Let's discuss: our pantheons

Ah, I see what you mean now. Thanks for clarifying that for me lol.

But, on the up side, he still has Centaurs, Harpies, and Cyclops. :)
 
True, although I can't remember how many cyclops there actually were.


I think you're also forgetting the Hekatonkheires, of which there were only a few, but WOULD have been an effective army on their own.
 
Hi,

Just to clarify I was looking for basic human / animal hybrid grunts with no intelligence, and twisted animals too. I have got harpies as my airforce (though that's a bit of a cheat since in some mythos they could speak), and strangely I have furies (more than three) as assassins. But my basic idea was that demon following priests could wield these creatures as a beast army.

The leonids were created because of what I consider as a weakness of minotaurs - they're basically from vegetarian stock. They make great shock troops but when you come down to it they really aren't going to return to their roots when they get hungry and start savaging people in the same way that predators would.

I thought about cyclops and I'm sure on the island that Jason went to there was a tribe of them. But they are also intelligent which excluded them. And centaurs got chopped out for the same reason. (Plus they're also not savage beasts). Gorgons are in too but I had a special role for them in the story which eliminated them from being in the army.

So my beastly army became minotaurs, leonids (human lion hybrids), and cerberi as the shock troops. Harpies for air power. Furies (yes more than three) as winged assassins. Manticores for guard duty. There are no oceans in the godlost lands which saved me from having to worry about sea power. All are controlled by demon thralls (essentially those who've sold their souls to demons) and a cadre of wizards seeking immortality etc at all costs (as long as they don't have to pay them of course!).

Allied against them are the Goddess Artemis' creatures - unicorns and griffins (I did say this mythos was mixed up!), plus of course real soldiers, priests and wizards.

Now you see why I couldn't have this collection/story set in ancient Greece and had to make up a whole new land.

Cheers, Greg.
 
I dont take issue with ceribi as a species, I've seen it done too many other times to blink at it. Honesty I think it is the most specieated mythological character after Minos' beast (sorry if I'm butchering spellings beyond comprehensability, I'm posting from my phone which doesn't have spell check only autocorrectish suggestions)

I'm curious as to your stipulation @greg, that demonicly minionized creatures be "not intelligent" vs the use of "pure" creatures (its hard to argue the purity of a unicorn is it not ;) )
Is this an ethical choice on your part so that the obviously polarized sets can fight with little-to-no misplaced reader empathy for the losses on the "bad guys" side? Or a personal choice? Or a logical deduction of the thought "no one in their right mind would serve a demon"?

As I said I'm working on my own demon army atm, and am curious to know how other people handle these elements within their own mythos.

Thanks :)
 
Hi,

I think it's a bit of both to be honest. I began with what the mythos gave me, but then limited it a little based on my own personal taste - and I really do like my bad guys to be bad. So one of the themes throughout the book is that no one but an absolute idiot would deal with a demon - it's always struck me as a stupid thing to do. And for this book my main villain has a shocking lack of personal insight. There's a reason for that - he's designed purely on the basis of the old adage that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. And he was a boy raised with a magical gift from an early age that gave him absolute power over others.

The griffins and unicorns were brought in for a slightly different reason. Granted they're often regarded as beautiful and noble creatures which is no bad thing when you're on the side of a wronged High Priestess trying to bring back hope and the message of her Goddess to the five kingdoms. But at the same time I needed beasts. It would have been a very strange war if the dark wizards had had millions of beasts and the high priestess only had people to fight for her side. Plus given how badly devestated the five kingdoms were before she returned to the world, she would never have been able to raise an army. So she needed to bolster her forces with beasts of her own.

On top of that I have a couple or three non-human races in the work - dryads, satyrs, fauns and though they're only mentioned in passing, nymphs. Centaurs had I brought them in would only have been another race and they would presumably have been split on both sides of the war. So they would just have added complexity without adding anything useful to the story.

Cyclops on the other hand are both intelligent, and yet could still only have been on the evil side. I don't like that. It feels like a contradiction if not a forced plot device to me. I think if beings have some intelligence then they should be able to choose what sides to take. Beasts just obey.

Cheers, Greg.
 
Interesting thread, and I'm not surprised that the Graeco-Roman pantheon feature so strongly in our work as they are so archetypal. One of the things I love about those mythologies is the sense of tragedy in so many of them, and I think that probably lends itself so well to fantasy genre stories.

I haven't written enough stories that have a full pantheon, or - if I'm being honest - amount to more than a wicked spirit but one of my WIPs Soot, has a conflation of English, Sierra Leonean and other W. African mythology.

The bushi in Soot are a mix of the tin knockers/Merren from the Cornish tin mines, and the Ndogbojusui and Dyinyinga of Sierra Leone. Essentially in folklore, they're malevolent or benevolent spirits. Freed slaves returned and were plagued by demons and spirits who feasted on their anguish and hunger. In Soot, the bushi fix their sloppy mouths over the mouth and nostrils of their victim.

pH
 
I am a keen studnet of mythology, i love it and absorb it wherever i can. I love creating the religious backstory for worlds (partly, I'm sure, from having grown up with my brother's D&D books lying around) and have many in various stages of completion, though interestingly enough the things I have done first (or more) drafts of so far haven't been in any of these worlds.

My personal preference is to steer clear of the Greco-roman pantheon, for the simple fact that I feel it has been used to death, twice over. That's not to say at I don't enjoy reading and watching things inspired with these pantheons, quite the opposite actually, but just for my own creativity I would struggle to find a fresh way to look at them... Having said that, just two days ago I came up with a fresh and fun idea for a short that involved Bacchus so maybe I'm not completely done with it ;)

None of my worlds have used any pantheons of earth cultures, though i am happy to settle with inspired pantheons, my own creations with mayan names and complexity for example (not one ive actually done though, might look into it :D ) Off the top of my head I can think of two such worlds, and the rest have been entirley made up, though usually retaining the complexity and human side to them (relationships and emotions etc.).
 
@Phyrebrat: Glad you enjoy the thread! And I have to say, I wouldn't much enjoy having a slobbering mouth or nostril over me lol.

@LittleStar: I'm kind of the same way. I find Greek and Roman gods fascinating, but overall I would rather create my own mythology.

I'd love to hear more about your pantheons, some of your mythology, etc etc. :)
 
My main characters don't have a pantheon, but there are people they meet along the way that do. All their various Gods and Goddesses have relationships to each other and I have all of that worked out, even if most of the said deities don't appear in the narrative. I guess if anyone ever asks me I can tell them at least.
 
My eyes were asleep, I was sure it said "Let's discuss our pantyhose". Which is very American?

Not all my writing has the same pantyhose pantheon(s). Also for realism no religion is monolithic. Some Catholic Church Orders believe contradictory things and are really as much "denominations" as say Anglican, Methodist and Presbyterian. Compare Jesuits, Dominicans, Franciscans. Compare Mohammedanism, Mormons & Jehovah witnesses with Main Christian denominations. Compare Roman, Greek, Phoenetian, Scandinavian, Ancient Egyptian and Hindu polytheism.
Or Scientology vs Theosophy, Christian Science compared


I prefer to have a range of religions and beliefs in my stories:
People:
Atheists
Rationalists (Atheism / Humanism / Evolution as a religion)
Secularists
Agnostics
Nominal believers
Apostates / Heretics that still believe in something
Religious people / leaders that are really Atheists
Various schisms denominations
Ordinary believers
Madly fundamentalist
Missionary, evangelical, proselyting etc
Concerned about poor etc
People any workable mix of above​

Religions:
At least one monotheistic were the God is the Creator, but he might be regarded as "Watchmaker" rather than "involved" through out history. There may be conflicting unrelated monotheistic religions on the same fantasy / planet at same time.
One that everyone else regards as made up (L R H springs to mind!)
One mysterious set of beliefs never explained of some niche group (so you don't know what who or if anything is worshipped)
One worshipping many gods that seem suspiciously to scholars like folk traditions of Tribal leaders ... There may be conflicting unrelated polytheistic religions on the same fantasy / planet at same time.
Maybe something else. i.e. Spirits represented by various specific animals.
​
It may be important to "living long and prospering" to not use any actual current religion (not because the god might strike you down, but his followers might.). But I think no matter what "pantheon" your fantasy has, it's not believable that everyone believes in it or interprets it the same even if they are in the same denomination. How many CofE or Roman Catholics can even coherently tell you what their Church really believes?
 
@Ray McCarthy: lol well, I am American but I have to say I've never had any kind of in depth discussion about pantyhose. :p

It's true, if religion is an important aspect of your story, it would be unrealistic for everyone to have the same exact beliefs and such. Not to mention the level of belief in each given believer.

It could be very easy to just blanket your entire world in the same faith and level of faith without even really thinking about it.

Oh and btw:

Ray McCarthy said:
Jehovah's witnesses
Click to expand...

Sorry, I'm a stickler for correct titles and such. :p
 
i just found a note in my folder (I was looking for names not the note I found) that said the wild humans in my fariy story had
"Norse glory in violence and honor + Greek promiscuity and in squabbles"
So I guess I'll have fun writing that up :D
 
Hi,

Actually all my stories have the same pantyhose in them - I feel it's necessary for a story to run correctly! And to make certain of my focus on them I wear them on my head while writing - and while making withdrawls from the bank - though there has been some resistence to this from bank staff for some reason!!!

Cheers, Greg.
 
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