Names of the Gods
Kokuyougan
Where do you think each of the names came from?
Unendingfear
Wait, what? What does the title have to do with this? o.O And it's from the mists ^_^
Kitor
each of them refers to their names, not the gods themselves, unending.
As for the question, I remember searching wiki for them, I remember Balthazar has results, idr which others had results. May try it again later, but cba to right now
As for the question, I remember searching wiki for them, I remember Balthazar has results, idr which others had results. May try it again later, but cba to right now
Kokuyougan
Balthazar is one of the three original wisemen in the Christmas story. (Balthasar)
Lyssa, I assume, comes from the word 'illusion' or some variation thereof.
I think Dwayna comes from St. Dwynwen from the Catholic Church.
I have no idea about the others.
Lyssa, I assume, comes from the word 'illusion' or some variation thereof.
I think Dwayna comes from St. Dwynwen from the Catholic Church.
I have no idea about the others.
own age myname
I know Balthazar is used in some Shakespeare plays.
Zodiac Meteor
Grenth = Grim in a way. Both rule death.
Melandru = Me-Land-Ru, has to do with earth so it's my best bet.
Melandru = Me-Land-Ru, has to do with earth so it's my best bet.
Hoppy2429
Balthazar is a character in the Merchant of Venice ...
That's all I got
That's all I got
Konig Des Todes
Balthazar and Menzies are common names - and far more than the three wise men for Balthazar. Abaddon comes from Jewish myth. Dhuum, doom. Any others, dunno.
Captain Bulldozer
Balthazar is named after Baal of the ancient near east, (in certain ancient languages, Baal actually means "god"). The word Balthasar actually can be translated as "protected by god", and is WHY one of the three wise-men was given this name in the first place. There was also a king of ancient babalon named Belshazzar, from which the name Balthazar is derived.
Melandru, and variants of it has been used for druidic imagery in a variety of places, including several modern fantasy novels, and as such is a good name for the god of nature. Additionally, Melandrium is a genus of plant species, which probably is part of the motivation for so many variants of Melandru type names involving nature deities.
Grenth was probably partially motivated by the word Grinch, which would also explain the foes of the snowmen during wintersday. It's also, as someone else pointed out, related to the word grim, which has a host of death related imagery associated with it.
Lyssa is probabloy taken from the greek god of craziness (of the same name). Seems semi fitting for a god whose patron profession is the ultimate trickster, a mesmer.
Dwyna is most likely motivated by the Roman goddess, Diana, who was based off the greek goddess Artemis. Artemis portrayed many things, such as goddess of the hunt, goddess of chastity and goddess of fertility. Diana is also linked to Vesta, who was the roman goddess of health, home and family. The roman word for "fairy" was motivated by the name Diana as well, which could partially explain Dwyna's avatar.
Abaddon seems to be of hebrew/christian origin, and may or may not refer to an anti-christ like figure. He may also be just a fallen angel. The name, or varients of it, has come to mean "the destroyer" or "place of destruction."
Dhuum is almost certainly a reference to the under-world city of Khazad-dûm, also known as Moria, in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy.
Melandru, and variants of it has been used for druidic imagery in a variety of places, including several modern fantasy novels, and as such is a good name for the god of nature. Additionally, Melandrium is a genus of plant species, which probably is part of the motivation for so many variants of Melandru type names involving nature deities.
Grenth was probably partially motivated by the word Grinch, which would also explain the foes of the snowmen during wintersday. It's also, as someone else pointed out, related to the word grim, which has a host of death related imagery associated with it.
Lyssa is probabloy taken from the greek god of craziness (of the same name). Seems semi fitting for a god whose patron profession is the ultimate trickster, a mesmer.
Dwyna is most likely motivated by the Roman goddess, Diana, who was based off the greek goddess Artemis. Artemis portrayed many things, such as goddess of the hunt, goddess of chastity and goddess of fertility. Diana is also linked to Vesta, who was the roman goddess of health, home and family. The roman word for "fairy" was motivated by the name Diana as well, which could partially explain Dwyna's avatar.
Abaddon seems to be of hebrew/christian origin, and may or may not refer to an anti-christ like figure. He may also be just a fallen angel. The name, or varients of it, has come to mean "the destroyer" or "place of destruction."
Dhuum is almost certainly a reference to the under-world city of Khazad-dûm, also known as Moria, in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy.
Divine Ashes
In Greek Mythology, Lyssa is the Goddess of rabies and mad rage, but the name could also have originated in Krull, a movie where there were two Lyssas...one a princess and one a witch.
http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Lyssa
Abbadon is the English form of the word Avadon, which in Hebrew means Doom
http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Abaddon
Note: is this real? lmao...If your party uses the /dance emote before engaging Abaddon he will perform some warrior dance moves before slaying your entire party with the message "You got served!".
http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Lyssa
Abbadon is the English form of the word Avadon, which in Hebrew means Doom
http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Abaddon
Note: is this real? lmao...If your party uses the /dance emote before engaging Abaddon he will perform some warrior dance moves before slaying your entire party with the message "You got served!".
Konig Des Todes
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Captain Bulldozer
Dhuum is almost certainly a reference to the under-world city of Khazad-dûm, also known as Moria, in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy.
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Captain Bulldozer
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Konig Des Todes
Usually, one thing is not referenced twice in GW.
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Konig Des Todes
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Captain Bulldozer
Perhaps you've never seen anything with the name Monty Python attached? Especially something that also references a holy grail type object? There are references to it all over the place in GW...
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The 8th
Abaddon - Greek Appolyon- Angel of the Abyss. The name is uses quite often in various fictions.
Balthazar -One of the Three Wise Men in Christian mythology. Also a very commonly used name.
Lyssa - As stated above, one of a group of goddesses known as the Maniae.
Melandru - Not entirely sure. The word Melan is a Greek for "black". Dru is perhaps in reference to druids or dyrads or something similarly woodsy.
Menzies- as far as I'm aware, is a Scottish clan name.
I got nothing for Grenth or Dwayna. Dhuum and Aracnhia should be obvious.
Balthazar -One of the Three Wise Men in Christian mythology. Also a very commonly used name.
Lyssa - As stated above, one of a group of goddesses known as the Maniae.
Melandru - Not entirely sure. The word Melan is a Greek for "black". Dru is perhaps in reference to druids or dyrads or something similarly woodsy.
Menzies- as far as I'm aware, is a Scottish clan name.
I got nothing for Grenth or Dwayna. Dhuum and Aracnhia should be obvious.
paddymew
When you pronounce Melandru, it has this at the same time rough, yet softly flowing sound. Kind of like the earth.
Captain Bulldozer
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Konig Des Todes
How many times is one specific thing from Monty Python referenced though? How many white rabbit references are there? How many Black Beasts? One each, last time I checked.
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If anything, one of the horsemen of Dhuum being named Kazhad Dhuum only reinforces the fact that Dhuum is motivated (as a god of the UW who has fallen from power) by Khazad Dum (Moria... an underground power which was defeated by a single powerful entity who later claimed the domain as his own). Its too big of a parallel to ignore I'd say, but most of this thread is just speculation anyway
draxynnic
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Captain Bulldozer
To be fair, there ARE multiple references to the black beast of arrrrrrgh AND the white rabbit from Monty Python's H.G. Aside from just the creature itself, we also have an Aegis of Arrrrrgh, a mini black beast, and even a tonic which can transform you into said black beast. For the white rabbit, there's the rabbit which you follow down the rabbit hole and suddenly becomes hostile (also a reference to Alice in wonderland), there is an assassin rabbit obtained through a summoning stone, and also a mini white rabbit from the third year minis which has the same rarity as the black beast mini which certainly seems to indicate its the killer rabbit once again.
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Either way, though, claiming Dhuum is purely a reference to Khazad-Dum is a bit of a stretch - there are three other Horsemen, after all! It might get some credit if the name was chosen purely to make the puns for that quest, but it seems a very tenuous link when the simple appropriateness of an evil god of death being called "Doom" is just sitting there. Personally, I'm more inclined to believe that they came up with the name, then spotted to potential to make a reference.
Konig Des Todes
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Captain Bulldozer
To be fair, there ARE multiple references to the black beast of arrrrrrgh AND the white rabbit from Monty Python's H.G. Aside from just the creature itself, we also have an Aegis of Arrrrrgh, a mini black beast, and even a tonic which can transform you into said black beast.
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by Captain Bulldozer
For the white rabbit, there's the rabbit which you follow down the rabbit hole and suddenly becomes hostile (also a reference to Alice in wonderland), there is an assassin rabbit obtained through a summoning stone, and also a mini white rabbit from the third year minis which has the same rarity as the black beast mini which certainly seems to indicate its the killer rabbit once again.
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by Captain Bulldozer
If anything, one of the horsemen of Dhuum being named Kazhad Dhuum only reinforces the fact that Dhuum is motivated (as a god of the UW who has fallen from power) by Khazad Dum (Moria... an underground power which was defeated by a single powerful entity who later claimed the domain as his own). Its too big of a parallel to ignore I'd say, but most of this thread is just speculation anyway
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Captain Bulldozer
There's probably some truth to Dhuum being also motivated in parallel to the word Doom, as the 4 horsemen quest suggests. Still, the strongest connection to a being which rules an underworld is undoubtedly from Khazad Dum. Ghozer is likely more a reference to the fact that the horsemen are ghostly, Thulsa Doom was, at least in comic book form a necromancer (and as such has an obvious GW connection, even though Thul Za Dhuum is a mesmer), and Marduk was a dragon like deity who started as an obscure city protector but rose in popularity to become head of the sumerian pantheon (still without being specifically the god of the underworld). My guess, and its only a guess, is that Khazad Dum inspired the name Dhuum, and then they paid homage to this as well as other doom related popculture in the 4-horsemen quest. Of course, I could be way off, but as I said I think the parallel between the UW and Moria is too much to ignore. Granted, it would have been stronger if we knew the UW had a connection to dwarves, but maybe that would be too close to copyrighted material
Konig Des Todes
Aside from the Horseman, I don't see a connection with an underground location and a god of death. Going from "Name of Underground City" to "Underworld" to "Former God of Death" is a bit of a stretch. I mean, the only real connection between Moria is the Underground and undercity thing. The Balrog and Grenth are too different to be connected. And the "overtaken" idea can connect to a million things in reality and a dozen things in GW alone. Far too big of a stretch, to be honest. But that's just me.
draxynnic
Plus, the Underworld isn't underground. You can see the UW equivalent of the sky from any part of the zone.
PLus, Thulsa Doom at least seems at least as good a chance if any single one of those is where the reference comes from, even though the Horseman is depected as a Mesmer. After all, there's nothing in Moria to suggest mesmerism either.
I still think the simple Dhuum-Doom connection is more likely, though.
PLus, Thulsa Doom at least seems at least as good a chance if any single one of those is where the reference comes from, even though the Horseman is depected as a Mesmer. After all, there's nothing in Moria to suggest mesmerism either.
I still think the simple Dhuum-Doom connection is more likely, though.
Steps_Descending
I think Bulldozer summed it right for the most part... Accept for Dhuum. For that you have to admit a reference to the word Doom is jsut simpler than going to Kazad-dum (sorry for the spelling).
That means the last god whose name was pulled out of nowhere is Kormir, as she was maybe tought as a simple human NPC before being a god.
Unless someone can find a reasoning behind the name.
That means the last god whose name was pulled out of nowhere is Kormir, as she was maybe tought as a simple human NPC before being a god.
Unless someone can find a reasoning behind the name.
Guildmaster Cain
Simple:
You should stop looking at it from a observers point of view and start looking it as a inhabitant of the world of Tyria.
Dhuum might have been a normal (human) being, just like Kormir, before he became a god (usurped his predecessor, like Grenth, Abaddon and Kormir did). His mommy and daddy gave him this name Dhuum, which was a pretty popular name to give a newborn around that time.
After Dhuum became the new God of Death and the Emperor of Oblivion, The Ender of All, Omega Death and what more, his own name became a synonym to these aspects. Dhuum = Ender of All, etc. Some races/cultures/alphabets just write these words differently and somehow Dhuum became a word that means a bad ending: Doom.
In 2000 years or so, perhaps the name Kormir might be transmuted into something which the goddess is linked to, like when someone is telling the absolute truth about a matter. "I swear, it is the kromir!" (it is the absolute truth).
You should stop looking at it from a observers point of view and start looking it as a inhabitant of the world of Tyria.
Dhuum might have been a normal (human) being, just like Kormir, before he became a god (usurped his predecessor, like Grenth, Abaddon and Kormir did). His mommy and daddy gave him this name Dhuum, which was a pretty popular name to give a newborn around that time.
After Dhuum became the new God of Death and the Emperor of Oblivion, The Ender of All, Omega Death and what more, his own name became a synonym to these aspects. Dhuum = Ender of All, etc. Some races/cultures/alphabets just write these words differently and somehow Dhuum became a word that means a bad ending: Doom.
In 2000 years or so, perhaps the name Kormir might be transmuted into something which the goddess is linked to, like when someone is telling the absolute truth about a matter. "I swear, it is the kromir!" (it is the absolute truth).
Steps_Descending
From an in-universe point of view, that is the prefect solution. But we are not in-universe and we know GW is a work of fiction whose creators did put easter eggs for us to find. And they gave all the other gods names with easter eggs, so it's logi cto think they did the same with kormir if they knew she would be deitified, which they knew.
But after looking on the wiki and google... they either didn't have time or couldn't change her name in-game when they came up with the storyline.
But after looking on the wiki and google... they either didn't have time or couldn't change her name in-game when they came up with the storyline.
Guildmaster Cain
Kormir
Kormir (Cormyr) mighty human kingdom, in the north of Fejruna, laying along northern seacoasts of the Fallen Stars, between Lake of Dragons and desert Anorach. Kormir also name the Wood Country or the Earth Purple Dragon. This rich kingdom, its southern, east and northeast regions are populated with the farmers offering surpluses of a crop on sale; the central regions are filled till now by the wood rich with wood and game. Also, Kormir has the important strategic position, settling down on trading ways of leaders from cities of the Lunar sea, on the north; to the east Valleys are located; near by there is an Internal Sea (with two important ports Suzailom, capital Kormira, and Marsemberom); also the earths of the north, the West, the northwest and the south, in particular rich cities-states and kingdoms of Coast of Swords nearby lay. Kormir is the state, with a hereditary monarchy, and copes the king and city lords selected it.
(http://74.125.77.132/search?q=cache:...&ct=clnk&gl=nl)
Kormir (Cormyr) mighty human kingdom, in the north of Fejruna, laying along northern seacoasts of the Fallen Stars, between Lake of Dragons and desert Anorach. Kormir also name the Wood Country or the Earth Purple Dragon. This rich kingdom, its southern, east and northeast regions are populated with the farmers offering surpluses of a crop on sale; the central regions are filled till now by the wood rich with wood and game. Also, Kormir has the important strategic position, settling down on trading ways of leaders from cities of the Lunar sea, on the north; to the east Valleys are located; near by there is an Internal Sea (with two important ports Suzailom, capital Kormira, and Marsemberom); also the earths of the north, the West, the northwest and the south, in particular rich cities-states and kingdoms of Coast of Swords nearby lay. Kormir is the state, with a hereditary monarchy, and copes the king and city lords selected it.
(http://74.125.77.132/search?q=cache:...&ct=clnk&gl=nl)
Steps_Descending
Looks like Cain has more time to search on his hands than I do.
The relation with Cormyr is less obvious but I guess that at least means there's a writer who like Icewind Dale. Or play DnD. Or probably both.
The relation with Cormyr is less obvious but I guess that at least means there's a writer who like Icewind Dale. Or play DnD. Or probably both.
Guildmaster Cain
Yeh i have been a GWGuru regular since the old days, but after the Gods 'second exodus' in Nightfall, I decided to part this world together with them. Hence I havent shared my knowledge to the commoners for a long time.
Anyways, back to the matter; Kormir could also be a combination of 2 anagrams made from one of the two 'angels of death' or 'grim reapers' named MONKIR, whose role in Mahometan religion is to 'interrogate' newly deads.
Apparently this name is used often to make anagrams or use alternative orthography. Two 3-letter anagrams would be Kor and Mir, combined makes KORMIR.
Just my point is that if you keep looking, you will always find the 'eastereggs' the developers hid. But then again, are they really eastereggs, or did they just make up the names when brainstorming about the game? I still think the latter, but the Cormyr explanation does sound sound. It did not have to be on purpose, maybe when they were brainstorming, one of the developers that used to play DnD games subcontiously remembered the name Cormyr and thought it to sound nice.
Lore in a game like GW is easy to implement, because you just put in some vague ideas and people make up the rest on the internetforums, find eastereggs where none were intended. It keeps the players busy I guess. Occasionally they put in some vague hints like the Cyphers message, Asuran Banners or whatever. Vague hints that can be interpreted in numerous ways and when the time is to advance the story, the hints get either implemented or forgotten when they are told not to be canonical. Kinda like Arachnia. But they can always be implemented later, as long as it doesnt create holes in previous storys.
Wow that was a lot of rant, I hope I didnt disencourage people here, since I still enjoy reading others bizarre correlations of different lore subjects.
Since Nightfall is Afrika-based, maybe Kormir has something to do with African mythology...
Anyways, back to the matter; Kormir could also be a combination of 2 anagrams made from one of the two 'angels of death' or 'grim reapers' named MONKIR, whose role in Mahometan religion is to 'interrogate' newly deads.
Apparently this name is used often to make anagrams or use alternative orthography. Two 3-letter anagrams would be Kor and Mir, combined makes KORMIR.
Just my point is that if you keep looking, you will always find the 'eastereggs' the developers hid. But then again, are they really eastereggs, or did they just make up the names when brainstorming about the game? I still think the latter, but the Cormyr explanation does sound sound. It did not have to be on purpose, maybe when they were brainstorming, one of the developers that used to play DnD games subcontiously remembered the name Cormyr and thought it to sound nice.
Lore in a game like GW is easy to implement, because you just put in some vague ideas and people make up the rest on the internetforums, find eastereggs where none were intended. It keeps the players busy I guess. Occasionally they put in some vague hints like the Cyphers message, Asuran Banners or whatever. Vague hints that can be interpreted in numerous ways and when the time is to advance the story, the hints get either implemented or forgotten when they are told not to be canonical. Kinda like Arachnia. But they can always be implemented later, as long as it doesnt create holes in previous storys.
Wow that was a lot of rant, I hope I didnt disencourage people here, since I still enjoy reading others bizarre correlations of different lore subjects.
Since Nightfall is Afrika-based, maybe Kormir has something to do with African mythology...