Old Skool Gods
Printed From: History Community ~ All Empires
Category: General History
Forum Name: Archaeology & Anthropology
Forum Discription: Topics on archaeology and anthropology
URL: http://www.allempires.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=608
Printed Date: 20-Apr-2024 at 10:27
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 9.56a - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Old Skool Gods
Posted By: Tobodai
Subject: Old Skool Gods
Date Posted: 14-Sep-2004 at 21:27
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Who are the coolest gods of the ancient now defeunct religions? For some reason I have always liked the animal ones, namely ANubis, Bastet, and Apedemak, also the Native American Coyote Trickster is neat. Of the more boring human looking ones I especially like Norse gods like Thor and Odin. Wow these religions are so much cooler than the currently dominant ones. Multiple gods are alwyas cooler anyway. ------------- "the people are nothing but a great beast... I have learned to hold popular opinion of no value." -Alexander Hamilton |
Replies:
Posted By: Bryan
Date Posted: 14-Sep-2004 at 21:52
| Well, I always liked Manawyddan ap Lyr (or Manannan mac Lir) and Lugh... Tyr was a favorite of mine as well... |
Posted By: ArmenianSurvival
Date Posted: 14-Sep-2004 at 22:16
I like the Greek gods a lot for some reason. Poseidon is one of my favorites. Atlas was cool, Aries is probably my favorite because he looks like a spooky ghost of some dead soldier. Aphrodite is also a keeper  . And the ancient Armenian God Aramazd, God of the skies, who im kind of named after.------------- Mass Murderers Agree: Gun Control Works! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Van_Resistance Քիչ ենք բայց Հայ ենք։ |
Posted By: JanusRook
Date Posted: 14-Sep-2004 at 22:22
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Wasn't Atlas a titan? I don't know I'd have to say I've always liked the Nordic religions, not the new age corrupted stuff but the classic legends. I guess we can't use Hindu deities as they aren't technically defunct.... Of course the god I have to put down is Janus, seeing as how he's in my alias. I've always found the idea of a god that sees the past and future kind of interesting. ------------- Economic Communist, Political Progressive, Social Conservative. Unless otherwise noted source is wiki. |
Posted By: Bryan
Date Posted: 14-Sep-2004 at 22:44
| Atlas was indeed a titan (his father was a titan and his mother was a nymph...). Funny thing about some of the modern depictions of him supportinh the globe on his back down on one knee is that the ancient Greeks probably imagined him carrying the flat earth... |
Posted By: cattus
Date Posted: 15-Sep-2004 at 00:57
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Ill go for Pazuzu,.. not exactly a god but serious demon. This well endowed fellow had two pairs of wings,claws,talons, a tail and very sharp teeth. He was King of the Demons of Wind,bearer of storms, yet found time to protect babies and their mothers from evil harm..cool dude.
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Posted By: Mast
Date Posted: 15-Sep-2004 at 14:54
That sounds awfully like Ahura Mazda/Ormazd, which was a Iranian god (Median). |
Posted By: Cywr
Date Posted: 15-Sep-2004 at 18:13
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Morrigan, because destruction Goddesses always rule.
-------------  Arrrgh!!"
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Posted By: Jalisco Lancer
Date Posted: 15-Sep-2004 at 18:19
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Quetzalcoatl / God of the Wind ( The Feathered Serpent ). His cult was spread in all Mesoamerica and Central america under the name of Kukul Kan.
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Posted By: Wrageowrapper
Date Posted: 15-Sep-2004 at 19:50
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I disagree with you saying that these are all defunct
religions. The majority of religions discussed here are still being practiced. But anyway...id have to say Wrageowrapper who is an Australian water demon. I also think Loki is pretty cool. And the bad guys in all religions tend to rock. |
Posted By: Colchis
Date Posted: 15-Sep-2004 at 21:17
Oh, you Celt! My favorite mythological cycles are the Greek myths, the Nart sagas ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nart_saga - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nart_saga ) and the Arthurian epos -about which I'm happy to be taking a class this semester. The Narts are not human beings bur they're not exactly "gods" either so I can't really count them in together with such deities. There are theories that the Nart sagas were a starting point for the Arthurian epos, but it's a much debated issue. I've always been fond of Athena, Bendis (a Thracian goddess, later identified with the Greek Artemis), Persephone, Hekate the Celtic Brighid and the Welsh Arianrhod as far as goddesses go. Amongst gods my favorites are Apollon, Hermes, Aidoneus (Hades) and Janus. I also find the Sarmatian pantheon pretty interesting, such as the goddess Argimpasha (identified with Aphodite) as well as the Adyghe-Abkhaz gods, some of which, such as Tlepsh (the smith god) were honored well into the 19th century. In some parts of the Caucasus, such as Abkhazia, there are still pre-Christian and pre-Islamic festivals held in honor of the seasons and ancestral gods (like the mother goddess Anchua -Anchwa) and spirits. Sorry, there's no way I choose just ONE favorite.  |
Posted By: JanusRook
Date Posted: 15-Sep-2004 at 21:28
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As the ancients would recognize? There's a reason a neo- is usually tacked onto something. ------------- Economic Communist, Political Progressive, Social Conservative. Unless otherwise noted source is wiki. |
Posted By: Wrageowrapper
Date Posted: 15-Sep-2004 at 21:32
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But every religion changes and adapts.
I mean most churches where I am from now accpet gay members. Isn't that change. The fact that the vikings dont pillage anymore doen't mean that the idea of the valkyrie and valhalla doesn't bear any relevance in todays society. They have just changed the idea from the warrior to someone who stands out from the crowd. Thats adaptation to the 21st century. Did that make any sense? |
Posted By: Colchis
Date Posted: 15-Sep-2004 at 22:24
Well there are the reconstructionist traditions and practices such as Asatru, Hellenismos, Religio Romana and most important of all Romuva because it's a recognized religion in Lithuania. I believe Asatru is also recognized, in Iceland. They are usually very academic (in the case of Hellenismos and Religio Romana) and strive to be as historically accurate as they can be (apart from obvious difficultuies such as mass animal sacrifices); or have never really died out in the first place but have been handed down from generation to generation in rural areas as in the case of Romuva as well as Northern Caucasian folk beliefs. Pagan religions are still widely practiced in Abkhazia. Neo-paganism and reconstructionism -and neo-paganism and folk religion- are all very different things, I think. There's also the case of Zoroastrianism, which has a pantheon and is not one of the three "major" religions as well as Hinduism, which encompasses a myriad of local traditions and deities. Hinduism is not exactly new either, in fact it's one of the oldest Indo European ancestral religions. I see Romuva, Hellenismos, Asatru etc. to be on the same category with Hindu polytheism as opposed to neo-paganism, such as Wicca and whatnot, which portray a more pantheistic or dualistic theology as opposed to genuine "hard" polytheism. |
Posted By: Quetzalcoatl
Date Posted: 16-Sep-2004 at 00:38
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Quetzalcoatl ------------- |
Posted By: Cyrus Shahmiri
Date Posted: 17-Sep-2004 at 11:26
Tyr is also an Iranian God, it is the name of the fourth month of the Iranian Calendar (after Khordad/Haruvatat and before Mordad/Ameretat) whcih means "arrow, shot" in Persian language. ------------- 
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Posted By: Beylerbeyi
Date Posted: 17-Sep-2004 at 12:57
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I think Odin is really cool. He's this badass guy who gave one of his eyes to drink from the fountain of wisdom, learned the magic runes while hanging from a tree, has a spear which never misses its target and a 8 legged horse, as well as a couple of ravens which act as his spies. Compare it to Zeus, who's afraid of everyone (his wife, the Titans) even though he can cast lightningbolts around, and spends all his time chasing godesses, half godesses, human girls, nymphys, etc... What a wimp! I also like Dionysos, Thoth, (Roman) Mitras, and Fortuna. ------------- |
Posted By: Tobodai
Date Posted: 17-Sep-2004 at 14:01
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sex gods/godesses are of course really cool too ------------- "the people are nothing but a great beast... I have learned to hold popular opinion of no value." -Alexander Hamilton |
Posted By: hansioux
Date Posted: 17-Sep-2004 at 18:22
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What about Lei-Gong(p) god of thunder... the grey skined, Bird-beak, bat winged flying man, with a hammer and an awl in his hands to made thunders? He's pretty cool. ------------- Begging plea of the weak can only receive disrespect, violence and oppression as bestowments. Blood and sweat of the weak can only receive insult, blame and abuse as rewards. Lai Ho, Formosan Poet |
Posted By: Colchis
Date Posted: 17-Sep-2004 at 20:44
Come on, don't trash good old Zeus! it was Homer who gave him that
notoriety, he was a very different god figure in pre-Homeric times, one
who welcomes the stranger as Zeus Meilikhos and many other epithets;
and in later philosophical traditions as well he was revered as the
stately, moral figure.As for Mithras and Fortuna, it's a shame I forgot to count them myself. One day I'll dress myself up as a boy as Yentl (haha) and join your secret Mithraic ceremonies!  |
Posted By: Cyrus Shahmiri
Date Posted: 18-Sep-2004 at 02:33
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This coming month, the seventh month of the modern Iranian Calendar, is Mithra (Mehr)! In Persian langauge, when you say "he has Mithra", it means "he is kind"! -------------
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Posted By: Ptolemy
Date Posted: 27-Sep-2004 at 17:46
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Maybe the common folk, but many greek scholars believed the earth was round. I believe the first estimate of the radius of the earth was from a greek fellow (forget his name) in Alexandria. |
Posted By: Slickmeister
Date Posted: 10-Nov-2004 at 15:01
Ullr, the Norse god of archery, is cool and so is the Greek goddess Artemis. A divine match shall I say?
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