History
Origins[]
The Gods of Earth are an extra-dimensional race of beings who once existed on Earth in its distant past and are now or were once worshiped as gods or deities by the different cultures on Earth. It is known they are descended from the primeval earth-goddess Gaea and over the years have separated into tribes or pantheons, each pantheon connected to worshipers separated on Earth by either geological, cultural or environmental boundaries.Empty citation (help)
The exact origins of the Gods of Earth are lost in antiquity, but it is known that every culture has its own, often contradictory, myths on the creation of the universe. What is known is that soon after the creation of the Earth, the Demiurge, the embodiment of the planet's potential biosphere, seeded it with its own life essence, producing the Elder Gods known as Set, Chthon, and Gaea among others. Most of these deities degenerated into demons, forcing Gaea to have sire a son Atum destroy most of them, while the few that survived were driven away to nether realms. Atum and Gaea may have fathered the later pantheons of gods, but this is unrevealed.[3]
Pre-Cataclysmic Age[]
Man later evolved and began worshiping these gods. Those gods who existed before the sinking of Atlantis included Honen/Honan,[4] Hotath,[5] Anu,Empty citation (help) Zukala,Empty citation (help) the Woman in the Moon,Empty citation (help) the Great Scorpion,[6] the White Wolf,[7] Ja-Quari the Tiger God,Empty citation (help) Baal,[8] Dagon,Empty citation (help) Crom,Empty citation (help) Erlik,[9] and many others. Many of these gods were tutelary, worshiped by isolated cities or regions,Empty citation (help) avoiding all contact with other Elder Gods except to which those they were immediately related.Empty citation (help)
Valka achieved prominence circa 30,000 B.C, which lasted at least 12,000 years.[10]
Circa 19,500 BC or earlier, Crom banished the demon Shuma-Gorath. Circa 18,530 BC,Empty citation (help) Erlik made the Valusian soldier Vonndhar a servant of his.Empty citation (help)
Around 18,500 BC, the deities who will later become known as the Elder Gods of the Hyborian Age intended to make King Kull of Valusia the vessel of their power, but chose instead to make the immortal cat Sedrick (felinized by the sorcerer Thulsa Doom) the container of their power.Empty citation (help)
Hyborian Age[]
After the sinking of Atlantis, the Hyborian Age began as gods such as Mitra, Asura, Derkerto, Derketa, Ishtar, Ashtoreth, Astorte, Bel, and even Set from his dimension sought worshippers in the aftermath of the disasters.Empty citation (help)
However, at some point before the start of the Hyborian Age, the Primal Gods (possibly the same beings as those called the Elder Gods of the Hyborian Age) created the Four Cornerstones of Creation.Empty citation (help)
Circa 10,500 BC, the Priestess of the Cult of Creation, Princess Noyo of Khitai, fled from Pau Styss the Demon Lord. Battling him, her lords turned her into a mystic wind that drifted away. Circa 10,100 BC a man named Kaleb forcibly left his priestly brotherhood due to his siring a child named Solaise. Working with the Council of Seven, he stole the Child of the Elder Gods. Later regretting his actions, Kaleb's daughter became the host of the Child of the Elder Gods, henceforth unaging. Elsewhere the Primal Gods created a mate for Noyo (who at some point inhabited a Cimmerian village), a man named Laynnen. Later Laynnen and Noyo would face Pau Styss. Even later, the demon known as the Devourer of Souls would gain the power of the Elder Gods of the Hyborian Age from Sedrick and Solaise. Fortunately, his plans saw defeat. Later, Solaise would visit a prince named Conn to bestow on him the Sword of the Elder Gods.Empty citation (help)
Later, cataclysms ended the Hyborian Age, giving rise to pantheons of inter-related gods who sought worshipers within their spheres of influence. Some of these gods, like the Titans, later conceived generations of gods by whom they were supplanted and replaced.Empty citation (help)
Among the earliest gods still active in the post-Hyborian world are the Sumerian and Egyptian Pantheons. Circa 2950 BC the deity Khonshu opposed Rama-Tut, while Set and Isis appeared to En Sabah Nur, the future Apocalypse. The Asgardians came to be worshiped by the Norsemen, and the Olympians, the successors of the Titans, were worshiped in Greece. Other gods appeared before each of the great civilizations, looking for followers. In a few places, like Greece, the Eternals were mistaken for the Olympian gods, a situation that the Olympians tolerated most of the time, knowing that the Celestials were watching from afar.[11]
The Gods of Earth have met a few times since 1000 AD, requiring the creation of the Council of Godheads, a group comprised of the godheads of each pantheon on Earth, although this was not always preclusive. Athena has recently appeared to the group in the absence of Zeus.[12] Odin was also impersonated by Loki during another gathering.[13]Powers and Abilities
Powers
- Immortality - Many of the Gods of Earth have enchanted life-spans while others have extended longevity without being truly immortal.
Abilities
- Allspeak: The Gods of Earth have Allspeak, enabling them to communicate in all of the languages of the Nine Realms, Earth's dialects, and various alien languages.
Average Strength Level
- Strength Level: The male Gods of Earth can lift (press) around 30 tons under optimal conditions; female gods ("goddesses") can lift (press) around 25 tons under optimal conditions.
Weaknesses
Habitat
Habitat
Gravity
Atmosphere
Population
Miscellaneous
Type of Government
Level of Technology
Cultural Traits
Representatives
Ares, Hercules, Loki, Odin, Thor, Venus, Zeus, etc. see here
Known Pantheons of Earth-Gods[]
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Gods of the Modern Age[]
In the Modern Age, new pantheons spawned from the technological and societal changes of Earth. It is unknown what relation, if any, those gods have with Gaea, and consequently if they can be considered "Earth-Gods" .
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Trivia
- Some deities - such as Valkyrie and Hadari-Yao - were mortals who apotheosized either as a result of being elevated to divine status by another deity, through being worshiped, or some other means of attaining godhood.[14][15]
See Also
- 11 appearance(s) of Gods of Earth
- 9 minor appearance(s) of Gods of Earth
- 174 mention(s) of Gods of Earth
- 2 mention(s) in handbook(s) of Gods of Earth
- 19 invocation(s) of Gods of Earth
Links and References
- Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe (Vol. 2) #5
- Thor & Hercules: Encyclopaedia Mythologica #1
- Official Guide To The Mythological Universe
- Gods at Wikipedia.org
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Thor & Hercules: Encyclopaedia Mythologica #1; Gaea's entry
- ↑ Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe #8; Olympians' entry
- ↑ Thor Annual #10
- ↑ Savage Sword of Conan #14; A Kull Glossary: Honen's entry
- ↑ Kull and the Barbarians #3
- ↑ Kull the Conqueror #9
- ↑ Savage Sword of Conan #37; Sons of the White Wolf
- ↑ Savage Sword of Conan #131; Prince of Thieves
- ↑ Thor & Hercules: Encyclopaedia Mythologica #1; Tenger's entry
- ↑ All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z #3; Council of Godheads
- ↑ Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe #12; Zeus' entry
- ↑ Incredible Hercules #116
- ↑ Infinity Gauntlet #2
- ↑ Secret Avengers #14
- ↑ Black Panther #172