NationStates Jolt Archive

Ok, my friend and I somehow got into a debate on ancient civilizations and their religion, and we want the people to decide which pantheon (group of gods) would win in a fight (gods can die in this).

There are:

The Egyptians: Osiris, Anubis, Set, Isis, and bout 40 and so-on more.

The Greek/Romans: Zues, Ares, Hades, etc, and to some the Titans (Kronos, Gaia, etc).

The Norse: Odin, Thor, Loki, etc.

I am for the Egyptians; my friend is for Greek/Rome; we through in the Norse because they were another big pantheon.

You decide!

Ok, my friend and I somehow got into a debate on ancient civilizations and their religion, and we want the people to decide which pantheon (group of gods) would win in a fight (gods can die in this).

There are:

The Egyptians: Osiris, Anubis, Set, Isis, and bout 40 and so-on more.

The Greek/Romans: Zues, Ares, Hades, etc, and to some the Tiatans (Kronos, Gaia, etc).

The Norse: Odin, Thor, Loki, etc.

I am for the Egyptians; my friend is for Greek/Rome; we through in the Norse because they were another big pantheon.

You decide!
Thor is the scariest syllable in the world. Nuff said.

There is no other. We want real results. No monotheist answere. Battle of the pantheons!

Norse FTW. No arguement, it just is.

I like it how you melded the Greek and Roman Gods :rolleyes:

Greek/Roman.

I like it how you melded the Greek and Roman Gods :rolleyes:
Uhh, yeah. That's because they're the same thing with different names. :rolleyes:

Norse. Most unique, IMO.

Bump

Zukariaa']Uhh, yeah. That's because they're the same thing with different names. :rolleyes:

Not strictly true. The Greek gods are older, and the Romans added a lot of the gods of the countries they conquored to their own set. Basically, the Romans had a lot more gods than the Greeks and a lot of them where, by Greek standards, barbaric :)

i gotta go with the greeks and the romans here

Bump
Generally bumps aren't required on threads three minutes after the last comment.

Generally bumps aren't required on threads three minutes after the last comment.

I was scared the poll already died. IT MUST LIVE!!! Come on people, vote!!!!

I was scared the poll already died. IT MUST LIVE!!! Come on people, vote!!!!
If you wanted lots of comments and votes, you launched the thread at the wrong time. This is generally a quiet period. Most people will come online in a few hours (early afternoon UK time).

im gonna go with the egyptians here. they were all massivley powerful, and while the roman and norse gods had weaknesses and could be hurt each other (for example, Zeus + Kronos, Ares and Athene, Loki and every other norse god) the egyptians had no such weakensses. one of them was chopped into tiny little bits and he still kept going! how the hell do you stop something like that?! also, theres lots and lots and lots of them, and while the norse had loads of gods too, most of them were in fact demigodly sprites whereas all egyptian deities were top-of-the-range fully fledged gods. im gonna go with the superior manpower here

The Norse gods for sure. They're way cool. Thor (& his hammer Mjolnir) is kick arse.

*Remembers he ain't talking to them...*
----------------------------------------------------
I say the Holy Trinity!
Catholic's FTW!

:rolleyes:

Jesus FTW!

Egyptians. Sutekh FTW!

Of course, I'm pretty biased.

Norse. Thor kicks arse.

Egyptians. Sutekh FTW!

I'm course, I'm pretty biased.

What's FTW mean?

What's FTW mean?

"For The Win"

"For The Win"
Indeed.:cool:

Egyptians. Sutekh FTW!

I'm course, I'm pretty biased.
I can be coarse too.
Are you a WOG?:p

I can be coarse too.
Are you a WOG?:p

Nah, my typing is just awful! :D

*edits*

The gods of the Discworld send their apologies, most of them are in the middle of a game of Significant Quest (no-one seems to be able to ever answer the blue questions except the God Of Evolution, and he's more interested in betting a monkey on the Romano-Greek lot, anyway).

Cthulhu.





Alright the Egyptians.

Nah, my typing is just awful! :D

*edits*
Ha ha.:D
-------------------------------
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egyptian_gods
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_Gods
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Gods
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norse_Mythology

The Norse gods were mortal, and only through Iðunn's apples could they hope to live until Ragnarök.
Norse GONE!!!

Norse, let's face it their afterlife owns all others.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maori_mythologyI love you

What about the pantheon of celtic gods?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celtic_gods

this poll is flawed. The Norse and Greek pantheons, although seperated by a few thousand years, are essentially the same. See Proto-Indo-European religon (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proto-Indo-European_religion) on Wikipedia.

the question is vague... or if not vague then easily biased. my favorite gods are the norse, but allthough they are great fighters i cant say that theyd win if the egyptians were involved"

Probably Greek/Roman, simply because of numbers. The Greeks bring numbers with them already (way more than the egyptians and Norse combined) and versatility. The romans add the special ability of 'faith-stealing' wherein any conquered gods are Romanised and assimilated into the Roman pantheon. Essentially the greeks/romans are the zombie panthoen, but with skill. The Norse are certainly the mighties, but again, if the romans ganged up on one norse god and defeated him, then they would have him thereafter as a warrior of their own. The power of the force would be exponential. The real showdown would be between the romans and the egyptians, because when the egyptians die, they simply respawn at osiris' palace. Therefore, I anticipate that the romans would have to defeat Osiris before any of the egyptian dead would count as converts. This would be hard. Still I think with the combined might and diversity of the Norse/Greek/and Roman pantheonns, the egyptians would eventually fall.

Hokay. This subject may never come up again, and I actually have a joke lying around germane to this discussion (somewhat, that is). It goes like this......

The mythical Norse gods and friends threw a helluva party. It went on day and night with much drinking, carousing, and coupling. The next morning, the god Thor awoke much the worse for wear. He felt terrible. He was still in bed when a stunning young goddess walked in. He didn't remember her from the party but manfully got up to introduce himself.
"Hello, I am Mighty Thor.", he says.
She says "You're mighty Thor? I'm tho thor I can hardly pith!"

*rimshot*

Ok, my friend and I somehow got into a debate on ancient civilizations and their religion, and we want the people to decide which pantheon (group of gods) would win in a fight (gods can die in this).

There are:

The Egyptians: Osiris, Anubis, Set, Isis, and bout 40 and so-on more.

The Greek/Romans: Zues, Ares, Hades, etc, and to some the Titans (Kronos, Gaia, etc).

The Norse: Odin, Thor, Loki, etc.

I am for the Egyptians; my friend is for Greek/Rome; we through in the Norse because they were another big pantheon.

You decide!

You forgot the Mesopotamian Gods, source for the Egyptian, Greek, Roman belief systems.

Anu, Enki (Yah), Ninhursag, Enlil, Inanna, Utu/Shamash, Shin, Marduk etc

I have to agree with Byrillium on this one and go with the Egyptians. There are a lot of them, and each one is a master god in his or her own right. Very few weaknesses. Plus, they use magic as well as strength and weaponry. And, except for Set, they are a close-knit, friendly, mostly familial group.

The Greco-Romans have no loyalty to each other; each god is out for him/herself, even under common threat. The Egyptian gods of war and politics would have that gang splintered before the first battle started.

The Norse would put up a good fight and would win many battles. They kick ass from one fight to the next, but they are short-sighted and impatient. Better at raids than campaigns. Thor would a force to reckon with, but in a god vs god duel, I'd put my money on Sekhmet.

Now, if the Norse joined forces with the Celtic gods, they might have more brute strength than the Egyptians could handle. Also, the Celts can match the Egyptians' use of magic. The Norse gods have estranged relations the Scandanavian sorcery deities, such the giants and the Vanir.

You forgot the Mesopotamian Gods, source for the Egyptian, Greek, Roman belief systems.

Anu, Enki (Yah), Ninhursag, Enlil, Inanna, Utu/Shamash, Shin, Marduk etc
For some reason, the mesopotamians could not be present, (prior engagement). As for the other thousand or so religions that could not be included for practicality's sake, they are neutral.

You forgot the Mesopotamian Gods, source for the Egyptian, Greek, Roman belief systems.

Anu, Enki (Yah), Ninhursag, Enlil, Inanna, Utu/Shamash, Shin, Marduk etc
Yeah, but the most powerful of the Mesopotamians were rather passive and disinterested -- absentee gods. However, if Inanna & Ereshkigal came out together, with their armies, that would be pretty much game over, imo.

Hmm... the Norse "gods" have superior technology and the assistance of a small team of explorers equipped with character shields some time ago... while the Egyptian and Greek "gods" were killed off by said team of explorers some time ago... Asgard win, thread closed.

What you mean, you weren't expecting a Stargate SG-1 joke?

Ok, my friend and I somehow got into a debate on ancient civilizations and their religion, and we want the people to decide which pantheon (group of gods) would win in a fight (gods can die in this).

There are:

The Egyptians: Osiris, Anubis, Set, Isis, and bout 40 and so-on more.

The Greek/Romans: Zues, Ares, Hades, etc, and to some the Titans (Kronos, Gaia, etc).

The Norse: Odin, Thor, Loki, etc.

I am for the Egyptians; my friend is for Greek/Rome; we through in the Norse because they were another big pantheon.

You decide!

Wednesday wins, or do you not read the historical writings of Richard Gaiman (American Gods)?

Two points for anyone who knows who Wednesday is.

Wednesday wins, or do you not read the historical writings of Richard Gaiman (American Gods)?

Two points for anyone who knows who Wednesday is.

Wednesday is named after Woden, who comes from either the Norse or Anglo-Saxon pantheons (I can't remember which ATM). :)

Wednesday is named after Woden, who comes from either the Norse or Anglo-Saxon pantheons (I can't remember which ATM). :)

Tues' - dag, Odin's-dag, Thor's-dag, Frigg's - dag

Tues' - dag

Tyr's

Hmm... the Norse "gods" have superior technology and the assistance of a small team of explorers equipped with character shields some time ago... while the Egyptian and Greek "gods" were killed off by said team of explorers some time ago... Asgard win, thread closed.

What you mean, you weren't expecting a Stargate SG-1 joke?
Took you long enough. And where are the Age of Mythology jokes? We could settle it right here and now with a three way game of Age of Mythology!

Tyr's

Depends on how you're looking at it. But yes. And I misspelled it. It should be Tiw's-dag, which is derived from Tyr.
http://www.eliki.com/ancient/myth/daily/tuesday/

Hmm, wouldn't the real winners be Hel, Hades and Osiris (or Anubis).
They're gods of the dead, so everyone that dies become theirs.


"ACTUALLY, YOU ARE INCORRECT. THERE WOULD BE NO WINNER, ONLY ME."

Hmm, well, Bony has a point.

What you mean, you weren't expecting a Stargate SG-1 joke?

I knew I wasn't the only one that watched the show. :p

Took you long enough. And where are the Age of Mythology jokes? We could settle it right here and now with a three way game of Age of Mythology!

Thats what I said to my friend! Age of Mythology. If you have the expansion, you can get the Titan Gods in it.

that game was kinda sucky in my opinion. it was just stupidly hard to gain favor as the norse, and fairly difficult for the egyptians. the greeks had it easy.

that game was kinda sucky in my opinion. it was just stupidly hard to gain favor as the norse, and fairly difficult for the egyptians. the greeks had it easy.

Its only hard if you dont learn. The egyptians way to gain favor is very easy if you know there strengths, like the pharaoh. (theres also an upgrade given by one of the gods that aloows faster favor gain). Same goes for the norse. The greek way of favor meant that you would have to lose the use of a peasant to gain the favor; if you wanted it faster, you would have to buy more and more.

How come you people dont understand the vast power of the Egyptians?! Magic, modern/advanced knowledge, etc. The envy of every civilization that came after it.

Are those of you voting for the Norse only thinking of Thor and his hammer? I'll tell you why they would lose. . . because they predicted it. ITS RAGNORAK. The final battle where Odin, Thor, and the others die.

How come you people dont understand the vast power of the Egyptians?! Magic, modern/advanced knowledge, etc. The envy of every civilization that came after it.

Are those of you voting for the Norse only thinking of Thor and his hammer? I'll tell you why they would lose. . . because they predicted it. ITS RAGNORAK. The final battle where Odin, Thor, and the others die.

And they know it, and they still go and fight. That's awesomeness.

Let's go Celtic God's!

How come you people dont understand the vast power of the Egyptians?! Magic, modern/advanced knowledge, etc. The envy of every civilization that came after it.
Too bad their gods were soap operatic pussies.

Are those of you voting for the Norse only thinking of Thor and his hammer? I'll tell you why they would lose. . . because they predicted it. ITS RAGNORAK. The final battle where Odin, Thor, and the others die.
They are still bad mofos.

Too bad their gods were soap operatic pussies.

Compared to the Greco-Romans? Not by half.

And I'm still putting my money on Sekhmet:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sekhmet

A line from one of her hymns: "Mine is a heart of carnelian, crimson as murder on a holy day."

From Wiki:
...it was Sekhmet who was seen as the Avenger of Wrongs, and Scarlet Lady, a reference to blood. As the one with bloodlust, she was also seen as ruling over menstruation.

Her name suits her function, and means (one who is) powerful, and she was also given titles such as (One) Before Whom Evil Trembles, and Lady of Slaughter. Sekhmet was believed to protect the pharaoh in battle, stalking the land, and destroying his enemies with arrows of fire, her body being said to take on the bright glare of the midday sun, gaining her the title Lady of Flame. Indeed it was said that death and destruction were balsam for her heart, and hot desert winds were believed to be her breath.

Go, sister. I suggest Thor would be her boy-toy in half an hour. :D

Compared to the Greco-Romans? Not by half.

And I'm still putting my money on Sekhmet:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sekhmet

A line from one of her hymns: "Mine is a heart of carnelian, crimson as murder on a holy day."



Go, sister. I suggest Thor would be her boy-toy in half an hour. :D

Pfft, I bet he would be kissing her feet/paws (depending what form she takes)in 10 seconds.

Within the scope of these choices, I would have to go with the Norse pantheon. But, If I could really choose, I would opt for the Celtic gods - I mean their gods were tough, but their goddesses were tougher. Put Thor up against the Morrigan and she'd turn him into smorgasbord.

I would have to go with the Norse.

Loki is the coolest god ever. So I gotta go with Norse.

Pfft, I bet he would be kissing her feet/paws (depending what form she takes)in 10 seconds.
You're probably right. Thor was a sucker for the ladies. I can see him now, all blushing and stammering and digging his toe in the sand.

Within the scope of these choices, I would have to go with the Norse pantheon. But, If I could really choose, I would opt for the Celtic gods - I mean their gods were tough, but their goddesses were tougher. Put Thor up against the Morrigan and she'd turn him into smorgasbord.
It has to be said. War goddesses are way tougher than war gods.

Loki is the coolest god ever. So I gotta go with Norse.
I'm a big Loki fan, too, but the Aesir made a career out of screwing him over. How much help he'd be might depend on how much they've been dissing him and his kids lately.

I cant believe the Egyptians are doing this bad. I expected the Norse would get the popularity vote. Why are people voting for the Greeks; I havn't heard to much about them from their voters.

How come you people dont understand the vast power of the Egyptians?! Magic, modern/advanced knowledge, etc. The envy of every civilization that came after it.

Are those of you voting for the Norse only thinking of Thor and his hammer? I'll tell you why they would lose. . . because they predicted it. ITS RAGNORAK. The final battle where Odin, Thor, and the others die.

And they know it, and they still go and fight. That's awesomeness.

Exactly.

The Egyptian gods were just really cool-looking. Gotta dig that. ;)

What about the pantheon of celtic gods?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celtic_gods
Indeed!

THe Norse Gods could die (by mortal hands)...

GraecoRomans.

I'm a big Loki fan, too, but the Aesir made a career out of screwing him over. How much help he'd be might depend on how much they've been dissing him and his kids lately.You mean.. The Aesir got fed up with being screwed over (and killed) by Loki, so they tied him up in a cave, using his own son's guts.

Regardless, on the final day, he's supposed to sail to battle on a ship of the dead and be the second last of the gods to die (Heimdal & Loki kills eachother).

The Norse Gods would so not win in this!

Norse, they get Surtr. Anybody who can burn the world down is winnar in my book.

Regardless, on the final day, he's supposed to sail to battle on a ship of the dead and be the second last of the gods to die (Heimdal & Loki kills eachother).

Not all of the gods die. Baldur, for example.

Not all of the gods die. Baldur, for example.Loki killed Balder with mistletoe. That's why the Aesir trapped Loki in a cave in the first place. I think you've confused the survival of the gods with the rebirth of the world after Ragnarok.

You mean.. The Aesir got fed up with being screwed over (and killed) by Loki, so they tied him up in a cave, using his own son's guts.

Regardless, on the final day, he's supposed to sail to battle on a ship of the dead and be the second last of the gods to die (Heimdal & Loki kills eachother).
Excuse me, but the whole argument between Loki and the Aesir, including the murder of Baldur, started because of Odin's repeated breaking of his word to Loki. If you recall, early in Odin's career, he swore blood brotherhood with Loki, but then tricked, cheated, and humiliated him over and over. For instance, Odin let the other gods ridicule Loki when he took the form of a mare to distract the stallion of the giant who was building the wall around Asgard so that the giant would miss the project deadline, so Odin could weasel out of paying him. As a result of that, Loki gave birth to the 8-legged horse Sleipnir, and the Aesir called him a homo, but Odin went right ahead and took the horse for himself, while never saying a word in support of his "blood brother." Also, without waiting for them to actually do anything bad, Odin takes it on himself to dispose of Loki's powerful children, Hel, Fenris, and the Midgard Serpent -- and in particular, the binding of Fenris was based on a fundamental betrayal and lie. The Aesir violate their word and their own honor over and over, and THAT is what lays the seed of their destruction in the end.

Norse, they get Surtr. Anybody who can burn the world down is winnar in my book.
Isn't Surtr the ruler of Niffelheim, the fire realm? That would make him one of the Aesir's enemies. What makes you think he would help them if they fought another pantheon? Hell, even the alliance with the Vanir gods is on-again/off-again.

Except for Set's feud with Osiris, the Egyptian pantheon don't really fight amongst themselves. I say this would make them a stronger, more united force.

The Roman and Hellenic pantheons are a crowd of limp-wristed pantywaists. All they ever do is scheme against each other and drink ambrosia. The only one with anything like a serious weapons cache was Hephaestus/Vulcan: sure, Zeus liked to throw lightning around but He got it all from the Forge God.

OTOH, the Kemite pantheon had such notables as Shu, Sutekh, Wepawet and Sekhmet, who came within two aces of wiping out all life on the planet! And Sutekh (Set) took on the biggest dragon in history and ALWAYS won. Wepawet just cuts loose with His arrows and spears and opposing armies have a tendency to part: that's why He's called the Opener of the Ways. Shu holds the sky and earth apart — 'nuff said.

Not to mention Father RA — He taught Sutekh everything He knows. If Sutekh ever loses and falls to Apep, RA could pwn that sucker on His own. Jormungandr and Fenris Ulf have nothing on these guys.

BTW...did you leave out the Hindu pantheon because Shiva and Durga could nail all their asses to the wall?

I'm more partial to the Greek/Roman gods, simply because they were cooler. Though Egypt still kicked ass, they're gods are kinda boring and redundant. And c'mon, who can beat the name "Kronos"! :D

And I read somewhere (forget where, sorry) that the Norse end-of-the-world (forget the name, again sorry) has already occured (i.e. after the fall of the Norse civilization and their conversion to Christianity), so technically the Norse gods are dead. ^.^

im gonna go with the egyptians here. they were all massivley powerful, and while the roman and norse gods had weaknesses and could be hurt each other (for example, Zeus + Kronos, Ares and Athene, Loki and every other norse god) the egyptians had no such weakensses. one of them was chopped into tiny little bits and he still kept going! how the hell do you stop something like that?! also, theres lots and lots and lots of them, and while the norse had loads of gods too, most of them were in fact demigodly sprites whereas all egyptian deities were top-of-the-range fully fledged gods. im gonna go with the superior manpower here

Set was the villain of the Egyptian Pantheon and he was more vicious than Loki

Norse wins due to Baldur...after all who would think to use his one weakness against him.

I have to agree with Byrillium on this one and go with the Egyptians. There are a lot of them, and each one is a master god in his or her own right. Very few weaknesses. Plus, they use magic as well as strength and weaponry. And, except for Set, they are a close-knit, friendly, mostly familial group.

The Greco-Romans have no loyalty to each other; each god is out for him/herself, even under common threat. The Egyptian gods of war and politics would have that gang splintered before the first battle started.

The Norse would put up a good fight and would win many battles. They kick ass from one fight to the next, but they are short-sighted and impatient. Better at raids than campaigns. Thor would a force to reckon with, but in a god vs god duel, I'd put my money on Sekhmet.

Now, if the Norse joined forces with the Celtic gods, they might have more brute strength than the Egyptians could handle. Also, the Celts can match the Egyptians' use of magic. The Norse gods have estranged relations the Scandanavian sorcery deities, such the giants and the Vanir.

The Norse may not have sorcery but the mightiest of warriors await call in the halls of Valhalla. The numbers they could unleash in skilled battle ready cannon fodder are vast. Sheer numbers alone would more than likely over whelm Egyptian Sorcery. After all the Jews bested pantheons sorcery with the aid of just one god.

Norse wins due to Baldur...after all who would think to use his one weakness against him.

Everyone, because hes already died by it. Isn't he still dead, I cant remember.

Loki killed Balder with mistletoe. That's why the Aesir trapped Loki in a cave in the first place. I think you've confused the survival of the gods with the rebirth of the world after Ragnarok.

Just because he comes back after Rag, doesn't mean he doesn't survive it.

Ok, Vali. He survives.

Everyone, because hes already died by it. Isn't he still dead, I cant remember.

He comes back after Ragnarok.

Isn't Surtr the ruler of Niffelheim, the fire realm? That would make him one of the Aesir's enemies. What makes you think he would help them if they fought another pantheon? Hell, even the alliance with the Vanir gods is on-again/off-again.

I'm assuming that all Norse figures would be fighting again all the Greco-Roman and Egyptian figures. Aesir, Vanir and Jotun.

Everyone, because hes already died by it. Isn't he still dead, I cant remember.

Well I assumed we hit the reset button. Otherwise the Egyptian gods were wiped out by Yahweh when he freed the jews

The Norse may not have sorcery but the mightiest of warriors await call in the halls of Valhalla. The numbers they could unleash in skilled battle ready cannon fodder are vast. Sheer numbers alone would more than likely over whelm Egyptian Sorcery. After all the Jews bested pantheons sorcery with the aid of just one god.

This is the battle of the GODS!


And for all of you who keep mentioning the Celts, Hindus, and other pantheons, the reason I left them out is so my friend and I could get the results we wanted; I'm starting to regret including the Norse, they defenitly won the popularuty vote.

This is the battle of the GODS!


And for all of you who keep mentioning the Celts, Hindus, and other pantheons, the reason I left them out is so my friend and I could get the results we wanted; I'm starting to regret including the Norse, they defenitly won the popularuty vote.

I merely showed that Egyptian magic was ineffectual against a single god and therefore shouldn't be a deciding factor in the battle. Loki could prolly counter much of the Egyptian arsenal along with Odin and the few others in Norse mythology that used magic.

I'm starting to regret including the Norse, they defenitly won the popularuty vote.

That's because they're the coolest. Serious, the ancient Egyptians believed that the world was created when Atum blew him; what kind of pantheon is that?

Yeah, but the most powerful of the Mesopotamians were rather passive and disinterested -- absentee gods. However, if Inanna & Ereshkigal came out together, with their armies, that would be pretty much game over, imo.

You want aggressive gods? Then go for the Jewish god: most arrogant, ignorant, jealous, and aggressive god of all... :rolleyes:

Except for Set's feud with Osiris, the Egyptian pantheon don't really fight amongst themselves. I say this would make them a stronger, more united force.

Set had some biffo with Heru-sa-Aset, also when they were in conflict over the throne of the Two Lands. Though there was plenty of treachery as well as physical bashing going on there.

You want aggressive gods? Then go for the Jewish god: most arrogant, ignorant, jealous, and aggressive god of all... :rolleyes:

And he did beat the crap out of the Egyptian Gods.

I dont see why Norse is most popular, So people must not know much about Norse religions... They couldnt be "most powerful" because in Norse mythology eventually they're Gods are destroyed and defeated. It was a very gloomy religion thats why so many converted so fast to christainity. Thats gloomy too in my opinion but meh...

I dont see why Norse is most popular, So people must not know much about Norse religions... They couldnt be "most powerful" because in Norse mythology eventually they're Gods are destroyed and defeated. It was a very gloomy religion thats why so many converted so fast to christainity. Thats gloomy too in my opinion but meh...

But half of them survive!

And the religion is popular because it doesn't stink of the whole "holier than thou" concept; the Norse gods are very human-like, with their own flaws and problems. We can relate to them.

lets go greeks my homeland baby

Thor is the scariest syllable in the world. Nuff said.

But Zeus makes an even better thunder god. Besides, Zeus is just so ridiculously powerful that he says he could attach the entire world and all the men and gods in it to a golden chain and lift all of them up into the sky with a tug if he felt like it.

Regardless of who is the better fighter, Zeus would scare everyone else off with his boasting.

Look, I've already explained, Romans win hands down. They are like the zombie religion. Any god they conquer becomes one of their own.

lets go greeks my homeland baby
This is exactly why the romans will win. You of all people should know. Once upon a time there were greek gods. Then the romans stole them. Now the Greek gods live on in their romanized state serving the Roman empire. Eventually, one-by-one every god will become a roman god.

Look, I've already explained, Romans win hands down. They are like the zombie religion. Any god they conquer becomes one of their own.
Largely, yes... although they do go through phases of liking one god over another. Mithraism was very popular with the Roman soldiers for quite a while.

The one exception, I will have to point out, is the Judeo-Christian God. Romans never adopted Judaism as a religion of theirs, and they never conquered any Christian groups or countries, so the adoption of the Christian god by Constantine was a bit of an oddity in that sense.

Largely, yes... although they do go through phases of liking one god over another. Mithraism was very popular with the Roman soldiers for quite a while.

The one exception, I will have to point out, is the Judeo-Christian God. Romans never adopted Judaism as a religion of theirs, and they never conquered any Christian groups or countries, so the adoption of the Christian god by Constantine was a bit of an oddity in that sense.
Well kind of. The romans would have assimilated the jewish and christian gods if they could. However, both religions maintained that not only was their god the only god, but that worshipping others was not allowed. I personally think the Romans f*cked it up in allowing the jews to exist with their monotheistic crap. They should have forcibly assimilated them like everyone else. Maybe history would have gone quite differently... But yeah, If I became dictator of the world, I would rewrite history stating that the romans did assimilate the christian god (as the god of ignorance) and that my empire was just a continuation of the roman one. :D On an in-context note, you have discovered the weakness of the roman pantheon, monotheism. However, in the context of this contest, there are no monotheistic pantheons (oxymoron, anyone?). That being said, I imagine after assimilating the norse, the romans would start with the egyptians, who would in a daring plan devised by Ahkenaten, combine all of their gods al-la-power-rangers-style into one supreme monotheistic god Aten. Then there would be an awesome war.

Oh no. If they did that, then the egyptians would win. Thus making my vote miscast. :(

Look, I've already explained, Romans win hands down. They are like the zombie religion. Any god they conquer becomes one of their own.

The Romans wouldn't beable to take control of the Egyptian gods; you cant kill them. Osiris was f*cking cut into many many pieces and spread across the world. All Isis had to do was find 'em and put them together, and voila, one God of the Underworld (I'm still mad at him for taking Anubis' job). They have the most powerful magic in the world too; ever here of the Book of the Dead. As long as one survives, they all do.

Are we assuming that all the gods of a pantheon cooperate? Can we reel in other creatures from that religion like Atlas from the Greeks and Leviathan from the Norse? If the answer to both of those, you'd have to go with the Norse.

Norse for the following reasons
1. Experence...all the do is fight, none of this "for the fairest" stuff
2. Loci, Hel and Odin all have armies trained for a long time for the ragnaroc...and I'm prity sure this counts
3. Lokis army includes the Fenris, legions of giants (almost god power themselves) and a serpant the size of the world *gulp...bye bye old kingdom*
4 Isis with a harpoon = friendly fire...ask Osirus
5. 1 pomegranate takes Secmet...her sides big hitter...out of the picture
6. Baulder is immortal...almost
7. Loki would seduce Zeus (What...he would...they're both god whores anyway)
8. They're all realy heavily armed...except Fray
9. ...Fray fights for love! he's got to win *shifty eyes*
10. Valkeries!

There are others, but 10 is a nice number

I would like to take this oppertunity to reaffirm my faith in, and love for, Diana of the arched bow. (Patron deity)

The Romans wouldn't beable to take control of the Egyptian gods; you cant kill them. Osiris was f*cking cut into many many pieces and spread across the world. All Isis had to do was find 'em and put them together, and voila, one God of the Underworld (I'm still mad at him for taking Anubis' job). They have the most powerful magic in the world too; ever here of the Book of the Dead. As long as one survives, they all do.

Funny thing with the Egyptian gods...if you know their names...they can't hurt you.

Book of the dead FT(norse)W!

I dont see why Norse is most popular, So people must not know much about Norse religions... They couldnt be "most powerful" because in Norse mythology eventually they're Gods are destroyed and defeated. It was a very gloomy religion thats why so many converted so fast to christainity. Thats gloomy too in my opinion but meh...

But they are fighting other Norse gods...so this point is mootz

Thor. Mjölner. 'Nuff said. He'll get Anubis all the way to Nifelheim before Anubis has time to say "Please don't thro..."

What about the Celtic gods like Belenus and Cernunnos?

I'd probably side with the Norse here, but if we were to include Hinduism then I'd vote for them hands down.

The Dark God Anubis is friggen asweome. Anyone seen the Mummy movies? He can take peoples souls, has a huge army of warriors and has a oasis.

im gonna go with the egyptians here. they were all massivley powerful, and while the roman and norse gods had weaknesses and could be hurt each other (for example, Zeus + Kronos, Ares and Athene, Loki and every other norse god) the egyptians had no such weakensses. one of them was chopped into tiny little bits and he still kept going! how the hell do you stop something like that?! also, theres lots and lots and lots of them, and while the norse had loads of gods too, most of them were in fact demigodly sprites whereas all egyptian deities were top-of-the-range fully fledged gods. im gonna go with the superior manpower here

Um the one that got chopped into tiny bits... he was never fully alive again. He was also missing, well he was missing the procreant urge. Ever play WOD Mummy?

I'd probably side with the Norse here, but if we were to include Hinduism then I'd vote for them hands down.


You can't count hinduism as one pantheon! That would be like lumping the 3 options on this quiz into one.

Thor. Mjölner. 'Nuff said. He'll get Anubis all the way to Nifelheim before Anubis has time to say "Please don't thro..."

Thor couldn't find Anubis unless Loki stopped tupping Thor's wife long enough to show him. Err, just kidding Thor... Loki made me say it! Have another beer :)

But they are fighting other Norse gods...so this point is mootz

The Norse fought lots of things besides Norse gods. Vanir gods, Jotuns, hell they fought anything in reach :) Their idea of heaven was an infinite battle.

Funny thing with the Egyptian gods...if you know their names...they can't hurt you.

Book of the dead FT(norse)W!

Pfft, no mortal could begin to comprehed their names. Few Norse gods could either, only Odin could read and write.

Cthulu owns ye.

The creepy bastard.

Cthulu owns ye.

The creepy bastard.

Yeah, but he won't be waking any time soon. As long as he only dreams we may still reap some joy from our short and miserable lives. Didja see the first episode of nightmares and dreamscapes? Best Cthule I've ever seen. It cost me 5 sanity points, but it as worth it.

Except for Set's feud with Osiris, the Egyptian pantheon don't really fight amongst themselves. I say this would make them a stronger, more united force.

Exept they aren't united at all. Each controlled their own city, and each time one became more powerful then the rest they added Ra to their name, and called themselves the one true god, and their loyal servant the next god king.

If Sutekh ever loses and falls to Apep, RA could pwn that sucker on His own. Jormungandr and Fenris Ulf have nothing on these guys.

Bah, Fenris and Jormungandr actually suceed in ending the bloody world. The Norse have more battle experience then any other being, and they do all work together when, well when they have to :)

They are vengeful too! They are willing to accept ending the bloody world as an acceptable price of vengeance.

And I read somewhere (forget where, sorry) that the Norse end-of-the-world (forget the name, again sorry) has already occured (i.e. after the fall of the Norse civilization and their conversion to Christianity), so technically the Norse gods are dead. ^.^

If you believe what those Christians said about other religions I know a guy with Horns and Cloven feet who'd like to talk to you.

I merely showed that Egyptian magic was ineffectual against a single god and therefore shouldn't be a deciding factor in the battle. Loki could prolly counter much of the Egyptian arsenal along with Odin and the few others in Norse mythology that used magic.

Magic is pretty twinky. If you want to start counting that you just track who has the all seeing all knowing power to do X, and then it gets pretty hard to compare them. I'd still go with Odin and Thor though, as best tag team combo. Odin spots the target, Thor throws hammer, target dies. It works great as long as you aren't a world devouring monster that sneaks up on of them during the greatest battle ever to be fought. Even then, they tied.

Ever play WOD Mummy?

No, any good?

The Norse fought lots of things besides Norse gods. Vanir gods, Jotuns, hell they fought anything in reach :) Their idea of heaven was an infinite battle.

The Vanir are norse gods...this did not specafy Asir. and they didn't -die- until they fought each other

Pfft, no mortal could begin to comprehed their names. Few Norse gods could either, only Odin could read and write.

Actualy...every mortal was taught their names...it was a requirement for getting into the afterlife. And all Odin need to do is recite their names to the others (And he -does- know)

No, any good?


All the old white wolf games were good. The best part of mummy was their retelling of the Egyptian myths. Gave me new found respect for Horus.



The Vanir are norse gods...this did not specafy Asir. and they didn't -die- until they fought each other

Actualy...every mortal was taught their names...it was a requirement for getting into the afterlife. And all Odin need to do is recite their names to the others (And he -does- know)

Names are complex magic. It's easy to "know" the simple verbal version well enough to speak it. But to "know" a gods name well enough to work magic with it you have to have had intimate exposure to the gods true nature. That's basic Ren Hekau.

Wednesday wins, or do you not read the historical writings of Richard Gaiman (American Gods)?

Two points for anyone who knows who Wednesday is.

I'm sure someone else on this thread got this. How can one not know the days of the bloody week?

Is it safe to say Hera was a goddess of marriage? I'm not quite sure where I got that from, and it came up yesterday.

It has to be said. War goddesses are way tougher than war gods.

War Goddeses are all well and good, but they had the same problem Mars had. (which is probably why I don't see anyone arguing for Mars here). They're bloody crazy, attacking allies nearly as often as enemies.

I respect Athena though. Cold hearted, calculated, and she has victory as a toady.

I'm a big Loki fan, too, but the Aesir made a career out of screwing him over. How much help he'd be might depend on how much they've been dissing him and his kids lately.

This is a joke right? Loki slept with more of the other gods wives then, well I think he actually may hold the world record for adultery.

Indeed!

THe Norse Gods could die (by mortal hands)...

Of course they could. The Norse Gods were all about offense. When they went down they took out life on earth...

Excuse me, but the whole argument between Loki and the Aesir, including the murder of Baldur, started because of Odin's repeated breaking of his word to Loki. If you recall, early in Odin's career, he swore blood brotherhood with Loki, but then tricked, cheated, and humiliated him over and over. For instance, Odin let the other gods ridicule Loki when he took the form of a mare to distract the stallion of the giant who was building the wall around Asgard so that the giant would miss the project deadline, so Odin could weasel out of paying him. As a result of that, Loki gave birth to the 8-legged horse Sleipnir, and the Aesir called him a homo, but Odin went right ahead and took the horse for himself, while never saying a word in support of his "blood brother." Also, without waiting for them to actually do anything bad, Odin takes it on himself to dispose of Loki's powerful children, Hel, Fenris, and the Midgard Serpent -- and in particular, the binding of Fenris was based on a fundamental betrayal and lie. The Aesir violate their word and their own honor over and over, and THAT is what lays the seed of their destruction in the end.

You're saying because someone else ridculed Loki, Odin broke his word? They didn't kill annnnnnnnny of Loki's children until the final battle had begun. Tyr lost his bloody hand because Loki couldn't discipline his kids, and they had to tie the bloody thing up. Fenris did not get bound by a lie, the offered Tyr's hand as collateral, and he kept said colllateral.

Are you actually calling Tyr dishonorable? He gave his bloody hand away rather then use deceit!

Odin broke his word to Loki.... once. Unfortunately the norse high god's word was kind of important.

But what choice did Odin have? Loki killed... the nicest guy to ever walk the earth, out of spite. Odin made a mistake to ever trust Loki at all. He was not wise in his youth.

Wednesday...formaly Wodan's day, Odin. Easy if you're into mythos or have read American Gods.

And the gods name was the true essence of it's power...a theme repeated thoughout mystic history...hence Kabbalism, the true name of Ala'ah ect... trust me on this

Wednesday...formaly Wodan's day, Odin. Easy if you're into mythos or have read American Gods.

And the gods name was the true essence of it's power...a theme repeated thoughout mystic history...hence Kabbalism, the true name of Ala'ah ect... trust me on this

Um yeah I know. The thing is the spoken Tao is not the Tao :) True names are very different from those vocalizations uttered by mortals. Tell you what, I'll trust you on this if you kindly impart to me your true name ;) Then I'll be able to tell if you are lying.

Eqyptians.

Um yeah I know. The thing is the spoken Tao is not the Tao :) True names are very different from those vocalizations uttered by mortals. Tell you what, I'll trust you on this if you kindly impart to me your true name ;) Then I'll be able to tell if you are lying.

If I knew my true name...I would be the tide.

Zukariaa']Uhh, yeah. That's because they're the same thing with different names. :rolleyes:


well, yes and no. The Roman pantheon had a separate mythology. However, the REAL Roman religion, prior to their adoption of a polytheon(it's not really a pantheon), their REAL religion was a pantheon, literally. THere was a god(numen) for everything. Most were nameless, but the basic idea was that different forces ruled everything.

And the Roman gods like Juppiter were adopted from the Greeks, but there were differences(like the Aeneid), namely deified Aeneas and Romulus

Originally Posted by East of Eden is Nod
You want aggressive gods? Then go for the Jewish god: most arrogant, ignorant, jealous, and aggressive god of all...
And he did beat the crap out of the Egyptian Gods.
Well, if you want to be stupidly literal about fairy tales, he beat the crap out of the Norse gods, too, and every other god in any culture that converted to either Christianity or Islam, since they worship the same god as the Jews.

Except, of course, that this is a battle between PANTHEONS. The monotheists' god isn't part of the picture, so we don't need to give a shit about him. :rolleyes:

As for who's magic kung-fu is best -- the Egyptians embraced magic and used it extensively and had many gods who were experts. The Aesir thought magic was gay (apparently) and talked down about gods who did it, so they have fewer experts and their experts are often alienated by the Aesir. The only exception is that the Norse gods are into divination -- so they'll be able to predict how bad the Egyptians are going to kick their asses. :p

Are we assuming that all the gods of a pantheon cooperate? Can we reel in other creatures from that religion like Atlas from the Greeks and Leviathan from the Norse? If the answer to both of those, you'd have to go with the Norse.
I vote no because that would mean you can't treat the gods as characters of their own stories, which have already been written.

The Greco-Romans are infamous for their egos, hissy fits, and jealous and competitive natures. If they were attacked, they would be hindered by their inability to work together.

The Norse are infamous for their conflicts with other spiritual beings. Some of their neighbors, like the Vanir, would probably put that aside and fight with them, but the rest would either stay out of it or possibly even side with the attackers.

The Egyptians get into fights about who gets to claim to be king of all the gods, but for the most part they are famous for working in teams -- as in the bureaucratic process of the Judging of the Dead. (They reflect the organization of Egyptian society.) As such, they are the most organized and professional, if you will, of the pantheons. That alone gives them an advantage.

And frankly, I think their appearance might even freak out the other gods a bit. How would you like to see that ghastly menagerie coming at you in chariots with spears and arrows?

Funny thing with the Egyptian gods...if you know their names...they can't hurt you.

Book of the dead FT(norse)W!
Funny thing with the Norse gods... if you get them drunk enough, they forget they hate you and go take a nap. :p

Yeah, but he won't be waking any time soon. As long as he only dreams we may still reap some joy from our short and miserable lives. Didja see the first episode of nightmares and dreamscapes? Best Cthule I've ever seen. It cost me 5 sanity points, but it as worth it.



Exept they aren't united at all. Each controlled their own city, and each time one became more powerful then the rest they added Ra to their name, and called themselves the one true god, and their loyal servant the next god king.
And that makes them different from the other pantheons how? Yeah, sure, they've each got their own little territories, but when it comes to things like Judging the Dead, managing the stars and the Nile, and other cosmological world-ordering stuff, they work together. Not like some big happy family, but more like co-workers in some giant organization. They show up, do their jobs and go back to their feifdoms at the end of the day.

Egyptians I guess...Greeks were also good. Rmans should be sued for copyright infringement. Norse...well our days are named after them. Thor is cool...

<snip>
War Goddeses are all well and good, but they had the same problem Mars had. (which is probably why I don't see anyone arguing for Mars here).
Well, duh, they're war deities.

They're bloody crazy, attacking allies nearly as often as enemies.

PMS is our friend. By "our" I mean women, of course.

This is a joke right? Loki slept with more of the other gods wives then, well I think he actually may hold the world record for adultery.
Right, and the rest of them were models of chastity. [/sarcasm]

You're saying because someone else ridculed Loki, Odin broke his word? They didn't kill annnnnnnnny of Loki's children until the final battle had begun. Tyr lost his bloody hand because Loki couldn't discipline his kids, and they had to tie the bloody thing up. Fenris did not get bound by a lie, the offered Tyr's hand as collateral, and he kept said colllateral.
Odin broke his word to Loki BY NOT STANDING UP FOR HIM, since they were blood brothers and all. Plus, the other gods violated their code of honor by ridiculing Loki for something he did to help them. Plus, Odin violated his code of honor by making a bad deal with the Jotun mason and then trying to weasel out of paying him.

As for Loki's children, Odin did not wait to see if they would commit any crimes before taking action against them. He just took one look at them and said, "Nope, they look way too dangerous; better nip 'em in the bud." Considering they were the children of his blood brother, that was another offense against Loki.

Seriously, have you actually read any of the Norse myths? The dishonorable actions of the gods is the very thing that seals their fate by laying the groundwork for Ragnarok.

Are you actually calling Tyr dishonorable? He gave his bloody hand away rather then use deceit!
Tyr is part of a small core of Norse gods who do not commit dishonorable deeds. Baldur and Thor, also, and a few other I can't remember at the moment. In the myths, their honorable characters are highlighted against the dishonor of the other gods, including Odin. In this way, the myth cycles serve as cautionary reminders that honor comes from within. There is no rank or status that confers honor -- even the highest god forgot his own honor when it served his purposes.

Odin broke his word to Loki.... once. Unfortunately the norse high god's word was kind of important.
And that would be why it matters.

But what choice did Odin have? Loki killed... the nicest guy to ever walk the earth, out of spite. Odin made a mistake to ever trust Loki at all. He was not wise in his youth.
I advise you to read the myths again, with a little less hero worship and a little more literary criticism. Whether it was a mistake to swear brotherhood with Loki or not, Odin did it and that bound him in obligation to Loki. Was Loki untrustworthy? Of course he was. He was the trickster, the god of evil fortunes, for crying out loud. What did they think he would do when they played their little Things-That-Won't-Kill-Baldur game, aka Russian-Roulette-With-Someone-Else's-Life? Can we say tempting fate, kids? Loki's actions were not only predictable but inevitable under the circumstances. I would remind you that Loki was not bound for the killing of Baldur. He was bound for his performance of insulting, ill-timed, truth-telling at the feast of -- dammit, what's his name? That sea giant.

Loki's nature was what it was, but if it wasn't something Odin wanted to be friends with that was tough shit on Odin -- because he gave his word.

The Greeks were the best because they had a party god- Dionysus. :D

The Greeks were the best because they had a party god- Dionysus. :D

Thats Hathor to the Egyptains (and theres like 10 more that have to do with fertility). She's the Mother (esp. to kings); love; fertility; sexuality; music; dance; alcohol; sky; Byblos; turquoise; faience.

What about Japanese kami? They might be able to win through sheer numbers.

Well, if you want to be stupidly literal about fairy tales, he beat the crap out of the Norse gods, too, and every other god in any culture that converted to either Christianity or Islam, since they worship the same god as the Jews.

Except, of course, that this is a battle between PANTHEONS. The monotheists' god isn't part of the picture, so we don't need to give a shit about him. :rolleyes:

As for who's magic kung-fu is best -- the Egyptians embraced magic and used it extensively and had many gods who were experts. The Aesir thought magic was gay (apparently) and talked down about gods who did it, so they have fewer experts and their experts are often alienated by the Aesir. The only exception is that the Norse gods are into divination -- so they'll be able to predict how bad the Egyptians are going to kick their asses. :p


Not so dear lady. When he mentioned that Baldur was out of play due to his being dead that brings into play the fact that Yahweh beat the crap out of the Egyptian pantheon due to Moses. Therefore all their gods were as dust in the desert.

If you take the contest in regards to survivability then the Norse still when as the Romans Gods ate the Egyptians(Julius Caesar) then were defeated later by the worship of a nice Yahweh. The Norse therefore outlasted the Roman Gods. Either way you slice it the Egyptians are dead. Game Over man.

Not so dear lady. When he mentioned that Baldur was out of play due to his being dead that brings into play the fact that Yahweh beat the crap out of the Egyptian pantheon due to Moses. Therefore all their gods were as dust in the desert.

If you take the contest in regards to survivability then the Norse still when as the Romans Gods ate the Egyptians(Julius Caesar) then were defeated later by the worship of a nice Yahweh. The Norse therefore outlasted the Roman Gods. Either way you slice it the Egyptians are dead. Game Over man.

This is the last time I'm going to say this; this is the battle of the PANTHEONSForget Christianity, Judaism, etc. Also, I have said this before, stop mentioning other religions. The poll only includes 3 pantheons, thats all there is; nothing else, zip; nada. Also, forget their followers and what they did. Its the battle of the gods. There is no land, this is on a different plain of existance (so to speak). All you do, is think of what you know of the gods and what they can do, not their influences on the world.

Now that thats over with, Im wondering what the outcome would've been if I never included the Norse Pantheon. How many of you Norse voters would've voted for the Egyptians, and those for Greek/Roman?

Where are the Sumerian gods? Well since I don't have the choice I'll go with Norse.

What a good game show this would make!

What a good game show this would make!

It's been done, many many many times, in a thousand different formats.

Not so dear lady. When he mentioned that Baldur was out of play due to his being dead that brings into play the fact that Yahweh beat the crap out of the Egyptian pantheon due to Moses. Therefore all their gods were as dust in the desert.

If you take the contest in regards to survivability then the Norse still when as the Romans Gods ate the Egyptians(Julius Caesar) then were defeated later by the worship of a nice Yahweh. The Norse therefore outlasted the Roman Gods. Either way you slice it the Egyptians are dead. Game Over man.
A) Huh? Grammar counts, V, so if my answer is off the mark, it's your own fault.

B) Gods are immortal. The Egyptian gods are especially immortal because when you kill them, they come back. Most of them are self-created/self-creating, having emerged from chaos by the spontaneous occurrence of their own central thought -- it's an Egyptian thing, don't worry about it. Also, I would have thought you'd have noticed that the Norse and Greco-Roman gods also come and go freely between this world and the world of the dead. Death means nothing to these gods. So, for the purposes of this battle, none of the gods are dead.

C) Where are you getting this the god of Moses killed the Egyptian gods thing? I never read that. I learned it as the god of Moses was stronger than the Egyptian gods, as evidenced by the fact that Moses's magic trumped Pharoah's. I didn't hear anything about killing gods in the Moses story. Are you trying to tell us that, after releasing the Jews from bondage, the Egyptians didn't believe in their own religion anymore? Nonsense. That "as dust in the desert" thing was just talkin' smack.

D) What part of battle between pantheons do you not get? Who gives a rat's ass if any of these gods are stronger or weaker than a god who is NOT IN THE BATTLE? This is between the Norse, the Egyptians, and the GrecoRomans. Period. The way you keep bringing up this supposed Yahweh thing, you seem to be implying that if he could beat the Egyptians, then anybody can. Are you implying that Yahweh is weaker than the Norse and GrecoRoman gods?

Look, I'm a pagan and all, but nevertheless, for the purposes of this thread, let's consider this battle as if it's like pee-wee hockey. In this context, to single out the Egyptians for getting beat by Yahweh is kind of like saying that one bunch of six-year-olds couldn't beat an NHL team but implying that the other bunches of six-year-olds could.

The Dark God Anubis is friggen asweome. Anyone seen the Mummy movies? He can take peoples souls, has a huge army of warriors and has a oasis.
Pfft. Every Norse soldier who had ever died in battle, as well as every Norseman ever slain by a spear, served in Odin's army where they would practice until Ragnarök. And since Ragnarök hasn't happened yet, we can safely assume that he has at least a couple of hundred soldiers who have trained combat for 1200 years.

And, of course, Mjölnir would crush Anubis' skull before he could even growl.

And the religion is popular because it doesn't stink of the whole "holier than thou" concept; the Norse gods are very human-like, with their own flaws and problems. We can relate to them.
And mead!

And to answer the guy whom the quote was directed to:

You do know that the first christian missionaries (and the second,third etc.) were offered to the Norse gods, right? They considered them to be heathens, and so offered them to the gods to appease them. It wasn't very popular for a hundred years or so.

At the risk of... well... either encouraging or killing this thread, anyone interested in one-on-one duels?

For a first round card, say, Thor vs Sekhmet?

At the risk of... well... either encouraging or killing this thread, anyone interested in one-on-one duels?

For a first round card, say, Thor vs Sekhmet?

Sekhmet? Do you mean gentle Hathor? Look Thor is a friggin Juggernaut. If you somehow manage to kill him, you will be so wounded in the process Thors baby boy could finish you.

Pfft. Every Norse soldier who had ever died in battle, as well as every Norseman ever slain by a spear, served in Odin's army where they would practice until Ragnarök. And since Ragnarök hasn't happened yet, we can safely assume that he has at least a couple of hundred soldiers who have trained combat for 1200 years.

And, of course, Mjölnir would crush Anubis' skull before he could even growl.

I said no f*cking followers (pardon my language). Unless each Norseman is individualy worshiped as a god, he is not involved.

And you thinking a hammer could kill Anubis is greatly misguided. Nuff said :p

Sekhmet? Do you mean gentle Hathor? Look Thor is a friggin Juggernaut. If you somehow manage to kill him, you will be so wounded in the process Thors baby boy could finish you.

No he means Sekhmet. She is The god of "Power" basicly. War in many cases. She is also the daughter of Re. Now thats one bad girl :D

The Norse. I mean, just look at the people they represent.

I've always been partial to Greek mythology. I say Greek, and not Greek/Roman, because there are differences between the two. Many of the Gods remain virtually the same, but Greek mythology has a different tone than Roman mythology.

Just out of curiosity, are we counting both sides of the pantheon here? I mean, no offense to Hermes/Mercury, but when it comes to trickster god, he is totally outclassed by Loki.

If it helps, just think of one or the other. I just mentioned both Greek and Roman because they are the "same" gods in general. I know there are differences, but it was just to prevent those saying, "What about the Roman Pantheon, they are better than the Greeks..." yad yada.

I still can't belive the Greeks beat the Egyptians, so far. Its Baffling! :confused:

If it helps, just think of one or the other. I just mentioned both Greek and Roman because they are the "same" gods in general. I know there are differences, but it was just to prevent those saying, "What about the Roman Pantheon, they are better than the Greeks..." yad yada.

I still can't belive the Greeks beat the Egyptians, so far. Its Baffling! :confused:

Feh, Norse is winning, as it should be. Screw second place.

No he means Sekhmet. She is The god of "Power" basicly. War in many cases. She is also the daughter of Re. Now thats one bad girl :D

The Egyptian gods seemed to have a habit of merging. Sekhmet got tamed to gentle Hathor, combined with Bast, etc.

The greeks/romans beat everyone else, so their gods are clearly superior.

Egyptian!

You know Lady Liberty - she's Isis.

The greeks/romans beat everyone else, so their gods are clearly superior.

By that argument, the goths sacked rome, so clearly the Norse god's are superior.

Anyways, the Egyptian gods are too confusing with their whole Pharoh thing.

By that argument, the goths sacked rome, so clearly the Norse god's are superior.That was after the roman empire converted to Christianity, wasn't it? And weren't the Goths also christian then? Their leader Alaric was in any case.

(And as a sidenote, I'd hardly call it a sacking. If Rome was properly sacked there'd have been a lot more destruction than there was.)

That was after the roman empire converted to Christianity, wasn't it? And weren't the Goths also christian then? Their leader Alaric was in any case.

(And as a sidenote, I'd hardly call it a sacking. If Rome was properly sacked there'd have been a lot more destruction than there was.)

You brought up the Roman empire beating everyone else. It was until after the strange marriage of Christian and Roman thought occurred that they made much inroads into Scandinavia.

Before that time the vikings freely plundered anything that could be reached by longship, and periodically setup little proto viking kingdoms in places they especially liked or wanted tribute from.

Anyways, the Egyptian gods are too confusing with their whole Pharoh thing.

Whats confusing to you: his divinity, five names, or crowns, beards, what?

The king's father (and thus by definition the deceased king) was identified with Osiris. His birth name, however, was introduced with "Son of Re" (Sa Re). Later, they claimed to be the offspring of Amun, the king of the gods. They still used "Son of Re" because at this time he merged with Amun, making Amun-Re. And because Horus was the son of hathor, she is identified as the mother of the kings.

1. Name given at birth
2. "He of the Sledge and the Bee"
3. "He of the Two Ladies"
4. "Horus"
5. "Golden Horus"

2&3: The Kings rule over two lands that had been united.
4&5: Emphasize hid identification with the god.

A civilization that puts so much work into making their leader be as great as someone can be must rock, and thats just common knowledge, its a lot deeper.

Sekhmet? Do you mean gentle Hathor? Look Thor is a friggin Juggernaut. If you somehow manage to kill him, you will be so wounded in the process Thors baby boy could finish you.
No, I mean Sekhmet, as in:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sekhmet

From the article:

Sekhmet was seen as the more vicious of the two war goddesses, the other, Bast, being the war goddess of Lower Egypt. Consequently it was Sekhmet who was seen as the Avenger of Wrongs, and Scarlet Lady, a reference to blood. As the one with bloodlust, she was also seen as ruling over menstruation.
Her name suits her function, and means (one who is) powerful, and she was also given titles such as (One) Before Whom Evil Trembles, and Lady of Slaughter. Sekhmet was believed to protect the pharaoh in battle, stalking the land, and destroying his enemies with arrows of fire, her body being said to take on the bright glare of the midday sun, gaining her the title Lady of Flame. Indeed it was said that death and destruction were balsam for her heart, and hot desert winds were believed to be her breath.
The emphasis is added to help some people get over any "but she's a girl!" qualms.

So, head to head:

Thor has his hammer, his strength, his berserker rage, and those two nasty goats of his.

Sekhmet has fire, heat, an insatiable lust for blood and destruction, and the claws, teeth, and aggression of a lion.

Thor is a thunderstorm. Sekhmet is the burning desert sun.

Who wins? I say Sekhmet, obviously, if only becuase her rage will outlast Thor's.

Unless there's a bar open. in which case they'd both end up snoring under a table.

No, I mean Sekhmet, as in:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sekhmet

From the article:


The emphasis is added to help some people get over any "but she's a girl!" qualms.

So, head to head:

Thor has his hammer, his strength, and his berserker rage.

Sekhmet has fire, heat, and an insatiable lust for blood and destruction.

Thor is a thunderstorm. Sekhmet is the burning desert sun.

Who wins? I say Sekhmet, obviously, if only becuase her rage will outlast Thor's.

Unless there's a bar open. in which case they'd both end up snoring under a table.

Nah. Thor is a thunderstorm. Sekhmet takes on the appearance of the sun.

The Egyptian gods seemed to have a habit of merging. Sekhmet got tamed to gentle Hathor, combined with Bast, etc.
Incorrect. See that Wiki article I linked to. Sekhmet was originally the angry aspect of Hathor, but LATER, became a separate deity with her own cult. Sekhmet was not tamed. Hathor was tamed by letting go of her Sekhmet aspect.

Nah. Thor is a thunderstorm. Sekhmet takes on the appearance of the sun.
Silly person. Thor is not literally a thunderstorm, or else he'd only live for a few hours at a time at most and then just fade away into nothing when he got tired. His powers are the powers of the storm -- very impressive. Sekhmet's powers are the powers of the midday sun in the desert -- just as lethal and longer lasting than the storm.

Read the myths. It's all there, in the literary art of them. Thor's rage is a sudden blast of berserker strength, leveling all before it and then subsiding. When he's not angry, he's no threat to anyone. In fact, he's a great guy and a fertility god, at that.

Sekhmet's rage is a continually simmering cauldron of hate and bloodlust that must be held in check by the will of Re and the appeasement rituals of her priests, to keep war from breaking out. When she lets loose, she so saturates the land in violence, death, and suffering that she is seen as oppressive and terrible. People are afraid to leave their houses.

Thor's rage, like the storm, will play itself out and disappear. Sekhmet IS her rage. It never ends, never abates, never goes away. Even the other gods can't stop her when she really gets going. She can only be stopped by making her drunk until she passes out and then keeping her well buzzed, and even then, she has to be tricked with beer dyed red to look like blood.

the norse are constantly preparing for a giant battle that will end the world and everyone will be killed. they have way more magic items and Thor is like Zues except way better. he has a belt of strength despite alredy being monstrously strong and a hammer that represents lightning that always returns to him when he throws it.

Hmm... I prefer the Greek Pantheon, but, in strength, the Norse would win. But considering Loki is a sly trickster, he may turn against his own... and the Egyptian's had less war-like gods and spent more time fighting each other than any greater evil. So, I side with.... the Norse.

The Greco-Romans have no loyalty to each other; each god is out for him/herself, even under common threat.

Normally this is true but the Greek gods worked well together and with heracles to defeat the Giant invasion and to beat up the titans

That's true. And it's mostly the Greek godesses who are out bitching each other :p

But Heracles didn't help beat the titans... not while he was still living, surely (this is before Hera decided to get real nasty.) the battle with the Titans happened long before Heracles's time... am I right? Maybe I should start reading my book on Mythology again :)

That's true. And it's mostly the Greek godesses who are out bitching each other :p

But Heracles didn't help beat the titans... not while he was still living, surely (this is before Hera decided to get real nasty.) the battle with the Titans happened long before Heracles's time... am I right? Maybe I should start reading my book on Mythology again :)
You are right. Defeating the Titans was one of Zeus's first accomplishments, with his brothers, Hades and Poseidon, I think it was. The rest of the pantheon mostly did not exist at that time.

As for who was bitching out whom, I'd also point out that Hephestus hated Ares for cheating with Aphrodite -- your arms maker at odds with your war god? Hm. Also, Hades didn't like Ares much, either -- death doesn't even like war; that Ares must have been a major jerk. And Poseidon and Zeus had a major falling out at some point and often warred with each other -- and their various children and pet monsters and heroes carried on the feud by fighting with each other, too. Zeus, the sky god, and Poseidon, the sea god, were generally considered to be close in power -- some say they're even equal (mostly Poseidon supporters, admittedly).

There are quite a few instances in Greek myths of one god refusing to help another because of some longstanding or even momentary feud.

Hmm... I prefer the Greek Pantheon, but, in strength, the Norse would win. But considering Loki is a sly trickster, he may turn against his own... and the Egyptian's had less war-like gods and spent more time fighting each other than any greater evil. So, I side with.... the Norse.
The Egyptians didn't have fewer war gods. Most of their gods had war aspects, especially those that were the patron deities of one or another city, kingdom or dynasty. Plus they had a couple of gods who specialized in war. Haven't you noticed all those quotes about Sekhmet, for crying out loud?

Also, where in the myths did they spend time fighting each other? There is the fundamental conflict between Osiris and his brother Set which becomes the foundation for the Egyptian concept of good/evil, light/dark, and Set, being the god of darkness and evil, causes trouble for other gods here and there, but not that often as far as I know. Plus, I think I've read a few stories about this or that god not getting along with each other due to their natures being too different, but that's about it. Do you have any myths that tell otherwise?

You are right. Defeating the Titans was one of Zeus's first accomplishments, with his brothers, Hades and Poseidon, I think it was. The rest of the pantheon mostly did not exist at that time.

As for who was bitching out whom, I'd also point out that Hephestus hated Ares for cheating with Aphrodite -- your arms maker at odds with your war god? Hm. Also, Hades didn't like Ares much, either -- death doesn't even like war; that Ares must have been a major jerk. And Poseidon and Zeus had a major falling out at some point and often warred with each other -- and their various children and pet monsters and heroes carried on the feud by fighting with each other, too. Zeus, the sky god, and Poseidon, the sea god, were generally considered to be close in power -- some say they're even equal (mostly Poseidon supporters, admittedly).

There are quite a few instances in Greek myths of one god refusing to help another because of some longstanding or even momentary feud.

Well, Zeus won the sky on a roll of the dice, if I remember correctly. And yeah, Ares was a coward, a bully, and a jerk. Which is why the Norse are better. Tyr stuck his hand in Fenris's mouth so he could be chained. And yes, Fenris bit it off.

Well, Zeus won the sky on a roll of the dice, if I remember correctly. And yeah, Ares was a coward, a bully, and a jerk. Which is why the Norse are better. Tyr stuck his hand in Fenris's mouth so he could be chained. And yes, Fenris bit it off.
What does that have to do with the way the Greek gods feud with each other? I agree that Tyr is a better person than Ares, but I don't see how that alone means much in the context.

Unless, you're proposing a duel between Tyr and Ares? Then I'd bet on Tyr, hands down.

What does that have to do with the way the Greek gods feud with each other? I agree that Tyr is a better person than Ares, but I don't see how that alone means much in the context.

Unless, you're proposing a duel between Tyr and Ares? Then I'd bet on Tyr, hands down.

Hand down. :p

Just hammering home the point that Norse gods are better than Greek. Not to you in particular, maybe, but in general.

Incorrect. See that Wiki article I linked to. Sekhmet was originally the angry aspect of Hathor, but LATER, became a separate deity with her own cult. Sekhmet was not tamed. Hathor was tamed by letting go of her Sekhmet aspect.

Incorrect, keep reading the rest of the same article. I actually knew nothing about Sekhmet, I looked her up there before I posted anything about her.

"
In the myth, however, Sekhmet's blood-lust lead to her destroying almost all of humanity, so Ra tricked her into drinking beer coloured with red ochre so that it resembled blood, making her so drunk that she gave up slaughter and became the gentle Hathor once more.
"

"Sekhmet, as a form of Hathor, was seen as Atum's mother."

"Later, Sekhmet was syncretized with the goddess Mut, the great mother, became significant, and gradually absorbed the identities of the patron goddesses, merging with Sekhmet, and also sometimes with Bast."

So I guess you would have to tell me which version of Sekhmet you were talking about?

The Egyptians didn't have fewer war gods. Most of their gods had war aspects, especially those that were the patron deities of one or another city, kingdom or dynasty. Plus they had a couple of gods who specialized in war. Haven't you noticed all those quotes about Sekhmet, for crying out loud?

Also, where in the myths did they spend time fighting each other? There is the fundamental conflict between Osiris and his brother Set which becomes the foundation for the Egyptian concept of good/evil, light/dark, and Set, being the god of darkness and evil, causes trouble for other gods here and there, but not that often as far as I know. Plus, I think I've read a few stories about this or that god not getting along with each other due to their natures being too different, but that's about it. Do you have any myths that tell otherwise?

It seems to me like each Egyptian god for awhile tried to claim they were the supreme god, and they were, in their city state. As the city states warred whichever one had the most power at the moment would merge their god which whoever was last seen to be most powerful.

The egyptian gods don't even strike me as a pantheon, but rather as loner gods that compete and merge.

The Norse on the other hand marched side by side at the biggest battle ever fought, and slew all of their opponents.

Move over Nordic and Egyptian Gods, for here is Kali, who pwns you all !

http://www.people.virginia.edu/~pm9k/pop/kali.jpg

Move over Nordic and Egyptian Gods, for here is Kali, who pwns you all !

http://www.people.virginia.edu/~pm9k/pop/kali.jpg

Heh. Melee combat too limiting. Hit with lightning.

Incorrect, keep reading the rest of the same article. I actually knew nothing about Sekhmet, I looked her up there before I posted anything about her.

"
In the myth, however, Sekhmet's blood-lust lead to her destroying almost all of humanity, so Ra tricked her into drinking beer coloured with red ochre so that it resembled blood, making her so drunk that she gave up slaughter and became the gentle Hathor once more.
"

"Sekhmet, as a form of Hathor, was seen as Atum's mother."

"Later, Sekhmet was syncretized with the goddess Mut, the great mother, became significant, and gradually absorbed the identities of the patron goddesses, merging with Sekhmet, and also sometimes with Bast."

So I guess you would have to tell me which version of Sekhmet you were talking about?
Selective quoting is the cutest form of squirming. Here is the entire paragraph from the article (emphasis added):

Though Sekhmet was originally identified with Hathor, over time both evolved into separate deities because the character of both goddess were so vastly different. Later, Sekhmet was syncretized with the goddess Mut, the great mother, became significant, and gradually absorbed the identities of the patron goddesses, merging with Sekhmet, and also sometimes with Bast.
BTW, the second sentence is saying that Sekhmet became MORE important, not less, as an aspect of the great mother and a general patron goddess of the cities/kingdoms. In other words, her power and her position as protector of the Pharoah (i.e. the kingdom) increased together.

It seems to me like each Egyptian god for awhile tried to claim they were the supreme god, and they were, in their city state. As the city states warred whichever one had the most power at the moment would merge their god which whoever was last seen to be most powerful.

The egyptian gods don't even strike me as a pantheon, but rather as loner gods that compete and merge.

The Norse on the other hand marched side by side at the biggest battle ever fought, and slew all of their opponents.
It seems that way to you, huh? Do you actually have any myths that show the gods warring with each other? Or are you just basing it on their boastful names and titles, in which case, show me any god of any pantheon that didn't do the same.

Move over Nordic and Egyptian Gods, for here is Kali, who pwns you all !

http://www.people.virginia.edu/~pm9k/pop/kali.jpg
Maybe that's why the OP left the Hindu gods out of it. Kali shows up = game over. We're done here. :D

Selective quoting is the cutest form of squirming. Here is the entire paragraph from the article (emphasis added):


BTW, the second sentence is saying that Sekhmet became MORE important, not less, as an aspect of the great mother and a general patron goddess of the cities/kingdoms. In other words, her power and her position as protector of the Pharoah (i.e. the kingdom) increased together.

If becomign an aspect of another god was inrease to Sekhmet's power why are you bringing up? If she was some lesser god anyway...

Tell you what, how about we bust out the D&D stats for the god's avatars, and we let them rip each other apart? :)

what about the Furies Vs the Valkyries would be one of the greastest bitch fights around

what about the Furies Vs the Valkyries would be one of the greastest bitch fights around

And the Gorgons?

Hellenestic pantheon, assuming the Titans are included, wins.

Ares would be implacable, as would Cronuc, Zeus and Apollo.

And the Gorgons?

I seem to recall that they got killed...

Hellenestic pantheon, assuming the Titans are included, wins.

Ares would be implacable, as would Cronuc, Zeus and Apollo.

Bah. Ares= cowardly jerk.

Tyr FTW!

I also seem to remember something about Cronus currently being chopped up into little bitty bits.

I want to vote Norse right now, considering they're supposed to destroy the world.

Hellenestic pantheon, assuming the Titans are included, wins.

Ares would be implacable, as would Cronuc, Zeus and Apollo.

If you're going to count the Titans then we can count the Jotuns, and they can kick the Titans ass any day. The Fenris wolf and Jormunundgr are perhaps the worlds most formidable opponents.

If becomign an aspect of another god was inrease to Sekhmet's power why are you bringing up? If she was some lesser god anyway...

Tell you what, how about we bust out the D&D stats for the god's avatars, and we let them rip each other apart? :)
I suggested that a while ago, but nobody took me up on it, and now I'm getting bored with this thread. If you can get some decent head to head action going, I'll show up for it.

I suggested that a while ago, but nobody took me up on it, and now I'm getting bored with this thread. If you can get some decent head to head action going, I'll show up for it.

Well what edition would you favor? All I have handy is AD&D 2nd.

Well what edition would you favor? All I have handy is AD&D 2nd.
Haha, none. I've never played D&D in my life. :)

Ok so being the resident expert on D&D I declare the Norse gods the winners.

Ok so being the resident expert on D&D I declare the Norse gods the winners.
Fine, be that way, if it makes you feel better about being an expert on D&D. :p

Fine, be that way, if it makes you feel better about being an expert on D&D. :p

It really did. I have to admit I'm a bit out of touch now. What's the current version now, 3.9999?

Norse FTW. No arguement, it just is.


Yep agreed, just because that is the truth.

It really did. I have to admit I'm a bit out of touch now. What's the current version now, 3.9999?

Thanks for the zombie thread, Mr. Necromancer.

http://localareawatch.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/night_of_the_living_dead_1.jpg

I'm just poppin' in to represent Verdigroth.


*whistles*



Hopefully i've expressed his sentiments adequately.

http://www.benoit.cc/ts/holy_necroposting_batman.jpg

BAH! Maybe someone already said it, but the Hindu gods would pwn all the mentioned gods combined... I mean, they got like 100.000 gods or something, small villages in India have their own local gods... If you could get all those working together, they would kick the shit out of all others just by sheer numbers! :cool: