Mythology of Tragedy

Have you ever seen a creature with tentacles on its mouth like a mustache? One such creature, Cthulhu, is a symbolic character of Cthulhu mythology, created by H.P. Lovecraft. Cthulhu was named the official name for this cosmic mythology when supporters of Lovecraft organized all of his series and named this mythology after that creature. Yet, Cthulhu mythology not only includes deities created by Lovecraft, but other deities that were written by other writers as well. This mythology doesn’t exactly tell the story of how the world was created, or how each deity was created. Instead, this mythology shows the gradual revelation of the deities to humans as protagonists in each story goes deeper into the mystery surrounding the deities. Cthulhu mythology  portrays the story of many investigators and  citizens who witnessed these deities and describe them as gods of a cult.

The Cthulhu mythos is dark, vicious, and bizarre – triggering the inherent fear that humans have. Creatures and deities in this mythology usually take the form of aquatic creatures such as fish and octopuses or exotic shapes with thousands of eyes on their body. This story led to the beginning of a new genre – cosmic fantasy – and inspired many games, novels, and movies, which could be how Cthulhu might have appeared in the game you might be playing. Cthulhu mythos has many deities and entities as it has many novels, categorized as three hierarchies of gods: the Outer Gods, the Great Old Ones, and the Elder Gods.

The highest class of gods are the Outer Gods, which are the greatest and the most invincible ones. As the name ‘Outer’ God suggests, they don’t stay on earth but rather dwell in the outskirts of the cosmos. Consequently, their interaction with humans is infrequent. There is not much information about them, because they are seldom mentioned in the stories. Unlike most gods in other mythologies, they are not deeply interested in humans. Rather, they think that humans are insignificant beings. Azathoth is the greatest among the Outer Gods, and it existed before everything started. Azathoth is portrayed as a supreme omnipotent being, which created the universe and will destroy everything. It is also called ‘the Blind Idiot God’, ‘the Daemon Sultan’, and ‘the Nuclear Chaos’, all of which  point out that Azathoth idling in the universe is perilous. The theory made inside the fandom suggests we are living in its dream, and if it wakes up, the whole universe will be destroyed.

The Great Old Ones are descendants of the Outer Gods, and they usually live on Earth and interact with humans. They appear the most in the Cthulhu mythos. When compared to other gods, the Great Old Ones are the most vicious and hostile against humans. They bring chaos as they desire to cause mayhem and disorder between humans. Cthulhu, the namesake and best-known creature from this mythology, is one of the Great Old Ones. Cthulhu is best known for its appearance – a tentacled head surmounted by a grotesque and scaly body with rudimentary wings and its enormous body. This creature has influenced many writing and games using its appearance to create suspense and horror in the depths of their story, which this character would be familiar with. 

The Outer Gods and the Great Old Ones’ actions are vicious and disordered. However, the Elder Gods are an enigmatic entity portrayed as benevolent and neutral, usually friendly to humans. As this mythology is mostly about devastating gods and the chaos they are creating, the Elder Gods are less defined in the series. Instead, they are more closely connected to dreams, in which humans encounter them. Furthermore, they are distinct entities compared to the rest of the hierarchy; unlike others, they possess human speech and form, making them more closely connected to the human world. Yet, the clarification of the Elder Gods is made by Lovecraft’s correspondents such as August Derleth who made a theory that the Elder Gods were once the Great Old Ones. Nodens, the most well-known among the Elder Gods, is portrayed in the book as a seemingly benevolent figure who offers guidance and assistance to the protagonist. ‘The Lord of the Great Abyss’ is his title, referring to the  sea or the underworld. Noden is served by the Night Gaunts, which are slick-winged and vaguely humanoid creatures.

Cthulhu mythology is a myth upon the inner fear of humans, especially eagering fear and disgust through the vivid description of the appearance of each deity and strange things that happen around them. Deities in the story are vicious and immoral yet greater being that it is described as in the human brain it is not understandable. Except the ones from each class, there are a lot of deities followed, causing much more malignant, if you want to getting deeper into the abysmal of Cthulhu mythology, I suggest ‘The Complete The Complete Cthulhu Mythos Tales’, this book is a novella collection introducing each deity or even connecting with each deity in the midst of journey of one miserable researcher or even citizens.