History Main / SacredBowAndArrows

Compare EnergyBow, ArrowsOnFire. May overlap with LightEmUp and HolyHandGrenade. See also ArcherArchetype, CupidsArrow and HeroesPreferSwords.

When the time comes to smite the powers of darkness, there is often little better way in the realm of fiction than to use the Sacred Bow and Arrows. A set of bow and arrows blessed by the gods is employed, weaponizing their holy power in the projectiles. Symbolic of this, the arrow will likely be fired in a streak of light, or the bow may fire an arrow ''of'' light. The medium may also depict bows as holy weapons in general, associating them with the gods and divinity.

* "Jerusalem" is a British hymn the ponders the possibility that the [[JesusTheEarlyYears lost years of Jesus]] were spent in England. It's third verse begins "bring me my bow, of burning gold; bring me my arrows of desire".

** In ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind Morrowind]]'', Auriel's Bow is tied for the most damaging bow in the game in terms of base damage, however, it no longer comes with an enchantment. You can enchant it yourself, but it's relatively low enchantment rating (7) prevents it from being particularly useful. (A standard Daedric Longbow deals the same damage and has an enchantment rating of 10.5, but, on the downside, is 33% heavier.) You can exchange it during a particular quest for a Daedric Cuirass and Greaves, both enchanted with the Feather effect to make them lighter. You can also sell it to the Museum of Artifacts in Mournhold with the ''Tribunal'' expansion for a cool 15,000 gold.

Compare EnergyBow, ArrowsOnFire. May overlap with LightEmUp and HolyHandGrenade. See also HeroesPreferSwords, ArcherArchetype.

* Volume 2 of ''ComicBook/RedHoodAndTheOulaws'' introduces the Bow of Ra. As the name implies, it is a weapon created by the Egyptian god Ra and bestowed upon the Amazons of the Bana-Mighdall and can only be wielded by the [[TheChampion Shim'Tar]]. Those who try to wield the bow without being considered worthy end up becoming corrupted, a fate that befell Artemis' friend Akila.

[[folder Comic Books]]

[[folder:Literature]]
* In ''Literature/{{Mahabharata}}'', Arjuna's exceptionally powerful bow ''Gandiva'' was given to him by the gods. Several characters, including Arjuna, wield celestial weapons, highly powerful FinishingMoves granted to them by the gods as a reward for their piety or devotion.
* In ''Literature/{{Ramayana}}'', King Janaka of Mithila used an exceptionally heavy bow, given to him by Shiva, as an EngagementChallenge for his daughter Sita’s suitors [[StrengthEqualsWorthiness to prove themselves worthy]]. Prince Rama of Ayodhya was the only one who manages to wield it, and he breaks it in half when he tries to fire it.

** TabletopGame/{{Greyhawk}} campaign setting
*** The goddess Ehlonna has a bow that never misses its target, even when fired at maximum range. Half of her arrows have a plus 3 bonus, and the rest are Arrows of Slaying for various Evil woodland creatures.

* In ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'', on the Ancient Egyptian-themed plane of Amonkhet, the white-aligned deity Oketra's weapon of choice is a bow and arrows. [[https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjGuaDBpvHfAhVpZN8KHXvNCcgQjRx6BAgBEAU&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.artstation.com%2Fartwork%2FxxDG1&psig=AOvVaw0jUrjroDKcO6iuv0hKunL8&ust=1547693673270908 They pack quite a punch.]]

* In ''TabletopGame/{{MagicTheGathering}} Magic: The Gathering'', on the Ancient Egyptian-themed plane of Amonkhet, the white-aligned deity Oketra's weapon of choice is a bow and arrows. [[https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjGuaDBpvHfAhVpZN8KHXvNCcgQjRx6BAgBEAU&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.artstation.com%2Fartwork%2FxxDG1&psig=AOvVaw0jUrjroDKcO6iuv0hKunL8&ust=1547693673270908 They pack quite a punch.]]

* In ''TabletopGame/{{MagicTheGathering}}'', on the Ancient Egyptian-themed plane of Amonkhet, the white-aligned deity Oketra's weapon of choice is a bow and arrows. [[https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjGuaDBpvHfAhVpZN8KHXvNCcgQjRx6BAgBEAU&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.artstation.com%2Fartwork%2FxxDG1&psig=AOvVaw0jUrjroDKcO6iuv0hKunL8&ust=1547693673270908 They pack quite a punch.]]

** the Light Arrows are special holy arrows that can dispel evil magic, and are often employed or created by Zelda. They’re commonly used to aid in fighting [[BigBad Ganon]]. Notably, ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess Twilight Princess]]'' is the one of the few games in the franchise where the player does not get access to them at all, and are only used by Zelda in the final battle.

* Shana and Miranda in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfDragoon'', who both and represent the light/holy Dragoon spirit and fight with bows and arrows. [[HealingShiv They’re also quite useful at healing.]]

* ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedOrigins'': As part of the mission to discover The Lizard, Bayek experiences a drug-induced hallucination in which he floats along a river on the solar barge of the god Ra, fighting and defeating the god Apep with a glowing bow that shoots unlimited arrows.

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

* In ''Anime/{{Digimon}}'', Angewomon's attack is Holy Arrow, an arrow of light energy. As an Angel Digimon, she’s particularly powerful against demonic enemies like Vamdemon and [=LadyDevimon=].
* In ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'', Madoka’s bow takes this role in aesthetics and [[spoiler:divine]] function when [[spoiler:she takes on her Ultimate form to destroy Walpurgis Night]].

[[folder:Live Action TV]]

[[folder:Mythology and Religion]]

* The ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' ''Deities & Demigods Cyclopedia'' has game stats for various deities’ bow weapons.

*** Vishnu’s avatar Rama is identified by the bow he wields.

*** Correlon Larethian’s bow fires arrows that never miss.
*** Arrows fired from Rillifane Rallathil’s bow always kill their target.

*** Odin has a plus 3 bow that can fire 10 arrows per minute. [[note]]This may not seem impressive, given that one in-game round takes place over a period of six seconds, and therefore 1 minute equals 10 rounds; however, most characters ''can't'' fire an arrow every round without devoting several feats to archery or using their ''entire'' round doing nothing but loading and firing the bow. Odin's bow basically takes care of the logistics of advanced archery for him.[[/note]]
*** Uller’s bow is plus 5. Arrows from it can hit any target he can see with no penalties for range and he automatically hits at a range of 200 yards or less.

* The three major gods Sarodomin, Guthix and Zamorak in VideaGame/RuneScape have their own bows and arrows which they have blessed.

[[caption-width-right:300: [[CallingYourAttacks Celestial Arrow]]!]]

* In ''Anime/{{Digimon}}'', Angewomon's attack is Celestial Arrow, an arrow of light energy. As an Angel Digimon, she’s particularly powerful against demonic enemies like Myotismon and [=LadyDevimon=].

** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII2'', Serah’s LimitBreak is Artemis Arrow, mistranslated as Ultima Arrow in the English localization. (Though the association was probably not intended, there's a summon in Ivalace known as Ultima the High Seraph.)

* In ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'', the Light Arrows are special holy arrows that can dispel evil magic, and are often employed or created by Zelda. They’re commonly used to aid in fighting [[BigBad Ganon]]. Notably, ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess Twilight Princess]]'' is the one of the few games in the franchise where the player does not get access to them at all, and are only used by Zelda in the final battle.

* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'' series has Auriel's Bow, an artifact weapon said to have been wielded by Auriel (sometimes spelled Auri-El), the [[NobleBirdOfPrey Golden Eagle God]] and [[OurElvesAreBetter Aldmeri (Elven)]] aspect of Akatosh, the [[DragonsAreDivine draconic]] TopGod of Time. Aldmeri legend holds that Auriel wielded it during the [[TimeOfMyths Dawn Era]] during the wars of the [[{{Precursors}} Ehlnofey]] against the forces of [[GodIsDead Lorkhan]]. When Trinimac, [[BodyguardingABadass Auriel's champion]], slew Lorkhan, it is said that Auriel tied [[CosmicKeystone Lorkhan's Heart]] to an arrow and fired it with the bow across the mortal world, landing in modern day Morrowind and forming Red Mountain around it. The details of Auriel's Bow vary in each game where it appears. To note:

* The Atalanta summon in ''VideoGame/GoldenSun'' is a wind-element RainOfArrows.
** In order to progress through the Jupiter lighthouse, several statues that shoot arrows of light need to be turned on.
* A sacred bow is required to fix a BrokenBridge in ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIX''.
** The ultimate bow ability in shoots holy attacks at the target.

[[folder:Anime And Manga]]

* In ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'', the Light Arrows are special holy arrows that can dispel evil magic, and are often employed or created by Zelda. They’re commonly used to aid in fighting [[BigBad Ganon]]. Notably, ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess Twilight Princess]]'' is the only game the player does not get access to them at all, and are only used by Zelda in the final battle.

* ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWars'': The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ys1_KKVpLTQ Angelg]], debuting in ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsAdvance'', [[InvokedTrope invokes]] this trope by being an angel-themed mecha wielding an EnergyBow. For bonus "divinity" points, its strongest attack shoots a [[FlamingSword flaming arrow]] that [[ShapingYourAttacks transforms into a phoenix]] before exploding into a PillarOfLight.

* ''Anime/TheBraveOfGoldGoldran'': The final [[CombiningMecha combination]] of the series, Great Goldran, trades Goldran's usual katana for the enormous bow "Great Archery" in its "[[GoldColoredSuperiority Golden Arrow]] Final Shoot" FinishingMove.