Elder God (Cthulhu Mythos)

From Free net encyclopedia

An Elder God is a fictional deity in the Cthulhu Mythos of H.P. Lovecraft.

1 The Elder Gods in the mythos
2 List of Elder Gods
3 Other appearances
4 References
5 External links

The Elder Gods in the mythos

The Elder Gods oppose the Outer Gods and the Great Old Ones. Many consider them to be non-Lovecraftian since they bring a good versus evil dichotomy into the cosmic indifference of Lovecraft's fiction. However, these deities are no more concerned for such human notions as "good" and "evil" than the beings they oppose, and consider humans to be less than fleas.

The main "Elder God" used by Lovecraft is Nodens, who acts as deus ex machina on behalf of the protagonists in The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath (1926) and "The Strange High House in the Mist" (1931). In this regard, he is similar to Lovecraft's usage of Nyarlathotep, although less obviously malicious. Another entity mentioned as an Elder God is Hypnos, the Greek god of sleep, in the story fragment "Hypnos" in which a mediocre poet is suddenly granted the power to usher in a new Golden Age. It is also speculated that Bast, Egyptian goddess of cats, qualifies as an Elder God due to Lovecraft's feline obsession and to hints given in Lovecraft's "The Cats of Ulthar".

[edit]

List of Elder Gods

This list is organized as follows:

Name. This is the commonly accepted name of the Elder God. If the being's designation is disputed, it is marked by an asterisk (*) to denote that it may be classified as an Outer God.
Description. This entry gives a description of the Elder God.
References. The stories in which the Elder God makes a significant appearance or otherwise receives important mention appears below the description. For simplicity, a two letter code is used—the key to the codes is found here. If a code appears in bold, this means that the story introduces the Elder God.

[edit]

Bast

Bast (Goddess of Cats or Pasht) appears as a female human with a cat's head. Template:CthuRefBox

[edit]

Hypnos

Hypnos (Lord of Sleep) is an enigmatic being of unknown form. Template:CthuRefBox

[edit]

Kthanid

Kthanid* is the creation of Brian Lumley and is said to be the "brother" of Cthulhu. He looks like his sibling but has golden eyes. He resides in a crystal cave on Elysia.

It is said that he is as good as his brother is evil; however, this is debatable given the stance of non-dualism in the mythos. He might be regarded as good given that he is an enemy of Cthulhu who is more hostile to humanity.Template:Fact Template:CthuRefBox

[edit]

Nodens

Nodens (Lord of the Great Abyss) appears as an elderly, bearded, human male riding a huge seashell pulled by legendary beasts. Template:CthuRefBox

[edit]

N'tse-Kaambl

N'tse-Kaambl* (Whose Splendor Hath Shattered Worlds) is the creation of Gary Myers and appears in his short story collection The House of the Worm. She appears as a beautiful, robed, human female bearing a shield and spear. She is a minor, feminine deity, sometimes depicted as Minerva, and dwells in the Dreamlands. Her name appears to be a homonym for "Nancy Campbell", whose identity is unknown to all but Myers. Template:CthuRefBox

[edit]

Ulthar

Ulthar (or Uldar) is a deity sent to Earth to hold vigil over the Great Old Ones.Template:CthuRefBox

[edit]

Vorvadoss

Vorvadoss* (The Flaming One, Lord of the Universal Spaces, The Troubler of the Sands, Who Waiteth in the Outer Dark) appears as a cloaked, hooded being, enveloped in green flames, with fiery eyes. He may otherwise appear as a misty, silvery being not unlike Tawil-at-U'mr with an inhuman face. Template:CthuRefBox

[edit]

Yad-Thaddag

Yad-Thaddag, created by Brian Lumley, is possibly the Elder God equivalent of the Outer God Yog-Sothoth. This being has the same appearance as Yog-Sothoth, except its spheres are of a different colour and its nature is purely benevolent. Template:CthuRefBox

[edit]

Other appearances

The Elder Gods have also been referenced in various OS-tan related comics. Those comics are at the moment relatively few and far between; however, an example of the typical style involves ME-tan given characteristics of Cthulhu, such as tentacles and red eyes. The portrayal of the Elder Gods is not surprisingly inaccurate, in the same way that the references to the Norse Norns are altered in the anime series Oh My Goddess! due to artistic licence.

A group of entities called Elder Gods are part of the Mortal Kombat mythos.

The predecessors of the current generation of gods in the Marvel Universe were also known as Elder Gods and were likely inspired by the Cthulhu Mythos.

[edit]