Now that I've started, I can't stop myself!

From: Carl Fink <carlf_at_panix.com>
Date: Tue, 05 Sep 1995 21:25:06 -0400

Peter Metcalfe:
>
>I think you are confusing the existance of euhemerisic events with
>the thesis that all Gods were once mortals. While I think that some
>euhemerism occurs in Glorantha (the Red Goddess, the False Gods of
>Malkioni legend being good examples), I do not believe that all gods
>were originally of mortal status (Aether, Nakala etc). To say that
>Euhemerism should not exist in Glorantha is a tad sweeping IMO.

You are utterly correct. (Well, I think the Malkioni are just lying about the gods being old wizards, to devalue them, but other than that you're correct.)

The sort of euhemerization I don't want to see (and don't see) in Glorantha is the Roman, or Saxo Grammaticus, sort, in which all the "true" mythology of a people is retroactively converted into pseudohistory about mortals. (Was it Saxo who converted Odinn into a chieftain of Carthage? I can't recall.)

Loren Miller

>Greg has also said one day, the GLs' methods stopped working and the Gift
>Carriers of the Sending Gods started catching up with them. First the GLs
>were right. Then they were wrong. The universe changed the rules on them.

Note that this fits perfectly with what I said, that pushing things too far from the archetype causes a dramatic reaction, a "snap-back" from a sort of metaphorical tension.

Your comments on mortal --> god transitions is *exactly* what I don't like. The implication of it is that nothing is or was any bigger or deeper than us mortals, which means that while there might be "gods" they aren't really any big deal.

I'm not religious in real life, but I find this very limiting in a fantasy world. (It does fit Mormon theology, though, as I recall. In LDS theology the Lord of Israel who spoke to Moses is a former mortal man [and wife?] who progressed to divine status.)

>
>Now I'll agree with you here. But I'd add a note that I believe that every
>worship service is a heroquest, and myths in Glorantha change to match the
>heroquests that have been performed on them. That's why you have cultural
>divergence on Glorantha, because of the cumulative actions of heroquestors
>on the mythical fabric of a locale. And that's how the pentans can see a
>fiery horseman when they look at the sun, while their kralorelan neighbors
>see a sphere of perfect radiance.

Again, this is precisely what shouldn't be. If the past is mutable, all is Chaos. I find Ylem to be a very bad environment for gaming. Myth is the past, it should not be made of Play-Doh. - --
Assistant Sysop, GEnie's First and Fourth Science Fiction RoundTables The SFRT page has moved AGAIN, to http://www.sfrt.com/sfrt1

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