Psychopomp Sentiment

Question: I've recently come across a number of websites that claim that Hermes and Hecate were in some sort of relationship. Most of them have a distant Wiccan bent to them, and I was wondering if you could tell me whether the Greeks of antiquity had any mythic or cult beliefs that would corroborate this relationship, since it strikes me as very interesting.

For the most part, no, there's no context for an ancient Greek belief in Hermes and Hecate having any kind of relationship. However, there are a lot of reasons why it's a popular idea!

Hermes and Hecate are figures with a great deal in common: they're both gods of crossroads, psychopomps who guide souls in and out of the Underworld, connected intimately to the death gods of the pantheon and renowned for their prowess as magicians. Both of them appear performing the same functions in myths, most obviously when they are both involved in the myth of the kidnapping of Persephone, wherein Hecate accompanies and guides her in the Underworld and Hermes does so when retrieving her from it. It's not surprising that they're occasionally invoked together, usually in requests for both to watch over the fortune of livestock or calls to guide the souls of the recently departed - they do a lot of the same jobs, and two gods helping you out is usually better than one, right?

However, there are no myths in which they have a romantic relationship. In fact, there are no myths in which they actually talk to one another at all; they may both sometimes act as messengers, but apparently never to each other. Despite their similar roles, they also have no shared cult centers that we're aware of, nor worship practices that tie them together. Hecate and Hermes are close in concept, but they're not actually close as in ever having lunch together.

The idea that Hermes and Hecate are lovers is probably drawn from a single source: the Eleusinian Mysteries, which, just like their cousins the Orphic Mysteries, are prone to bizarre changes to mainstream Greek religion to suit their patron gods. According to Pausanias, Hermes had a fling with Daeira, an Oceanid and minor goddess of the Underworld, from which was born the eponymous Eleusinian hero Eleusis (for those who've been following the vlog, we talked about his son and Demeter's attempt to grant him immortality a while ago!). Daeira is otherwise unattested in Greek mythology, and her parentage as a daughter of Oceanus suggests she isn't particularly connected to Hecate, but some scholars nevertheless believe that it might be an alternative name of the witch-goddess. An even more obscure possibility is mentioned in Propertius' early Roman Elegies, in which he claims that another underworld goddess, Brimo, slept with Mercury; again, some scholars believe that Brimo might be an alternative name for Hecate, although such is never explicitly stated.

Of course, these possibilities are speculation, and both Daeira and Brimo are also theorized to be code names for Persephone, Demeter, the Furies, or actually simply lesser underworld goddesses in their own right, much like Hermes' other consorts who are usually nymphs or minor goddesses. If you're totally in love with the idea of there being some kind of psychopomp hanky-panky happening in the background, you could definitely pursue the mystery cult connection, but you're also more than justified in ignoring the very slim evidence. For the most part, the popular notion in Wicca of the two gods being consorts is based on their similar mythological functions rather than any actual historical connection.

Guiding Light

Question: In your house rules, you have it written that followers numbering 5 or more are 4 Legend behind the character. How does this apply to the Vanir for Sverrir? Are they all going to be Legend 8 when he reaches 12 (if he reaches 12)? What about the ones who were higher Legend than 5 when they joined him (since he's Legend 9 now I think)?

Easy question to resolve here! The Vanir aren't Followers; they're a collective Guide.

While Followers and Creatures are always lower Legend than the Scion they're attached to, Guides don't necessarily follow the same rules. In fact, Guides are usually (though not always) higher Legend than their Scions, at least early on in a Scion's lifetime.

Since their job is to provide advice, help and political contacts for their Scions, Guides are often more powerful so that they have more expertise and connections to offer than the Scion himself would. They don't usually change Legend level as a Scion progresses, since they are independent people serving as advisors rather than creatures with no life outside of the Scion's, meaning that if you have Homer as a Guide, he'll always be human no matter how high in Legend you get, and if you have Ptah as a Guide, he won't randomly dip in Legend just because you're less powerful than he is.

Sverrir has the spirits of the Vanir who have gone before him as a Guide, mostly because as their new king (and one of the last Vanir still standing) they are all on deck to provide him with their wisdom and guidance to make sure he navigates the shark-infested waters of divine kingship and takes care of his kingdom appropriately. They're not Followers; he can't summon them, they don't fight for him, he can't magically resurrect them if they die, and they don't gain or lose any powers beyond those they've always had. Instead, they remain in Vanaheim, and when Sverrir needs help he goes there to ask them to share their knowledge and help him make important decisions (and, occasionally, collectively snub Sowiljr for his dirty Aesir ways).

So no worries about the Follower Legend rules and Sverrir; they don't actually apply to him. Those rules are only for the kinds of summonable creatures that have no existence outside of their Scions.

Representin' for North America!

Question: So, just a random question - am I the only one who noticed that almost no one was voting for the Inuit until the Navajo joined the poll, and now the two of the them have the most votes?

It's true, the Navajo and Inuit are doing awesome in the current poll, and I love it! The Inuit have been on the poll for a while, but they haven't managed to triumph over the Apu, Alihah, K'uh and Atua in the past four rounds of voting. And you're right, they weren't even getting very many votes compared to the frontrunners, until they burst onto the scene with their current commanding showing!

I'm not sure it's actually the Navajo being added to the poll that is making the Inuit also popular; that doesn't really make much sense. It's probably just the usual way ongoing polls work; the Inuit, having been around for a while, finally hit the point where they were the most popular option after the other ones had been voted in and removed from the poll. The Navajo are a happy surprise, but it's not that strange that they're popular - Scion's got a big fat blind spot in the lack of North American pantheons, and they're one of the most recognizable to most players.

I'm pretty much as excited as can be about the two of them competing for the next pantheon. No matter which one wins, we'll get some North American awesomeness, which is totally badass!

But will it be the American Southwest or the far northern reaches of Canada? Go vote! I am way too excited to find out!

Queen of the Universe

Question: In your opinion, how powerful is Hera? This isn't a who can beat who question. I want to know how you would quantify her power and authority as queen of the gods, a woman and Zeus's wife.

Very. Very very very.

Among the Dodekatheon, Hera is literally second in authority only to Zeus. Queen is not a mere figurehead title; she has very real, very important political power and is not afraid to use it, and the other gods (many of whom are in the unfortunate position of being her illicit stepchildren) are right to fear upsetting or irritating her. The only person who can put a lid on Hera is Zeus, and all others are subordinate and subservient to her. Breaking the law or disrespecting her is not only political suicide, it's also likely to end in a terrifying display of Justice powers that leaves the upstart gasping for air. And she's not afraid to lay down an asskicking if someone dares challenge her or her authority, as Artemis found out when she got thoroughly trashed for trying to oppose Hera across a mortal battlefield.

If you're in the Greek pantheon, Hera is the highest authority aside from her husband, and since she has his ear, she's halfway there anyway. Don't piss her off. Don't ignore her. And if she wants you to do things, for god's sake do them, kids.

Among other pantheons, there are the usual political considerations; as queen of the Dodekatheon, nobody can really afford to insult or ignore Hera among the other gods, either, but she isn't their queen so they get to treat her as visiting royalty rather than the big boss she is at home. She's due all the highest diplomatic honors and most gods would probably try to please her if possible (because why risk pissing her off, right?), but she can't take over their lives on a whim, so there's a tiny bit more breathing room.

In our games, we often find that the king gods have their important political meetings, but their queens have equally important dealings with one another and often steer policy in the direction they want it to go. Figures like Hera, Frigg, Isis and the Tridevi are an entire shark-pool of political intrigue, power and influence all unto themselves, equaling that of their male counterparts.

House Heavens

Question: Why do you have two different version of the Anunna online? Once in the Download section, and once along with your regular pantheons?

Hey, there! The short answer is that we write our downloadable PDFs to be compatible with those using the rules of Scion as written, but the pantheons on our site are tweaked to work best with our own games and house rules. There's a more in-depth post about it back here, if you're interested in details.

If you're mostly using our rules, the version on the site is probably more useful; if you're using your own set of house rules or the original book's setup, the PDF is a better choice.

Star Maiden

Question: What became of Quetzalpetlatl?

Actually, no one knows. The Codex Chimalpopoca, in its retelling of the story, relates that she was ashamed and miserable the next morning after her brother had sex with her, but it does not elaborate on what she does, instead following Quetzalcoatl as he departs. What she might have chosen to do or how she might have responded to the event is unexamined.

There are various different retellings of the story that suggest different motivations and possibilities for the ill-fated sister of the warring twins. Some stories seem to suggest that Quetzalcoatl raped her against her will, unsurprising considering the Aztec prohibition against incest, while others imply that both siblings were intoxicated by Tezcatlipoca's interference and only realized their misbehavior the next morning. There's also usually a strong stellar background to the story, with Quetzalcoatl as usual representing the morning star and his sisters, Quetzalpetlatl included, appearing as stars in their own right (perhaps the Pleides or some other famous grouping).

Since Quetzalcoatl immediately killed himself (or, in a few versions, exiled himself), it's entirely possible that his sister might have done the same, equally horrified by what had just happened. It's also possible that, if she didn't punish herself, the pantheon might have done it for her; even if she was assaulted, the Aztecs had a fairly inflexible zero-tolerance policy for illict sex, and Tlazolteotl, punisher of sexual misconduct, might very well have inflicted some Justice on her or instituted even more direct forms of chastizement. A Justice boon might have put Quetzalpetlatl out of commission for a long time, and she certainly wouldn't be eager to mingle with the rest of the pantheon even if she went unpunished; the social stigma against her, a woman who not only had out-of-wedlock sex but with her own brother, would be massive and unforgiving.

Because of her connection to stars, Quetzalpetlatl might also have left the pantheon entirely, to follow so many other celestial Aztec figures into the waiting arms of Tamoanchan. While she isn't specifically said to be related to the tzitzimime the way some of the other gods are, she would theoretically be Mixcoatl's daughter if she's Quetzalcoatl's sister, and if her pantheon rejected her (or refused to take action against Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca, the authors of her misfortune), she might have gone to her father for comfort and asylum. That doesn't necessarily mean that she's a hostile enemy, but she certainly could be. The lady definitely been done wrong.

If you want to get even more wacky, she could even be living with the K'uh; Quetzalcoatl did spend a lot of time hanging out with them back in the day, after all, and you could even say that the disaster with Quetzalpetlatl was what caused him to abandon the Maya gods and move north to become permanently part of the Aztlanti. There is at least one Maya myth about Kulkulkan and an unnamed sister whom he abandoned when he had grown too large for her to take care of anymore, which might be considered a less violent mirror to the Aztec story.

Or she might still be somewhere in Acopa, to be found and spoken to by Scions intent on involving her in their schemes.

Big Daddy

Question: Why does Tyr have Epic Intelligence associated?

Hmm, good question. Back in the dawn of time, in the first few rounds of our pantheon edits, we gutted most of Tyr's associations (which were dumb - seriously, Epic Wits? what?) and replaced them with ones that made at least a little more sense. We actually went through a few rounds of Tyr associations, because he's a very fishy one to try to pin down, even for the Aesir who are always a little bit sketchy.

Tyr's association with Epic Intelligence comes from his reconstructed role as the proto-Germanic father god, a role that many scholars believe he may have occupied before Odin became the preeminent leader of the pantheon. In that role, he was considered a wise and venerable war god, both qualities that he later lost dominion over when Odin took over as the major patron of both. In the purely Norse canon, he is still associated with war and courage, but is no longer the wise father figure, and in fact is subordinate to and considered son of Odin.

We kept the Epic Intelligence association as a nod to Tyr's Tiwaz persona; whether or not Tyr was ever actually in charge of the Aesir at some point depends on your Storyteller's choices about background and mythology, but the concept is certainly out there in Germanic myth. We thought it was worthwhile to represent, and at any rate no thinner than some of the other Norse deities' cobbled-together-from-Edda-asides associations.

But if you're really not into it, it's probably the least strong of his associations, and of course different games may choose to ignore the Germanic connection completely.