Lost Heroes’ Pantheons = Classic Elements?
As I mentioned I just finished writing up the section/chapter on Olympians for v0.19 and I decided to take a short break before starting the next section (whatever that’ll be).
Oddly I realised an unexpected theme in my choice of mythos I’ve developing for Lost Heroes. I’ve chosen four mythos over the additional two “core” pantheons of Gods. These are split into six pantheons of Gods (which can contain multiple “races” of Gods).
- The Celtic mythos is split into Tuatha Dé Danann and the Fomorii.
- The Angelic mythos is split into Angels and Demons.
- The Greek mythos is one big unhappy family of Olympians, Titans and monsters.
- Likewise I will not be splitting up the Norse mythos. There will only be the Aesir and kin.
Each of these mythos cover the whole range of mythology, from world creation, the sea, afterlife to love and war. However when I finished the Olympians, I realised that the Olympians could be associated, albeit tenously, to the classical element of Air: rational, intellect, sky, etc. Zeus the rule of the Olympians is the God of lightening and thunder. The Hall of Mount Olympus high on a lofty mountain.
The Norse Aesir have always felt, well, “earthy” to me. With Thor and his hammer, frost giants, dwarfs in mountains and Loki buried underground. Which would associate them with the classic element of Earth, sort of.
Do you see where I’m going with this?
The Angels are called the Children of Fire and, well, Hell is associated with fire and lava. They are active, can bring great might to their battle and flaming radiance.
Which puts the Tuatha Dé Danann and the Fomori in the Water element, which fits as the Fomori are foul sea demons who live under the sea and the Tuatha Dé Danann have a very fluid relationship with the human world that flows like waves across the world.
It’s not something I’m going to make much of in the writing of Lost Heroes as each mythos is more than the individual element. Nearly every mythos has a God associated with Sea and another with Death for example. But I found the concept striking when I realised it. If I ever get a professional artist to do a “cover” for Lost Heroes, this could be quite useful as a visual conceptual symbolism.