We'll Give You a God or Goddess Name, You Tell Us Their Pantheon

By: Zoe Samuel
Estimated Completion Time
2 min
We'll Give You a God or Goddess Name, You Tell Us Their Pantheon
Image: ilbusca/DigitalVision Vectors/gettyimages

About This Quiz

No matter whether or not you are a believer yourself, and even irrespective of which faith you follow, you cannot deny that religion has been immensely important in shaping human history. Some religions are enormously powerful, enjoying hundreds of millions or even more than a billion followers. These can be as old as several millennia, and have typically split into factions that often take serious issue with one another and may be considered (by adherents, if not by scholars or the wider public) to be effectively different religions at this point. Others are now defunct, as the civilizations that gave rise to them have since fallen. Generally speaking, monotheistic religion has been having a very good time of it in the Middle East, South America and Africa, while fading but still hugely significant in North America and Europe and Central Asia. Meanwhile, faiths of polytheistic origin dominate in Asia.

How well do you know the deities of religions both current and past? Does your mind boggle when you hear names like Thor, Bast or Vishnu, or can you rattle off the correct theological framework for them as easily as you would that of Jesus, Allah or Yahweh? Let's find out!

To which pantheon does Baal belong?
Phoenician
Assyrian
Syrian
Hebrew
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Baal is a Phoenician deity. It is believed that his followers possibly tattooed and scarred their faces with decorations, which may be why the Bible prohibits the use of a razor on the face, as it was a sign of Baal worship.

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To which pantheon does Sekhmet belong?
Tunisian
Egyptian
Persian
Greek
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Sekhmet is a fierce hunting goddess. She is depicted as a lion, which is among the most fierce animals the Egyptians encountered.

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To which pantheon does Dionysus belong?
Roman
Greek
Norse
Mayan
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Dionysus is the god of wine, and is known as Bacchus in Rome. He is usually depicted as very drunk and having a party that has lasted centuries.

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To which pantheon does Kali belong?
Greek
Roman
Muslim
Hindu
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Kali is a goddess of destruction. However she's not arbitrary about it and only comes for those who deserve it! For her followers, sometimes destruction is a good thing as it balances the world out.

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To which pantheon does Thor belong?
Norse
Roman
Greek
Jewish
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Thor is the Norse God of thunder. He is also a Marvel Avenger, where liberties were taken with the legend. With his trusty hammer (now sword in the movies), he is quite a force to be reckoned with.

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To which pantheon does Jesus belong?
Christian
Jewish
Greek
Aztec
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Jesus is a Christian deity or part of a deity, depending on how you frame it. He is the son of God but also part of the holy Trinity, which is a single God with three parts.

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To which pantheon does Gaia belong?
Roman
Greek
Norse
Aztec
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Gaia is the earth mother. She is often a feature in theologies that are not Greek, but instead more pagan in nature, where she represents a mother of us all.

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To which pantheon does Buddha belong?
Shinto
Buddhist
Jain
Sikh
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Buddha is divine but not a deity. He is the founder of Buddhism, which is about achieving Enlightenment through good works and meditation. There are no deities involved, though.

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To which pantheon does Uzume belong?
Shinto
Jain
Hindu
Jewish
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Uzume's full name is Ame-no-Uzume-no-mikoto. She is the Shinto goddess of dawn, mirth and revelry. Shinto is the imperial religion in Japan.

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To which pantheon does Atunis belong?
Greek
Babylonian
Etruscan
Persian
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

This is the Etruscan name for Adonis. Most Etruscan deities have direct Greek and Roman counterparts. Adonis was a mortal but he was the lover of Aphrodite.

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To which pantheon does Aegir belong?
Greek
Egyptian
Norse
Pagan
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

This is Poseidon's counterpart in Norse mythology. Aegir is the god of the sea and is not to be trifled with. A good sacrifice ahead of sailing is a wise choice.

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To which pantheon does Ashur belong?
Sumerian
Babylonian
Assyrian
Persian
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

This is one of many Mesopotamian gods, as Sumeria was an ancient civilization in that area. Ashur is the head god and thus, a predecessor of Zeus.

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To which pantheon does Brahma belong?
Hindu
Muslim
Jewish
Christian
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Brahma is the head Hindu god, and all the other gods are contained within him. He is also known as The Grandfather.

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To which pantheon does Shiva belong?
Greek
Hindu
Incan
Mayan
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Shiva is the third great deity of the Hindu Triumvirate. His job is to destroy, but in a good, balanced and healthy way.

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To which pantheon does Ganesha belong?
Roman
Hindu
Aztec
Egyptian
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Ganesha is the elephant-headed god who is most recognizable to foreigners not familiar with Hindu culture. He is the remover of obstacles and patron of the arts and learning.

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To which pantheon does Freyja belong?
Hindu
Norse
Roman
Persian
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The Norse goddess Freyja is a practitioner of sorcery. She rides into battle and chooses which of the slain will join her.

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To which pantheon does Sleipnir belong?
Roman
Hindu
Jewish
Norse
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Sleipnir is not actually a deity but he works for one: He is the eight-legged steed of Odin. He is mentioned in the Poetic Edda, a very important Norse text.

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To which pantheon does Heimdallr belong?
Aztec
Olmec
Incan
Norse
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Heimdallr holds the horn Gjallarhorn, and is on the side of the good guys at Ragnarok. Sadly, he and Loki are foretold to kill one another.

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To which pantheon does Frigg belong?
Christian
Norse
Roman
Greek
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The wife of Odin, Frigg is the goddess of love and of destiny. She is one of the most powerful Nordic theological figures.

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To which pantheon does Igaluk belong?
Inuit
Hopi
Iroquois
Creek
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Igaluk is a rather horrible deity actually, as he did some really awful things to his own sister, Malina. In Inuit tradition, he is a lunar deity and she is the sun.

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To which pantheon does Wi belong?
Choctaw
Mohawk
Lakota
Apache
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Wi is a solar deity associated with the bison, which is not surprising considering the Lakota are a Sioux tribe from the Great Plains! His wife Hanwi is a lunar deity.

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To which pantheon does Inti belong?
Aztec
Incan
Olmec
Mayan
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The Incan God of the sun, Inti was married to the goddess of the moon, Mama Quilla. The Incan Empire is one of the most extensive and powerful the world has ever seen.

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To which pantheon does Viracocha belong?
Incan
Mayan
Greek
Hindu
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Creator of all things, Viracocha is a major figure as he created the sky, the earth, and the other gods.

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To which pantheon does Hera belong?
Greek
Roman
Norse
Incan
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Hera is the wife of Zeus. She is powerful, intelligent and very jealous, often killing or cursing Zeus' lovers and their children.

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To which pantheon does Apollo belong?
Roman
Greek
Jewish
Mayan
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Apollo is the son of Zeus and brother of Artemis. He is always depicted as a beardless youth in fine shape. His portfolio includes prophecy and the sun.

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To which pantheon does Hades belong?
Roman
Jewish
Assyrian
Greek
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Hades is the Greek god of the underworld and a brother of Zeus and Poseidon. He lost a bet, which is how he got stuck with the underworld while they got the earth, sky and the sea.

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To which pantheon does Mars belong?
Roman
Persian
Phoenician
Etruscan
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Mars is the Roman god of war and also agriculture. He is distinct from his Greek counterpart, Ares, though the two are often conflated.

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To which pantheon does Allah belong?
Jewish
Muslim
Jain
Sikh
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Allah is the Muslim deity and like his Christian and Jewish counterparts, is the sole deity in a monotheistic religion. As Muslims are fellow descendants of Abraham, Islam is one of the three Abrahamic faiths.

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To which pantheon does Yahweh belong?
Persian
Christian
Jewish
Roman
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Yahweh is not really a name, it's more of an idea: "I am, that I am." These are the words God speaks to Moses through the burning bush, in explaining what He is. The name is a pronunciation of the Hebrew letters that stand for the words.

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To which pantheon does Tiamat belong?
Babylonian
Assyrian
Incan
Inuit
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

This ancient goddess of the sea is an early Babylonian deity. She hails from a tradition in which she will fight the forces of chaos. Babylon was an empire in the Fertile Crescent that fell a couple millennia ago, defeated by Persia.

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To which pantheon does Ala belong?
Yoruba
Ibo
Bantu
Lovedu
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

This Nigerian deity is the goddess of fertility. The Ibo people are one of the major tribes of Nigeria. These days it is a mostly Muslim and Christian country though.

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To which pantheon does Ogun belong?
Fula
Yoruba
Berber
Xhosa
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

This West African deity is the god of war and iron. The Yoruba are an ethnic group divided across many countries. Many African-Americans are of Yoruba descent.

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To which pantheon does Mujaji belong?
Berber
Lovedu
Xhosa
Bantu
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Mujaji is a goddess of rain, which sadly they have not had much of recently in her homeland of South Africa. She is a deity of the Lovedu ethnic group.

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To which pantheon does Ra belong?
Egyptian
Nubian
Greek
Roman
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Ra is the Egyptian deity of the sun. The sky goddess Nut swallowed him every night and he was reborn every morning to shine on again over Egypt.

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To which pantheon does Osiris belong?
Norse
Egyptian
Incan
Roman
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Osiris is the Greek god of life, death, and the Nile's annual floods (which bring life and death). He is the husband of Isis and father of Horus.

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