The Word of the Day is Theme

Question: What do you think the themes of each pantheon are (Dodekatheon pursuing excellence, the Aesir fighting courageously against Fate, the Aztlanti being completely devovoted to continuity, etc.)?

That's actually a pretty massive question, ambitiously anonymous person! There are indeed slews of themes, motifs and common ideas connecting each pantheon's members with each other, the world and their worshipers. There are so many, in fact, that it's difficult to try to give a general overview of them all - and that's just the big ones, not the themes of individual gods and their interactions within them.

Basically, you have asked us for a philosophical dissertation, which we don't quite have the time to write right now. But don't worry, we still have time for some quick and dirty generalizations for Scion - after all, these are the big ideas that are hiding behind every game's curtain, and the more of them you know, the more you can take advantage of them in your epic tales.

The Aesir: The theme of the doomed struggle against Fate is definitely the core of the Norse gods, and it's important to remember that it's not just the struggle, it's the fact that they will eventually lose. The inevitable doom, the idea that no matter what they do, even the wisest and strongest among them can't overcome Fate, is the major core idea these gods have going on; they are a pantheon-sized object lesson in Fate as the highest power in the divine universe. Other major themes of the Aesir include the destruction of the old to make way for the new (most strongly in the rebirth of the world after Ragnarok), the idea that violence always begets more violence (strongly present in chains of events wherein one person's violent or evil act causes a chain reaction that repeats it through several more parties), and the idea that civilization and mankind (represented by the Aesir) must always conquer the natural world (represented by the Vanir) to survive.

The Amatsukami: The most major theme of the Japanese pantheon is that the natural order must be adhered to, and that breaking its laws inevitably causes heartbreak and trouble. You see this all over their stories, from Izanagi's and Izanami's botched first marriage when she flouted the rules of decorum leading to the creation of abominable monstrosities to Tsuki-Yomi's destruction of the food-bearing Uke Mochi and subsequent banishment to Susanoo's wildly chaotic behavior resulting in plunging the entire world into darkness. The rules - of the ruler, the world and the universe itself - are paramount in Japanese mythology, and its gods demonstrate time and time again that those who break them always pay the price. Other major themes of the Amatsukami include the triumph of reason over emotion (usually involving the myths of Susanoo) and the inviolable sovereignty of the Japanese people, typified in myths where they go off to conquer Korea or are protected from invaders by the breath of the gods.

The Anunna: The most major core idea of the Mesopotamian gods is the ability of order to conquer chaos, no matter how mighty it might otherwise be. The best example of this is Marduk's battle with Tiamat, in which he is able to conquer the most ancient and powerful primordial creature in existence thanks to his divine right to rule and lay down law, but it appears all over, repeated again with the invention of humanity to quell the Igigi uprising, the restoration of the world after the floods (and the spurring of the floods based on the chaotic noise of humanity), and so on and so forth. Other major themes of the Anunna include the finally sovereign power of death (most notably in the myths of Ishtar's death and Gilgamesh's quest for immortality) as a part of the natural order, the importance of following appropriate political and social rules (such as when Enki and Sin are excoriated for not courting and marrying their wives properly, or Ereshkigal responds angrily to the implied insult of the gods' messenger) and civilization as a divine gift from the gods to humanity (which basically all the Anunna do at some time or another).

The Aztlanti: You mentioned the major one - the core theme of the Aztec gods is that the world needs constant nourishment and caretaking or it may die, making each and every deity a steward and servant of the greater communal good. Anyone who refuses to take on their cosmic responsibilities, from gods who refuse to become part of the workings of the world to humans who refuse to offer up a little blood to fuel them, is actively aiding the entropy of the universe, leaving its gods and maintainers weaker and less effective than they might otherwise have been. Aztec society is notoriously harsh to even its own members, and this is the reason why; if you're not contributing to the cosmic support system, you're a drain on it. Other major Aztlanti themes include the idea that privation and trials make you stronger and more fit (most typified by the Mexica themselves and their long nomadic piligrimage before founding Tenochtitlan), the concept of eternal cycles that repeat themselves endlessly (in the various worlds created by the suns, each destroyed to become a new one, and in their circular calendrical and religious systems) and the idea that no person is complete alone (because they must always be completed by some other part of the universe, be it a nahualli, familial relations or the civic community).

The Celestial Bureaucracy: The gods of China are a fractured and fractious bunch, but they share a common overarching theme, and that is that the chaotic many together form a unified, ordered whole. Sometimes this manifests through rulers who unite the warring factions with long battle campaigns, sometimes through gods who unite them with wisdom and magical power, but no matter how crazy shit gets, it always gets pulled together and put in a reasonable order in the end. Even the Nezhas and Sun Wukongs of the pantheon become part of its overarching order by the end of their stories; balance and counterbalance, check and order, dominate the zany world of Chinese myth. Other major themes of the Shen include the importance of insult (which often prompts gods to do insane things to avenge a perceived slight), the idea that true enlightened bliss is almost always out of reach thanks to the flaws of the person seeking it (most often present when people fail to pass Xiwangmu's tests, but also strong in the myth of Houyi's and Chang'e's separation), and the strong notion that the universe isn't fair and sometimes your life has to suck for the greater good of the many.

The Devas: The Devas are a playful bunch with a lot going on, but their most major theme is probably the idea that appearances are deceiving, and no matter how convincing or important it appears, the material and illusory is never as important as the spiritual and religious foundation of the universe. This is illustrated strongly in the concept of maya itself, but also appears in various myths across their landscape, including the destruction of Kubera's home by Ganesha, the continual disguised pranking of asuras by Vishnu, and the attempts of Vishnu and Brahma to find the end of Shiva's lingua. Other important themes for the Devas include privation as the path to wisdom (most strongly illustrated by Shiva and Parvati, but often seen in other characters who perform ascetic penance to gain religious power), that spirituality is an ongoing process rather than a goal (usually shown by asuras or other figures who gain boons for their religious devotion, immediately stop being devoted and end up getting punked for it), and that the truly holy and enlightened are always worthy of respect, even from the gods (easily noted in the punishment of Indra for slaying Vritra or the curse levied on Vishnu for accidentally striking a rishi).

The Dodekatheon: While the pursuit of excellence is indeed a major idea among the Greek gods (and the ancient Greek people, too), I'd say that the major theme of the pantheon's myths is and always has been the punishment of hubris. It's everywhere, from the endless stories of gods punishing mortals who dare compare themselves to divinity on up to a massive scale with the imprisonment of Prometheus; those who challenge divine authority out of their own pride are always heinously punished for presuming to place themselves on its same level, whether it's humans aspiring to godhood or gods aspiring to usurp the powers of the universe. There are a lot of other major themes for the Greek gods, but some of the most notable are the inescapable sins of the fathers (from, again, mortals who get ruined because one of their ancestors insulted someone on up to Zeus himself, who is doomed to suffer the same fate as his father and grandfather), the overwhelming power of emotion and love (usually presented by Aphrodite or Eros forcing some god to flout the laws of the universe for love, but often seen without their direct intervention, too) and the equation of excellence, skill and beauty with virtue, rightness and justice (Apollo is basically the personification of this, but it's true for the entire pantheon).

The Loa: As usual, it's hard to talk about the Loa because the ideals of New World religions featuring them differ widely from the religious themes of the African religions they came from; some ideas even directly oppose each other, such as the African mythic idea that defiance of the natural order is always a bad and punishable idea versus the Loa mythic idea that chaos and disruption are simply part of the natural order to begin with and thus just as valid to support. The strongest theme of African (and specifically Yoruba) mythology is probably the idea of life being a journey toward one's destiny; unlike the set-in-stone idea of destiny favored in Europe, Yoruba culture tends to view an individual's destiny as the goal of their life and encourages everyone to work toward achieving theirs. It might be good, it might not, but if you fail to achieve your destiny through inaction, ignorance or poor choices, your life was only a wasted attempt to arrive at it. While this idea doesn't really carry over into Candomble/Vaudun/Santeria too much, it is an active underpinning of some of those religions - particularly, the idea that the New World African populations bounced back so strongly from their enslavement and disenfranchisement precisely because they saw it as part of the great journey of their lives and sought to make something good come of it.

The Nemetondevos: The Gaulish gods are each perfect embodiments of their major theme, that of a culture's gods sharing the fate of its people. From their close association with the ancient Gauls to their near-destruction when they failed to save them from Roman invasion, they represent the idea that every religion is dependent on its people and believers to flourish, and that without them even gods die. Other major themes of the obscure mainland Celtic gods include the futile struggle against a Fate which can't really be altered (very similar to the Aesir) and the idea of necessary sacrifice to placate dangerous or hungry powers in the universe.

The Pesedjet: The Pesedjet represent the eternal struggle of order against chaos, constantly battling the primordial powers of the universe to make room for the fragile lives of the order-loving gods and humanity. Ra's struggle with Apep every night is the most obvious example of this, but Egyptian mythology is rife with it, and we also see it when the creator deities (Ra, Ptah, the Ogdoad) create the universe from the primordial sludge in order to populate it, when the Eye of Ra must be brought back from its rampages and made a productive member of society, and when the dynasty of Osiris, representative of order, triumphs over his chaotic brother Set. Other major themes of the pantheon include the value of intelligence and guile over mere physical might (as in the tales of Horus winning the throne through trickery) and the almighty importance of the afterlife (which is protected, overseen and worked on by more gods than some pantheons even have), an incredibly necessary part of the universe to prevent the oblivion of a poor death and guide the righteous to their second, paradisaical life.

The Tuatha de Danann: It's sometimes hard to find a unifying thread in the spastic soup of the Irish gods, all hacking and shouting away at their enemies and each other, but the most major theme that emerges is a surprisingly simple and hearty one: the choices you make matter, and there is nothing more important than being a good person (by ancient Irish standards, anyway). The idea of geasa is the single strongest expression of this; breaking a geas - which is your sworn word and a sacred covenant with the world - usually results in immediate death, because you've made a choice that broke your word and are therefore forfeit. Various myths continually hammer the idea that your personal honor and behavior are your most important possessions; examples of those who fail include Bres, whose tyranny results in his humiliation, expulsion and defeat, or the sons of Tuireann, whom Lugh allows to die in spite of their attempts to make restitution. Among the Tuatha, there isn't much restitution to go around. Other major themes of the Irish gods include the idea of a faraway paradise across the sea accessible even to mortals (Mag Mell, the fairy realms or even Tir na Nog), the right of the conqueror to anything he is able to conquer (typified in the waves of invasions of Ireland and the implicit divine right of Nuada to rule despite the fact that he took the island from people already living there) and the idea of the dangerously powerful female who can affect and change the outcome of her male counterparts' efforts (the Morrigan is the most obvious, but other figures, from the obviously powerful like Scathach and Aoife to the active and dynamic figures like Emer or Medb to the pitiful but undoubtedly polarizing Dierdre).

The Yazata: The Yazata so strongly embody their major ideas that it's hard to choose one, but the largest one upon which the rest of their cosmology hangs is the idea of dualism; black and white, good and evil, two opposing forces that do not permit shades of grey between them. They are personified as Ahura Mazda and Ahriman, and there are no semi-good or only kind-of evil figures in Persian mythology; you either serve one or the other, and doing so immediately makes you the dire enemy of the opposition. Other important themes for the Yazata include the idea of the absolute perfection and purity of truth (to a degree that any lie, no matter how small or well-intentioned, is considered a weapon of Ahriman), the cleansing purity of flame as the most holy of elements (notable when Atar manages to back down Azhi Dahaka and save Mithra with little more than the threat of that purifying heat, and extremely evident in fire's central place in Zoroastrian worship) and the concept that every living thing, no matter how small, insignificant or apparently uninvolved, is a soldier and contributer to the great war of good against evil.

So there's a quick snapshot of some of the major ideas, concepts and themes of each of the published pantheons; they're our personal picks, so if you feel a different idea is more of the "main" one for a pantheon, or you love another concept that wasn't mentioned, that's awesome and you should pursue it. (Actually, you should also tell us all about it in the comments, because the more ideas for heroic chronicles, the better for everyone, right?)