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17[[quoteright:350:[[VideoGame/HyruleWarriorsAgeOfCalamity https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/zeldabow_9.png]]]]
18[[caption-width-right:350:"[[GoldAndWhiteAreDivine Gilded bow and an arrow divine]]\
19The calamity ends when the trinity shines!"]]
20%%
21
22->''"A bow that shines with sacred light. Blessed by the gods of the hunt."''
23-->-- Description of the Artemis Bow, ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyCrystalChroniclesEchoesOfTime''
24
25When the time comes to smite the powers of darkness, there is often no 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.
26
27Historically, bows are one of the oldest projectile weapons in history, going back thousands of years, and there are numerous gods associated with hunting and archery. The most prominent examples are the Greek gods Apollo and Artemis; Both Apollo and Artemis have been referred to as the gods of archery, and both are commonly depicted wielding bows. In China, the invention of the bow is credited to the Yellow Emperor, one of the most important Chinese deities.
28
29Compare EnergyBow, ArrowsOnFire, MageMarksman. May overlap with ForgedByTheGods, LightEmUp and HolyHandGrenade. See also CupidsArrow and HeroesPreferSwords.
30----
31!!Examples:
32
33[[foldercontrol]]
34
35[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
36* ''Literature/AccelWorld'': Utai's Enhanced Armament "Flame Caller", as part of her {{miko}} theme. However, when she's using her most "sacred" abilities, it turns into a fan.
37* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'': Quincies fight [[TheHeartless Hollows]] with EnergyWeapons which fire what their enemies, the Shinigami, call "Arrows of Light". The Quincy [[TheEmperor Progenitor King]] stole the name of the [[AnswersToTheNameOfGod Abrahamic God]] and created the Vandenreich, a [[ANaziByAnyOtherName xenophobic, military organisation]] that regards itself as messengers of God, whose powers create sacred [[GratuitousGerman Heilig Pfeil]] (Holy Arrows). Although the Hollows are a very real threat to humanity, [[GodEmperor Yhwach]] is a mysterious, [[BigBad quite evil being]] who is trying to remake the whole world in his image. The Quincy holy crusade is therefore threatening the entire cosmic balance.
38* ''Anime/TheBraveOfGoldGoldran'': The final [[CombiningMecha combination]] of the series, Great Goldran, trades Goldran's usual katana for [[GreatBow the enormous bow "Great Archery"]] in its "[[GoldColoredSuperiority Golden Arrow]] Final Shoot" FinishingMove.
39* In ''Anime/DigimonAdventure'', Angewomon's attack is Holy Arrow (Celestial Arrow in the dub), an arrow of light energy. As an Angel Digimon, she's particularly powerful against demonic enemies like Vamdemon and [=LadyDevimon=].
40* ''Anime/DokiDokiPrecure'': The team's MidSeasonUpgrade, the [[HeartBeatdown Love Heart Arrow]], is a MorphWeapon which takes the form of a bow when wielded by team leader Cure Heart or as part of the team's Lovely Force Arrow CombinationAttack.
41* In ''Manga/{{Inuyasha}}'', main heroine Kagome and her past incarnation Kikyo use arrows as mediums to channel their priestess powers to attack enemies.
42* ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'': The mystic arrows that bestows [[FightingSpirit Stands]] isn't exactly divine, but its origins are revealed in ''Manga/GoldenWind'' as being forged from a MagicMeteor that fell centuries ago, and the man who created them believed the meteor came from the gods.
43* In ''Anime/LittleWitchAcademia2017'', The Shining Rod can transform into one, depending on the spell that's cast.
44* 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]].
45[[/folder]]
46
47[[folder:Comic Books]]
48* Xu Tao aka Celestial Archer of the ''ComicBook/GreatTen'' wields the Celestial Bow which once belonged to the mythological archer Hou Yi. Xu discovered the bow in an old temple below Mount Tai while hiding from gangsters. He touched the bow and was bestowed with Hou Yi's divine archery skills.
49* Maya, a member of ''[[Characters/JusticeLeagueOfAmericaJusticeLeagueEurope Justice League Europe]]'', is an Indian woman able to manifest a magical bow that can fire a series of mystical projectiles at an enemy. Her parents, unsure of what to do, left her in the care of a strange Indian cult that they themselves had become followers of. The leaders of this cult were convinced that she was the reincarnation of one of the Hindu gods, Shiva.
50* Volume 2 of ''ComicBook/RedHoodAndTheOutlaws'' 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.
51[[/folder]]
52
53[[folder:Film - Live-Action]]
54* In ''Film/DemonOfTheLute'', the demon's sole weakness is a set of three blessed arrows, which is used to destroy the lute in order to neutralize the demon's powers. Naturally in the final battle all three arrows are used, the third which successfully defeats the demon once and for all.
55[[/folder]]
56
57[[folder:Literature]]
58* 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 {{Finishing Move}}s granted to them by the gods as a reward for their piety or devotion.
59* 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.
60[[/folder]]
61
62[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
63* In ''Series/HyakujuuSentaiGaoranger'', [=GaoGod=]'s FinishingMove is "Divine Punishment: Power Arrow", which transforms his horns into a bow and uses them to launch the {{Detachable Blade|s}} of his [[BladeBelowTheShoulder sawshark arm]] as a projectile imbued with holy energy. Likewise for his ''Series/PowerRangersWildForce'' counterpart Animus and his finisher "Animarian Arrow".
64[[/folder]]
65
66[[folder:Music]]
67* "Jerusalem" is a British hymn the ponders the possibility that the [[JesusTheEarlyYears lost years of Jesus]] were spent in England. Its third verse begins "bring me my bow, of burning gold; bring me my arrows of desire".
68[[/folder]]
69
70[[folder:Myths & Religion]]
71* Myth/GreekMythology has Apollo, god of archery, and Artemis, goddess of the hunt.
72* In Myth/ChineseMythology, the Yellow Emperor is credited as inventing the bow.
73* In Myth/HinduMythology, the rainbow is referred to as 'Indra's bow'[[labelnote:Sanskrit]]indradhanus इन्द्रधनुस्[[/labelnote]]. He later gives this bow to Prince Rāma, an avatar of Viṣnu. This bow is now used as a symbol of the far-right Hindu nationalist party Shiv Sena in India.
74* Myth/JapaneseMythology:
75** A god-sent golden kite (sometimes identified with the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yatagarasu Yatagarasu]]) landed on the bow of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emperor_Jimmu Emperor Jimmu]], granting it the power to drive away evil spirits just by plucking its string. Since then, bows made from ''azusa'' (the wood of the catalpa or cherry birch) have been an important implement in UsefulNotes/{{Shinto}}-[[UsefulNotes/{{Buddhism}} Buddhist]] exorcism and divination rituals.
76** Minamoto no Yorimasa is said to have slain a [[MixAndMatchCritters nue]] with [[OneHitKill a single shot]] from his "evil-destroying bow", using an arrow [[AncestralWeapon inherited from]] his famous ancestor "Raiko" Minamoto no Yorimitsu. Children are traditionally gifted with replicas of this bow as toys, and decorative "evil-destroying arrows" are a common good luck charm.
77* In Myth/SonghaiMythology, Musa Nyori was the lord of the hunt and wielded an iron bow from which he shot magic arrows.
78[[/folder]]
79
80[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
81* The ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' ''Deities & Demigods Cyclopedia'' has game stats for various deities' bow weapons.
82** The Native American deity Heng has a bow that shoots lightning bolts that do 6-60 HitPoints of damage and have a range of 30 miles.
83** Chinese Mythos
84*** The deity Chih-Chiang Fyu-Ya has a magical bow that can hit any target within sight and causes any weapon thrown at him to return and hit its user. If anyone else attempts to use his bow, the arrows from it will hit the user.
85*** The deity Tou Mu has a magic bow that never misses a target within 100 yards.
86** Myth/GreekMythology
87*** The god Apollo has a bow with a range up to his line of sight.
88*** The goddess Artemis' bow has a range of 1,000 yards.
89*** The bow of the demigod Heracles can only be wielded by him. It can hit targets up to a mile away and cannot miss at a range of 1/2 mile or less.
90** Myth/HinduMythology
91*** The god Indra has a bow made of rainbows that can fire 2 lightning bolts per minute up to 1,000 yards away that each do 3-30 HitPoints of damage.
92*** The deity Rudra has a magical black bow that can fire arrows that inflict a rotting disease in any creature hit.
93*** Vishnu's avatar Rama is identified by the bow he wields.
94** Elven deities
95*** Correlon Larethian's bow fires arrows that never miss.
96*** Arrows fired from Rillifane Rallathil's bow always kill their target.
97** Myth/NorseMythology deities
98*** Odin has a +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]]
99*** 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.
100** In the ''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.
101** Solars, the most powerful angels in the game, wield enchanted longbows that [[BottomlessMagazines create their own ammunition]] and can strike any target dead on a successful hit.
102** In ''TabletopGame/{{Eberron}}'' the [[SaintlyChurch Church of the Silver Flame's]] preferred weapon is the longbow.
103* 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. With a FantasticNuke-level [[https://www.artstation.com/artwork/xxDG1 payload.]]
104* In ''TabletopGame/YuGiOh'', Fairy-types have the Silver Bow and Arrow weapon to power up. The Fairy-types Skelengel and Number 102: Star Seraph Sentry wield bows in their artwork, and in some video games other Fairies are depicted as fighting with bows.
105[[/folder]]
106
107[[folder:Video Games]]
108* ''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.
109* Marle's ultimate weapon in ''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger'' is Venus' Bow, always dealing 777 damage.
110* In ''VideoGame/ClockTower3'', when Alyssa is ready to face a boss, she manifests a bow and arrows of light. They are the only things able to permanently banish the evil spirits she encounters.
111* In ''Franchise/{{Disgaea}}'', the angel Flonne is able to use an attack called Holy Arrows. However in practice it's more a case of FeatherFlechettes, as she fires angel feathers as projectiles without actually using a bow.
112%%* A sacred bow is required to fix a BrokenBridge in ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIX''.
113%%** The ultimate bow ability in shoots holy attacks at the target.
114* The first two bonus items from ''VideoGame/DragonsLair II: Time Warp''.
115* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'':
116** The Auriel's Bow, an artifact weapon said to have been wielded by Auriel (sometimes spelled Auri-El), the [[NobleBirdOfPrey Golden Eagle God]] and [[OurElvesAreDifferent 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:
117** In ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsArena Arena]]'', Auriel's Bow is a massively powerful bow enchanted with [[PlayingWithFire fire]] damage. However, it only has a finite supply of energy. Once exhausted of this energy, the bow will vanish and reappear where ever chance puts it.
118** In ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIDaggerfall Daggerfall]]'', Auriel's Bow is one of three possible rewards for completing the [[TheOrder knightly order]] quest, "The Artifact". On top of its powerful base damage, it deals [[ShockAndAwe lightning]] damage and absorbs [[{{Mana}} Magicka]] of the targets it strikes. (It is also a possible to acquire a version of the bow during Nocturnal's [[OurGodsAreDifferent Daedric]] quest. It functions exactly the same as the real bow, however, it will crumble to dust after several in-game days.)
119** 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 its 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.
120** Auriel's Bow appears again in ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]''[='s=] ''Dawnguard'' DLC as a [[MacGuffin major plot item]]. It has a relatively mediocre base damage, but a high "critical" value. It is also enchanted to deal "[[ThePowerOfTheSun Sun]]" damage, and deals triple damage to undead. Over the course of ''Dawnguard''[='s=] main quest, it gains the ability to fire "Sunhallowed" or "Bloodcursed" arrows. Sunhallowed arrows, when fired from the bow at the sun during the day, will cause the sun to deal damage to any nearby enemies for a time. Bloodcursed arrows, fired similarly, block out the sun for the rest of the day and prevent vampires from taking sun damage.
121* ''VideoGame/FableI'' has an {{inver|tedTrope}}sion: the GodOfEvil Skorm grants the strongest bow in the game as a gift to a Hero who commits enough HumanSacrifice in his name.
122* ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'':
123** The strongest Bow-type weapon in most games that include them is usually the Artemis Bow, and less commonly the Perseus Bow. There are sometimes accompanying arrows bearing the same names.
124** In ''VideoGame/CrisisCoreFinalFantasyVII'', the goddess of the Lifestream, Minerva, combines her armor pieces into a giant bow and fires her staff like an arrow for her ultimate attack, Judgment Arrow.
125** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII2'', Serah's LimitBreak is Artemis Arrow, mistranslated as Ultima Arrow in the English localization. (Though the association was unintended, there's a summon in Ivalace known as Ultima the High Seraph.)
126** The Seventh Heaven, the weakest greatbow in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTacticsAdvance'' and the strongest in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTacticsA2'', is holy-elemental and teaches Ultima Shot. Thanks to Ultima abilities in these games having the same element as the user's weapon, you'll be invoking this trope at least until a character masters the ability and can move on to another weapon. The archer technique Burial is also holy-elemental and has a chance of banishing undead that increases as the targets health goes down.
127* ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates'' references the tale of a golden kite (''kinshi'') empowering Emperor Jimmu's bow with the Kinshi Knight - a [[FantasyCounterpartCulture Hoshido]]-exclusive class that [[HorseArcher wields bows while mounted]] on giant birds, and has a capstone skill named [[Myth/JapaneseMythology Amaterasu]].
128* The Atalanta summon in ''VideoGame/GoldenSunTheLostAge'' 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.
129* In ''VideoGame/KidIcarus'', Pit is able to use the holy Light Arrows, once wielded by the goddess Palutena.
130* In ''Franchise/{{Kirby}}'', some games have the copy ability Angel that comes with [[PowerGivesYouWings a pair of wings]], a HolyHalo, and a bow and arrow.
131* Shana and Miranda in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfDragoon'', who both and represent the light/holy Dragoon spirit and fight with bows and arrows. [[WhiteMage They're also quite useful at healing.]]
132* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'':
133** 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.
134** In earlier ''Zelda'' games, particularly the [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaI original game]] and ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast A Link to the Past]]'', Silver Arrows were the only thing capable of defeating [[FinalBoss Ganon]].
135** ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriors'':
136*** Zelda uses and abuses the Light Arrows all over her moveset and will lend them to the player character for the final battle. (Though if Zelda is the player character, Ruto gives her them for some odd reason). This final battle upgrade can be gained temporally during any battle if the player finds a Bow Upgrade on the field. The amount of time it lasts depends on the character's badges.
137*** The 3DS Version includes [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker Tetra]], who also has access to the Light Arrows in her move set. Fitting as she's another incarnation of Zelda.
138* ''Franchise/MortalKombat'':
139** Kung Jin fights with a mystical bow [[MixAndMatchWeapon which can also be used as a staff and a flame thrower]]. The bow is an AncestralWeapon which was given to Raiden as a gift and was kept in the Sky Temple until Jin stole it back.
140** Fujin, the God of Wind, has a crossbow that can fire glowing arrows of white light.
141* The three major gods Sarodomin, Guthix and Zamorak in ''VideoGame/RuneScape'' have their own bows and arrows which they have blessed.
142* ''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.
143* ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' has some appear across the series.
144** In ''[[VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosBrawl Brawl]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosForNintendo3DSAndWiiU Smash Bros. 4]]'', Zelda and Sheik both use Light Arrows for their Final Smashes.
145** Pit has used the holy Arrows of Light for his Neutral-B ever since his debut in ''Brawl''.
146* ''Franchise/TouhouProject'': As a former {{miko}}, Mononobe no Futo uses a sacred bow for some of her attacks.
147[[/folder]]
148
149[[folder:Web Animation]]
150* ''WebAnimation/HelluvaBoss'': Angels fight with gilded crossbows that shoot holy-magic arrows. They also can [[InstantWeapon make said crossbows appear out of thin air]].
151* In ''WebAnimation/{{Underverse}}'', Dream!Sans can create a bow and holy light arrows out of thin air. They are the only things that can hurt his brother, Nightmare.
152[[/folder]]
153
154[[folder:Webcomics]]
155* ''Webcomic/SlightlyDamned'' has the Holy Arrow, which so far is an InstantDeathBullet. A [[http://www.sdamned.com/comic/91 currently-unknown angel]] [[http://www.sdamned.com/comic/92 used one to kill Sakido]] when she escaped Hell with Rhea and Buwaro. [[http://www.sdamned.com/comic/295 Buwaro's mother was also killed]] with a Holy Arrow.
156[[/folder]]
157
158[[folder:Western Animation]]
159* ''WesternAnimation/BloodOfZeus'': Heron's weapon of choice is a bow and arrow, primarily due to him being a hunter. In the final battle, [[ForgedByTheGods a bow and arrow set created by Hephaestus]].
160[[/folder]]

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