what are all the races religions?

[ArabWarFighter]

i know that nords fellow the religion and pray for talos and that about it i know what about the other races what do they all worship?

[notmyhome]

Nordic pantheon actually is slightly different from the Imperial one. For an instance, they worship Shor and call Kynareth Kyne.

Dunmer religion is actually a matter of debate; originally, they were Daedra worshippers, but then switched to revering the Tribunal. When that was annihilated by the Nerevarine during TESIII, they seem to have changed back to their Daedra/Ancestor worship, accepting the False Tribunal as "Saints".

Bosmer are worshippers of Yffre, some kind of Ancient Spirit who gave his life to become a force of Nature. He's offered the Bosmer protection by Valenwood itself, if they agree to his Green Pact. I'm not sure, but they probably also revere any number of minor nature spirits.

Altmer religion is centered around the worship of Auri-El, basically a Mer-loving version of the Imperial's Akatosh. Also, they think themselves to be descents from Gods and want to regain their Divinity by erasing Men from Nirn. Sounds a little Eff-ed up, but seems to make sense inside TES metaphysics, although I cannot claim to know anything about that.

Redguards brought their Tall Papa with them when fleeing Yokuda. Don't know much else about their pantheon.

Argonians revere the Hist, ancient, sentient trees who create and shape the Argonians. Probably the most "tangible" divines.

Orcs worship Malacath, a Daedric Prince who apparently was created when the Elven God Trinimac was "eaten" and then "excremented" (how literal this has to be taken is unknown) by Boethia.

 

For further information, refer to The Imperial Library

[Lachdonin]

OK, here's where things get complicated... Gods... I may come back to this later, but lets just talk about the Nords hmm?

 

First off, the Nords in Skyrim are... Well, they're kinda lost. They've forgotten most of their gods, and have an awkward mix with the Cyrodiilic pantheon. So, let's go with some chronology...

 

When the Nords first reached Tamriel from Atmora, they worshipped animal totems. Wolf, Moth, Snake, Bear, Whale, Owl, Hawk and Dragon. Added to this is Shor, their God-Father and the lord of Sovengarde. Notice something here? That's right, 8 Totems, 8 Divines, and Shor makes the 9th.

 

Now, sometime after coming to Tamriel, and after the Dragon War, these totems were replaced with 'Gods'. Kyne, Mara, Dibella, Stuhn, Jhunal, Orkey, Alduin, Shor, Tsun, Ysmir, Herma-Mora and Maloch. Stuhn and Tsun are brothers, and seem to be derived from demi-god Ehlnofey who sided with Lorkhan/Shor during the Ehlnofex wars. Ysmir is 'The Dragon of the North', Orkey is generally regarded as Malacath, and Herma-Mora is clearly Hermaeus Mora. Jhunal, if memory serves, is linked to Julius. One of the stranger things in the Nordic pantheon, though, is Kyne, Mara and Dibella. They all have more war-like aspects to them, particularly Kyne. Typically Kyne is associated with Kynareth, but Kynareth is largely pacifist, whereas Kyne is a warrior woman and War-Wife to Shor. Shor requires some special note here, because he is Lorkan, but the Atmorans view him as a savoir father-figure rather than an evil trickster like the Mer.

 

The standard Cyrodiilic Pantheon appears with the formation of the 1st Empire, which converted Skyrim for a short time, though High King Wulfhearth (a Shezzarine and part of the future Talos oversoul) reinstated the Nordic pantheon, which lasted at least until the founding o the Septim Empire.

Now, in Skyrim we see something which most TES scholars see as sloppy, but i see as interesting. Nordic religion, as of Skyrim, is in a transition state similar to Britain in the mid 1st century. There is an amalgam of ideas surrounding their gods, and a merger of their pantheon with the Cyrodiilic divines, creating some odd contradictions (the Kyne-Kynareth conflict for instance). Most importantly, however, is the near total replacement of Shor with Talos, and the merger of him with Ysmir.

 

 

It should be noted that all of these gods exist. Kyne DID fight alongside Shor during the Ehlnofex Wars. Whether Kyne and Kynareth are the same Ada, separate ones or reflections of the same is still debated... I'll be back with chapter 2 later.

[notmyhome]

Isn't a little early to start throwing stuff like Shezzarines and Oversouls at OP...?

No offense meant, it's a brilliant write-up of the religious situation of the Nordic people.

[Lachdonin]

Isn't a little early to start throwing stuff like Shezzarines and Oversouls at OP...?

No offense meant, it's a brilliant write-up of the religious situation of the Nordic people.

 

Heh, yeah... But any discussion about Talos is going to boil down to Shezzarines and Oversouls. But anyway, a caveat to the above...

 

There is also the Skaal of Solsthiem. They are Nords by blood, but their religion is considerably different. The don't recognise either the animal totems, the Nordic Gods, or the Imperial gods. I'm not overly familiar with the Skaal religion myself, but it seems focused around an almost Odin like figure, the All-Maker, and his conflict with a trickster god, the Greedy Man. It may be an analogue for the Anu'iel-Sithis paradigm, but i'll have to read more.

 

Also, clerical error... Orkey is Arkay, in the guise of debt and mortality. Maloch is Malacath.

Edited July 21, 2014 by Lachdonin

[Lachdonin]

Additional caveat... The 7 Fights of the *mumbles* mentions the Aka-Tusk, the primordial time-Dragon before the mythopia did it's thing... So it seems the Nords distinguished between it, and Alduin.

 

 

 

Anyway, on to my personal favorite race... The Dunmer!

 

The Dunmer are derived from the Chimer, who were themselves the Aldmer followers of the prophet Veloth. Veloth fell into Daedra worship, primarily that of Boethia, Mephala and Azura, after Boethia revealed to him the weakness of the Aedra.

 

Boethia taught the Chimer how to be strong, Mephala taught them politics and how strike from the shadows, and Azura is something of a mother-goddess to them. At the other end of the scale, you have the House of Trouble, the rival Daedra who form the evil side of the pantheon: Mehrunes Dagon, Molag Bal, Malacath and Sheogorath.

 

Now, following the Battle of Red Mountain three Chimer achieved godhood. Almalexia, Vivec and Sotha Sil. Each of these took on the position of the former Daedra, and became the Tribunal of ALMSIVI. Almalexia-Boethia, Vivec-Mephala and Sotha-Azura. After, the Daedra became known as the Anticipations, though their worship was later outlawed. The House of Trouble remained s the evil counter to ALMSIVI.

 

Following the Blight and the rise of the Nerevarine, ALMSIVI was disposed and the Daedra reinstated, though as of Skyrim this still seems to be a contentious issue...

 

The Dinner also partake in ancestor worship, where they revere their ancestors, most of whom are interred in the great necropolis of Necrom. They also have numerous saints, mortal ancestors so great that they stand side by side with their gods.

 

3 of the most prominent saints are Veloth: the founder of the Psijic Endeavor and the prophet of the Tribune. Nerevar Indoril: first Hortator (war leader/king) of the Chimer and chosen (lover?) of Azura, also the husband of Almalexia and beloved of ALMSIVI, who died at Red Mountain. Juib: who drove the Cliff Races from Vardenfell.

[Lachdonin]

Part 3! Cyrodiil!

 

Ok, this is the 'basic' pantheon of the Divines... but it's more complicated than generally portrayed in TES.

 

In addition to the 8 (sometimes 9) Aedric Divines, Cyrods worship a number of lesser dieties and saints. Prominent amongst them are'

 

Alessia; Prophet of the Divines, Rebel Queen of Cyrodiil and 'earth goddess'. She led the revolt against the Ayleids and forged the covenant with Akatosh (who didn't actually exist yet) that lit the Dragon Fires. She then became sort of an earth-spirit, i guess like a mantle of Niri...

 

Pelinal; A war-robot from the future, sent by the gods and powered with the soul of a Shezzarine, Pelinal was Alessia's champion during the slave revolt, and was essentially genocide with legs. Not a nice fellow, but viewed as a hero by the Cyrods...

 

Reman Cyrodiil; Founder of the Second Empire, vanquisher of the Akaviri, man of unlimited libido and lover... ish of Alessia. He's kind of a patron god-king of Cyrods as a whole.

 

 

 

A note on Akatosh. Prior to the Alessian Dragonbreak, he did not exist. A sect of the Alessian Order, the Maruhkati Selective, tried to exercise the elements of Auri'el from the Alessian time-god, Akatosh (who was a cultural creation, not a fully realised entity). The result, since Akatosh didn't actually exist, was a Dragon Break which imposed the image of Akatosh over the entirety to history, while mixing elements of Lorkhan into the mix. The result has rendered the original Aka-tusk totally schitzo, because it includes two diametrically opposed gods.

[notmyhome]

A note on Akatosh. Prior to the Alessian Dragonbreak, he did not exist. A sect of the Alessian Order, the Maruhkati Selective, tried to exercise the elements of Auri'el from the Alessian time-god, Akatosh (who was a cultural creation, not a fully realised entity). The result, since Akatosh didn't actually exist, was a Dragon Break which imposed the image of Akatosh over the entirety to history, while mixing elements of Lorkhan into the mix. The result has rendered the original Aka-tusk totally schitzo, because it includes two diametrically opposed gods.

 

I'd assume that's the only reason why Akatosh could be bothered to help Martin Septim stop the Oblivion crisis? To me, Auri-El always comes across as favouring the Elves. That one would probably have helped the Altmer secure Alinor and the Crystal Tower, while laughing his ass off about Dagon stomping those pesky humans into the ground.

Or is that only what he's like according to Thalmor propaganda?

[Lachdonin]

I personally subscribe to the idea that Auri'el was an Aldmer King during the late Dawn Era, and was the first Mantle. The myth of Auri'el ascending to Aetherius was, in fact, Auri'el becoming the Aka-Tusk.

 

Similarly, Akatosh didn't intervene in the Oblivion Crisis, rather Martin BECAME Akatosh, and in the split second Akatosh was on Mundus kicked Dagon out. The only time i actually know of any of the Divines sending avatars to Mundus is during Morrowind.

[Lachdonin]

Alrighty, part 4. I'll keep this one short, because i'm mostly reading through Redguard religion right now (its really kinda out-there...) so i'll do the Argonians.

 

The Argonians worship the Hist. Done. That's it.

 

Kidding... The Hist are a species of sapient trees in Blackmarsh, one of the two groups of Et'ada who did not abandon Mundus (the other being the Ehlnofey). They exist in all times simultaneously, and so seem to have problems discerning past, present and future, except for moments which interfere with one or the other (such as the Oblivion Crisis, which literally removed the 'future').

 

The Argonians believe that they were created to serve the Hist, and that their souls are given to them by the Hist when they are born. We do learn in ESO that for an Argonian to be born without their egg being nurtured in the sap of the Hist is for them to be 'defective' and soulless.

 

The Argonians, and the Hist, also acknowledge Sithis in some manner, though we aren't exactly sure whether they view him/it as a functional god, or a natural force in the universe.