Mythology & Religion Power Ranking TOP100
This article introduces Rank 77: Maui from the “Mythology & Religion Power Ranking TOP100”, which ranks the gods, monsters, and heroes of world mythology, religion, and legend in order of strength.
If you want to see the full TOP100 list and the criteria behind the rankings, check out the overview article below.
Rank 77: Maui (Polynesian Mythology)
Overview
Maui is the greatest hero of Polynesian mythology in general, including Hawaiian mythology.
His myths are full of extraordinary feats: finding the days too short, he lassoed the sun and slowed it down to lengthen the daylight hours; he lifted the sky up from the sea to create the starry heavens; using his magical fishhook Manaiakalani he pulled land up from the depths of the ocean to create Hawaii and the other islands; and he created all the living things of Polynesia.
His legends approach the level of a creator deity.
He is also known as the hero who tried to overcome death itself. In an attempt to gain immortality, he entered the body of his grandmother, the goddess of death Hine-nui-te-pō.
However, the birds accompanying him on his journey burst out laughing at the sight, waking Hine-nui-te-pō, causing Maui to fail — he was swallowed by her and died.
This is preserved as “the death of Maui,” and in Polynesian mythology this event is why death came to exist for all humanity.
Why This Ranking
Maui holds a very high position in mythological terms, but he has almost no descriptions of strength per se, making him one of the more difficult subjects to evaluate. The sheer scale of his exploits is beyond anything other heroes can claim — there’s no question that he possesses power of an entirely different dimension.
On the other hand, he is clearly not a combat-type being, and he is neither immortal nor immune to death — the goddess of death killed him without any particular difficulty. Compared to top-tier war gods, he feels somewhat lacking (whereas Hercules punched the goddess of death and stole back a soul from her).
Taking all of that into consideration, I placed him at this position in the ranking.
About the Book
I wrote a book that compiles this entire ranking! The reasoning behind each placement is grounded in the actual lore and episodes from each mythology, so I think it makes for a fairly convincing read.
The book also contains many columns and extras not published on this blog, so if you are interested, please check it out below.
📚 Series: Mythology Power Ranking (Individual Characters) (24/100)
