8 Famous & Powerful Axes of Myth & Legend [Updated]

Axes are important tools and symbols in mythology from around the world. In most cultures, the axe corresponds with thunder. Axes are cultic objects in Chinese, South American, Greek, Roman, and Scandinavian religions. 

These and many other countries around the world have deities who wield powerful axes. 

The axe is often the tool of powerful gods, but in the Minoan culture of ancient Crete, the double axe is the weapon of goddesses. The double-headed axe symbolizes the circle of life in this and other religions. 

This list of famous and powerful mythological axes includes gods and other mythological figures from around the world. 

1) Perun’s Axe

Perun is the god of thunder in ancient Slavic mythology. He is a purifier and overseer of order. According to legend, Perun is perceived through the senses. 

Evidence of his worship includes small axe-shaped pendants. Most date to the 1000s and 1100s and range in size from four to five and a half centimeters. 

These pendants have been found in Serbia, Poland, Russia, Ukraine, Lithuania, and other Slavic and Eastern European countries. 

2) Forseti’s Axe

Forseti is an obscure Norse god who is mentioned only twice in the Poetic Edda. He is a divine lawspeaker who settles disputes. According to some, Forseti is connect to a story of twelve stranded lawspeakers. 

In the story, the lawspeakers are stranded out at sea. A thirteenth man appears to them with a golden axe. His man uses the axe to row the lawspeakers to shore. 

When they arrive on land, the man throws down his axe and a spring gushes forth. 

3) Tuirbe Tragmar

In Irish mythology, Tuirbe Tragmar is the “thrower of axes” and has an axe with the power to hold back the sea. 

He is also the father of Gobán Saor, who was is the best craftsman and builder of castles in Irish myths. 

4) Labrys of Hephaestus

The labrys is a double-headed axe that is one of the oldest symbols of Greek civilization. The weapon and tool shows up often in the mythology of Greece. 

In one story, the god Hephaestus slices Zeus’s head with a labrys to free the goddess Athena. Zeus himself uses a labrys to invoke powerful storms. 

5) Shango’s Axe

Shango is the thunder deity of the Yoruba religion of modern-day Nigeria. Like other thunder gods in world religions, Shango carries a powerful axe. 

His axe iss a double-axe called an oshe. 

6) Pangu’s Axe

Pangu is the figure of creation in Chinese mythology. According to legend, Pangu emerged from a cosmic egg and got to work creating the world. 

He separated the yin (earth) from the yang (sky) with his powerful axe. After completing his work, Pangu died and his body became the various components of the earth’s landscapes. 

7) Ganesha’s Axe

Ganesha is one of the major gods of Hinduism. He is the god of wisdom and the remover of obstacles. His axe is a symbol of material desires and the need to relinquish them. 

His axe can be used to strike and repel obstacles. It is also said that Ganesha’s axe leads people to the path of righteousness. 

8) Axe of Paul Bunyan

Paul Bunyan is a larger-than-life character in American and Canadian folklore. Paul Bunyan is a giant lumberjack who explores North America with Babe the Blue Ox. 

As a lumberjack, Paul Bunyan obviously uses an axe as his primary tool. Many stories exist about Paul Bunyan and his adventures and his axe plays a role in one story in particular. 

In this story, Paul is searching for firewood. As he travels along, he drags his axe behind him and accidentally gouges out the Grand Canyon.