complete pantheons and horses

From: Peter Metcalfe <P.Metcalfe_at_student.canterbury.ac.nz>
Date: Sun, 08 Jun 1997 22:49:24 +1200


Joseph Troxell:

>So, I don't think it is nessecary that a pantheon be "complete."
>Further, what does complete mean?

Complete to explain their observable Cosmos. Pentans do not have a sea god because most of them have never seen the Sea. The Kingdom of War does not have a god of mercy for mercy to them is incomprehensible (they can take advantage of other people's mercy but presume they're stupid). The Praxians do not have a god of Titanotheres because none of them has seen a Titanothere. The Uz do not have a Knowlege God for they do not have Sages.

Out of sight is out of mythos.

>I think the Earth Pantheon really does break this
>arguement down. Peter Metcalfe makes the comment that the Esrolian
>pantheon is really the only complete pantheon due to all the husband
>gods.

No I didn't. I said it was the closest to being an Earth Pantheon in the God Learner Sense. The Esrolian pantheon is complete to the Esrolians. The Orlanthi Pantheon is complete to the Orlanthi.

>This may
>be splitting hairs, but I'd still consider Orlanth to be in the Storm
>Pantheon, not in the Earth Pantheon as a husband diety.

So in Sartar, Ernalda is not in the Storm Pantheon as a Wife Diety? If she can be that, then why can't Orlanth be a husband god within her pantheon?

Stephen Martin:

Pure Horse descent from Yamsur

>This implies, to me, that the original pre-Dawn Hyalorings were also
>Praxians, the original Pure Horse Tribe.

Bear in mind that much of the Praxian mythology that we have is _after_ the historical Pure Horse occupation of Prax.

Two alternatives can also give rise to the Yamsur situation:

  1. The Pure Horse Tribe manage to make the Priestesses at the Paps insert their ancient ancestor Yamsur into the myth of Genert's friends during their occupation.
  2. The Pure Horse Tribe borrow Yamsur as an ancestor god so they can participate in the Paps rites. Until then Yamsur had no kin but was known to be Solar in origin. After the Battle of Alavan Argay, the association of Yamsur with the Horses is dismissed and Yamsur goes back to being a Dead God.

Given the virtual absense of any other evidence tying the Pure Horse Tribe to Prehistoric Prax (such as ancient praxian myths of 'Why I hate Horses' as opposed to 'Why I hate Basmoli'), I regard the possibility of a praxian origin for the Pure Horse Tribe as unlikely.

Of the two options, I prefer the second as Yamsur is *not* worshipped or acknowleged by the Grazers of Dragon Pass who are the immediate descendants of the praxian Pure Horse Tribe.

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