Elder Gods
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Elder Gods are a group of beings who oppose the Outer Gods and Great Old Ones in the Cthulhu Mythos, originating in the writings of H. P. Lovecraft. Many people consider them to be un-Lovecraftian, since they bring a good/evil dichotomy to the cosmic indifference of Lovecraft's fiction. However, these beings are no more concerned with such human notions as "good" and "evil" than the things they oppose, and consider humans to be less than fleas.
The main "Elder God" used by Lovecraft is Nodens, who appears most notably in the "DreamQuest of Unknown Kadath" and "The High House in the Mists" where he acts as Deus Ex Machina, to completely change the protagonists situation. In this he is similar to Lovecrafts usage of Nyarlathotep although less obviously malicious. Another entity mentioned as an Elder god is hypnos roman god of sleep in the story fragment "Hypnos" where a mediocre poet is suddenly granted power to usher in a new goldern age. It is also speculated Bast, Egyptian goddess of cats, counts as an elder god due to lovecrafts feline obsession and hints within "the cats of ulthar".
The Elder Gods are also an all-powerful trio from the Mortal Kombat universe.
External Links
- The Ultimate Cthulhu Mythos Book List (http://lovecraft.cjb.net) - Listing of all mythos novels, anthologies, collections, comic books, and more.Template:Fantasy-stub