam.[24] |
Kanichi Otsuka |
|
1891 |
Shinreikyo states of its founder "God became one with a human body, appeared among humanity, and founded Shinreikyo."[25] |
Who |
Image |
When |
Notability |
Ezra HaSofer |
|
458 BC |
Ezra established Second Temple Judaism[26] and is regarded as a very important figure in Judaism.[27] The Quran claims that Yemenite Jews believed Uzair was the son of God.[Quran 9:30][28] |
Antiochus II Theos |
|
286–246 BC |
Seleucid ruler. The younger son of Antiochus I and Stratonice, succeeded his father in 261. He liberated Ephesus, Ionia, Cilicia and Pamphylia from Egyptian domination, and in return for their autonomy the cities of Asia Minor gave him the title Theos ("God").[29] |
Zheng He |
|
1371–1433 |
Worshiped by some Chinese and South East Asians.[30] |
General John Nicholson |
|
1822–1857 |
Inspired the cult of Nikal Seyn. |
Jiddu Krishnamurti |
|
1895–1986 |
Renounced the status of messiah and Maitreya incarnation given him by the Theosophical Society. |
Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia |
|
1892–1975 |
Among most followers of the Rastafari movement, Haile Selassie is seen as the second coming of Jesus Christ, God incarnate, the Black Messiah and "Earth's Rightful Ruler" who will also lead African peoples to freedom. Rastas say that his royal titles (i.e. King of Kings, Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah, and Root of David) were prophesied as belonging to the returned Messiah in Revelation 5:5. Their faith in his divinity first appeared in Jamaica, soon after his 1930 coronation in Addis Ababa.[31] Before his coronation he was called Ras (meaning Prince) Tafari. |
Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, Duke of Edinburgh |
|
1921– |
Considered a god in the village of Yaohnanen, a cargo cult in Vanuatu.[32] See Prince Philip Movement. |
Kumari |
|
-? |
These are little girls who are worshipped by both Hindus and Buddhists as the incarnation of the Hindu Goddess Durga (Nepali Taleju) in Nepal. They are picked when they are prepubescent and are worshipped until they reach puberty. Their cult is in South Asian countries, especially in Nepal. |
Who |
Image |
When |
Notability |
Naram-Sin |
|
2255 – 2119 BC |
The first Mesopotamian king to claim divinity.[33] |
Pharnavaz I of Iberia |
|
326–234 BC |
Iberian king (reigned 299-234 BC) |
Antiochus IV Epiphanes |
|
215–164 BC |
Seleucid ruler (reigned 175-164); the only Seleucid king to claim divine honors, calling himself Theos Epiphaneus "God Manifest" and Nikephoros "Bringer of Victory." Nearly conquered Ptolemaic Egypt, the primary rival of the Seleucids among the Diadochi states. Famously attempted to impose ancient Greek religion on the Jews by persecution, leading to the Maccabean Revolt; remembered as a major persecutor in Jewish tradition.[29] |
Simon Magus |
|
1st century |
Considered a god in Simonianism. According to Irenaeus, he "was glorified by many as if he were a god; and he taught that it was himself who appeared among the Jews as the Son, but descended in Samaria as the Father while he came to other nations in the character of the Holy Spirit. He represented himself, in a word, as being the loftiest of all powers, that is, the Being who is the Father over all, and he allowed himself to be called by whatsoever title men were pleased to address him."[34] |
Veleda |
|
1st century |
Germanic prophetess considered a deity during her lifetime. |
Ismail I |
|
1502–1524 |
Self-claimed to be an emanation of God and was considered such by the Kızılbaş-Safaviya order, Qizilbash-Turkman subjects and Alevis.[35][36][37] |
Danila Filippovich |
|
1700 |
He believed that he was God and started the Khlysts. (There are various transliterations of his name including Danila Filipov, Danila Filipich, and Daniil Filippovich.)[38] |
Kondratii Selivanov |
|
1780s |
Kondraty Selivanov proclaimed himself both as the late Peter III of Russia and Christ himself, and started the Skoptsy. |
Hong Xiuquan |
|
1814–1864 |
Chinese man who claimed he was the younger brother of Jesus, and thus a son of God. Led the Taiping Rebellion, conquering a large part of China before defeat and suicide. |
Father Divine |
|
~1880–1965 |
His followers considered him God in the flesh.[39] |
Taher Saifuddin |
|
1888–1965 |
Claimed to be Ilah'ul-Ard (God on Earth) in Bombay High Court.[40][41] |
Francisco Macías Nguema |
|
1924–1979 |
In 1978, he changed the motto of Equatorial Guinea to "There is no other God than Macias Nguema." [42] |
Juanita Peraza (Mita) |
|
1897–1970 |
According to the Mita faith, Mita (Peraza) was the incarnation of the Holy Ghost on earth.[43] |
Lou de Palingboer |
|
1898–1968 |
A divorced Dutchman named Louwrens Voorthuijzen who proclaimed himself "Lou the Eel Vendor", this being the translation of his proclaimed name "Lou de Palingboer". He was a figure who mixed marketing European eels with proselytism. His followers also considered him a living God on a mission against evil.[44] |
Nirmala Srivastava |
|
1923–2011 |
Guru and goddess of Sahaja Yoga, has proclaimed herself the incarnation of the Holy Ghost (Adi Shakti), claimed that all other incarnations (e.g., Krishna, Christ, etc.) were aspects of her.[45][46] |
Jehovah Wanyonyi |
|
1924– |
"I am the one who created Adam and Eve. I made their bodies and their blood", […] "I still use human beings by speaking through them, like I spoke through Jesus Christ until he went to Heaven." There are between 120 and a 1000 followers who consider him God.[47][48] |
Sathya Sai Baba |
|
1926–2011 |
Hindu guru that followers believed was a reincarnation of an avatar of Dattatreya. He alleged that he had the ability to heal, raise the dead, appear in more than one location at the same time, materialize objects, such as jewellery, etc. |
Jim Jones |
|
1931–1978 |
Founder of Peoples Temple, which started off as a part of a mainstream Protestant denomination before becoming a personality cult as time went on. One of Jones's devotees claimed that Jones said "If you see me as your savior, I'll be your savior. If you see me as your God, I'll be your God";[49] however Jones also described himself as atheist.[50] |
Yahweh ben Yahweh |
|
1935–2007 |
He was born as Hulon Mitchell, Jr. and his self-proclaimed name means "God, Son of God." He could have only been deeming himself son of God, not God, but many of his followers clearly consider him God Incarnate.[51][52] |
Mitsuo Matayoshi |
|
1944– |
In 1997 he established the World Economic Community Party (世界経済共同体党) based on his conviction that he is the God and Christ.[53] |
Claude Vorilhon |
|
1946– |
Claims to be Maitreya, messenger of the "Elohim." |
Vissarion |
|
1961– |
Claims to be Jesus Christ returned, which makes him not "God" but the "word of God". |
Joseph Kony |
|
1961– |
Proclaims himself the spokesperson of God and a spirit medium, and has been considered by some as a cult of personality, and claims he is visited by a multinational host of 13 spirits, including a Chinese phantom. |