Inspired by the false gods thread, and my own username, and life in general.
I am mostly Buddhist, though I like Hinduism also, mostly because of its pantheism. I have less of a hard time believing in a pantheon of not necessarily divine beings, but of an order of magnitude above humans. I feel I have been corrupted by Neil Gaiman and Douglas Adams. I rather like their take on the gods. Not better, just different. Definitely not ones to be worshipped per se, but respected. (Or just acknowledged so that they wont mess with you too much.)
So which gods are your favorites? Fictional or mythological (or real, for how can we know?)
Here’s my top ten, most definitely not exclusive.
Thor - because he’s Thor.
Odin One-Eye - proof that gods ain’t omnipotent.
Crom - Good enough for Conan, good enough for me.
Cthulhu - bumps in the night take on all new meanings.
Ishtar - my favorite goddess of love, and very good dancer.
Bast - goddesses that can purr are always good.
Brahmā/Vishnu/Shiva - whichever incarnation he chooses for the moment.
Bast is my favorite. I have 4 cats and they make me feel close to her. I’ve also always liked Odin and Loki. The whole Ragnarok idea really appeals to me, in a nihilistic sorta way.
Thor rules, but let’s face it, the Nordic myths would have been pretty dull without Loki’s zany antics. I mean, he once got Thor to dress up in drag, for Og’s sake!
Is Murphy by any chance the god of that guy at the office who can never work the copier and who’s always losing his pen so he has to borrow yours?
Shiva, who walks around pissing off all the other gods by having matted hair and wearing nothing but animal skins and ashes. He always looks like someone out of a metal band. He’s proof that higher powers don’t have to be a bunch of fuddy-duddies.
Oh, give me Zeus and Hera and Aphrodite and Hermes and all the ancients. Great fun. Always having boisterous arguments and playing tricks on each other, sneaking off to earth to dress up as animals and schtup mortals and then turn them into shrubbery.
Gotta agree. While there’s a lot to be said for the Norse guys and gals, you just can’t beat gods who like to mess around with us and each other all the time all the time - in all meanings of the word!
Loki, especially his antics while he’s just wicked, not evil. (Shaving Sif bald - there has to be more behind that than what we’re told. That’s the action of someone with a serious grudge against the woman.)
Coyote. Who’s interesting for being several mutually incompatible dieties of the same name as one looks at the stories of different tribes. But I think my favorite take is that of the Crow.
Even without the picture, Loviator is not someone to piss off.
Krishna is interesting, too, but I can’t say I know his stories as well as the other two tricksters I’d mentioned.
