It's called 'The Eternal Return'. It has a whole host of referents -
philosophical (Nietzsche ... ), religious (Buddhist, Hindu ...) and popular
(Groundhog Day, Robert Jordan ...)
but most pertinent for Glorantha is of course the religious theorist Mircea
Eliade.
Eliade's theories form a large part of Greg's conceptual vision, though he is not limited to them or by them. Glorantha is pure Stafford.
Eliade's concept of the 'Eternal Return' probably qualifies as *the* key*
theoretical idea that drives the engine of Glorantha. The idea of heroquest
stems directly from Eliade's writings:
"In imitating the exemplary acts of a god or of a mythic hero or simply by
recounting their adventures, the man of an archaic society detaches himself
from profane time and magically re-enters the Great Time, the sacred time."
Heroquest. Sacred Time. Add Campbell's monomyth, great chucks of Snorri Sturluson, a certain shamanic sensibility, a creative imagination that develops over a lifetime and a generation of weavers and shapers to cement and expand the original vision. Stir, and roll D20.
Result, Glorantha.
Nothing, alas, about ducks ...
John
John Hughes
Publications Editor
Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research
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