A triad, in a Religion context, refers to a grouping of three gods, usually by importance or similar roles. A triad of gods were usually not considered to be one in the same being, or different aspects of a single deity as in a Trinity or Triple deity.
Triads of three closely associated deities were commonly found throughout the ancient world, and in particular in the religious traditions of Ancient Greece and Egypt.[ Ancient Egyptian religion: The Gods. Encyclopaedia Britannica Online.]
List of deity triads
Historical polytheism
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The Classical Greece Olympic triad of Zeus (king of the gods), Athena (goddess of war and intellect) and Apollo (god of the sun, culture and music)
[Chambers's Encyclopedia Volume 1]
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The Delos chief triad of Leto (mother), Artemis (daughter) and Apollo (son)
[ The twelve gods of Greece and Rome, Charlotte R. Long, p. 11][ Religion in Hellenistic Athens Por Jon D. Mikalson, p. 210] and second Delian triad of Athena, Zeus and Hera[ The twelve gods of Greece and Rome Por Charlotte R. Long, p. 11]
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The Eleusinian Mysteries centered on Persephone (daughter), Demeter (mother), and Triptolemus (to whom Demeter taught agriculture)
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In ancient Egypt there were many triads:
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The Osirian (or Abydos) triad of Osiris (husband), Isis (wife), and Horus (son)
[, Wikicommons]
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The Theban Triad of Amun, Mut and Khonsu
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The Memphite triad of Ptah, Sekhmet and Nefertem
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The Elephantine triad of Khnum (god of the source of the Nile), Satet (personification of the floods of the Nile), and Anuket (goddess of the Nile)
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The sun god Ra, whose form in the morning was Khepri, at noon Ra-Horakhty and in the evening Atum, and many others
[Manfred Lurker, Lexikon der Götter und Symbole der alten Ägypter, Scherz 1998, p. 214f.]
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The Hellenistic Egypt triad of Isis, Alexandrian Serapis and Harpocrates (a Hellenization version of the already referred Isis-Osiris-Horus triad), though in the early Ptolemaic period Serapis, Isis and Apollo (who was sometimes identified with Horus) were preferred.
[ Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics, Volume 6. Fiction - Hyksos. Part 2. God - Heraclitus, James Hastings, John A. Selbie and others (Ed.s), p. 381]
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The Roman Capitoline Triad of Jupiter (father), Juno (wife), and Minerva (daughter)
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The Roman Aventine Triad of Ceres, Liber and Libera (or its Greek counterpart with Demeter, Dionysus and Persephone)
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The Julian triads of the early Roman Principate:
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Venus Genetrix, Julius Caesar, and Clementia
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Divus Iulius, Augustus and Genius Augusti
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Eastern variants of the Julian triad, e.g. in Anatolia: Dea Roma, Divus Iulius and Genius Augusti (or Divi filius)
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The Matres (Deae Matres/Dea Matrona) in Roman mythology
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The Fates, Moirai or Furies in Greek mythology and Roman mythology: Clotho or Nona the Spinner, Lachesis or Decima the Weaver, and Atropos or Morta the Cutter of the Threads of Life. One's Lifeline was Spun by Clotho, Woven into the tapestry of Life by Lachesis, and the thread Cut by Atropos.
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The Hooded Spirits or Genii Cucullati in Gallo-Roman times
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The main supranational triad of the ancient Lusitanian mythology and religion and Portugal made up of the couple Arentia and Arentius and Quangeius and Trebaruna, followed by a minor -Lusitanian triad of Bandua (under many emanationism), Nabia and Reve female nature: Reva
[ Os Principais Deuses e Deusas da Lusitânia - Panteão Lusitano , Revvane.com]
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The sisters Uksáhkká, Juksáhkká and Sáhráhkká in Sami mythology.
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Odin, Vili and Ve in Norse mythology
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The Norns in Norse mythology
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Odin, Freyr, and Thor in Norse mythology. Odin is the god of wisdom and knowledge, Freyr is the god of fertility and prosperity, and Thor is the god of thunder and strength.
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The Triglav in Slavic mythology
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Perkūnas (god of heaven), Patrimpas (god of earth) and Pikuolis (god of death) in Prussian mythology
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The Zorya or Auroras in Slavic mythology
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The Charites or Graces in Greek mythology
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The One, the Thought (or Intellect) and the Soul in Neoplatonism
Judaism
Jewish
Orthodox Judaism emphatically believes in the oneness of an infinite God, This understanding is rooted in the core belief of "
Shema" (Hear, O Israel): "The Lord our God, the Lord is one". Yet some have suggested, for various reasons, that this is not the case. They conclude that because the words Adonai and
Elohim are both plural, it must refer to a plurality or compound unity of the Jewish God.
However, this assumption is often made from those who have no formal background in Hebrew and ancient Jewish works.
For example, the cited encounter of Abraham in Gen 18 with the three men or angels is often anachronistically used to leverage the Christian dogma of the Trinity.
Further, other critics of Judaism attempt to utilize kabbalistic works as proof of Jews hiding the true nature of Judaism. These detractors, often conspiratorial in nature, dissect passages and piece them back together without any connection to the original author’s intent or meaning.
Christian Trinity
The Christian doctrine of the
Trinity (, from "threefold")
defines God as being
Monotheism existing in three , , consubstantial persons:
God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit — three distinct persons sharing one
Homoousion.
[Definition of the Fourth Lateran Council quoted in Catechism of the Catholic Church §253. ( DS 804).] In this context, the three persons define God is, while the one essence defines God is.
This
doctrine is called Trinitarianism and its adherents are called trinitarians, while its opponents are called antitrinitarians or nontrinitarians. Nontrinitarian positions include
Unitarianism,
Binitarianism and Modalism.
Dharmic religions
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Amitabha triad - Amitābha, Avalokiteśvara and Mahāsthāmaprāpta in Mahayana Buddhism
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Ayyavazhi Trinity
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Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva (Trimurti) in Puranic Hinduism
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Mitra, Aryaman, and Varuna in early vedic Hinduism
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Ganga, Yamuna, and Saraswati merged in one is the Triveni
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Sahā Triad - Shakyamuni, Avalokitesvara and Ksitigarbha in Mahayana Buddhism
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Shakti, Lakshmi, and Saraswati (Tridevi) in Puranic Hinduism
Other Eastern religions
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Three Pure Ones in Taoism
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Fu Lu Shou in Taoism
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San-shan kuo-wang, Lords of the Three Mountains in Chinese folk religion
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The Ahuric Triad of Ahura Mazda, Mithra and Apam Napat in Zoroastrianism. Also, in Achaemenid times, Mazda, Mithra and Anahita.
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Amaterasu, Tsukuyomi and Susanoo in Shinto.
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Tản Viên Sơn Thánh, Thần Cao Sơn and Thần Quý Minh, Three mountain gods rule the Ba Vì mountain range in Vietnamese folk religion.
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Mẫu Thượng Thiên, Mẫu Thoải and Mẫu Thượng Ngàn in Đạo Mẫu.
Neopaganism
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Triple Goddess (Neopaganism), the Maiden-Mother-Crone deity of Wicca and other neopagan faiths.
Esotericism
See also
