DBWI: Hades Wasn't King Of The Olympians?

KingOnTheEdge

KingOnTheEdge

the greek gods were foundational to western culture and religion, and one of the most important was the King of Olympus and the lord of the cosmos- Hades. He personified the greek values of justice, patience, and kind but firm rule. But there was a period between the Mycenaeans and the Hellenistic greeks where Hades wasn't the King, instead, it seems that Zeus, his brother was, though this is up for debate due to the lack of information from the time after the bronze age collapse. Where Hades was worshipped as an Earth god with some connotations with time from Kronos, Zeus was a sky god (even more so, he was the storm god.) Before either of them, in Mycenaean Greece, Poseidon ruled as a chthonic god of earthquakes and such.

Considering that otl, all three of Kronos's sons spent a while as head honcho, and how important Hades's time in the position was, what would be some of the implications of this be if either Poseidon or Zeus remained the big god of the pantheon as Hellenism arose?

ooc: okay, otl Hades is mostly known for being the god of the underworld (and being the least shitty olympian). But when the big 3 divided the world, the earth was agreed to be split amongst them evenly. TTL, during the greek dark ages, hades lost most of his underworld association and became the main god of the earth. Whoever takes up the underworld is up to the next few posts.
 
Etruscan-enthusiast35

Etruscan-enthusiast35

I suppose Hephaestus wouldn't become the god of the underworld, which would mean that weapons and armor from the period wouldn't be nearly as good an indication of a Greek graveyard.
 
KingOnTheEdge

KingOnTheEdge

Could we see the Olympians with different families ttl? Hades and Hera were generally considered the ideals of masculinity and femininity, respectively, even if their kids like Dionysus and Demeter didnt always live up to that example.
Zeus's wife Metis was a goddess of cunning and wisdom, and their children Ares and Aphrodite were the gods of war and love.
Would apollo still be seen as Hespheastus's son, since the latter was worshipped primarily as the God of fire and the underworld more than as the god of the forge?
 

John I of Brazil

If Zeus was the main God of the Olympian pantheon, he would probably resemble more the roman God Jupiter than anything. While both divinities are related to the sky, Jupiter, being the the king of the Roman gods, is a stoic and wise father-figure to the other gods (although there are some old legends where he has also has some demigods, like Zeus, but those legends were mostly forgotten by the Romans, as they generally interpret the gods as much less flawed than the greeks did).
 
KingOnTheEdge

KingOnTheEdge

What could modern religions look like TTL? i imagine most pantheons in the post-Hellenism world would be headed by much more temperamental figures?
 
Coluber

Coluber

I don't know about this crazy scenario you're painting here. The skeevy perv in me just can't imagine Athena as anything but a goddess wearing nothing at all besides her helmet, while Odysseus just gawks at her.
 
The Militant Doberman

The Militant Doberman

Banned
KingOnTheEdge said:
the greek gods were foundational to western culture and religion, and one of the most important was the King of Olympus and the lord of the cosmos- Hades... Considering that otl, all three of Kronos's sons spent a while as head honcho, and how important Hades's time in the position was, what would be some of the implications of this be if either Poseidon or Zeus remained the big god of the pantheon as Hellenism arose?
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If Hades isn’t the King of Olympus, the myth of Hades kidnapping Hera* either doesn’t exist or is much less important overall. So you wouldn’t have a strong tradition of bridal kidnapping in the West (you’re still likely to see it in places like Caucuses Mountains, Central Asia & parts of Africa since those regions seem to have developed similar traditions independent of Greek influence). It would result in a much more female-friendly, more feminist world overall.

* OOC: based on the OTL myth of Hades kidnapping Persephone, but with Hera instead since KingOnTheEdge established that Hera is Hades’ mate TTL.
 
Alexander Helios

Alexander Helios

John I of Brazil said:
OOC: I think you are right. It seems Hades wasn't a part of the Greek mythology yet. I heard there are some theories Dionysus was also the god of death by that time.
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OOC: To avoid getting derailed, yes, Dionysus had major chthonic associations, you can see the remnants of those Mycenaean Dionysian traits in the Orphic traditions, as well as scattered connections to Zagreus (which was probably his original name, Dionysus seems like it was a title). There probably wasn’t a single death god though, the Mycenaeans associated death with the earth and rebirth, and all of the main Mycenaean deities embodied some form of that.
 

Nivek

KingOnTheEdge said:
Would apollo still be seen as Hespheastus's son, since the latter was worshipped primarily as the God of fire and the underworld more than as the god of the forge
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Techically that was an unique way greek thought of what was below earth? seems via volcano they realized fire, so that is why Apollo and Hespheastus home are a volcan and below earth respectly. Where come fire come? bottom the earth. No Roman Vulkanus either, who merged both into a single God of War,Smith and Death.
 
Liam Johnson of The Army

Liam Johnson of The Army

Dolan said:
That's because Apostle Wu Kong wouldn't ended up forming the Sun Dynasty.
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Speaking of which what do you guys think about the schism between Sino-Persian Apostolic and Korean-Japanese Catholic and Roman Orthodox Christianity.
With the Sino-Persians being called “Death Worshipper” By Korean-Japanese sect
 
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