Hero Worship and Related Lore

Parallels with Hellenistic Gods

Greco-Roman

The progenitor gods of hero worship can be compared to titans, giants, or even Olympians of the Greco-Roman pantheon. In Greek mythology, Hesiod's Theogeny details giants, titans, and gods as "gods;" as with hero worship, gods are not strictly as good as the word tends to connote in the modern day.

The giants and titans share parallels with the progenitor gods of hero worship. Titans and giants formed the world but were cruel to mankind, like the progenitor gods. Some had primordial powers, such as Cronus with time, though the domains of progenitor gods tended to be more physical, such as with fire.

The rise of the Olympians mirrors the rise of heroes. Each succession of power in the Greco-Roman mythos came from some form of familial murder, often patricide. The heroes' rebellion against the progenitor gods, who created them, could be seen as a form of patricide. That isn't to say that the Olympians and heroes were equal, however; the Olympians were cruel and petty, though better to mankind than their predecessors. Even supposedly noble Zeus ate his wife Metis, pregnant with his child, so his child would not kill him as he killed his father. Heroes were considered truly aspirational but had less relative power than Olympians, but their cycle of power mirrored that of the Olympians.

In other ways, the Olympians were similar to the progenitor gods. Both were prideful, vulnerable to vice, and unjust. Olympians shared elemental mastery with progenitor gods, such as Zues with the heavens, Poseidon with the sea (though it is important to also note the similarity between the names of the god Poseidon and the hero Seidon,) and Hestia of the hearth, similar to fire. Progenitor gods did tend to have greater master over their domain than even corresponding Olympians, and there were fewer of them. While Olympians and progenitors had many similarities, other Olympians were more akin to heroes, such as Ares, god of war, and Kelles, hero of resistance. Olympian gods have strange power dynamics that make it difficult to directly compare them with heroes or progenitor gods; even within the twelve most famous Olympians, some are more similar to progenitor gods and others to heroes.

The Temple of Zeus, similar to Lyrinthian architecture. Photo by Yusuf Dundar from Unsplash.

Egyptian

Ancient Egyptian gods share more similarities with progenitor gods and heroes alike than the Greco-Roman pantheon. Many Egyptian gods, such as Ra of the sun, were elemental, similar to both progenitors and heroes. More telling was the ability of Egyptian gods to inhabit human avatars. Egyptian gods were thought to be reborn in humans; pharoahs were gods reborn to rule. This is quite similar to how progenitor gods could inhabit men and how heroes were fit to rule because of their divinity.

Unlike in ancient Egypt, descendents of heroes were not thought to be the original hero in the way ancient Egyptians thought their pharaohs were truly gods. King Hylio, for example, was understood to be separate from the hero Hylio, and the hero's name was not tarnished with the king's fall.

Parallels Within the Wider Mythos

Atlantis

The story of the submerged city—not necessarily Atlantis, but commonly so—is sometimes attributed to worship of Seidon and his descendents. In some beliefs, Seidon not only had mastery over the sea but could also breathe underwater, a power shared by his descendents. Others yet painted a portrait of a merman or a humanoid sea-beast. Coupled with the discovery of underwater ruins, now thought to have shifted underwater due to sea levels rising and earthquakes, the story of Atlantis arose.

The Flood

The flood is not a story told only in the bible; many cultures developed the flood story independently of one another. The flood of hero worship was one of the disasters wrought by the progenitor gods, culling humanity to an acceptable (to the gods, at least) population. The hero Seidon helped humanity weather the storm, so to speak.

Prometheus

Hylio's legend mirrors that of the titan Prometheus. In mythology, Prometheus stole fire from the gods to give to humanity, just as Hylio stole fire from the progenitor gods to strengthen mankind. Of course, for the same gift, Prometheus earned eternal punishment from Zeus while Hylio earned divinity, again demonstrating that the Olympians were less just than the heroes.

Prometheus suffered punishment for his gift to humanity, unlike Hylio. Photo by Christian Stobbe from Unsplash.

The Soul

Hylio's gift to man was not merely fire but a bolstering of the soul. Similar to ancient Greek thought, the soul was made of fire, one of the primordial elements.

Satanic Influence

In hero worship, progenitor gods often influenced mankind through dreams and direct control. In reality, people used progenitor gods as scapegoat to excuse all ill; excess vice was blamed on the progenitor gods, as was senseless violence, sudden changes in personality, unexpected cruelties, etc. Progenitor gods were used to explain others' behavior and excuse one's own behavior alike. This idea of an evil external force driving man to fall to ruin is mirrored in Christianity's concept of the devil.

Heavenly Mandate

In Lyrinth, one's right to rule was tied to their divinity—in other words, if they were descended from a hero or not, or if they had ascended to become a hero. Such a system of divine rule was quite common in antiquity, such as with the Eygptian pharoahs as discussed, and extended even further. The Mandate of Heaven, from ancient China, was even more similar to Lyrinth's right to rule than the pharaohs. The Mandate of Heaven dictated that the emperor of China was the son of Heaven and thus fit to rule, similar to how rulers in Lyrinth descended from divinity.