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Gods and Goddesses



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Wed Nov 23, 2016 6:56 pm
Mageheart says...



Hi, fellow YWSers! ^_^ My newest novel, Broken Magic has a lot to do with gods and goddesses from various mythologies and religions. I want to have a lot of variety when it comes to them, and want to have some that are not as well known. If you have any god(dess) you think should be included or really like, please tell me! I already have Ancient Greek mythology covered.

Thank you in advance for any help you provide! ♡
mage

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Wed Nov 23, 2016 7:04 pm
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haredrier says...



If you're looking for deities from various pantheons, might I suggest looking at Smite's pages? The lore posted there is often fairly accurate, and they have over 80 gods there now. I feel like it could be useful, both as a source of deities and a stepping stone to explore more into each pantheon.

http://www.smitegame.com/gods/
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Wed Nov 23, 2016 7:44 pm
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Rosendorn says...



So... just going to toss this out there, but:

Representing religions like this is actually really hard because there are just so many world religions.

I would suggest to limit yourself, if only so you don't fall into the "I want everyone represented" trap. Sorry, but it's impossible. Picking a few groups but doing them really well is generally preferred, because then you can avoid tokenization.

I'd suggest, if you've already picked Ancient Greece, to stick with deities around the Mediterranean and Asia Minor, which would include Babylon, Ancient Egypt, Nubia, the Sahara, and various ancient kingdoms in Iran/Turkey (including the Medes). You could also include Northern India, for how far the Greek empire spread into Asia.

If you'd rather take it for influences within the MC's life (which also works with Ancient Greece, for how much Greek influence is everywhere in the Western world), then take a look at where the story is set (if it's in Southern Ontario/Northeast USA, I'd expect Iroquois, Algonquin, and even some Sioux— but be very diligent doing your research into Native religions), their heritage (if they're, say, Indonesian, or have a close Indonesian friend, research Indonesia), or some mix of the two, then focus your attention there.

Regardless of what path you pick, be very careful if you're pulling from pantheons that are still alive. Ancient empires are usually pretty safe to take what you want from and modify, but if you decide you want to use a Native deity like the Wendigo then a certain level of caution must be exhibited because religions that use the Wendigo are still being practiced and are very often misrepresented, which makes it hard for people practicing the religion to practice it.

Hope this helps!
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Wed Nov 23, 2016 8:01 pm
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StellaThomas says...



I would recommend reading American Gods because it does a similar thing to this and I think it's really cool!

I think that the Norse pantheon is pretty cool, though I do feel like Loki gets overused a lot by pop culture. There's a lot of cultures that have a Trickster god and I think that'd be a cool thing to look into, the crossover between all of those, instead of just sticking to Loki as the most famous example. American Gods actually has a follow-up called Anansi Boys about Anansi, another trickster god, this time of African/Afro-Caribbean origins. It's pretty cool.

I wish I could tell you about the Irish pantheon but unfortunately our mythology is a bit confused - a lot of our stories were rewritten with Christian twists, which is in itself cool, and then there's the issue that it's confusing whether figures in Irish mythology are gods, or just kings and heroes - but if you're interested I would recommend googling the Tuatha Dé Danann (a sort of godlike race), Fionn Mac Cumhaill (and his son Óisín who went to Tír na nÓg) and Cú Chulainn (both heroes with unnatural power). There's also St Brigid, a prime example of what I was talking about about pagan figures who got turned into Christian figures, and stands with a foot in each mythology.
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Wed Nov 23, 2016 10:30 pm
Mageheart says...



Thank you all so much for your help! ^_^

@haredrier: I'll definitely check that link out when I get a chance! ^_^

@Rosendorn: I understand that would be difficult because of how many religions and gods there are, but I definitely wanted to have more than the usual bunch (i.e. basically everyone Rick Riordan has covered) so I could change things up for my future readers. ^_^

I'll make sure to be careful when portraying the gods and goddesses; I definitely don't want to offend anyone or misinterpret their religion.

It definitely helped! ^_^

@StellaThomas: I was thinking that same train of thought about Loki. He's definitely used a lot; I've seen him in so many things that I've probably lost count. :P

When I get a chance, I'll check those out! ^_^
mage

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roleplaying is my platonic love language.

queer and here.
  





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Wed Nov 23, 2016 10:34 pm
Mageheart says...



I just realized I should clarify how all of the gods and goddesses coexist in my book's universe. I'm not sure how this will affect future responses to this forum, but I thought I should bring it up anyways.

Gods come into existence from the belief place in them; they'll still retain familial connections and abilities but won't necessarily be the same as portrayed in myths (and myths, for the most part, are not true or have several wrong parts). For example, Zeus is Kronos' son, but he never threw his father into Tartarus.

So as long as there is a belief in a certain deity, they will come into existence. ^_^
mage

[ she/her, but in a boy kinda way ]

roleplaying is my platonic love language.

queer and here.
  








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