The Dresden Files > DF Spoilers

Nemesis and Hecate

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Yuillegan:
JB constantly says he is a lazy writer. And it strikes me if he is going to the effort to name something, he has a good reason behind it.

Now Hecate is a MINOR goddess of the Greco-Roman Pantheon. And that is interesting because considering how powerful the Faerie queens are (which are hinted to be/or highly connected to Hecate) that gives us a few options. Option A is it is because Hecate got a lot more powerful over time, or was assisted by multiple other beings (gods). This seems most likely considering a few WOJs about why the Fae became what they are. Option B is that she was also much more than simply Hecate. And then there are a few other options I suppose based on the few theories about what gods are.

But if Nemesis (the Outsider contagion) is actually also the goddess Nemesis (and whatever else that might be) from Greco-Roman tradition that makes things interesting. Nemesis funnily enough is a goddess of balance, specifically Vengeance/Revenge. Eye for and eye may have first come from her.

Jim likes to use parallels a lot - and a nice counter to the Hecate (as the Queens) might be Nemesis. But then - wouldn't it make sense if Nemesis was not one being, but several? And who fits that description better than the Walkers. But even if they are not - Nemesis as an angry greek goddess getting revenge make some sense. Certainly one female vs another female is quite.. poetic (for want of a better word). It has a certain symmetry.

But then if that were true - where are the other gods? Jim has said some have died or faded, and some are asleep. And perhaps that is true. Hades exists but then his power apparently has not the effect it used to to have.

Something bugs me a lot about Hecate being so powerful to split into the queens (originally 3). Hecate in the myths is a powerful yet minor goddess of magic. But she isn't anywhere near on the level of Zeus or Hades etc. So if they are dead or less powerful these days - how did she come to outrank them so massively. 

So I have a theory. It is based on several WOJs - particularly the ones about how the beings don't change, just our understanding of them.

I think the Almighty is the Almighty. But to different cultures he is/was Zeus/Brahma/Ahura Mazda/Odin/Ra etc.

And there must always be a Creator/Almighty.

The Devil then, is the Devil. Angra Mainyu/Ahriman/Surt/Ymir/Apep/Apophis/Lucifer/Set etc.

Then there are the major deities Archangels/Mothers/Thor/Hades/Poseiden/Uriel/Michael/Osiris/Shiva etc. There to help govern reality.

Then there are the minor gods. Angels/Hecate/Bast/Baldr/Agni/Queens. They carry out the orders of governance and maintain smaller parts of reality.

Dragons depending on the Dragon, can be Archangel level or minor god level.

And on and on the tree goes. But I think as powerful as any being is - mortal belief in concert is very very powerful. So it changes them, based on how we mostly perceive them. And they fear that, because it changes how they interact with us. Almighty is always the Almighty, but he can't be Zeus when interacting with us. So what is left of that belief goes on being Zeus (either fading or dying) like a discarded limb it falls off the Tree that is the Creator and becomes it's own tree or it dies. Perhaps someone even picks it up and wears it, trying to gain power or influence. That is what I think Odin is - he isn't AND is the original Odin - now that Odin is not seen as the Creator he cannot be the Almighty but he can still be that mask that interacted with the world. So he can still be Odin, just not Odin (the Almighty) unless belief allows him to be again.

Thoughts?

nadia.skylark:

--- Quote ---But if Nemesis (the Outsider contagion) is actually also the goddess Nemesis (and whatever else that might be) from Greco-Roman tradition that makes things interesting. Nemesis funnily enough is a goddess of balance, specifically Vengeance/Revenge.
--- End quote ---

I'm pretty sure this doesn't work. Being an Outsider would almost certainly preclude being an Insider minor goddess.


--- Quote ---Eye for and eye may have first come from her.
--- End quote ---

I think this actually came from the Code of Hammurabi.

Yuillegan:
Perhaps. But you are assuming gods come from Inside in the first place - and we know almost zero about Outside and it's purpose/landscape.

And you may be right about the Code. Which is why I said may. Phrases can be hard to trace, and often come from more than one area (especially if a common idea)

Hankthemoose:
I really like the starting bit about Nemesis and Hecate, but it gets a bit unsteady when you extrapolate to all the other deities. They just don't share enough qualities or power level to be put into such neat boxes. Even at the height of their respective powers, many of your creator gods were not peers to each other or any monotheistic deity.

g33k:

--- Quote from: nadia.skylark on April 02, 2019, 11:32:16 AM ---I'm pretty sure this doesn't work. Being an Outsider would almost certainly preclude being an Insider minor goddess.
--- End quote ---
...
Yeah.

Unless of course "Nemesis" (the Outsider problem) has Nemfected "Nemesis" (the Greek goddess of Retribution), and we Insider's are just using "N..." as a convenient name for the Problem.

But otherwise... yeah, I think you're right (but that "unless..." is a pretty big one).
 

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