Talk:List of fictional deities

Does anyone know the significance of the "Greater Powers" listed here? There is no explanation, and there are no links to additional information. Is this a joke? Does this section belong on this page? Can this section be safely deleted, or is it a legitimate contribution to the subject? Canonblack 18:11, 2 November 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Fails Google test; fire at will. --Merovingian (t) (c) (e) 20:43, 2 November 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Acknowledged, Lance Leader. Consider the subject terminated. (Random Annonymous, 2005 Nov 11)

Okay, new one: under the "Angel and Buffy Universe", we have listed Osiris. The list should be for deities in fictional universes, but Osiris is/was a deity in the real universe (I won't approach the subject of whether Osiris is really fictional), and the link is to the article on Osiris as he is known to us through Egyptology, etal. (although there is mention of Osiris as a character in Buffy the Vampire Slayer). The question: does Osiris belong here, since Osiris is not just a deity in a fictional universe? [EDIT] And add Sterculius under Beavis and Butthead: although used as an object of literal toilet humor, Sterculius was an actual Roman deity, so does it belong here? Canonblack 17:14, 20 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I was just on my way to add precisely the same comment. Osiris should be removed from this list, although you could include Olaf the Troll God in his place as he is loosely based on Thor (well, he's got a hammer) but as a composite would not be recognised as any creature from pre-existing mythology.

Perhaps it is just the distinction between 'fictional' and 'mythological' which needs to be more clear? I'd suggest that if a character is loosely based on a pre-existing myth (as happens frequently in Buffy and Angel), they can be included. If they are importing characters from genuine mythology (as with Osiris, who is a recognised name in Egyptology and has many similar characteristics to the ones attributed to him in Buffy) then they should be removed from this list.

The other alternative might be to change the list, something like 'list of fictional and mythologgical characters'? That would allow for characters like Olaf to be included as he falls between the two. Curiousbadger 14:53, 30 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Sorry for the delay; been having major computer problems at home (although I've been contributing haphazardly from work).

I'm not sure I agree that Olaf is loosely based on anything, I think he's meant to be a generic pseudo-Medieval warrior demi-god type. He certainly doesn't exhibit the powers of Thor (who, mythologically, controlled the weather and slew giants/trolls with a hammer even he couldn't lift without special equipment), although he is similar in some ways to the Marvel Comics Thor (who wields a big hammer no one else can use and summons lightning). The two Thors are not the same, although the comics version is obviously based on the mythological one, there are many differences (the comic writers didn't feel it necessary to adhere to the actual myths). The hammer isn't distinctive enough to link Olaf to any particular mythological entity; most smithing deities (Vulcan, Hephaestus, etal.) were depicted with hammers. Trolls, though specific to Norse and Finnish mythologies, were superhuman but not gods and were often the opponents of the gods. Olaf is more of a slapdash strongman character, not really a pastiche of any one mythological character.

A distinction between "fictional" and "mythological" is important, and that's what I thought the purpose of this page is. I don't think blending the two together is very useful, and I'm not sure that Olaf would fall into a middle ground. He is, IMO, entirely fictional. Fiction loosely based on or inspired by mythology is still fiction; you'll never find archaeological evidence of a cult that worshipped Olaf. But, like Wikipedia, we could distinguish between the mythological and fictional versions of a deity just as Wikipedia distinguishes between the mythological and comics versions of Thor. However, I think that treating Olaf like a fictional version of Thor is based on a pretty tenuous link.

So I guess I've just convinced myself that Osiris actually does belong here, as a fictional character based on the mythological Osiris. ;\ Canonblack 11:46, 6 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

How about two sub-sections (or whatever the appropriate term is); one for "fictional deities" and a second for adapted/adopted/derivative (what's the best encyclopedic phrase?) deities? Curiousbadger 12:07, 6 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Sorry, I really got off track with the Olaf vs. Thor aspect, and confused myself in the process. I didn't really mean we should distinguish between "fictional" and "mythological" (or adapted) within this list, I mean we should consider carefully whether an appearance in fiction is really fictional or just an occurance of the mythological entity, which is what you stated in the second paoragraph of your previous message. I question whether making a distinction between adapted and purely fictional is really useful, or whether it will just confuse later editors who may then add names to the wrong section of the list. Definitely, if the deity is modified to fit the fictional universe (as with Buffy and Angel and Marvel's Thor, etal.) it belongs here; if it's just the unadulterated mythological being (as Osiris might be), then it doesn't. Canonblack 19:30, 6 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Oops, before I saw this reply, I had already been a bit too bold and made subsections for them. Tell you what, I'll do some revision this weekend (ah, my life is so hard, I have to spend a weekend watching Buffy and Angel) and see if these subsections make sense and come back and edit them/discuss further if they don't?

I still think that because the entire 'Buffyverse' is fictional, any represented deities within it should be classed as fictional too (for the purpose of this list), but there should be a distinction made between entirely fabricated characters and ones that are wholly pinched/only slightly tweaked from myth and legend... Curiousbadger 09:49, 13 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Merger

I suggest this be merged into List of deities, since that page seens to serve the same purpose, listing fictional deities.

Support. In all seriousness. All deities were "created" by someone. Having a list of fictional deities implies that there are other real deities. And, as I think we all know, there is absolutely no way to prove that a deity exists. At the very least, this article should be retitled to something that doesn't inherently assume the existence of what is impossible to prove. 71.122.65.34 (talk) 14:46, 3 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Rename Perhaps to "List of deities in fiction" or similar. Merging with List of deities would just be confusing for most readers. While all deities are fictional their worship in the real world isn't. --Boreas ^Talk 15:43, 15 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Rename seconded I agree, rename the section as a "list of deities in fiction", since we all know that all deities are fictional anyway (so the "Fictional Deities" title is misleading), whether or not they were made up in the real world or exist in a fictional story. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.130.119.129 (talk) 07:35, 3 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Can someone who knows what he/she is doing please rename this article to "List of Deities in Fiction"? The cognitive dissonance is hurting my eyes, but I don't know how to create the pages or the redirects.173.8.220.209 (talk) 23:08, 4 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Done. Abdullais4u (talk) 08:46, 16 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Valar

What is the criteria for whether a character is a god or not? If it is simply that a being is worshiped as a god by someone, then we should include the Go'a'uld and Asgard from Stargate, the Vorlons from Babylon 5 (who appear to the Drazi as their god), and many others. However, if we only include those who actually are gods in the fictioal world, then the Valar should not be included, as they were only worshiped as gods by some men, and not actually defined as gods by Tolkien in any of his canon works.

legacy of Kain

The Elder God thats exists within the legacy of kain universe should be on this list.

Individual Pages

Why do some of these deities have their own pages and others do not? It seems many pages, especially those on TES, are being deleted and others are being ignored. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Brinlong (talk • contribs) 20:56, 7 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I Can't Believe No One Mentioned This Yet......

What about Dragonball Z? They've had The North Kai, South Kai, East Kai, West Kai, Grand Kai, Supream Kai and Elder Supream Kai. If this counts, there also were Guardians of earth like, Kami and Dendai(Dendai might be spelled wrong)and also the Eternal Dragon that grants a certain number of wishes to anyone that summons him. If a diety is counted as just a magical being, then every good and evil character from the entire series should be counted as well. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.73.54.199 (talk) 21:39, 4 February 2008 (UTC)[reply]

pokemon missing

latias/latios and mewtwo 24.226.77.23 (talk) 12:34, 14 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Fixed now. 24.226.77.23 (talk) 12:52, 14 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Yaweh? Allah?

Surely all deities are fictional. Why aren't Yaweh, Allah, etc. included in this list? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Pappa (talk • contribs) 17:36, 13 August 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Because they are asociated with acutal reality, their worshipped in the real world. While the beings on this list were made up in various games, and fastasy & fiction novels, television programmes, etc. Don't worry though, you can put the name of Allah or Yaweh on the List of Deities that list is for the deities of the real world. You'll also find their names on Names of God. I hope this helps you.

Slaves to Armok II: Dwarf Fortress and Shaman king entries got mixed up.

"There are also Five Grand Elemental Spirits[15] that formed from the Great Spirit itself. Each are controlled by their respective Elemental Warriors (or Shamans of great power). These spirits are:

   * Spirit of Fire
   * Spirit of Rain
   * Spirit of Earth
   * Spirit of Wind
   * Spirit of Thunder

"

I'm fairly sure this bit of the Dwarf Fortress entry belongs under the Shaman king one. Particularly considering that [15] links to the Shaman king wikia. —Preceding unsigned comment added by DeimosTheOdd (talk • contribs) 18:39, 27 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

no no it doesn't. Those links connect to a wikia designed specificly for the shaman king manga/anime. I'm not sure what Slaves to Armok is but its possible it has its own wikia. Look around.