What Is Your Favorite Mythical Race?

[aronnax]

Well, angels and demons can be kind of like Gods if they have enough power. In particular, this big guy called Satan/Lucifer.

So, logically, like angels and demons, dragons can be closer to mythical beasts or Gods depending on their power, I suppose.

Cultural split!

Dragons, in some contexts of Chinese culture are seen as gods.

 

[Traitorfish]

Other- trolls, specifically the mythical and folkloric Scandinavian variety. Comes from listening to altogether too much Finntroll for my own good.

They can never get up to God's power.

Define "god". In many religions and cultures, the Abrahamic concept of "god" does not exist, and so the application of the term in the English language is far broader. In Chinese traditional religion and Taoism, for example, it is possible for an individual to attain "godhood" after death, in the manner of the legendary warrior Guan Yu, while in Japanese Shinto, the concept of "god" is at best a clumsy Western translation of a particular sub-set of spiritual entity. Even in Hinduism, a religion which is sometimes considered monotheistic, the notion of "god" is far more complex, and can refer, variously, to a menagerie of polytheistic deities, a trinity of all-powerful deities, or a single, pantheistic entity.

 

[W|M]

Demons!!!

 

[Tani Coyote]

They can never get up to God's power.

Key word = like. Satan is like a God because of his great power, but is not a God because by definition and tradition he is second to God, not equal to God.

Just because we don't see them, does not mean they don't exist. There are plenty of things we don't see, but we know exist. Not everything can be proven by science.

I'm really not going to get into a religious debate here; they are classed as mythical beings for purposes of debate. Can an atheist see/encounter these angels/demons the same way they would a tiger, bear, or other non-mythical creature? No. It could just as easily be a rush of cold wind as a spirit; therefore, they are classed as mythical.

If you don't like that, well... tough cookies.

And I say this as a spiritual person myself. But even while spiritual, I'm not so wrapped up in my faith I freak out when people label angels and demons "mythical," because that is in many ways what they would be classed as, by merit of not being proven by science.

Would "legendary" be a better term? Does it really matter? Why can't one just answer the poll instead of nitpicking over its options?

Right on. I always tell people this when I tell them that I believe in forest pixies; for some strange reason though, they still think I'm crazy.

Awww man, that's not nice at all. Where's the whole Santa Clause being akin to God crowd?

That said, I don't want this to turn into a religious debate...

Cultural split!

Dragons, in some contexts of Chinese culture are seen as gods.

Cultural split, yes, but I'm just saying you need not be omnipotent to be a god(a, not THE)... just super-potent a la Satan or some archdemon.

 

[GamezRule]

Demons!!!

 

[Traitorfish]

Demons!!!

Demons are more of a class of spiritual entity, rather than a particular variety, so that's a bit like saying "monsters" or "humanoids". After all, even in the relatively simplistic folklore of the Christian world, a "demon" can be anything from a tiny imp that causes zits to Satan himself, so they're obviously not a consistent bunch.

Also, in regards to the above picture: am I the only one who finds it slightly tragic that the weird and wonderful walking menageries of Bosch and his contemporaries have given way to the simplistic "horned devil" archetype? The older form was so much more expressive, so much more interesting. What is really more disturbing and, well, demonic, Captain Snarly Face here, or Pot-Bird-Frog-Cannibal-Man?

 

[Tani Coyote]

Demons are more of a class of spiritual entity, rather than a particular variety, so that's a bit like saying "monsters" or "humanoids". After all, even in the relatively simplistic folklore of the Christian world, a "demon" can be anything from a tiny imp that causes zits to Satan himself, so they're obviously not a consistent bunch.

I would agree, and place demons in the dark-oriented and angels as light-oriented. Keep in mind darkness and light have no meaning in terms of your personal evil/good.

Of course, what exactly angel or demon means can vary... just look at how old tradition places good things as eudemons and bad things as kekodemons.

Also, in regards to the above picture: am I the only one who finds it slightly tragic that the weird and wonderful walking menageries of Bosch and his contemporaries have given way to the simplistic "horned devil" archetype? The older form was so much more expressive, so much more interesting. What is really more disturbing and, well, demonic, Captain Snarly Face here, or Pot-Bird-Frog-Cannibal-Man?

It explains all!

 

[ParadigmShifter]

I thought Imps were Devils and not Demons.

Devils are Lawful Evil and Demons are Chaotic Evil in D&D. Daemons are Neutral Evil.

EDIT: Melniboneans summon demons though so they win.

 

[Traitorfish]

I would agree, and place demons in the dark-oriented and angels as light-oriented. Keep in mind darkness and light have no meaning in terms of your personal evil/good.

Although that itself only works in Abrahamic mythology, or that (consciously or unconsciously) derived from it; most other faiths, cultures and mythologies retain a greater deal of their animistic past, and so do not draw such stark distinctions between "good" and "bad" (or "light" and "dark" entities). Even the duality of "chaos" and "order", a more prevalent theme, is often exaggerated by later Judaeo-Christians, who have a habit of imposing their own culture upon others.

It's actually quite interesting how readily non-Christian, or at least nominally non-Christian fantasy falls into this pattern, cheerfully inserting distinctly Christian "evil demons" into otherwise polytheistic settings. Presumably they got the idea from Tolkien, without quite grasping the details by which Tolkien's setting adheres to Christian theology. They sometimes try and twist it so it's less blatantly Abrahamic- Warhammer's "Chaos" demons, for example, or Dungeon & Dragons lawful "infernals" and and chaotic "abyssals"- but it can often be a bit superficial.

It explains all!

Well, not really- Frog-Cannibal-Cooking Pot-Jerk is every pit as unpleasant as Captain Snarly Face, just less archetypal and so less "marketable", or whatever you'd call it. At least the weirdy-demons were sort of salvaged by surrealism; Dalí's depiction of the Temptation of St.Anthony is every bit as wonderfully messed up as the Bosch ( left centre right) which partly inspired it.

 

[Tycoon101]

It explains all!

Stop being gay for Abel and start being straight for Kria.

 

[ParadigmShifter]

Abel? Because his groups commute? I thought he would swing both ways.

 

[Tycoon101]

Abel? Because his groups commute? I thought he would swing both ways.

Swings about as much as a stuck double door in Leicester Square.

 

[ParadigmShifter]

But his groups commute both ways.

a*b = b*a in an Abelian group.

 

[bombshoo]

I like Hobbits.

 

[Tycoon101]

But his groups commute both ways.

a*b = b*a in an Abelian group.

Perhaps if we were to stuff him in a box, hook him up to that Schrodinger/cat apparatus, and send him to the moon, we could state that until we open the box he exists in all possible states of goings of ways at the same time.

Then we could never open the box.

Not that that is any different than the situation he is currently in, anyway.

 

[ParadigmShifter]

No. Abel definitely commutes.

 

[Verbose]

The Great Old Ones...

 

[GoodGame]

Nympho-Amazons.

 

[Miles Teg]

Furries are kind of sick and terrifying, but that's what makes them interesting.

 

[Cutlass]

Of the list? Vampires. No particular reason, really.

Twilight ruined the cool of vampires